Issue - meetings

Report of the Interim Section 151 Officer attached.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That Cabinet approves a contribution of £36,012 to the Strategic Economic Growth and Financial Sustainability Fund, being South Ribble’s share of the £400,000 bit to fund the work on the Greater Lancashire Plan, subject to all Lancashire councils who are in the business rate pool committing to fund their share of the total cost of the work.

In the absence of the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Assets, the Leader of the Council presented a report from the Interim Section 151 Officer concerning the release of business rate growth funding prior to it being realised to support the funding of cross-county work on ‘Repositioning Lancashire:  The Greater Lancashire Plan’.

Decisions made (Unanimously):

Cabinet approves a contribution of £36,012 to the Strategic Economic Growth and Financial Sustainability Fund, being South Ribble’s share of the £400,000 bid to fund the work on the Greater Lancashire Plan, subject to all Lancashire councils who are in the business rate pool committing to fund their share of the total cost of the work.

Reason(s) for decision:

1.    The Lancashire BR Pool Executive Body have explored how £400k could be released from the Strategic Economic Growth and Financial SustainabilityFund (SEGFSF) in this financial year to fund work on the Greater Lancashire Plan, as requested by the Governing Body of the Lancashire Business Rate Pilot Pool. The proposal is that each authority provide a financial allocation towards the £400,000 in proportion to their total anticipated contribution to the Strategic Economic Growth and Financial Sustainability Fund.

2.    This advance funding can be met from the council’s business rate retention reserve. At the end of the financial year, when the actual outturn for business rates income is known, an adjustment can be made in relation to this payment.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

The Lancashire Business Rate Pool Executive Body considered the following options:

Option 1 – that the advance funding is provided by one authority, or

Option 2 – that the advance funding is provided by pool members in proportion to their anticipated contribution to the business rate pool.

The collective view that option 1 was outside the current pooling arrangements for the Strategic Economic Growth and Financial Sustainability Fund.