011/2013 – Precept Proposal 2013/14 – 29 January 2013

Executive Summary and recommendation:

The Commissioner is required under Schedule 5 to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and associated regulations to notify the Police and Crime Panel of her proposed precept for 2013/14 by 1 February 2013.

Throughout the budget planning and public consultation exercise, two options have been considered by the Commissioner:

1. Option 1 – Continuing to freeze the Council Tax for a further year in 2013/14, or
2. Option 2 – Increasing the Council Tax by 1.99%.

During that period of consultation the final taxbase figures were received from the Billing Authorities, replacing the indicative figures used for planning purposes. This Decision Notice now reflects the final taxbase position.

Following that public consultation the Commissioner is recommended to submit a formal proposal to the Panel. Given the short and longer term financial needs of North Yorkshire Police and the need not to unnecessarily add to the current financial pressures on council taxpayers, it is recommended that the Commissioner submits a proposal – based on Option 1 above – to the Police and Crime Panel. That proposal is at Appendix 1 to this decision notice.

Police and Crime Commissioner decision: approved

Signature Date 29 January 2013
Title Police & Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire

Part 1 – Unrestricted facts and advice to the PCC

1. Introduction and background
   1. The Commissioner is required under Schedule 5 to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and associated regulations to notify the Police and Crime Panel of her proposed precept for 2013/14 by 1 February 2013.
   2. The Panel must review the proposed precept by 8 February and make a report to the Commissioner. The Panel has a right to veto the proposed precept if at least two thirds of the persons who are members of the Panel at the time when the decision is made vote in favour of making that decision.
   3. The Commissioner must have regard to and give the Panel a response to their report. Where no veto is exercised the Commissioner may issue the precept. If the Commissioner’s proposal is vetoed by the Panel, a revised proposal must be notified to the Panel by 15 February.
   4. The Panel must review the revised proposal and make a report to the Commissioner by 22 February. The Commissioner must respond to the report and issue her precept by 1 March.
   5. Rejection by the Panel of the revised precept does not prevent the Commissioner issuing it as her precept for the forthcoming financial year.
2. Matters for consideration
   1. Two options have been identified through the strategic planning process for consideration by the Commissioner:
      1. Continuing to freeze the Council Tax for a further year in 2013/14, or
      2. Increasing the Council Tax by 1.99%.
   2. A detailed analysis of the budget is shown in the attached Information Pack, and is summarised below:
      

      Option 1 – Council Tax Freeze	2013/14 £000
      Gross Expenditure	148,296
      Income	(9,165)
      Contribution to/(from) Reserves and Balances	620
      Total Budget 2013/14	139,751
      Funded by:
      Home Office Grant	46,286
      Department for Communities and Local Government Grant	29,568
      Council Tax Support Grant	5612
      Council Tax Freeze Grant 2011/12	1532
      Total Government Funding	82,998
      Estimated Collection Fund Surplus	109
      Balance required from the Precept/Freeze Grant	56, 644

   3. Based upon final notification of the Billing Authorities’ taxbase figures the precept raised without any increase to the Council Tax would be some £56,026k. This would be supplemented in 2013/14 and 2014/15 by Council Tax Freeze Grant of £618k.
   4. An increase of 1.99% in the Council Tax, equivalent to £4.07 per annum at Band D taking it from £204.55 to £208.62, would raise an estimated £57,141k in precept.
   5. In both cases a balanced budget can therefore be achieved in 2013/14, there being additional resources available of £497k for option 2.
3. Other options considered, if any
   1. A third option with a Council Tax increase of 3.135% had been identified. This represents the increase which would be required to compensate for the loss of Council Tax Freeze Grant for 2011/12 which was guaranteed for the period of the Spending Review but which is anticipated to fall out in 2015/16.
   2. The Government’s excessiveness criteria, notified on 19 December 2012, would mean a public referendum would automatically be triggered for any increase over 2% by a local policing body in the top three quartiles for Council Tax nationally.
   3. The potential costs and risks associated with a public referendum render this option unviable.
4. Contribution to Police and Crime Plan outcomes
   1. There is an integrated strategic planning process to align financial planning to the outcomes included within the Police and Crime Plan
5. Consultations carried out
   The Commissioner has consulted on the precept proposal by various means, and the publication of this paper seeking public views is a further avenue.
6. Financial Implications/Value for money
   1. The annual budget decision must be considered in the context of the longer term financial position, to ensure continued financial health and sustainability of service provision.
   2. Forward planning is relatively more complex at present because of the uncertainty surrounding future Government Funding, particularly in the period following the current Spending Review, and the ongoing impact of Council Tax Support localisation.
   3. Based upon assumptions of future withdrawal of government funding as set out in the Information Pack, and Council Tax increases of 1.99% in 2014/15 and beyond, the overall budget position is as follows for the two options.
      

      (Surplus)/Gap	2013/14 £000	2014/15 £000	2015/16 £000	2016/17 £000	2017/18 £000
      Option 1	4,799	7,378	11,034	13,905
      Option 2	(497)	4,282	6,222	9,859	12,720

   4. There is potential for a significant degree of variation to the forward projections presented above, which represent a worst case scenario. It is anticipated however that the minimum level of additional savings which will be required by 2016/17 will be in the order of £5m.
   5. Relevant considerations for the Commissioner in making her decision include:
      • The goal of maintaining frontline operational capacity
      • The impact on council taxpayers
      • Future financial health, including the adequacy of reserves and balances
      • The robustness of financial and organisational management processes in place
      • Levels of demand and Force resilience
      • Savings made to date and the capacity for future savings
      • Public views obtained during consultation
7. Legal Implications
   The statutory duty to notify the Panel of the proposed precept is set out in Section 1.

Information Pack comprising:

Medium Term Financial Plan Scenario 1A (Option 1)
Medium Term Financial Plan Scenario 2A (Option 2)
Capital and Revenue Development Programme
Reserves Projections
APPENDIX 1

POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER FOR NORTH YORKSHIRE
NOTIFICATION OF PRECEPT PROPOSAL FOR 2013/14 TO THE NORTH YORKSHIRE
POLICE AND CRIME PANEL

1. The Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, following a period of public consultation, agreed on 29 January 2013 to notify the Panel of her proposed precept in line with Option 1 on the attached Decision Paper.
2. Based upon the taxbases notified to the Commissioner by the Billing Authorities as set out below, the proposed precept for 2013/14 is therefore £56,025,930.
3. The Band D police council tax for 2013/14 will remain unchanged under this proposal at £204.55.
   

   Taxbase 2013/14	Band D Equivalents
   Craven District Council	20,767.79
   Hambleton District Council	33,441.87
   Harrogate Borough Council	58,047.34
   Richmondshire District Council	18,177.12
   Ryedale District Council	19,299.39
   Scarborough Borough Council	35,395.80
   Selby District Council	27,823.66
   York City Council	60,945.49
   Total Tax Base	273,898.46

4. The Commissioner has a statutory duty to set a balanced budget and calculate the Council Tax Requirement for the forthcoming financial year. The budget report including the statutory calculations will be considered by the Commissioner once the Panel has reached the end of its scrutiny process.

Public Access to information

The Police and Crime Commissioner wishes to be as open and transparent as possible about the decisions he/she takes or are taken in his/her name. All decisions taken by the Commissioner will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

As a general principle, the Commissioner expects to be able to publish all decisions taken and all matters taken into account and all advice received when reaching the decision. Part 1 of this Notice will detail all information which the Commissioner will disclose into the public domain. The decision and information in Part 1 will be made available on the NYPCC web site within 2 working days of approval.

Only where material is properly classified as restricted under the GPMS or if that material falls within the description at 2(2) of The Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 will the Commissioner not disclose decisions and/or information provided to enable that decision to be made. In these instances, Part 2 of the Form will be used to detail those matters considered to be restricted. Information in Part 2 will not be published.