Statement re 2017/18 budget proposals

Aberdeen City Council publishes 2017/18 budget options

Aberdeen City Council today (15 February) published reports outlining its budget options for 2017/18 in relation to:

· General Fund Revenue and Capital Investment Programme;

· Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Capital Investment Programme;

· Common Good Fund.

A balanced budget has been proposed, taking into account the requirement for savings and the need to protect services. The Council is governed by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and projected expenditure must be matched by income.

The proposal outlines a budgeted spend of £889million, comprising £240m capital and £649m general fund revenue expenditure and HRA revenue expenditure of £88 million and £55 million of capital investment. The budget will be set by elected members at a meeting of the full Council on 22 February and announced via the RNS on 23 February.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Aberdeen City Council by Paul Smith. For further information email [email protected]. Phone 01224 523188 or 07825 546396 (out of hours).

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Copies of the Council's 2017/18 budget report, annual report and statement of accounts are available at: www.aberdeencity.gov.uk ;

2. Aberdeen City Council provides local government services to 115,080 households and 8,651 businesses. The authority serves a population of 229,000 directly and on an operational basis the wider North-east population of 489,000. The Council employs approximately 8,600 staff;

3. Aberdeen City Council comprises 43 councillors, representing 13 wards, and since the May 2012 election has been controlled by a Labour-Conservative-Independent coalition. Councillors are elected every five years by the citizens of Aberdeen;

4. Under the Council's constitution it has financial procedure rules which incorporate the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) code of practice on treasury management and requires the Council to produce a treasury management policy and have it approved by the Council;

5. The Council is subject to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 as amended and in large part replaced by the 2016 Regulations in relation to borrowing for capital expenditure purposes. Under the 2016 Regulations, each local authority must determine before the start of each financial year how much external debt it can afford during that financial year and each of the subsequent two financial years.