Section 32: Calculation of budget requirement by authorities in Wales., Local Government Finance Act 1992

In relation to each financial year a billing authority in Wales shall make the calculations required by this section.

The authority must calculate the aggregate of—

the expenditure which the authority estimates it will incur in the year in performing its functions and will charge to a revenue account for the year;

the expenditure that the authority estimates it will incur in the year in making repayments of—

grant paid to it by the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers, or

amounts paid to it by the Welsh Ministers in respect of redistributed non-domestic rates;

such allowance as the authority estimates will be appropriate for contingencies in relation to expenditure to be charged to a revenue account for the year;

the financial reserves which the authority estimates it will be appropriate to raise in the year for meeting its estimated future expenditure; and

such financial reserves as are sufficient to meet so much of the amount estimated by the authority to be a revenue account deficit for any earlier financial year as has not already been provided for; ...

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The expenditure mentioned in subsection (2)(a) does not include expenditure which the authority estimates it will charge to a BID Revenue Account.

The authority must calculate the aggregate of—

the sums which it estimates will be payable for the year into its ... council fund and in respect of which amounts will be credited to a revenue account for the year, other than sums which it estimates will be so payable in respect of redistributed non-domestic rates, BID levy or financial contribution made under section 43 of the Local Government Act 2003, revenue support grant, its council tax reduction scheme, additional grant or special grant ...;;

the sums that it estimates will be payable to it for an earlier financial year in respect of—

redistributed non-domestic rates,

revenue support grant, or

additional grant;

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the amount of the financial reserves which the authority estimates that it will use in order to provide for the items mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) above.

... subsection (3)(a) above does not require the estimation of sums payable into a billing authority's council fund in respect of council tax or non-domestic rates or the grant paid to them under section 88A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

If the aggregate calculated under subsection (2) above exceeds that calculated under subsection (3) above, the authority must calculate the amount equal to the difference; and the amount so calculated shall be its budget requirement for the year.

In making the calculation under subsection (2) above the authority must ignore—

payments which must be met from a trust fund;

payments to be made to the Welsh Ministers under paragraph 5 of Schedule 8 to the 1988 Act or regulations made under paragraph 5(15) of that Schedule;

payments to be made in respect of the amount of any precept issued by a major precepting authority under Part 1 of this Act (but not payments to be so made in respect of interest on such an amount); and

payments to be made to another person in repaying, under regulations under the 1988 Act or Part 1 of this Act, excess receipts by way of non-domestic rates or council tax.

In estimating under subsection (2)(a) above the authority shall take into account—

the amount of any precept issued to it for the year by a local precepting authority; and

the amount of any levy or special levy issued to it for the year;

but (except as provided by regulations under section 41 below or regulations under section 74 or 75 of the 1988 Act) shall not anticipate a precept, levy or special levy not issued.

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For the purposes of subsection (2)(c) above an authority's estimated future expenditure is—

that which the authority estimates it will incur in the financial year following the year in question, will charge to a revenue account for the year and will have to defray in the year before the following sums are sufficiently available, namely—

sums which will be payable for the year into its ... council fund and in respect of which amounts will be credited to a revenue account for the year; and

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that which the authority estimates it will incur in the financial year referred to in paragraph (a) above or any subsequent financial year in performing its functions and which will be charged to a revenue account for that or any other year.

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The Welsh Ministers may by regulations do one or both of the following—

alter the constituents of any calculation to be made under subsection (2) or (3) above (whether by adding, deleting or amending items);

alter the rules governing the making of any calculation under subsection (2) or (3) above (whether by deleting or amending subsections (5) to (7) above, or any of them, or by adding other provisions, or by a combination of those methods).

A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (9) is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of Senedd Cymru.

Calculations to be made in relation to a particular financial year under this section must be made before 11th March in the preceding financial year, but they are not invalid merely because they are made on or after that date.

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In this section and section 33—

references to sums payable for a financial year in respect of redistributed non-domestic rates are to sums so payable in accordance with the local government finance report for the year under section 84G of the 1988 Act relating to the authority (including as amended by a report under paragraph 13 of Schedule 8 to that Act);

references to sums payable for a financial year in respect of revenue support grant are to sums so payable in accordance with the local government finance report for the year under section 84G of the 1988 Act (including as amended by a report under section 84L of that Act);

references to sums payable for a financial year in respect of an authority's council tax reduction scheme are to sums payable by the Welsh Ministers under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 in respect of a scheme which applies in accordance with regulations under section 13A or in default in accordance with regulations under section 13A of, and paragraph 6 of Schedule 1B;

references to sums payable for a financial year in respect of additional grant are to sums so payable in accordance with a report for the year under section 86A of the 1988 Act; and

references to sums payable for a financial year in respect of special grant are to sums payable in the year in accordance with a special grant report under section 88C of the 1988 Act.

"BID levy" and "BID Revenue Account" have the meaning given in Part 4 of the Local Government Act 2003.

Section 32: Calculation of budget requirement by authorities in Wales.

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