Essex County Council Revenue

In terms of the actual sums of money provided by each method of funding, the table below shows the details for 2011/12 and 2012/13:

 The elements of funding explained

• Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) – This was introduced in 2006/07 and, as its name suggests, is a grant issued by central government specifically for financing schools.
• Council tax – A tax levied on residents of a local authority area in order to support the services provided by that authority. The council tax you pay is dependent on the banding of your home which is determined by the value of the property as at 1 April 1991.
• Other specific grants – These are grants issued by central government and may be ring-fenced for a specific purpose.
• General government grants - Unring-fenced grants issued by central government.
• Other income – This relates to the income we receive for some services that we are able to charge directly for.
• Formula grant – This grant is allocated to local authorities using a complex formula which attempts to take account of the relative needs of each authority. The government do not specify a use for this grant so local authorities can use it to meet locally determined priorities. The government fund this grant using the following sources: 
• Re-distributed national business rates 
• Revenue Support Grant
  

The revenue received by Essex County Council is used to fund a range of services, some of which have a clear and immediate impact on the lives of residents of the county. We also provide a range of services that have a strategic impact on the long-term development of the county and its infrastructure.

Essex County Council Expenditure

Our EssexWorks Corporate Plan

Our EssexWorks Commitment sets out our new vision which is:

• Essex means business - we want to be a vibrant place where every individual and community has the opportunity to grow and reach their potential and play a part in our county’s success.

This is our vision for Essex for period 2012-17. We have articulated this vision following a period of intense evidence gathering, analysis and consultation with residents, partners and employees. It replaces our previous EssexWorks programme which ends in March 2012.

 

For further detail on the outcomes we plan to deliver with our partners, the key activities we will undertake and the measures we will use to track our success, please see the EssexWorks Coprate Plan. 

Financial overview

As part of our integrated service and financial planning process, we have reviewed all our budgets to ensure that we have the resources available to invest in our priorities and that we are spending public money as effectively as possible.
 
This year we plan to spend £2.1billion on delivering services. Some of this is supported by grants for specific purposes and other income, including fees and charges, leaving a net revenue budget of £856 million.

 

	2011/12	2012/13
Total expenditure	2,096	2,144
Income and Grants	(1,232)	(1,288)
Budget requirement	864	856
Collection fund (surplus)/deficit	(1)	1
Formula grant	(284)	(275)
Council tax requirement	(579)	(582)
Total funding	(864)	(856)

 1. Includes payments we have make to the Environment Agency (£1.4 million), Lee Valley Regional Park (£1.7 million) and Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority (£0.4 million).
2. This is distributed by the Government using a national Formula, there are no restrictions on what we can spend this on.

 

This year’s budget is an apparent decrease of £8 million on last year’s. This is due to increases in some specific government grants. 

Capital Investment

Creating new assets and improving our existing ones are vital. However, in light of the pressures on the public finances, we have had to form new priorities for our capital programme. As a result, we have set an overall capital programme of £135 million for 2012/13 (see chart below) compared with a comparable figure of £174 million for 2011/12.

The council has also secured significant additional grants for funding infrastructure investment in Essex.

 

 

 

We will continue to invest in education: £41 million this year despite the difficult economic conditions. In 2012 two new replacement primary schools will open, one each in Takeley and Stansted. Both schools will be environmentally friendly with energy-efficient and sustainable buildings, and provide much improved learning conditions. There will also be substantial investment in Colchester, Epping and Harlow primary schools to cater for the rising number of children.

A new skills campus will open this year in Canvey Island and work will begin on a much-needed replacement building for Woodlands School in Basildon. Both buildings will provide efficient and modern learning facilities and the new skills campus will provide opportunities for new learning experiences outside of a typical curriculum.

From our continued discussions with local residents and businesses, it is clear that spending on the county’s highways and transport infrastructure remains a priority. This year we will be investing £53 million on major transport schemes to help economic growth and regeneration across the county, including the completion of the A13/A130 Sadler’s Farm junction.

 

Resourcing Essexworks has more detail information on the 2012/13 Revenue Budget and 2012/13 -2016/17 Capital Programme. 

Levying Bodies 

Essex County Council is required to make contributions to other agencies that provide services to the residents of Essex. 

Levies

The following table sets out the levies that were made to each of the agencies in 2011/12 and the amounts set for 2012/13:

 

Levying body	Environment Agency £000	Lee Valley Regional Park £000	Kent and Essex Sea Inshore Fisheries £000
Gross expenditure 2011/12	67,265	15,800	873
Gross expenditure 2012/13	68,280	18,300	882
ECC contribution 2011/12	1,297	1,574	386
ECC contribution 2012/13	1,297	1,536	380	3,213

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency is the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. It's their job to make sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone in today's society, so that tomorrow's generations inherit a cleaner, healthier world.

 
Their work covers a number of areas but your council tax is used to support flood defence expenditure in the areas of the Anglian Central Regional Flood Defence Committee, the Anglian Eastern Regional Flood Defence Committee and the Thames Regional Flood Defence Committee. They have powers in respect of flood defence along a total of 9,507km of main river across these three areas and along tidal and sea defences.

 

Flood defence money is spent on the construction of new flood defence schemes, the maintenance of the river system and existing flood defences together with the operation of a flood warning system.

 

For more information see the Environment Agency factsheet or visit the Environment Agency website. 

 

Lee Valley Regional Park 

Lee Valley Regional Park is a unique leisure, sports and environmental destination for all residents of London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The 26-mile-long, 10,000-acre park, much of it formerly derelict land, is partly funded by a levy on the council tax. This year there has been a 2% decrease in this levy.

 

The following financial information provides a summary of the authority's net expenditure for 2011/12 and 2012/13:

 

	2011/12	2012/13
Gross operating expenditure	£16.8m	£18.3m
Gross operating income	(£7.5m)	(£8.8m)
Net service operating costs	£9.3m	£9.5m
Financing costs:
Debt servicing/repayments	£0.7m	£0.7m
New capital investment	£2.0m	£1.5m
Total net expenditure	£12m	£11.7m

For more details on how this budget is spent visit the Lee Valley Regional Park website.

 

Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority

The Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (KEIFCA), previously the Kent and Essex Fisheries Committee (KESFC), is concerned with the conservation of sea fish and environmental issues facing the sustainability of fisheries. This is undertaken by the introduction of Byelaws. The Committee also operate a Regulating Order for cockle fishing in the Thames Estuary and manage some oyster beds in the River Roach.

 

From the 1 April 2011 the KEIFCA will also be responsible for Rye Bay.

 

The Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (KEIFCA) currently levy on the constituent authorities the sum of £896,200 which is divided between Kent and Essex authorities.

 

Authority	%	2011/12 £000	2012/13 £000
Kent:
Kent County Council	43	386	380
Medway Council	8	68	67
Essex:
Essex County Council	43	386	380
Southend on Sea Borough Council	2	22	21
Thurrock Council	4	34	34
Total	100	896	882

For further information, KESFC can be contacted by telephone on 01843 585310.