Agenda item

The Deputy Chief Executive (S151) to present the Scrutiny Committee with the work performed so far in formulating the 2025/26 draft budget and provide the opportunity to Member’s to consider the position proposed so far and make any relevant observations/recommendations back to Cabinet at its meeting on the 4 February 2025.

The Committee had before it and NOTED a *report from the Deputy Chief Executive (S151).

The following was highlighted in the report:

·         The documents before the Committee were the three recent reports that had been presented to Cabinet.

·         The various versions of the budget updates had been though the Policy Development Groups.

·         The informal Budget Briefing to Members had been useful and was something the Council would repeat.

·         The Scrutiny Committee were now being asked to fulfil their legislative function of reviewing the whole budget process, review the recommendations that had previously been made and make any recommendations that the Scrutiny Committee thought appropriate to the Cabinet meeting to be held on 4 February 2025.

·         The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) showed a balanced budget for the financial year 2025/26.

·         The Capital Programme for the financial year 2025/26 was also balanced.

·         The General Fund was £450,000 short of being in a balanced position. That figure had grown following the funding settlement received from Central Government prior to Christmas. The largest contributor to the shortfall was the confirmation from the Government that the National Insurance Compensation Scheme would not compensate the Council by as much as had been previously alluded, that item had probably added £300,000 to the shortfall and would impact the HRA as well.

·         Additional Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funding of approximately £927,000 was announced just before Christmas which assisted the Council.

Discussion took place with regard to:

·         The figure mentioned for EPR funding was a provisional sum and was for one year only. After that it would be subsumed into whatever Medium Term Funding agreement that would be offered from 2026/27 onwards.

·         The funding floor was another value that might only last for one year. The funding floor was there to ensure that no council received less in cash terms than they had received the previous year.

·         Internal borrowing from funds to help manage the Council’s General Fund expenditure in the short term.

·         The Treasury Management report showed the Treasury activities for the future financial year. That report went to the Cabinet and Full Council.

·         Once the compensation amount for National Insurance was known, the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) would notify all Members of it and what it meant for this Council. For the moment, based on the formula that the Government provided, it was felt that the cost to the Council would be one third of the overall cost of the National Insurance change.

There was nothing the Scrutiny Committee wanted to feedback to the Cabinet.

Note: *report previously circulated.