The Cabinet had before it a
report * from the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) presenting the
2025/2026 draft Budget Report.
The Cabinet Member for
Governance, Finance and Risk outlined the contents of the report
with particular reference to the following:
- At the last
Cabinet meeting, the projected shortfall stood at £431k.
Since then, a thorough review had shown that some previously
identified savings were not achievable for 2025/26 and would need
to be revisited in future years. However, the Council had been able
to reduce other pressures and identify additional savings, bringing
the shortfall down to £191k.
- Appendix 1
provided a detailed breakdown of movements at the service unit
level, highlighting where pressures were being felt and where
savings had been achieved. A full review of corporate budgets,
combined with the possibility of further government grants, could
help bridge the remaining gap.
- The Council
were deeply disappointed by the government’s decision to
remove the Rural Services Delivery Grant. This, along with the
uncertainty of the funding settlement, expected on 19 December
2024; this was unacceptably late in the budget-setting cycle, and
had created significant challenges for financial
planning.
- As a
Council, strong representations would be made directly to central
government at a senior officer level and through the membership of
the Rural Services Network, urging them to address the dire state
of local authority funding.
- Appendix 2
outlined the plans for the Capital Programme over the next 5 years.
The commitment to invest £138m into maintaining and enhancing
assets. A large portion of this would be directed towards
increasing housing stock, delivering much needed social and
affordable homes. Whilst this programme currently assumed
significant borrowing, the Council remained optimistic that further
successful grant applications would help reduce this burden, as
they had done in the past.
- Housing
Revenue Account, Appendix 3 provided an update on the Medium-Term
Financial Plan. This included refreshed assumptions around income,
particularly in relation to rent corrections. The Council were in
the process of finalising a robust 30-year plan to enable more
accurate budget profiling over the next 5 years and to identify
ways to address the projected shortfall.
- This
administration stood firm in its pledge to uphold fiscal
responsibility whilst listening to the needs of the communities.
The combined efforts of dedicated officers, alongside the support
of Members across the Council, had made it possible to present a
realistic and achievable draft budget, even in the face of
uncertainty and challenging financial conditions.
Discussion took
place regarding the internal borrowing and
where this was reported.
RESOLVED
that:
- The
contents of this report, specifically the inclusion in the 2025/26
adjustments be APPROVED and
a)
Cabinet requests were considered at the last meeting
(para 3.4);
b)
The adjustments to previously AGREED
budget options (para 4.2);
c)
The proposed budget options (Section 5) that would
be calculated as data or when Government announcements were
made.
- The
proposed Capital Programme covering the period
2025/26 to 2029/30 be considered.
- The updated
Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Position be
considered.
(Proposed by Cllr J Buczkowski
and seconded by Cllr S Clist)
Reason for Decision:
None directly arising from this
report, although there was a legal obligation to balance the
budget. There were legal implications arising from any future
consequential decisions to change service provision, but those
would be assessed at the time.
Note: * Report previously
circulated.