The Cabinet had before it a * report of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources considering options available in order for the Council to set a balanced budget for 2018/19 and providing a strategy for further budget reductions in 2019/20 onwards.
The Cabinet Member for Finance outlined the contents of the report stating that the initial aggregation of all service budgets (which included assumptions surrounding predictions for interest receipts, contribution to the capital programme, transfers to/from reserves and council tax levels) currently indicated a General Fund budget gap of £617k. Members discussed the following table which showed the main budget variances affecting the 2018/19 draft budget:
|
Variances |
Amount £k |
|
External items outside of our control |
|
|
Reduced formula grant settlement |
318 |
|
Decrease in Housing Benefit Grant and increase in associated costs |
57 |
|
Pay Award and pension increases |
239 |
|
Rural Services Delivery grant |
86 |
|
Transition Grant |
32 |
|
Subtotal |
732 |
|
Other changes |
|
|
Increase in service cost pressures |
317 |
|
Not utilising New Homes Bonus to balance the budget |
89 |
|
Increase in property sinking funds |
100 |
|
Interest payments on loans for new leisure equipment |
45 |
|
Service cost reductions |
(108) |
|
New or increased income identified by service managers |
(272) |
|
Increase in Council Tax income (£5 rise + 370 new properties) |
(212) |
|
Net recharge to HRA |
(108) |
|
Minor changes |
34 |
|
Draft budget gap for 2018/19 |
617 |
Consideration was given to
· Newly purchased properties
· The shortfall in Government funding and the need to increase income
· Options already being considered to address the shortfall.
RESOLVED that the contents of the report be NOTED and that ongoing work to address the budget gap be acknowledged.
(Proposed by Cllr P H D Hare-Scott and seconded by Cllr C R Slade)
Note: * Report previously circulated, copy attached to minutes.