Issue - meetings

A report that provides details of the budget reduction requirement and the Administration’s budget proposals for 2024/25 and a forecast of the 2025/26 position having regard to the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement. The report also presents the financial forecasts for the remainder of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy period 2025/26 to 2028/29.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Finance which provided members with the budget reduction requirement and the Administration’s budget proposals for 2024/25 and a forecast of the 2025/26 position having regard to the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement (PLGFS) published on 18 December 2023. The report also presents the financial forecasts for the remainder of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) period 2025/26 to 2028/29.

The submitted presented the Council’s Revenue Budget for 2024/25 together with the budget reduction requirement and the Administration’s budget proposals for 2024/25 including Council Tax intentions. It also provides a forecast of the 2025/26 position and the financial forecasts for the remainder of the MTFS period, 2026/27 to 2028/29. A version of the Revenue Budget 2024/25 and 2025/26 and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024/25 to 2028/29 had been presented to the Governance, Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Board’s meeting on 25^th January 2024. The Board scrutinised the report and the other reports on the agenda that formed a core part of the Council’s strategic financial planning framework.

Section 1 presented an introduction to the report and explained the report format. Section 2 sets out key Council Policies and Strategies including the Co-operative Council Values, Corporate Plan, Constitution and Rules of Procedure, as the framework within which the Budget has been prepared.

Section 3 of the report presented Local Government Finance developments which have an impact on 2024/25 and future years budgets. It also highlighted the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Financial Resilience Index, the CIPFA Financial Management Code.

Section 4 presented the Local Government Finance Policy Statement 2024 to 2025 which set out the Government’s intentions to assist financial planning for Councils. It also detailed the impact of the 2024/25 PLGFS which had been the sixth consecutive one-year Settlement. This included key information in relation to overall funding levels, Council Tax referendum limits and grants for 2024/25.

Section 5 presented the 2023/24 revised budget and year end forecasts. The 2023/24 revenue budget forecast outturn position (detailed at Table 5 in the report) highlighted a current unfavourable projected variance of £16.2m; which would need to be financed from reserves. This represented an addition to the general contribution from reserves of £9.5m approved by Council in March 2023, plus contributions from other earmarked reserves for specific projects/initiatives of some £7m. This meant that the total contribution from reserves in 2023/24 would be in the order of £34m: a situation that was not sustainable and which had significantly reduced the financial resilience of the council.

Section 6 of the report presented a range of expenditure pressures that contributed to the budget gap. In total they contribute £28.7m, an increase of £13.9m compared to the forecast presented to Full Council on 1st March 2023. The expenditure pressures for 2025/26 were projected at a further £23m. The main pressures arise from pay, expenditure on Council buildings, increased demand and prices for Children’s Social Care service provision and an increased demand for temporary accommodation.

Section 7  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9