Issue - meetings

The Cabinet considered a report and a supplementary report of the Director of Corporate Resources regarding the proposed Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 to 2029/30 (MTFS), following its consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny bodies and receipt of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.  Copies of the report and supplementary report, marked “Agenda item 4”, are filed with these minutes.

Mr. Fowler CC thanked officers for their work on the MTFS and commented on the complexity of local authority finance and the pressures facing the Council: the proposals sought to reduce the budget gap whilst keeping the Council Tax increase below inflation.  He and Mr. Harrison CC referred to the potential savings resulting from the Council’s Efficiency Review, the delivery of which would be a priority for the coming year.

RESOLVED:

(i)         That the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and the Scrutiny Commission (Appendix Q to the report) be noted;

(ii)        That a Council Tax increase for 2026/27 of 2.99% be recommended;

(iii)       That the following be recommended to the County Council:

(a)   That subject to the items below, approval be given to the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which incorporates the recommended net revenue budget for 2026/27 totalling £613.4m as set out in Appendices A, B and E of the report and includes the growth and savings for that year as set out in Appendix C;

(b)   That approval be given to the projected provisional revenue budgets for 2027/28, 2028/29 and 2029/30, set out in Appendix B to the report, including the growth and savings for those years as set out in Appendix C, allowing the undertaking of preliminary work, including business case development, engagement and equality and human rights impact assessments, as may be necessary to achieve the savings specified for those years including savings under development, set out in Appendix D;

(c)    That each Chief Officer, in consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources and following consultation with the relevant Cabinet Lead Member(s), undertake preparatory work as considered appropriate to develop proposals and associated investment required to reduce the financial gap in all four years of the MTFS, to enable the Cabinet, subject to scrutiny processes, to consider a new multi-year transformation programme;

(d)   That approval be given to the early achievement of savings that are included in the MTFS, as may be necessary, along with associated investment costs, subject to the Director of Corporate Resources agreeing to funding being available;

(e)   That the level of the General Fund and earmarked reserves as set out in Appendix K be noted and the planned use of those earmarked reserves as indicated in that appendix be approved;

(f)     That the risk assessment at paragraph 140 and the Director of Corporate Resources assurance statement at paragraph 155 be noted;

(g)   That the recommended Council Tax increase for 2026/27 and the resulting precept be approved;

(h)   That the Chief Executive be authorised to issue the necessary precepts to billing authorities in accordance with (g) above and the tax base notified by the District Councils, and to take any other action which may be necessary to give effect to the precepts;

(i)     That approval be given to the 2026/27 to 2029/30 capital programme, totalling £501m, as set out in Appendix F;

(j)     That the Director of Corporate Resources following consultation with the Cabinet Lead Member for Resources be authorised to approve new capital schemes and revenue spend to save schemes, including revenue costs associated with their delivery, shown as future developments in the capital programme, to be funded from funding available;

(k)    That the financial indicators required under the Prudential  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88