Agenda item

(A report by Christine Marshall, Deputy Chief Executive Corporate Development (S151))

Please note that in accordance with The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, a recorded vote will be taken on Budget recommendations.

(Members are reminded that if they are two months or more in arrears, they must disclose the fact and not vote on any item to set tax or any decision which may affect its calculation).

The Portfolio Holder – Finance, Councillor Sandeep Ghosh, presented a report by the Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate Development (S151), setting out the detail of the Annual Budget Report 2025/26, the 5-year Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) from 2025/26 to 2029/30, Capital Programme, Capital Strategy, Treasury Management Policy/Strategy and the Annual Delivery Plan for 2025/26.

Members noted that the report also included the recommended level of Council Tax for 2025/26 taking into account pressures including that of the Internal Drainage Board (IDB) levy.

The budget included efficiencies that had been identified to support the short and medium term financial strategy and the remaining efficiency target still to be achieved against which a plan of activity had been developed.

Before presenting the Budget Report, Councillor Ghosh provided an overview of the position since his appointment. He confirmed that in the financial year 2022/23, there had been a budget shortfall of £282,000 without a proactive plan to address efficiencies. In the financial year 2023/24, there had been a budget gap of £664,000 and a dire need for a planned approach. Efficiency targets had been established before every Budget and had been acted on religiously. For the financial year 2024/25, 78% of those targets had been achieved by Quarter 2 and nearly all the debt left by the previous administration had been paid back. All directorates had been informed to make budgets based on previous data and avoid mid-year unplanned pressure on the budgets.

More efficient ways of working for all the services had been encouraged by working closely within the partnership and the special interest group created had resulted in receiving £5 million for this financial year, which was £2 million more than last year.

Improvements in the town and supporting vulnerable residents had been prioritised.

Engagement in communities and businesses was occurring to a greater degree.

There had been challenges and unlike before, where there had been challenges from worldwide events, the current challenges had arisen from changes to Government policy, including significantly less Government support, the removal of the Rural Services Delivery Grant and changes to business rates. Local Government Reorganisation would also result in future challenges.

The enhanced section 25 statement at the end of Appendix 1 set out the risks within the Budget and contingencies. The Internal Drainage Board (IDB) continued to be a pressure, with increased contributions to them of £102,000 included in the Budget resulting in a 45% increase since 2021/22. Lobbying of Government had occurred since October 2022. The national sum provided for IDB support had increased the national sum to £5 million but it was still only a third of the increase seen by councils since 2021/22.

Efficiency targets had been introduced in the Budget since 2022/23 as a result of the legacy of the last administration, reductions in Government funding and the impact of the IDB levy.

The savings target for 2025/26 would be £510,000 and the IDB related target would be £913,000, which would be challenging. A multi-year efficiency plan had been identified, looking at the short and medium term, to ensure identified efficiencies could be achieved.

£38.25 million of existing savings was on target to be delivered and the projected savings targets of £42 million was on track and anticipated to be delivered sooner rather than later.

Councillor Ghosh indicated that the Council was continuing to support the town centre with reduced rents for market traders and member grants for local communities.

At this point, Councillor Ghosh received the permission of Full Council to continue with the presentation of the report, as required by the Constitution as his contribution had reached five minutes.

Councillor Ghosh proceeded to set out the Budget as detailed at page 23 of the agenda.

Members discussed the report and the following comments were made:

·         A range of views were expressed about the national and local context and circumstances in which the Budget was being presented.

·         Deliberation occurred regarding a range of issues including the competitiveness of market traders’ fees compared to other local authorities following the recent price reduction and the range of other incentives to support traders and encourage new traders.

·         Other issues considered included the adverse impact of IDB levies on the Budget, increased Council Tax support for the most vulnerable, the extent of Council reserves, increased members’ allowances and the re-introduction of member grants for communities.

·         Councillor Ghosh agreed to provide Councillor Anton Dani with a written response to his question relating to the potential future use of reserves.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor Sandeep Ghosh and seconded by Councillor Anne Dorrian.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Revenue Estimates for the General Fund and BTAC for 2025/26 (Appendices 1, 1a and 1b) be approved and that the Councillor Grant Scheme be reintroduced, with each Councillor being given £1,000 to allocate to projects within their ward, to be funded from the contingency reserve fund;

2.    That the Council Tax for a Band D property in 2025/26 be set at £223.65 (a £7.56 per annum increase on 2024/25 levels);

3.    That the Council tax for a band D property in 2025/26 for BTAC be set at £81.09 (a 72p per annum increase on 2024/25 levels);

4.    That the additions to and use of reserves (Appendix 1) be approved;

5.    That the Medium Term Financial Strategy (Appendix 1) be approved;

6.    That the Capital Programme and Capital Strategy (Appendices 2 and 3) be approved;

7.    That the Section 25 addendum (Appendix 1) be noted;

8.    That the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Treasury Management Strategy Statement including MRP Policy (Appendix 4a and 4b) be approved;

9.    That the proposed Fees and Charges Schedule (Appendix 5) be approved;

10.That the Annual Delivery Plan for 2025/26 (Appendix 6) be approved; and

11.That the results of the Budget Consultation process (Appendix 7) be noted.