Decision details

Revenue Budget Report 2025-26

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

To propose a Revenue Budget and Council Tax for 2025-26.

Decision:

RESOLVED to

 

1)    recommend to Council that it:

 

a.     Notes the details of the Autumn Budget 2024, the Local Government Finance Policy Statement 2025-26 and Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2025-26 and other announcements as outlined in Section six and Appendix five of the report;

 

b.     Notes the Government’s expectations about Council Tax levels for 2025-26 in Appendix five;

 

c.     Approves the precepts as outlined in Appendix five;

 

d.     Approves that billing authorities are informed of Council Tax levels arising from the budget proposals as outlined in Section six and Appendix five;

 

e.     Approves the contingency to cover non-standard inflation as outlined in Appendix six. The contingency to be allocated by the Director of Finance, as S151 Officer once non-standard inflation has been agreed;

 

f.       Approves the budget pressures in Section seven and service pressure items identified in Appendix six;

 

g.     Approves the funding change to budgets to replace one off funding provided in 2024-25 as outlined in Appendix six;

 

h.     Notes the shortfall between ongoing available funding and expenditure met by the use of one-off savings and reserves as outlined in Section eight;

 

i.        Approves the level and allocation of budget savings as outlined in Section nine and Appendix seven;

 

j.        Notes the remaining budget gap over the period of the Five- Year Financial Plan as outlined in Section nine and Appendices seven and eight;

 

k.     Notes the comments of the Director of Finance, as S151 Officer, about the robustness of the estimates and adequacy of the reserves as outlined in Section five and Appendix four.

 

l.        Notes the details of the Council’s consultation activity as outlined in Section eleven and set out in the Budget Consultation Results report;

 

m.  Approves the Council Tax requirement of £441,021,660 which is calculated as follows:

 

£

Budget Before Non-Inflationary Pressures and Budget Reductions

735,056,862

Plus Service Pressures – ongoing

57,968,173

Plus Adult Social Care Precept

8,350,129

Plus Service Pressures - one-off

1,705,000

Less Budget Reductions

-37,499,000

Decrease in Debt Charges - ongoing

-7,834,550

Increase in Other Corporate Budgets - ongoing

3,638,056

Increase in Other Corporate Budgets – one-off

8,467,000

Increase in Interest and Dividend Receipts

-97,126

Net Budget Requirement

769,754,544

Less Top-Up

-102,944,664

Less Business Rates

-22,816,447

Less Revenue Support Grant

-19,164,084

Less New Homes Bonus

-822,716

Less General Grant

-170,523,272

Less PFI Grant

-10,503,833

Less Use of Earmarked Reserves

-1,957,868

Balance to be met from Council Tax

441,021,660

 

n.     Approves the use of the Revenue Contributions to Capital Expenditure Earmarked Reserve to provide one-off support to the 2025-26 Revenue Budget.

 

o.     Authorises the Director of Finance, as S151 Officer, to allocate cash limits amongst Cabinet portfolios; Executive Directors will then report to Cabinet on the revised Service Plans for 2025-26: and

 

2)    Approve the Corporate Charging Strategy as set out in Appendix 9A, along with the Fees and Charges to be levied from 1 April 2025 as set out in Appendix 9B.

Report author: Heather Green

Publication date: 30/01/2025

Date of decision: 30/01/2025

Decided at meeting: 30/01/2025 - Cabinet

Effective from: 07/02/2025

Accompanying Documents: