Agenda item

Mr Dave Shipton (Head of Finance Policy, Planning and Strategy) was in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Peter Oakford introduced the report and provided a high-level update on the draft budget since it was first published in November 2023. Mr Oakford said the balanced draft budget included one off savings, the use of reserves, increased dividends from the Council’s trading companies, and an assumed 5% Council Tax increase. He said each 1% increase in Council Tax was worth approximately £9million. Mr Oakford highlighted that 70% of the budget was covered by local Council Tax and 30% came from other areas such as government grants.

2.          Mrs Bell, Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, and Mr Murphy, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, provided an update on their individual portfolios.

3.          A Member suggested that the community warden service be financed from the community navigators budget line within adult social care. Mr Oakford said adult social care was the Council’s highest spending area with proposed savings for the year 2024/2025 of around £50million, and demand growth and price increases at the end of 2023 were still being seen.

4.          A Member asked whether the Council would be able to maintain statutory and non-statutory Public Rights of Way (PROW) requirements under next year’s budget. Mrs Bell said contract related inflation had been built into the budget and a small amount was allocated for adopting additional routes. Mr Tom Marchant said no revenue savings had been taken out of the PROW budget for next year, and growth pressures were being funded in the Medium Term Financial Plan.

5.          A Member asked how future savings would be achieved in Trading Standards and whether this would affect the workforce.  Mr Mark Rolfe said, nationally, it was very difficult to recruit Trading Standards Officers and there was a temporary hold on recruitment for qualified Trading Standards Officers within the Council.  However, there were trainees within the Council who were due to qualify in 2025.

RESOLVED to:

a)    Note the updated revenue budget and MTFP, draft capital strategy and programme, and draft Treasury Management Strategy; and

b)    Propose to the Executive, any changes which should be made to the relevant sections of the budget related to the Committee’s portfolio area before the draft is finalised by Cabinet on 25th January 2024 and presented to Full County Council on 19th February 2024 for decision.

Mr Sole, Dr Sullivan and Mr Baldock asked for their votes against the recommendation to be noted in the minutes.