Agenda item

This item was taken after Item 5.

Mr Peter Oakford (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services), Ms Zena Cooke (Corporate Director Finance) and Mr Kevin Tilson (Finance Business Parter, GET) were in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Oakford introduced the Initial Draft Budget 2024-25 and Medium Term Financial Plan 2024-27.  He said 2023 had, so far, been a challenging year financially and the Council was currently looking at a £23million overspend this year. He said savings found this year were one off savings as opposed to reoccurring savings that would carry forward into next year.  Mr Oakford explained that £46million worth of savings had been identified for the draft budget 2024-25, however the challenge of delivering those savings was yet to come.  Mr Oakford stressed there was still a lot of work to be done and savings of just under £50million needed to be identified before the final round of budget scrutiny in January 2024.  Mr Oakford thanked all those involved in this work.

2.          Mr Murphy, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, explained that the budget for Economic Development was £4.5million per annum and year to date there had been a £329,000 underspend.  For 2024-25 a saving of £80,000 would be made and an additional £200,000 income revenue would be committed to the Council’s budget under the No Use Empty Scheme.  Mr Murphy said the Council was working with external partners to get the best value for Kent and its residents.

3.          Mrs Bell, Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services provided a summary of the Community and Regulatory Services Budget.  Mrs Bell said there was a current approximate £359,000 underspend on the £25.7million budget and the majority of the underspend was in Libraries, Registration and Archives owing mainly to registration income.  There was also underspend in Trading Standards and Kent Scientific Services.  Altogether there was a spending proposal increase for the 2024/25 budget of around £758,000.  A total of £789,000 savings was proposed which mainly included the Community Wardens service, increased income from the Kent Scientific Services, a review of all fees and charges across all services, an increased contribution of the Coroners service delivered in Medway, and small transformation and efficiency savings.

4.          Mrs Bell, Mrs Holt-Castle and Mr Oakford responded to the following questions and comments from Members:

(a)  A Member asked for clarification regarding the funding of the Coroners Service and Mrs Holt-Castle said the Council was responsible for providing and funding a coronial service for KCC and Medway administrative areas.

(b)  A Member commented that a one-page summary of the topics that related to the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee would be helpful for future draft budget items.

(c)  A Member asked about proposed changes to the capital programme and the effect long-term on the Council’s community assets.  Mr Oakford explained that the Council’s buildings had suffered from underinvestment for many years, and money from Council Tax and government grants did not cover the expenditure of the Council.  Therefore, non-statutory areas were having to be reviewed to ensure the Council continued to deliver services to the most vulnerable residents.

(d)  A Member asked about the Council engaging in additional external support to identify solutions that enable future spending growth (para 4.7 on page 38 of the agenda pack) and whether this cabinet committee’s portfolio area would be considered.  Mrs Bell said this was not currently happening but could be considered in the future.

RESOLVED that the initial draft capital and revenue budgets including responses to consultation be noted.