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.