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That Cabinet notes the early signalling of
pressure against the Council’s revenue budget of £2.6m
following a review of material pressures and savings and the
potential mitigations that can be applied.
 
That Cabinet notes the ongoing financial risks
continuing to manifest in the current difficult operating
environment where:
 

-      
inflation is continuing to remain resolutely high with a
consequential impact of rising interest rates;

-      
the ongoing cost of living crisis and further impact that rising
interest rates will have housing costs;

-      
the likelihood for the UK economy to enter recession;

-      
a shortage of staff linked to the ongoing tight labour market;

-      
continuing supply chain issues that require more costly alternative
or expedited arrangements;

-      
the impact the above is having on the increasing demand for
supportive Council services and reducing demand for income
generating services.
 
That in considering the above, and as part of
the mitigations outlined in 2.1 of the report, that Cabinet
approves the budgeted use of £2.5m of useable revenue
reserves to increase the Council’s overall level of inflation
contingency budget for 2023/24 to a total of £3m. The use of
a further £2.5m equates to the amount of reserves that were
originally anticipated to be required to support the 2022/23 budget
outturn position, but were not ultimately called upon.
 
 
That in light of the severity of the current
financial position and the continuing financial headwinds as
outlined in this report, that Cabinet requires the Strategic
Leadership Team to engage in immediate mitigating action to bear
down on avoidable cost and identify all potential further income
opportunities.
 
That Cabinet requires officers to develop the
structured approach to tackling the budgetary pressures presenting,
leading up to a more detailed Month 4 financial forecast being
brought forward in September 2023.