Decision Maker: Cabinet, Council Special Meeting

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: February 18, 2026

Purpose: To agree the MTFS

Content: Agreed to provide for £35m of investment (Section 9 of the report), including:   ·        £22m relating to increasing costs arising from demand and inflation ·        £9m in relation to capital investment financing ·        £1m for Freedom Pass.   Agreed £7.1m of new savings / income proposals for 2026/27 increasing to £8.2m in 2029/30 (Section 10 of the report)   Noted that the report incorporates the details of the Council Tax Base set, which includes the Local Council Tax Support and maximises second home and Long Term Empty Homes premiums (Section 8.27 to 8.31 of the report).   Agreed to the proposal for new fees and charges for 2026/27 (Appendix C of the report).   Noted the schedule of fees and charges rates for 2026/27 (Appendix D of the report) being agreed under delegated authority.   Agreed the proposed Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 to 2029/30 as set out in this report and subsequently recommend to Council for approval:   ·        the MTFS as per this report ·        that the borough element of council tax is raised by:   o   2.00% adult social care precept o   2.99% main council tax rate ·        a balanced budget for 2026/27   Agreed the proposals to utilise the Crisis Resilience Fund, in line with Government guidance (Section 8.62 to 8.77 of the report), specifically   ·        To approve the allocation of £4.034m per year (after the housing element) for the period 1st April 2026 – 31st March 2029 for the Department for Work and Pensions’ Crisis and Resilience Fund as follows: o   £1.1m per year towards the crisis payments strand, which will cover elements such as funding towards the Emergency Support Scheme, Council Tax Hardship Fund, Targeted payments, and school uniform grant provision. o   £2.2m per year towards the resilience strand, which cover elements such as in-house advice provision, the advice hub programme, and expanding the family financial resilience programme including, §  the following direct grants for the advice hub programme for the period 1st April – 30th June 2026 v£28,750 to Greenwich Citizens Advice Bureau (company registration number 03346379) v£27,600 to Greenwich Housing Rights (company registration number 01874645) v£3,500 to Greenwich Cooperative Development Agency (registered society number RS007029) §  that an open tender process will commence to award advice provision contracts to support the advice hub programme from 1st July 2026 – 31st March 2029. §  to award the following direct grants to supplement and expand the GLA’s existing family financial resilience programme for the period 1st July 2026 – 31st December 2027, v£172,500 to London Citizens Advice Ltd (company registration number 15785714, registered charity number 1209126) v£178,500 to London Legal Support Trust (company registration number 04930926, registered charity number 1101906) o   £0.4m per year towards the community level support strand, which covers crisis navigator provision in food back/club settings, ambient food programme, and a community grants scheme.  As part of this funding allocation, §  a direct grant for the ambient food project of £0.15m per year will be allocated for each of the 2026/27, 2027/28, 2028/29 financial years to Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency (GCDA) (registered society number RS007029). §  an open tender process will commence to award advice provision contracts to provide crisis navigator provision in food bank and food club settings from 1st July 2026 – 31st March 2029. §  To note the creation of a Greenwich Supports community grants programme in 2026/27. ·        To note that the administrative costs for disbursement and management of the fund will use the remaining balance of the fund. ·        To delegate decisions to vary the amounts allocated when required to the Director of Resources, in consultation with the Cabinet Lead for Inclusive Economy, Business, Skills and Greenwich Supports, to enable the grant to be responsive to emerging demands over the three year grant period.   Noted that (subject to agreement by the Pension Fund Investment & Administration Panel) (section 9.25-9.27 of the report):   ·        the councils pension fund is now 118% funded ·        an ongoing saving of around £3.4m per year will arise from a reduction in future pension costs and a further time limited saving is generated, as a result of the surplus.   Noted that the impact of over a decade of government austerity has led to the council facing more than £150m of pressures over that period, when combined with huge demographic demands and price inflation it is continuing to provide significant challenges in order to set a balanced budget for each financial year (Section 4 of the report).   Noted the impact of the Government’s Financial Settlement and related developments around the MTFS (Section 8 of the report):   ·        the Chancellor announced a three-year Settlement for 2026/27 through to 2028/29, which allows certainty for a period and more strategic / financial planning ·        a continuation of the break from the London wide Business Rates pooling arrangement for 2026/27 ·        the Schools funding position   Agreed the proposal to create a risk reserve facility to support the mitigation of risks associated with the impact of changing circumstances upon the MTFS across the three year settlement period (section 10.3 of the report).   Noted a forecasted overall resourcing gap for 2027/28 of £35m, rising to £101m by 2029/30 (Section 15 of the report).   Noted at the time of writing that this is subject to the Financial Settlement being agreed to by Parliament (Section15 of the report).   Noted the outcome of the results of the public consultation which closed on 24 December 2025 (Section 17 of the report).   Noted that the MTFS is a continuous process and will be updated in Summer 2026.   Noted that it shall have regard to the s151 / Chief Finance Officer’s statement in Section 16, as required under s25(2) of the Local Government Act 2003, when making decisions in the report.