Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: February 10, 2026

Purpose:

Content: DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST MADE FOR THIS ITEM:   None   RESOLVED:   That Cabinet:   1.    Noted the content of the Section 25 Statement provided by the Corporate Director for Finance and Resources (Appendix 11). 2.    Considered the outcome of the budget consultation to be included in the report to Council (Appendix 3). 3.    Noted the content of the Cumulative Equality Impact Assessment for 2026/27 (Appendix 5). 4.    Approved the responses made to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommendations following their consideration of the draft budget proposals (Appendix 4). 5.    Proposed approval to the Council of the 2026/27 Budget and MTFS 2026/31 Budget, new budget requirements and savings proposals (Appendices 1 and 2 a–f). 6.    Proposed approval to the Council of the 2026/27 General Fund Revenue Budget as set out in Appendix 1, including specifically a General Fund budget requirement of £343.4m, but subject to final decisions of the levying and precepting bodies and the final local government finance Settlement. 7.    Proposed approval to the Council of the General Fund Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2026/2031 (Appendix 1). 8.    Proposed approval to the Council that the overall Haringey element of Council Tax set by the London Borough of Haringey for 2026/27 would be £1,803.26 per Band D property, representing a 2.99% increase on the 2025/26 Haringey element and with an additional 2% for the Adult Social Care Precept amount. 9.    Noted the Council Tax Base of the London Borough of Haringey, as agreed by the Section 151 Officer under delegated authority (Article 4.01(b), Part 2, of the Constitution), as 80,924 for the financial year 2026/27 (Appendix 6). 10. Proposed approval to the Council of the General Fund Capital Programme 2026/27 to 2030/31 (Appendix 7). 11. Proposed approval to the Council of the strategy on the use of flexible capital receipts to facilitate the delivery of efficiency savings, including utilisation for redundancy costs (Appendix 8). 12. Noted the Capitalisation Policy (Appendix 9). 13. Noted the Treasury Management Strategy Statement for 2026/27 for approval by Council (Appendix 10). 14. Proposed approval to the Council of the 2026/27 Minimum Revenue Provision policy (Appendix 10, Annex C). 15. Proposed to the Council the Dedicated Schools Budget (DSB) allocations for 2026/27 of £149.8m as set out in Table 16 and paragraph 14.2. 16. Noted the funding distributed to primary and secondary schools for 2026/27 based on the figures advised to Schools Forum and submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) in January 2026, as set out in Section 14. 17. Noted the budgets (including the use of brought forward DSG) for the Schools Block, Central Services Block, High Needs Block and Early Years Block, as set out in Table 16. 18. Delegated to the Director of Children’s Services, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families, authority to amend the Delegated Schools Budget to take account of any changes to Haringey’s total schools funding allocation by the DfE. 19. Delegated to the Section 151 Officer, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services, authority to make further changes to the 2026/27 draft budget to Full Council.   Reasons for the decision:   The Council had a statutory obligation to set a balanced budget for 2026/27, and this report formed part of the budget-setting process for forecasting funding and expenditure for 2026/27, which would be presented to Full Council on 2 March 2026. As part of good financial management and transparency, the report also set out the funding and expenditure assumptions for the following four years in the form of an updated Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The final budget for 2026/27, Council Tax levels, Capital Programme, Treasury Management Strategy Statement, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget and Business Plan were to be recommended to Full Council on 2 March 2026 following consideration at Cabinet on 10 February 2026.   Alternative options considered:   The Cabinet had to consider how to deliver a balanced 2026/27 budget and a sustainable MTFS over the five-year period 2026/2031, to be reviewed and adopted at the meeting of Full Council on 2 March 2026.   The Council developed the proposals contained in the report in light of its forecasts for future income levels and service demand. These took account of the Council’s priorities; the extent of the estimated funding shortfall; and the estimated impact of wider environmental factors such as inflation, interest rates, household incomes and, in some service areas, the legacy of the Covid?19 pandemic.