The Improvement and Scrutiny Committee - Resources meeting on 12 December 2024 was scheduled to include a discussion of the council’s revenue budget for 2025-26. The meeting was also scheduled to include the confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting and a 30 minute period for public questions.

Production of the revenue budget 2025-26

The Committee was scheduled to be asked to note the timetable for the completion of the 2025-26 budget. The Committee was also scheduled to be asked to note the outcomes of the “Your Council, Your Voice Survey”. This survey asked residents for their opinions on a range of broad options to save money or generate revenue.

The Committee was scheduled to be asked to note the key announcements of the Autumn Budget 2024. The report prepared for the meeting suggested that, “More details and Council-specific information [about the Autumn Budget 2024] are unlikely to be available until the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement is announced, which is expected around late December 2024.”

The report prepared for the meeting suggested that the council was forecasting a net overspend of £28.104m against the approved revenue budget for 2024-25. The report suggested that this overspend was, “mainly due to additional forecast expenditure on Placements in Children’s Social Care, expenditure on Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Home to School Transport is increasing as a result of continued growth in numbers of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).”

The report prepared for the meeting stated that:

“Significant cost pressures face the Council over the short to medium term. The impact of the recent inflationary environment continues to flow through to Council expenditure.”

The report suggested that the key cost pressures facing the council were:

• Pay pressure;
• The ongoing pressure related to the costs for the provision of social care packages for both adults and children;
• Budget pressure in relation to children’s home to school transport services and SEND demand; and
• Changes to interest rates.

The report suggested that the council will consult on the budget with a range of stakeholders. Statutory consultation is required with business rate payers, and the council also planned to consult with Trade Unions and the council’s Resources Improvement and Scrutiny Committee. The report noted that specific budget proposals considered by the Cabinet in January 2025 “may require separate and targeted consultation, depending on the nature of the proposal.”

Minutes (Pages 1 - 4)

The Committee was scheduled to be asked to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2024.

Public Questions (30 minute maximum in total) (Pages 5 - 6)

The meeting was scheduled to include a 30 minute period for public questions. These questions can be submitted to be answered by the Scrutiny Committee, or council officers who are attending the meeting. The procedure for the submission of questions is set out in a document named ‘Procedure for Public Questions at I S Committee meetings’ which was included in the meeting pack.