The Community, People & Equalities Policy Development Group (PDG) met to discuss the Medium Term Financial Plan, hear from Citizens Advice, and review the latest performance data. The PDG recommended that Cabinet approve the updated Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) but remove a proposal to cease Community Development grants from the savings options. They also noted presentations from the Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Advice and on the latest performance dashboard.

Medium Term Financial Plan

The main focus of the meeting was the updated Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for 2026/27 to 2028/29. The report presented to the group highlighted the unprecedented level of uncertainty faced by all councils regarding funding from 2026/27 onwards, particularly due to the upcoming Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) for authorities within Devon. The report stated that the council had been:

targeted as part of a minority group of around 50 authorities that will be one of the biggest losers based on their initial draft calculations on funding – which would see us targeted for between a 5-7% real terms cut in 2026/27 as opposed to the 0% cash floor applied to the remaining c300 authorities.

The report modelled three potential scenarios for the council's financial position, with a potential shortfall ranging from £900,000 to £3,300,000 for 2026/27.

The MTFP included a number of potential savings options, assessed using a Red, Amber, Green (RAG) rating system. These were presented to the PDG for discussion, with a recommendation to support the Green and Amber options.

A key point of discussion was the proposal to cease Community Development grants. Concerns were raised about the impact this would have on affected organisations.

Ultimately, the PDG recommended to Cabinet that:

• The updated MTFP position be noted.
• The budget proposals as set out in Appendices 2 and 3 of the Communities PDG Report - MTFP Sept 2025 v1 be approved, with the exception of the proposal to cease Community Development grants.

Councillors: Councillor David Broom, Councillor Matt Farrell, Councillor Ben Holdman and Councillor Adam Stirling declared personal interests as they were members of Tiverton Town Council and budget savings were included in appendix 4 regarding CCTV. Councillors: Councillor Ben Holdman and Councillor Adam Stirling also declared a personal interest in that they were members of Tiverton Town Councils Finance Committee. Councillor Andy Cuddy declared a personal interest in that he was a business owner.

Citizens Advice Presentation

Vicki Rowe, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Citizens Advice for Torridge, North, Mid and West Devon, gave a presentation to the group. She highlighted that between April 2024 and March 2025, Citizens Advice had helped 3,121 people with 10,628 problems, increasing family income by £3.6 million.

The presentation covered:

• The role of Citizens Advice as a national charity and network of local charities offering free, confidential advice.
• Key issues in Mid Devon, including welfare benefits, energy problems, debt, and housing.
• Partnerships and outreach locations, including Crediton, Cullompton, Uffculme, and Lapford.
• The impact and value of the service, including volunteer contributions and estimated savings for the NHS¹, Department for Work and Pensions² (DWP), and housing providers.
• Achievements in 2024–25, including volunteer hours, case notes, appointments, and evidence forms submitted for policy, research, and campaigns.

Discussion followed, covering the importance of volunteers, funding concerns, comparisons with other councils, the relationship between the Citizens Advice Bureaux and the council, income strategy in light of Local Government Reorganisation, volunteer training, and the main causes of demand for the service.

It was agreed that a review would be undertaken of the funding grants within the council in comparison with other councils, and whether the grant funding that had been allocated for next year could be extended to two years to see this service through Local Government Reorganisation. Councillor Sandy Chenore, Vice Chair of Council, would liaise with the Homes PDG about the strategic approach for homelessness. Discussions would take place in regards to room availability within the council and if this could be offered to those that may wish to use it and who continued to provide a service for the community, and details of point of contact for this council would be shared with Citizens Advice Bureaux Chief Executive officers to enable communication.

Performance Dashboard

The group received a presentation on the performance dashboard for the area of Community, People and Equalities. Dr Stephen Carr, Corporate Performance and Improvement Manager, highlighted that the dashboard aimed to give an at a glance understanding of how services were performing in terms of performance, finance, and risk.

Key points included:

• Homes made safe under the Housing Assistance Policy (Red) performance was just below the target position at the end of Quarter 1.
• New Subscribers to Let's Talk Mid Devon³ (Red) and Engagement rate on Let's Talk Mid Devon (Red) - the council had moved away from focusing on registrations, as this had been fed back as a barrier to completing ongoing questionnaires.
• Support Towns and Parishes to develop their Community Emergency Plans (Red) - No new plans were developed in Quarter 1, but an event was held at Kentisbeare on Community Emergency Plans.
• Food Service Total Inspections completed (Red) performance remained behind target, but there was an overall positive trend with performance increasing.

Discussion covered clarification around Homes made safe under the Housing Assistance Policy, how members would find out what Parishes had completed their Community Emergency Plan, and the figure difference in the performance and annual target of the Red (RAG) rating in regards to the new subscribers to Let's Talk Mid Devon.

Other Business

• The Regional Adviser for the Community Alcohol Partnership for South West England was unable to attend this meeting and this item was deferred to the next meeting.
• The Chair advised the group that the council would be hosting a Voluntary Sector Networking Event at Phoenix House, Tiverton on Wednesday 22 October 2025.
• The items already listed in the Community, People & Equalities PDG Work Plan 2025-2026 - September 25 for the next scheduled meeting were noted.