Here is a summary of the Policy and Finance Committee meeting held by Ribble Valley Borough Council on 16 September 2025:

The committee addressed the budget forecast for 2026/27-2028/29, concurrent function grants, various policy reviews, the Ribble Valley Shared Prosperity Fund and Jubilee Fund, an update on local government reorganisation, and a reference from the Community Services Committee regarding ash dieback. The meeting also included updates on revenue and capital monitoring, treasury management, the Ombudsman, corporate plan performance, complaints, and website and social media activity.

Budget Forecast 2026/27- 2028/29

The committee considered the draft budget forecast for the next three financial years. Due to the absence of detailed information from the government on the outcome of the Fair Funding Review 2.0, the council is currently unable to accurately ascertain its funding levels for the upcoming years. The Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, issued in June, proposes fundamental changes to local government finance, including changes to funding formulas, a reset of business rates, and the scrapping of the New Homes Bonus¹.

The report highlighted potential budget gaps in the coming years, with a possible £937,000 shortfall in 2026/27, rising to £2.147 million in 2028/29, if the council were to face a 7% reduction in core spending power followed by a cash freeze.

Councillor Simon Hore, Leader of the Council, and the committee discussed the challenges and uncertainties surrounding the budget forecast, particularly in light of the pending outcome of the Fair Funding 2.0 consultation.

The committee advised service committees to increase fees and charges by at least 2.5% and ensure any growth items are funded from identified savings. They also recommended that no bids for year five of the capital programme should be invited and the existing programme should be reviewed for any schemes that could be reprofiled to a later year.

Ribble Valley Shared Prosperity Fund, UKSPF and REPF

The committee received an update on the Ribble Valley Shared Prosperity and Jubilee Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), and the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF).

The committee agreed to invite full applications for projects including the Thornley Community Space, West Bradford Village Hall, Primrose Community Nature Trust Ltd, Ribchester Playing Field Trust, and Dunsop Bridge Jubilee Play Area Charitable Trust, which will be funded from the Council's Shared Prosperity and Jubilee Fund.

The committee approved the use of £12,500 of the 2025/26 UKSPF allocation for additional fencing at Brungerley Park [https://www.google.com/maps/search/Brungerley+Park+Tower+Hamlets/].

The committee authorised the Director of Economic Development and Planning, Nicola Hopkins, to begin negotiating grant agreements for schemes to be funded from the Council's UKSPF allocation for 2025/26, including Read and Simonstone Village Hall, Mellor Brook and District Community Centre, Rimington Recreation Association, Whalley Educational Foundation, The Allotments in Whalley, and Longridge Civic Hall.

The committee authorised the Director of Economic Development and Planning to begin negotiating a grant agreement for schemes to be funded from the Council's REPF allocation for 2025/26, including Ribchester Village Hall, Knowle Green Village Hall, Downham Village Hall, Chipping Parish Council, Wiswell Parish Council, Sabden Parish Council, and Grindleton Recreation Ground Charity.

The committee approved a £90,000 grant for the Towneley Gardens Event Space to be given to Longridge Town Council.

The committee confirmed agreement to offer parish councils a grant of up to £1,000 for the provision of a CCTV camera, funded by UKSPF, and for the provision of additional CCTV cameras in Whalley, also funded by UKSPF.

The committee agreed to retain the street furniture layout in Market Place as completed.

Local Government Reorganisation Update

The committee received an update on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Lancashire. The Secretary of State has invited proposals to reorganise local government from all 21 county areas in England, with final proposals for Lancashire due by 28 November 2025.

The options being considered across Lancashire include 2, 3, 4, or 5 unitary authorities. The council supports keeping the Ribble Valley Borough intact and does not support any proposals to change the boundaries in any way. Members continue to support the four unitary option.

The committee delegated to the Chief Executive, Marshal Scott, in consultation with Councillor Simon Hore and the Chairman of Personnel, the appointment of temporary staff to support work on LGR.

Reference from Community Services Committee - Ash Dieback

The committee considered a request from the Community Services Committee for a supplementary estimate of £25,690 to address ash dieback, a fungal disease, affecting trees on council land. The funds will enable the felling of trees affected by ash dieback in Salthill and Crosshill Nature reserves, and at Edisford [https://www.google.com/maps/search/Edisford+Tower+Hamlets/]. The committee approved the supplementary estimate, to be funded from general fund balances.

Review of Various Policies

The committee approved proposed changes to the Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy Statement and Strategy, the Corporate Debt Write Off Policy, and the Anti-Money Laundering Policy, following an annual review.

Concurrent Function Grants 2025/26

The committee approved the payment of concurrent function grants to parish and town councils, totalling £26,970, to support net expenditure incurred during the 2024/25 financial year.

Revenue Monitoring 2025/26

The committee reviewed the revenue monitoring report for the period April to July 2025, which showed an underspend of £91,104. After allowing for transfers to/from earmarked reserves, there was an underspend of £56,864.

Overall Revenue Outturn 2024/25

The committee reviewed the overall revenue outturn for the 2024/25 financial year, which showed a surplus of £1,186,116, and noted that £2,351,895 had been added to earmarked reserves for revenue purposes.

Capital Monitoring 2025/26

The committee reviewed the capital monitoring report for the period to the end of July 2025, and noted that £247,961 had been spent or committed on main Policy and Finance Committee schemes, equating to 10.7% of the capital programme for these schemes.

Treasury Management Activities and Prudential Indicators 2024/25

The committee received a report on the council's treasury management operations and the outturn calculations of the council's capital and treasury management prudential indicators for 2024/25.

Treasury Management Monitoring 2025/26

The committee received a monitoring report on treasury management activities for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 July 2025.

Results of the Government Consultation on Remote Meetings and Proxy Voting

The committee were informed of the government's response to the consultation on remote attendance at meetings and proxy voting. The government plans to legislate to support permanent provision in relation to both policies, when parliamentary time allows.

2024/25 Year-End Corporate Plan Performance Summary

The committee were informed about the 2024/25 year-end Corporate Plan performance.

Complaint Statistics Report

The committee received an update on complaint statistics for the period from 1 April 2025 to 5 September 2025.

Website and Social Media Update

The committee received an update on the council's websites and social media channels.