Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Finance submitted a report for Executive’s consideration, the purpose of which was to discharge the responsibilities of the Executive to manage and control the revenue budget, capital programme, and overall balance sheet position of the Council.

The Council’s Scheme of Delegation gave Executive collective responsibility for corporate strategic performance and financial management / monitoring, together with associated actions. Standing Orders and Financial Procedures required Executive’s approval for major virements between revenue budgets, and in-year changes to the Council’s Capital Programme within approved Council resources.

The report enabled Executive to discharge its financial management responsibilities by setting out the following position at Quarter One (30 June 2025):

·         General Fund Revenue Budget forecast outturn;

·         Virements

·         Statement of the Council’s reserves and provisions;

·         Capital Programme forecast outturn;

·         Statement of the Council’s borrowing and prudential indicators;

·         Statement of the level of debt owed to and to be recovered by the Council;

·         Actions that have been taken and are planned to be taken in order address the issues identified.

Financial Procedure Rule 18.38.3 of the Council’s constitution required Executive’s approval of revenue and capital programme budget virements over £250,000 and Financial Procedure Rule 18.80.2 required approval by Executive of the write off of debt over financial thresholds set out in the Financial Limits Annex of the Council’s Constitution.

The forecasts within the report, as of 31 March 2026, were prepared using the following major assumptions:

·         All known staffing changes had been captured

·         Agreed pay award of 3.2% for local government officers for 2025/26 included

·         Income and Expenditure forecasts had been prepared in conjunction with budget holders using the best information currently available.

The 2025/26 Revenue Budget, Medium Term Financial 2025/26 to 2028/29, and Council Tax report to Council on 19 February 2025 set out the future financial position of the Council.

Executive were advised that both the report presented, and the report submitted to Council, should be read together to fully understand the context within which the Council was operating and the financial challenges it faced.

As part of the report submitted to Council, a net revenue budget for 2025/26 of £143.304m was approved by Full Council. Within the report the Director of Finance and Transformation (S151 Officer) issued his Section 25 Report which set out the basis upon which the revenue budget was seen as robust and the basis upon which reserves were considered adequate.

While the Council had achieved significant improvement in its financial position since the start of 2024/25, there was still a need to control expenditure within the approved 2025/26 budget. There was also a need to develop further savings and income generating opportunities through the Recover, Reset, Deliver Transformation Portfolio to balance the MTFP and stabilise the Council’s financial position as well as rebuilding its financial resilience.

This required the delivery of all approved 2025/26 savings plans in full. Budgetary control measures as detailed in the 2024/25 Revenue and Capital Outturn report to Executive on 11 June 2025 would continue to be implemented during 2025/26.

Table  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21