Issue - meetings
2024/25 Budget Consultation Feedback Report
Meeting: 11/01/2024 - Cabinet (Item 215)
215 2024/25 Budget Consultation Feedback Report 
PDF 730 KB
Purpose
This report provides feedback to Cabinet from the recent consultation on the Administration’s budget proposals.
Recommendations
That Cabinet resolves to:
1. Note the feedback received and consider it as part of the formulation of the 2024/25 Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The purpose of the report was to provide feedback to Cabinet from the recent consultation on the Administration’s budget proposals.
Councillor Evemy as the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report and outlined the following points:
- 542 people responded and this was the largest number of responses for a Budget Consultation, and the Deputy Leader wished to thank them for their input.
- It was noted that the format had 4 questions and a freeform box to add any comments which were published verbatim for openness and transparency.
- The response outcomes were broadly consistent to those in the previous 5 years. Specifically, questions 1 (regarding approach to the budget) saw 45% of people strongly agreeing/agreed and 33% disagreeing and question 3 (on Council Tax increase proposals) 55% agreeing/agreed and 32% disagreeing.
- It was also highlighted that the response to proposals for rezoning waste collection showed two thirds agreeing to the change.
- There was also a question in the consultation around changes to parking fees and the proposed introduction of Sunday charging which showed a split response.
- It was highlighted that a debrief would be conducted to look at changes for the next budget consultation in 2025/26.
Cabinet commended the consultation as a good exercise for allowing residents to engage with the proposals despite the pre-election period restrictions for the Lechlade, Kempsford and Fairford South By-Election on 14 December.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. NOTED the feedback received and would consider it as part of the formulation of the 2024/25 Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy.
Meeting: 08/01/2024 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 24)
24 2024/25 Budget Consultation Feedback Report PDF 730 KB
Purpose
This report provides feedback to Cabinet from the recent consultation on the Administration’s budget proposals.
Recommendation
That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee scrutinises the report and agrees any recommendations it wishes to submit to the Cabinet meeting on 11 January
Invited
Councillor Mike Evemy, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance
David Stanley, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The purpose of the item was to provide feedback to Cabinet from the recent consultation on the Administration’s budget proposals.
The Chair invited the Deputy Leader to introduce the item. The Deputy Leader highlighted the Council’s commitment to transparency, and publishing the consultation responses, including critical ones.
Members discussed the report, raising the following points;
- Members raised the need to distil themes from the responses, particularly in the car parking section. The Deputy Leader acknowledged the value of responses, especially in understanding public sentiment amid budgetary pressures.
- Members also expressed a desire for more concrete information on how the feedback would influence decisions.
- Members asked if residents who added comments received acknowledgment, and the Deputy Leader confirmed that an automatic response had been generated.
- It was stated that it was difficult for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to exercise its ‘critical friend’ function at this stage in the process, and wished to feed into the design of the survey at an earlier stage.
The Committee made the following suggestions;
- That Further communications to be provided by the Council to help residents understand the context of the questions e.g. note which statutory services are provided by the Council and highlight in the introduction which services the District Council do not provide but are commonly raised i.e. potholes.
- That future draft surveys are brought before the Committee for consideration before the survey is launched.
RESOLVED: To NOTE the report