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Agenda item

Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024/25

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to present the budget for 2024/25.

 

Recommendations

That Cabinet resolves to recommend to Council to approve:

  1. the Medium-Term Financial Strategy set out in Annex B
  2. the Savings and Transformation items for inclusion in the budget, set out in Annex C
  3. the Council Tax Requirement of £6,596,813 for this Council
  4. the Council Tax level for Cotswold District Council purposes of £153.93 for a Band D property in 2024/25 (an increase of £5)
  5. the Capital Programme, set out in Annex D
  6. the Annual Capital Strategy 2024/25, as set out in Annex E
  7. the Annual Treasury Management Strategy and Non-Treasury Management Investment Strategy 2024/25, as set out in Annex F
  8. the Strategy for the Flexible use of Capital Receipts, as set out in Annex H
  9. the balances and reserves forecast for 2024/25 to 2027/28 as set out in Section 6 of the report.

 

Cabinet is recommended to approve delegation to the Council’s Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance to:

  1. Agree changes to the General Fund Summary arising from the Local Government Finance Settlement and the Business Rates Retention Scheme estimates prior to submission to Council.
  2. Agree any changes to the General Fund Summary arising from the recommendations to Cabinet made within the Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Public Conveniences Review Group

 

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to consider recommending to Full Council the 2024/25 Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Evemy introduced the report and outlined the following points:

 

  • It was outlined that the indicative position with the fairer funding review was currently £5 million gap in 2026/27.
  • It was noted that there had been a number of Section 114 Notices declared by local authorities who were unable to obtain a balanced financial budget due to financial and service delivery pressures.
  • It was reaffirmed that there was no immediate risk to the Council of a Section 114 Notice but action needed to be taken now.
  • It was highlighted that there were upcoming pressures for the Council around areas like homelessness.
  • It was noted that the proposals would increase the average Council Tax Band D precepts by £5 a year.
  • It was noted that the Publica Review had been identified as one of the larger risks which the Council needed to manage through the Budget with £500,000 allocated to support the transition. It was outlined in Paragraph 1.18 that the key focus for services transferred back to the Council would be efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
  • It was noted that at this stage the cost of providing services throughout the transition from Publica to the Councils had not been changed other than accounting for inflation.
  • It was outlined in table ES1 that the Budget would seek to put £500,000 back into the reserves to ensure these were replenished ahead of the funding challenges in 2026/27.
  • On the Capital Programme it was noted that the capital allocation would be rolled over into next year for Leisure & Communities and for Environment as the work was still ongoing.
  • It was outlined there was no borrowing projected other than the Community Municipal Investment Bond that had met its investment target.

 

The Leader noted that this proposed Budget would be considered at the Full Council meeting on 21 February where there would be opportunity to discuss the measures within.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet AGREED to recommend to Council to approve:

1. the Medium-Term Financial Strategy set out in Annex B

2. the Savings and Transformation items for inclusion in the budget,

set out in Annex C

3. the Council Tax Requirement of £6,596,813 for this Council

4. the Council Tax level for Cotswold District Council purposes of

£153.93 for a Band D property in 2024/25 (an increase of £5)

5. the Capital Programme, set out in Annex D

6. the Annual Capital Strategy 2024/25, as set out in Annex E

7. the Annual Treasury Management Strategy and Non-Treasury

Management Investment Strategy 2024/25, as set out in Annex F

8. the Strategy for the Flexible use of Capital Receipts, as set out in

Annex H

9. the balances and reserves forecast for 2024/25 to 2027/28 as set

out in Section 6 of the report.

 

Cabinet APPROVED the delegation to the Council’s Deputy

Chief Executive, in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet

Member for Finance to:

 

10. Agree changes to the General Fund Summary arising from the

Local Government Finance Settlement and the Business Rates

Retention Scheme estimates prior to submission to Council.

11. Agree any changes to the General Fund Summary arising from

the recommendations to Cabinet made within the Report of the

Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Public Conveniences Review

Group

 

Voting Record

 

6 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 2 Absent/Did not vote

 

For

Against

Abstention

Absent/Did not vote

Claire Bloomer

 

 

Mike McKeown

Joe Harris

 

 

Tony Dale

Juliet Layton

 

 

Lisa Spivey

 

 

 

Mike Evemy

 

 

 

Paul Hodgkinson

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents:

 

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