Agenda item

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet note the 2022/23 Draft Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2026/27, including progress to date in setting out spending pressures and efficiencies, as set out in Annex A.
2. That Cabinet note the provisional budget gap of £19.5m for 2022/23 and the next steps required to close the gap.
3. That Cabinet note the proposed Capital Programme for 2022/23 to 2026/27 of £1.9bn set out in Section 6 and Annex B.
4. That Cabinet note the Executive Summary of Resident Engagement set out in Section 9 and Annex C.

Reason for Decisions:

In January 2022, Cabinet will be asked to recommend a Final Budget for 2022/23 to full Council for approval in February. The draft budget sets out proposals to direct available resources to support the achievement of the Council’s corporate priorities in the refreshed Organisation Strategy, giving Cabinet the opportunity to comment on the proposals and next steps.

The draft budget also provides an update on the continuing transformational changes and the ‘Twin Track’ approach which are required to ensure that the Council can continue prioritising outcomes for residents, while managing growing demand for services and safeguarding future financial resilience and sustainability.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee)

The report was introduced by the Leader who explained that the council was the custodian of public money and it was absolutely right that the public know what this money was being spent on. A public consultation on the budget had been launched. The Leader believed that the council had done a very effective job in building a sustainable financial base, whilst delivering improved services. The Leader explained all the services delivered to residents including specific responsibilities to adult social care and children’s social care. The council spent £1m every day on delivering adult social care and half a million pounds on children services.

The councils transformation programme had delivered savings of around £75m. The council’s reserves are in a sustainable position and the council had been in a position to deliver an effective response to Covid-19. With this said, pressures are on the councils budget with regards to social care funding. There was an expectation that in three years’ time there would be an opportunity to move funding from the NHS into social care. The council would continue to lobby the government on this. The report mentions council tax although a council tax increase will not be announced until the governments final settlement has been received. There was a comprehensive capital programme in place focusing on better outcomes for people and reducing revenue spend.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources started by thanking officers for their hard work in putting together the draft budget. Special thanks was given to the directorates for working with finance to stay within the budget envelopes. There were no surprises in the draft budget and the council was building adequate reserves in contingency in place to manage future uncertain season pressures. The draft budget reflects the Council's ongoing commitment to funding transformation, with £10m per annum of transformation funding continuing to be included in the base budget. Scrutiny will be involved in reviewing budget proposals and the online draft budget consultation for residents will run until 28 December.

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet note the 2022/23 Draft Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2026/27, including progress to date in setting out spending pressures and efficiencies, as set out in Annex A.
2. That Cabinet note the provisional budget gap of £19.5m for 2022/23 and the next steps required to close the gap.
3. That Cabinet note the proposed Capital Programme for 2022/23 to 2026/27 of £1.9bn set out in Section 6 and Annex B.
4. That Cabinet note the Executive Summary of Resident Engagement set out in Section 9 and Annex C.

Reason for Decisions:

In January 2022, Cabinet will be asked to recommend a Final Budget for 2022/23 to full Council for approval in February. The draft budget sets out proposals to direct available resources to support the achievement of the Council’s corporate priorities in the refreshed Organisation Strategy, giving Cabinet the opportunity to comment on the proposals and next steps.

The draft budget also provides an update on the continuing transformational changes and the ‘Twin Track’ approach which are required to ensure that the Council can continue prioritising outcomes for residents, while managing growing demand for services and safeguarding future financial resilience and sustainability.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee)