To seek Cabinet’s approval of:

(i)       the latest financial forecast / budget proposals and council tax amount for 2025/26 for recommending to Full Council;

(ii)      a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance to agree the detailed budget proposals and formal draft resolutions / ‘technical’ appendices required for Full Council on 11 February 2025; and

(iii)    a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance, to agree / adopt a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure mandatory business rate relief scheme for 2025/26 along with any other changes to reliefs that may be announced by the Government.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)     approves the updated financial forecast, as set out in Appendix A to the Report of the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder (A.3), along with the savings and cost pressures set out in Appendices B and C respectively that form the firm proposals for the 2025/26 budget and recommends to Full Council:-

a Band D Council Tax for district services of £199.52 for 2025/26 (a 2.99% increase), along with the associated council tax requirement of £10.674m.

b)     authorises the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, to agree the ‘technical’ appendices and resolutions for the budget proposals for recommending to Full Council on 11 February 2025;

c)   authorises the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder, to report directly to Council in respect of the formal resolutions necessary to implement the Executive’s budget proposals including any further amendments emerging from additional information becoming available and/or notifications received from the Government; and

d)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, to agree / adopt a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure mandatory business rate relief scheme for 2025/26 along with any other changes to reliefs that may be announced by the Government.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder (A.3) which sought its approval of:

1)       the latest financial forecast / budget proposals and council tax amount for 2025/26 for recommending to Full Council;

2)       a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance to agree the detailed budget proposals and formal draft resolutions / ‘technical’ appendices required for Full Council on 11 February 2025; and

3)       a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, to agree / adopt a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure mandatory business rate relief scheme for 2025/26 along with any other changes to reliefs that may be announced by the Government.

Cabinet recalled that, at its meeting held on 20 December 2024, it had considered the updated financial forecast / budget 2025/26. That updated financial forecast had been subsequently subject to consultation with the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which had met on 13 January 2025, and their comments had been considered earlier on in the meeting under Minute 113 above.

It was reported that, since the Cabinet’s meeting on 20 December 2024, additional changes had been required, primarily because of new or revised information becoming available, which included the impact of the Government’s Provisional Local Government Financial Settlement announcements.

Cabinet was informed that the changes required had resulted in a reduced deficit for 2025/26 of £0.056m(0.3% of the Council’s current net budget), a change of £1.452m compared to the £1.508m deficit presented to Cabinet in December. Appendix A,along with comments set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report, provided further details across the various lines of the forecast, with the most significant change being the favourable and potentially one-off income from Business Rates via the estimated Collection Fund position at the end of this financial year. The most up to date savings schedule and cost pressure summary were set out in Appendices B and C respectively.

Members were advised that, to enable the detailed estimates along with the various resolutions / ‘technical’ appendices required for Full Council in February to be finalised, a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance was included within the report’s recommendations. A further delegation was also included therein to enable a business rate relief policy, associated with the continuation of a mandatory Government relief scheme in 2025/26, to be finalised in advance of bills being printed and sent out before the start of the financial year, along with reflecting any further changes that could be announced by the Government.

It was pointed out that the budget position set out in this report would change as further adjustments were required as part of finalising the budget for presenting to Full Council on 11 February 2025, with a further delegation included in the report’s recommendations to reflect this.

Cabinet was made aware that based on the final proposed budget for 2025/26, the Council’s own council tax requirement was £10.674m,which was based on a 2.99% (£5.79)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116