Within the context of developing the final budget proposals 2026/27 for recommending to Full Council on 17 February 2026, to seek Cabinet’s approval of a number of associated recommendations that include:

·      approval of the latest financial forecast / budget proposals and council tax amount for 2026/27;

·      agreement to 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 17 February 2026; and

·      an acknowledgement of the Statutory Officers’ and Council’s obligations to a successor Unitary Council as part of the current LGR proposals, including those that are expected to emerge within legislation / associated structural orders along with the Council’s initial ‘in principle’ approach set out within the main body of this report.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)       approves the updated financial forecast, as set out in Appendix A to report A.2, along with savings, cost pressures for 2025/26, 2026/27 and 2027/28, and the proposed transfers to / from the Corporate Investment Fund(s), as set out in Appendices B, C and D respectively that form the firm proposals for the 2026/27 budget and recommends to Council a Band D Council Tax for district services of £205.48 for 2026/27 (a 2.99% increase), along with the associated council tax requirement of £11.244m.

b)       authorises the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, to agree the ‘technical’ appendices and resolutions associated with the budget proposals for recommending to Full Council on 17 February 2026;

c)       authorises the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, 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;

d)       authorises the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, to agree / adopt any necessary local business rate relief schemes for 2026/27, including where changes to reliefs may be necessary to reflect further Government decisions / announcements;

e)       notes the revocation of the Essex Business Rates Pool in 2026/27, due to the significant risks introduced by the Government’s Business Rates ‘Reset’ and decision-making timescales associated with the Local Government Finance Settlement; 

f)         in respect of the cost pressure of £0.300m in 2026/27 relating to the Investment in Assets (General R&R Priority Items), as set out within Appendix C, authorises the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance to allocate this funding across the various associated schemes;

g)       in respect of the existing budget in 2025/26 that was identified to support the delivery of highlight priorities, agrees that £0.450m be set aside to provide the necessary additional resources to support the successful delivery of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) activities and objectives, whilst safeguarding continuity of the Business as Usual (BAU) operations of the Council;

h)       in respect of g) above, agrees that the allocation of this funding be delegated to the Chief Executive to enable any associated recruitment / procurement activities to be undertaken; and

i)         acknowledges this Council’s and its Statutory Officers’ obligations to a successor Unitary Council as part of the current LGR proposals, including those that are expected to emerge within legislation / associated structural orders along with the Council’s proposed in-principle response as set out within the main body of the report (A.2).

Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder (A.2) which, within the context of developing the final budget proposals 2026/27 for recommending to Full Council on 17 February 2026, sought Cabinet’s approval of several associated recommendations that included:

·      approval of the latest financial forecast / budget proposals and council tax amount for 2026/27;

·      agreement to 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 17 February 2026; and

·      an acknowledgement of the Statutory Officers’ and this Council’s obligations to a successor Unitary Council as part of the current LGR proposals, including those that were expected to emerge within legislation / associated structural orders along with the Council’s initial in principle approach set out within the main body of the report.

It was reported that the financial position of Tendring District Council remained sound and the proposed budget assessed how the Council could successfully address future key cost pressures, with the budget proposals outlining a two-year approach which aligned with the revised key priorities to 2028, and along with associated business plans, they formed an holistic approach to a two-year window leading up to 1 April 2028 (the potential vesting day for the new Unitary Authority should Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proceed on the Government’s current timetable for Greater Essex).

Cabinet was informed that the approach proposed, which included balancing the forecast risk fund and the Corporate Investment Funds, was aimed at providing the Council with the necessary flexibility to adequately address associated challenges and obligations over the next two years. The proposals set out within the report therefore in effect formed part of a series of activities / decisions over the next two years as part of the wider LGR framework.

Cabinet recalled that, at its meeting on 19 December 2025, it had considered the updated financial forecast, within the above context, which had acknowledged that there was an underlying and critical need to revisit / revise the Council’s financial plans and that Portfolio Holders and Officers would be undertaking a number of activities to enable the necessary detailed information and a two year financial plan (2026/27 and 2027/28) to be presented to Cabinet.

It had been recognised that such an approach would enable the Council to bring together a number of potential risks and opportunities that could be considered collectively and would place the Council in a strong position to support the continued protection of front line services, timely investment in priorities, alongside meeting any emerging statutory obligations relating to the incoming new Unitary Authority.

Members were made aware that the above included the identification of savings and responding to cost pressure and investment priorities. Although a significant amount of work had been completed to date, activities remained on-going that would culminate in final budget proposals being presented to Full Council in February 2026.

Notwithstanding the above, since the Cabinet’s meeting on 19 December 2025, additional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103