Issue - meetings

Report of the Assistant Director of Finance (S151 Officer)

Purpose of report

This report sets out the capital bids, revenue savings proposals and budget pressures for Cherwell District Council for the period 2024/25 to 2028/29 and proposed Fees & Charges schedule for 2024/25.  Feedback on the savings proposals will be taken into account as part of the overall response to the budget consultation. Feedback from the Committee on the revenue pressures, capital bids and Fees & Charges will be provided to the Executive to consider in finalising its budget proposals for Council.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended to:

1.1       Provide feedback on the capital bids, revenue savings proposals, budget pressures and Fees & Charges schedule to provide to the Executive to consider in finalising its 2024/25 budget proposal.

Resolved

(1)        That, having given due consideration, Executive be advised that the Budget Planning Committee have no feedback, comments or recommendations in relation to capital bids, revenue savings proposals and budget pressures and fees and charges for inclusion as part of the 2024/25 budget proposal.

(2)        That the Budget Proposals 2023/24 - 2027/28 report be noted.

The Assistant Director of Finance submitted a report which set out the capital bids, revenue savings proposals and budget pressures for Cherwell District Council for the period 2024/25 to 2028/29 and proposed Fees & Charges schedule for 2024/25.This was an opportunity for the Budget Planning Committee to consider the proposals and provide feedback to Executive to consider in finalising its budget proposals which would be presented to the 26 February 2024 Full Council meeting.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance introduced the report and advised the Committee how the budget proposals had been determined and outlined that the forecasts had been updated by Officers by using all information available at that time. The Portfolio Holder for Finance advised that a number of the grants to the Council were to be confirmed by the Government in late December so some of the prosed plans were liable to change.

The Assistant Director of Finance presented an update on the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and advised that inflation, funding assumptions, pay inflation, the delay in the business rates reset until 2025/26 and the assumption that the new homes bonus will continue on a one-year basis had been included when updating the MTFS position.

The Assistant Director of Finance advised the Committee that as the council was going through a considerable amount of transformation it needed to ensure that there were the right level of support services in the future for the organisation.

In response to questions from the Committee on the current budget and decrease in the budget over future years, the Assistant Director of Finance advised that over the lifetime of the MTFS, the council expected a decrease of £13mil in the net revenue budget and most of that figure would be taken from funding so there would be a reduction in net spend. The Portfolio Holder for Finance explained that the council’s Gross Revenue budget included income from fees and charges,

The Assistant Director of Finance also provided an update on the overall capital position advising that of the £10.484m capital bid total, £9.267m was funded from external contributions.

Executive Portfolio Holders, Corporate Directors and Assistant Directors gave an overview of the pressures, proposed saving and capital bids by service area within each directorate and answered questions from the Committee.

In response to Members’ questions regarding the future ownership of the proposed 3G sports pitch at North Oxfordshire Academy, the Assistant Director of Wellbeing and Housing Services advised that the council would own the pitch, run it and receive any income received and the contribution from the school is the land. In response to a further question regarding if Banbury United could use the proposed 3G pitch for training, the Assistant Director of Wellbeing and Housing Services advised that the Portfolio Holder for Healthy and Safe Communities was in regular contact with the Chairman of Banbury United Football Club.

Following a question from the Committee regarding how the proposed net zero capital project funds would be issued, the Portfolio  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30