159 2020/21 Budget and 2020-2025 MTFS Report PDF 989 KB
[Report of the Director of Finance. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration]
Cabinet received a report on the Draft Budget on 10th December 2019 which highlighted an outstanding budget gap to be resolved between then and now and also proposed that Cabinet agree to start consultation. The 2020/21 Budget and 2020-2025 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) now proposed have due regard to the corporate Equalities Impact Assessment, consultation feedback and recommendations from the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration introduced the report which sought approval to the proposals concerning the 2020/21 Budget and five-year Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The budget aimed to provide a clear financial plan during this unprecedented period of uncertainty for Local Authority budgeting.
The Cabinet Member was pleased to announce that the budget gap of £0.6m, highlighted in the last budget report to Cabinet, had been bridged without needing to make any further reductions to Service budgets.
The Cabinet Member outlined two transposition errors within table 8.6 of the budget report for Cabinet to note
These errors were purely presentational, and the underlying figures which have been used throughout the Council’s MTFS model were correct. They would be corrected in the final version of the report to Full Council. It was also noted that they were portrayed correctly in the Treasury Management Strategy Statement that had been considered at Overview and Scrutiny and has just been approved by Corporate Committee.
The Cabinet Member continued to outline how the budget was continuing to support the manifesto commitments and the progress made in relation to:
The Cabinet Member was pleased to be able to propose a balanced Budget for 2020/21 which did not utilise any balances and enabled the Council to invest funds to continue to deliver the shared Borough Plan outcomes and make the Borough a place to be proud to live and work in.
The Leader invited Councillor Connor, Vice Chair of Overview and Scrutiny to further present the Scrutiny budget recommendations which were included at appendix 11 of the attached report.
Cllr Connor outlined that the specific budget scrutiny recommendations were mainly around risk of delivery and further noted the Cabinet’s response to these concerns.
Cllr Connor was pleased that last year’s recommendation to provide more detailed information on the capital programme ... view the full minutes text for item 159