Issue - meetings

This report updates the position on the core estimates that drive the council’s budget position, to enable Members to assess the approach to the business planning and budgeting cycle.  It reminds Members of the budget proposals for 2016/17 and 2017/18 that were previously agreed at the Council meeting of 2 March 2015.

Cabinet noted the latest forecasts for the Council’s financial position from 2016/17 to 2019/20.

Cabinet noted the budget proposals for 2016/17 and 2017/18 that were previously agreed at the Council meeting of 2 March 2015, as set out in Appendix One of the report.

Councillor Pavey, Deputy Leader of the Council, introduced the report highlighting that the scale of funding reductions is likely to accelerate. He reminded the Cabinet that further detail will follow with the Spending Review, anticipated to be announced on 25 November 2015, followed by the provisional local government finance settlement, which is usually released shortly before Christmas.

He stated that the degree of uncertainty presents difficult issues for planning the budget strategy, and it is hard to be more precise about the potential savings required in 2017/18 and 2018/19, other than to express them in a broad range as being from £40m to £55m.

Councillor Hirani, Lead Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing, stated that in-year public health funding reductions had hit the most vulnerable sections of the community extremely hard.

RESOLVED:

(i)         that the latest forecasts for the Council’s financial position from 2016/17 to 2019/20 be noted;

(ii)        that the budget proposals for 2016/17 and 2017/18 that were previously agreed at the Council meeting of 2 March 2015, as set out in Appendix One of the report be noted.