Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Neil Furey and John Mee.

If a member requires advice on Declarations of Interest he/she is advised to contact the Chief Legal and Democratic Services Officer, in advance of the meeting. (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet).

The following declarations were received:

1.               Councillors Blundell, de Freitas, Eccles, Gordon, Howard, Mrs Marshall,  Gaynar Owen, Webster, Whittington and Witter declared a pecuniary interest in relation to, item 3 'MTFS Update 2025-26 to 2027/28 and 2025-26 Savings Proposals', in relation to Parish Council matters in view of their membership of a Parish Counciland indicated they would not participate in any detailed discussions which affected the finances of those bodies specifically.* 

* By virtue of a dispensation granted by the Standards Committee all Councillors who have disclosable pecuniary or pecuniary interests in relation to relevant lines in the budget may participate and vote in the budget debates but not engage in detailed discussions about matters which affect those interests.

To consider the report of the Director of Finance & Corporate Resources.

Consideration was given to the report of Director of Finance & Corporate Resources, as contained on pages   to    of the Book of Reports, which sought approval of the detailed allocation of the £17.726m net revenue budget for the

forthcoming financial year 2025-26 as approved at Council on 26 February 2025 and the current budget gap for 2025-26 of £1.76m, which needed to be covered through savings proposed of £0.895m and £0.865m use of reserves.

The report presented the current Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for

the following two financial years 2026/27 to 2027/28, noting the latest forecast

budget gap of £2.002m, comprising:

·       £1.315m in 2026/27

·       £0.687m in 2027/28

Set out the current and the forecast position of reserves to 2027/28, a Section 25 S151 statement, the current MTFS and Reserves statement, a full list of Savings proposals and revised MTFS and Reserves Statements, demonstrating the impact of those savings.

A Motion to approve the recommendations in the report, was moved and seconded.

The 1^st Amendment, from Councillor Whittington, circulated prior to the meeting, was moved and seconded.

A vote was taken on the 1^st Amendment, which was LOST.

The 2^nd Amendment, from Councillor Owens, circulated prior to the meeting, was moved and seconded.

A vote was taken on the 2^nd Amendment, which was LOST.

The 3^rd Amendment, was moved and seconded in the following terms:

"That the saving proposal set out in Appendix 4 to the report, entitled 'Public Bins within Parish Boundaries - achieve a cost neutral position for emptying bins' be amended to implement the proposal in the financial year 2026/27."

A vote was taken on the 3^rd Amendment, which was LOST.

A vote was taken on the original Motion, which at the request of a Member, was recorded as follows:

FOR:            Councillors: Abbott, Aldridge, Anderson, Burnside, Coughlan, Cummins, Devine, Dowling, Fennell, Fillis, Finch, Fowler, Gagen, N Hennessy, P Hennessy, Lawton, Molloy, Nixon, Owen, Parlour, Patel, Pryce-Roberts and West (TWENTY-THREE)

AGAINST:    Councillors: Bailey, Blundell, Eccles, de Freitas, Gordon, Hesketh, Hogan, Howard, Ingman, Juckes, Lloyd, Mrs Marshall, Owens, Pope, Rigby, Webster, D Westley, Mrs Westley, Whittington, Witter (TWENTY)

ABSTENTIONS:      NONE

The original Motion was CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

A.    That, subject to any necessary consultation, the savings proposals detailed in the General Revenue Account (GRA) budget for 2025-26 at Appendix 4 be approved.

B.    That the latest GRA Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) budget gap for 2026/27 to 2027/28 be noted.

C.    That the latest GRA reserves position as at 31 March 2024 and forecast to 2027/28 be noted and the GRA reserves policy be approved.

D.    That Local Government Act 2003 (Section 25) report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources (Section 151 Officer) at Appendix 1 with regards to the financial robustness and adequacy of reserves be noted.

E.    That delegated authority be given to the Chief Executive and the Deputy Chief Executive to take all necessary action to implement the changes resulting from the budget proposals including authority to undertake consultation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108.