Purpose

To consider an update on the Council’s Medium Term Financial position and outlook, including the provisional revenue outturn for 2024/25 (including use of reserves), the provisional capital outturn for 2024/25 and an update to the Capital Programme.

Decision

The Cabinet RESOLVED –

(i)                 THAT the update on the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy and overall financial resilience, detailed in paragraphs 2.4-2.7 and 2.51-2.52 of the report, be noted;

(ii)                THAT the impact of challenges across temporary accommodation, children’s social care provision, schools and the Council’s services more generally (including those delivered through the Housing Revenue Account), as well as the Council’s proposed responses to them, as set out in paragraphs 2.8- 2.12, 2.15-2.20 and 2.29-2.50 of the report, be noted;

(iii)              THAT, having taken into account the Equality Impact Assessment in Appendix C of the report, changes to temporary accommodation rents so they are standardised at 90% of the 2011 LHA rate as set out in paragraphs 2.21- 2.28 of the report be agreed;

(iv)             THAT the 2024/25 revenue outturn position for the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account, as set out in paragraphs 2.56-2.62 of the report, be noted.

(v)               THAT the proposed allocations to and from earmarked reserves, as set out in paragraphs 2.63-2.71 and Appendix A of the report, be agreed for inclusion in the Council’s Statement of Accounts;

(vi)             THAT the 2024/25 capital outturn position, as set out in paragraphs 2.72- 2.73 of the report, be noted;

(vii)           THAT the revised Capital Programme expenditure budgets, funding and capital receipts targets, summarised and presented in paragraphs 2.74-2.78 and Appendix B of the report, be agreed;

(viii)          THAT the additions to the Capital Programme recommended in paragraphs 2.79-2.95 of the report be agreed and the projects recommended for addition to the Capital Pipeline in paragraphs 2.96-2.102 of the report be noted;

(ix)             THAT on the Right to Buy funded purchase of £10m of Social Housing Units, given the speed at which officers need to act to apply the available funding and then acquire properties on the open market to authority be delegated to the Director of Property Management (rather than the Executive Director Corporate Services as previously) to agree to acquire properties valued between £250,000 and £2.5m for those current and future related acquisition programmes as described in paragraph 2.103 of the report; and

(x)               Authority be delegated to the Director of Property Management to agree the use of vacant social units as Temporary Accommodation up to the number of homes acquired as additional social units as described in paragraph 2.104 of the report, and to set the rent levels for these units in line with the rent levels set out in (iii) above.

The Leader of the Council RESOLVED –

(xi)             THAT authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Better Homes, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cost of Living, to agree future changes to temporary accommodation rents as set out in paragraph 2.28 of the report.