Purpose

To consider the Council Budget 2026/27 and the
Four Year Medium Tern Financial Plan.

Content

RESOLVED:

1.1    Cabinet is asked to RECOMMEND the following
to Council:

a)
     That the
Revenue Budget for 2026/27 totalling
£317.146m be approved (Annex J).

b)
     That
the?Council Tax Band D of £1.847.53?for the Milton Keynes
element of?Council Tax, be approved.??This is?a?4.99%?increase on
the previous year?(2.99%?on the main element?plus a 2.00% Adult
Social Care Precept);

c)
     That the
Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for
2026/27 (excluding parish precepts) of £188.128m, be
approved.

d)      That the position for the
Dedicated Schools Grant of £436.147m and the Schools funding block for 2026/27 be noted and the
budget and formula allocations for the High Needs Block and Early
Years Block be approved (para 3.23 – 3.28).

e)
     That the
parking account estimate for 2026/27 and
use of the surplus be approved. (Annex K)

f)
      That
the Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2026/27 be approved (para
3.15 to 3.22 and Annex L).

g)
     That
increases to housing rents are set at
4.8% for tenants (an average increase of £5.22 per week) and
2.7% for shared owners (an average increase of £2.77 per
week), the maximum level allowable under the Rent Standard (CPI +
1%) (para 3.44) be approved as per Annex L.

h)
     Garage rents
are not increased for 2026/27 as per Annex L.

i)       Housing
Revenue Account service charge
estimates be approved (Annex L3) [to follow].

j)
      The
Rent and Service Charge Policy be approved. (Annex L4).

k)
     That the fees
and charges for 2026/27 (including those fees and charges which are
exceptions to the Income and Collection Policy) be approved. (Annex
U)

l)
      That
the Capital Strategy be approved. (Annex M)

m)
    That the Capital
Programme and spend approval for
2026/27 to 2030/31 be approved. (Annex N)

n)
     That the
resource allocation for the 2026/27 Tariff Programme be approved. (Annex O)

o)
     That the
Treasury Management Strategy for the 2026/27 to 2029/30 and the
Treasury Policy Statement, including the Minimum Revenue Provision
Policy, Borrowing Limits be approved. (Annex P)

p)
     That the
financial forecast set out in the Medium
Term Financial Plan (MTFP), in
relation to both the resources and expenditure, be approved. (Annex
W).

1.2.   Cabinet is asked to note the Equalities Impact
Assessments for the budget reduction proposals, as set out in
section 4, the outcome of the budget consultation at Annex A (to
follow) and the report from the Budget and Resources Scrutiny
Committee at Annex B (to follow), referring these to Council as
part of its consideration of the budget.