Purpose

To provide a budget update for 2026/27 - 2028/29

Content

The Cabinet
considered a report of the Deputy Chief Finance Officer, which
sought update on the Revenue Budget 2026/27 to 2028/29.
 
The Cabinet Member
Finance and Growth delivered a brief summary of the report’s
key points.
 
The Deputy Chief
Finance Officer was in attendance to present the information and
respond to questions and comments from the Cabinet
Members.
 
The Senior Officer
informed that the Council was forecasting a balanced budget for
2026/27 with a budget gap of £0.656m in 2027/28 rising to
£4.423m in 2028/29 based on the latest information available.
The position reflected the known pressures and assumptions around
Government funding after the Policy Statement was announced in
November, and ahead of the Provisional Settlement due to be
announced in Mid-December 2025.
 
The Senior Officer
continued with an update on the Council’s Medium Term
Financial Strategy (MTFS). The Medium-Term Financial Strategy
provided the latest budget position for the Council, set out the
key financial challenges and issues which would be faced over the
period, and provided details of the assumptions and estimates which
underpinned the budget.
 
Resolved:

1.    
That the updated Revenue Budget Position 2026/27 to 2028/29,
which includes a balanced budget for 2026/27 and a budget gap of
£0.656m in 2027/28 rising to £4.423m in 2028/29 be
noted;

2.    
That the update on the Council’s Medium Term Financial
Strategy be noted;

3.    
That the business as usual budget efficiencies in Appendix 2
to the report be noted;

4.    
That the proposed reduction in vacant posts as detailed in
Appendix 3 to the report be noted;

5.    
That the budget efficiency / savings requiring consultation
in Appendix 4 and 5 to the report be approved, noting that a
separate report for approval to consult on the Local Council Tax
Support Scheme had been approved at Cabinet on the 25th November
2025 and the Community Asset Report would go to Cabinet on the 5th
February 2026 for approval.
 
Reason for
decision:
Cabinet Members
are required to recommend a balanced 2026/27 Revenue Budget to
Budget Council, and provisional budgets for 2027/28 to 2028/29. The
Council is required to set a balanced budget for 2026/27 by 11th
March 2026.
The Revenue Budget
and Medium Term Financial Strategy are key elements of the budget
setting process.
 
Alternatives
considered and rejected:
The Council is
legally obliged to set a balanced budget. The budget setting
process is complex and must be undertaken in a planned way. It is
equally important that assumptions used in the preparation of the
budget are agreed, reasonable and consistently applied by all
services.