Decision

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Corporate Services and Chief Finance Officer, which sought approval of the budget guidelines and timeline to be used in preparing the detailed 2027/28 budget and provisional budget for 2028/29 and 2029/30.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Growth introduced the report.

The Director of Corporate Services and Chief Finance Officer (Interim) was in attendance to present the information and respond to questions and comments from the Cabinet Members.

The Senior Officer informed that the report provided the updated budget position for the Council for 2027/28 to 2029/30, taking into account any changes since the budget position reported to February 2026 Budget Council. The forecast budget gap was now £0.368m in 2027/28, £5.674m in 2028/29 and £15.227m in 2029/30.

Resolved:

1. That the the proposed budget timetable detailed at Appendix 1 to the report be approved;
2. That it be agreed that the revenue assumptions, detailed in Appendix 2 to the report, be incorporated into the budget setting process, noting the budget assumes an increase in Council Tax of 4.99%;
3. That the revenue budget principles in Appendix 3 to the report be approved;
4. That the capital budget principles in Appendix 4 to the report be approved;
5. That the updated budget gap in section 5.2.3 of the report be noted;
6. That the revenue budget update provided in this report be noted.

Reason for decision:

Under the Budget & Policy Framework, Cabinet is required to approve the proposed guidelines and timetable for setting the 2027/28 Budget and Provisional Budgets for 2028/29 and 2029/30 by September.

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.