Purpose

The purpose of this report is to obtain Full
Council approval for the annual capital budget, treasury management
strategy and revenue budget, as recommended by Cabinet and to pass
the statutory formal Council Tax resolutions.

Content

1.    
That the updated City of Wolverhampton Capital Investment Strategy
be approved.
 
2.    
That the updated City of Wolverhampton Flexible Use of Capital
Receipts Strategy be approved.
 
3.    
That the revised, medium term General Fund capital investment
programme of £395.5 million, an increase of £58.4
million from the previously approved investment programme, and the
change in associated resources be approved.
 
4.    
That the revised, medium term Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital
investment programme of £577.8 million and the change in
associated resources be approved.
 
5.    
That the authorised borrowing limit for 2026-2027 to support the
capital strategy as required under Section 3(1) of the Local
Government Act 2003 to be set at £1,295.15 million (Reference
PI 3, Appendix 3 of the Cabinet report) be approved.  The forecast borrowing is below the authorised
borrowing limit.
 
6.    
That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2026-2027 as set
out in Appendix 1 of the Cabinet report be approved.
 
7.    
That the Annual Investment Strategy 2026-2027 as set out in
Appendix 2 of the Cabinet report be approved.
 
8.    
That the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators as set out
in Appendix 3 of the Cabinet report be approved.
 
9.    
That the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement setting
out the method used to calculate MRP for 2026-2027 for the General
Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as set out in Appendix 4 of
the Cabinet report be approved.
 
10. 
That the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Treasury
Management Practices as set out in Appendix 6 of the Cabinet report
be approved.
 
11. 
That it be approved that authority be delegated to the Section 151
Officer to amend the Treasury Management Policy and Practices and
any corresponding changes required to the Treasury Management
Strategy, the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, the
Investment Strategy and the Annual MRP Statement to ensure they
remain aligned. Any amendments will be reported to the Cabinet
Member for Resources and Cabinet as appropriate.
 
12. 
That it be approved that authority be delegated to the Section 151
Officer to lower the minimum sovereign rating in the Annual
Investment Strategy, in the event of the UK’s credit rating
being downgraded by the third credit rating agency, due to the
current economic climate.
 
13. 
That the net budget requirement for 2026-2027 of £396.2
million for the General Fund services be approved.
 
14. 
That the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2026-2027 to
2028-2029 as detailed in Sections 4 and 11 of the Cabinet report,
and the key assumptions underpinning the MTFS as detailed in
Appendices 2 to 5 of the Cabinet report be approved.
 
15. 
That a Council Tax for Council services in 2026-2027 of
£2,209.30 (Council element) for a Band D property, being an
increase of 4.99% on 2025-2026 levels, which incorporates 2% in
relation to Adult Social Care be approved.
 
16. 
That the refreshed Reserves Strategy as detailed in Appendix 9 of
the Cabinet report be approved.
 
17. 
That it be noted that the Council Tax base for 2026-2027 was
calculated at 67,714.06 (Item T in the formula in Section 31B of
the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the
“Act”), as reported to Cabinet on 21 January 2026.
 
18. 
That it be agreed to calculate the Council Tax requirement for the
Council’s own purposes for 2026-2027 is
£149,600,000.
 

19. 
That it be agreed that the following amounts be calculated for the
year 2026-2027 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local
Government Finance Act 1992 as amended:
 
(a)  
£855,365,531                 
being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for
the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.

 
(b)  
£705,765,531                 
being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for
the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.
 
(c)   
£149,600,000                 
being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the
aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance
with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for
the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act).
 
(d)  
£ 2,209.30                       
being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T
(section 1 above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with
Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for
the year (including Parish precepts).
 
(e)  
£0                                     
being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts)
referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.
 
(f)    
£2,209.30                        
being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing
the amount at 3(e) above by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the
Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic
amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts
of its area to which no Parish precept relates.

 
20. 
That it be noted, that West Midlands Police and Fire Authorities
have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40
of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of
dwellings in the Council’s area as detailed in the
report.
 
21. 
That it be agreed, that the Council, in accordance with Sections 30
to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the
aggregate amounts as detailed I the report as the amounts of
Council Tax for 2026-2027 for each part of its area and for each of
the categories of dwellings.
 
22. 
That it be agreed, that having calculated the aggregate in each
case of the amounts at (3) (f) and (4) above, the Council, in
accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act
1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of the
Council Tax for the year 2026-2027 for each of the categories of
dwellings as detailed in the report.
 
23. 
That it be agreed, that a notice of the amounts payable in respect
of chargeable dwellings in each valuation band for the year
commencing on 1 April 2026 be published in at least one local
newspaper and that in accordance with Section 3(2) of the Local
Government Finance Act 1992, this notice shall also make reference
to the National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier set by the Secretary
of State, and specify that the Council Tax and the non-domestic
rate demands are annual demands which cover the full financial
year.
 
24. 
That it be agreed, that the Council had determined that its
relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2026-2027 is not excessive
in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB Local
Government Finance Act 1992.
 
25. 
That it be agreed, that as the billing authority, the Council had
not been notified by a major precepting authority that its relevant
basic amount of Council Tax for 2026-2027 is excessive and that the
billing authority was not required to hold a referendum in
accordance with Section 52ZK Local Government Finance Act 1992.
 
26. 
That it be noted, the MRP charge for the financial year 2026-2027
would be £22.4 million for the General Fund and
£440,000 for the HRA; it was forecast that the General Fund
MRP would increase to £24.5 million and the HRA MRP remain at
£440,000 in 2027-2028 (paragraph 2.15 of the Cabinet
report).
 
27. 
That it be noted, that Cabinet and Council would receive regular
Treasury Management reports during 2026-2027 on performance against
the key targets and Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators
in the Treasury Management Strategy and Investment Strategy, as set
out in paragraph 2.12 and Appendices 2 and 3 of the Cabinet
report.