The Employees' Consultative Forum met on Wednesday 10 January 2024 to discuss the draft revenue budget for 2024/25 and the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2026/27. The forum resolved to recommend that the report be noted and its comments submitted to Cabinet for consideration.

Draft Revenue Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy

The Forum received a report detailing the draft revenue budget for 2024/25 and the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to 2026/27. Councillor Paul Osborn, Chair of the Forum, highlighted that the council continues to face financial challenges, though the current budget is more complete than in previous years. Councillor David Ashton, Portfolio Holder for Finance & Highways, stated that the 2024/25 budget is balanced with a proposed council tax increase of 4.99%. He noted that significant challenges remain for years two and three of the MTFS due to a lack of government direction. The council plans to increase budgets for Adults and Children Services by approximately £5.5 million for 2024/25 and an additional £4 million over the following two years. Fees and charges have been increased by an average of 7% to reflect inflation.

Concerns were raised about the potential for further council tax increases. Councillor Ashton explained that inflation had impacted the council's finances, but there was a preference for smaller increases in future years, ideally matching or staying below the rate of inflation. The budget gap from the previous year had been addressed, resulting in a balanced budget for 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Discussions also covered the council's restructure, which aims for a 10% reduction in senior management. Restructures were largely implemented in February 2023. The council is also working to reduce its reliance on agency staff, who are more expensive than permanent employees, and aims to replace interim positions with permanent ones. A commitment was made to protect front-line services. The council's financial position has improved significantly from the previous year, where a £10 million gap needed to be filled. The council's reserves stand at approximately £16 million, with 80% of its income derived from council tax. However, there is a projected budget gap of £19 million for the years 2025/26 and 2026/27.

Regarding recruitment, it was clarified that there is not a complete freeze, but all new positions require sign-off. The Chair noted that recruitment freezes can create service pressures and hinder savings. The Forum resolved to recommend that the report be noted and its comments be submitted to Cabinet for consideration.

The meeting, which began at 6:30 pm, concluded at 6:52 pm.

The following individuals were present: Councillor Paul Osborn (Chair), Councillors David Ashton, Mina Parmar, Graham Henson, and Natasha Proctor. Employee representatives included Ms S Haynes, Mr D Searles, Ms P Belgrave, and Ms A Jones. Apologies were received from John Royle, and Councillor Kandy Dolor, Monique Lambie, Councillor Ameet Jogia MBE, and Anne Lyons were absent. Davis Searles was appointed Vice-Chair of the Forum for the 2023/2024 Municipal Year. Councillor Graham Henson and Councillor Natasha Proctor declared non-pecuniary interests as former members of the GMB union. No reserve members were in attendance, no petitions, deputations, or public questions were received.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 11 January 2023 were signed as a correct record.

The report discussed was the Draft Revenue Budget 2024/25 and Draft Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2026/27 which can be found in the Agenda frontsheet Wednesday 10-Jan-2024 18.30 Employees Consultative Forum. The minutes of this meeting are available in the Printed minutes Wednesday 10-Jan-2024 18.30 Employees Consultative Forum.