The Teignbridge Council Executive met to discuss the 2024/25 draft final accounts, budget monitoring, local government reorganisation and a new procurement strategy. The executive approved the draft final accounts, budget variations, and the new procurement strategy, and delegated authority to the Managing Director to continue developing proposals for local government reorganisation.

2024/25 Draft Final Accounts and 2025/26 Budget Monitoring

The Executive reviewed the 2024/25 Draft Final Accounts and Treasury Management, 2025/26 Budget Monitoring and Treasury Management lending list, which included the 2024/25 draft final revenue results, the 2024/25 draft final capital programme, the draft financial results of the treasury management function, and an update on the principal areas where there were likely to be departures from the 2025/26 revenue budget.

Councillor John Parrott, Executive Member for Finance and Corporate, highlighted that the 2024/25 draft accounts had been considered by the Audit Committee on 2 September 2025, and were available on the council's website. He gave an overview of key areas including the statement of accounts, variations to the original budget, bad debt, the draft 2024/25 capital programme, the treasury management authorised lending list, and treasury management results.

The Executive made the following resolutions:

• Noted the draft revenue results for 2024/25.
• Approved the draft year end capital and updated programme as shown at appendix 1 of the report.
• Approved the revenue budget variations for 2025/26 as shown at appendix 2 of the report.
• Noted the updated lending list as shown at appendix 3 of the report.
• Recommended to Council that the Draft Treasury Management Results for 2024/25 at appendix 4 of the report are noted.

Key points from the report included:

• The draft closing general reserves at 31 March 2025 were £2.5 million, an improvement on the original budget of £100,000.
• Variations to the original budget were mainly due to increased income from leisure memberships and higher interest rates.
• Actual capital spend in 2024/25 was £14.899 million, compared to an original estimate of £53.314 million. The underspend was mainly due to rescheduling of provisional schemes and more accurate phasing of active schemes.
• The authorised treasury management lending list was updated for the latest ratings.
• Net interest earned increased from £1,936,259 in 2023/24 to £1,995,833 in 2024/25.
• There was a net surplus of £604,190 for 2025/26 arising from variations to the original budget.

The Leader and Councillor John Nutley, Executive Member for Leisure and Recreation, commented on the increased leisure incomes from increasing memberships. Executive members thanked the Director of Corporate and Section 151 Officer and the finance team.

Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation Update

The Executive considered a report providing an update on proposals for both Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution.

Councillor Bullivant raised the importance of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee having an opportunity to debate the proposals, which was supported by the Leader. The Leader also mentioned a letter from the County Council Network regarding recent changes in the ministerial team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). He stated he would seek clarification from MHCLG on the future direction of devolution and local government reorganisation.

Councillor Charles Nuttall, Executive Member for Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution, confirmed that the 1-4-5 option remained the preferred option based on the criteria set out by MHCLG. The Managing Director spoke about ongoing work to produce proposals and that the Executive would receive an update at its October meeting. An extraordinary Full Council meeting was being arranged for November. The Leader also referred to the results of the public consultation as detailed in the report.

The Executive resolved to:

1. Note the update on Local Government Reorganisation.
2. Delegate authority to the Managing Director, in consultation with the Executive Member for Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution, to continue to develop proposals for the form and coverage of future principal authorities.
3. Report back to the next Executive meeting with an update on the preparation of the Business Case.

The report noted that following the government white paper published in December 2024, Teignbridge District Council was a signatory to an interim submission on 21 March 2025 proposing the examination of a '1-4-5' option for future unitary council structure in Devon. The majority of district councils (except Exeter) and Torbay Council were signatories to this interim submission, but authorities across Devon have outlined alternatives and are working towards final proposals on different boundaries.

Procurement Strategy

The Executive considered a report seeking support for the adoption and implementation of the new Procurement Strategy.

Councillor Parrott introduced the item, and Councillor Jackie Hook, Executive Member for Environment, Climate and Sustainability, spoke about including reference to net zero and the environment, and the social value threshold of £100,000. The Corporate Procurement Officer, Rosanna Wilson, responded to these points, highlighting the balance between spend, social value, and supporting local businesses. The Leader spoke to the importance of supporting local businesses.

The Executive resolved to adopt the new Procurement Strategy and delegated authority to the Executive Member for Finance and Corporate to make minor amendments to the Procurement Strategy.

The report noted that a recent audit in February 2025 conducted by the Devon Audit Partnership had shown that not having a procurement strategy in place was a high risk to the council. The procurement strategy is designed to align with The Procurement Act 2023¹, the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), and any Procurement Policy Notices (PPNs). It emphasises increasing engagement with local suppliers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).