Issue - meetings
Draft Budget Proposals - 2025/26 to 2029/30
Meeting: 30/01/2025 - Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee (Item 52)
52 Draft Budget Proposals - 2025/26 to 2029/30 PDF 691 KB
Additional documents:
- Annex 1 to Appendix 1 – Medium Term Financial Forecast to 2029-30, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 195 KB
- Annex 2 to Appendix 1 – Earmarked Reserves to 2029-30, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 321 KB
- Appendix 2 - S151 Statement on Adequacy of Balances and Robustness of the Budget, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 243 KB
- Appendix 3 - Appropriations to and from GF Earmarked Reserves, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 63 KB
- Appendix 4 General Fund Revenue Budget for 2025-26, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 374 KB
- Appendix 5 Investments and Unavoidable Cost Pressures 2025-26, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 226 KB
- Appendix 6 Proposed Budget Savings and Income Generation Initiatives, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 352 KB
- Appendix 7 - DSG 202526 Budget planning and 202425 updates, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 278 KB
- Appendix 8 - Capital Investment Strategy 2025-26 to 2029-30, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 320 KB
- Appendix 8 Annex 1 - Capital Investment Policy, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 101 KB
- Appendix 9 - Capital Investment Proposals - 2025-26 to 2029-30, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 223 KB
- Appendix 10 - Other Requested Changes to Approved Capital Investment Programme, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 235 KB
- Appendix 11 - Amended Capital Investment Programme - 2024-25 to 2029-30, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 291 KB
- Appendix 12a - Revised Minimum Revenue Provision Policy 2024_2025, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 79 KB
- Appendix 12b - Minimum Revenue Provision Policy 2025_2026, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 77 KB
- Appendix 13 - Prudential Indicators 2025_26, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 254 KB
- Appendix 14 - Equality Analysis supporting budget proposals, 13/01/2025 Cabinet, item 52
PDF 120 KB
- Webcast for Draft Budget Proposals - 2025/26 to 2029/30
Minutes:
The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Finance and Resources, which had been referred direct by the Cabinet from the meeting held on 13 January 2025.
The report presented the draft budget proposals for 2025/26 to 2029/30 and illustrated over the medium term how the Council’s revenue and capital resources were being prioritised to respond to increasing demand and unavoidable cost pressures for the delivery of key statutory services.
The Committee asked a number of questions which were responded to by the relevant Cabinet members, highlights included:
· How many voluntary redundancies were expected. (net position 13, 21 voluntary redundancies and 7 additional roles).
· The outcomes of the in-depth children’s services review (internal officer led deep-dive in children’s social care cases, significant volume of spend goes to new brokerage team to ensure value for money)
· Another in-depth review would be undertaken of children’s services by a number of Cabinet Members and senior officers to understand where the high costs were coming from and identify why children were coming into care.
· The volume of debt to Essex County Council and how long it would take to pay this back.
· Why electric vehicle charging had been deferred in the budget (work not mature enough for this budget reporting, although work had been progressed).
· The settlement for supporting the cost of the national insurance contributions.
· Estate efficiencies (EAP-01) – staff disproportionately impacted by a change in their workplace location.
· The £350,000 proposed saving in relation to the Connected Southend Transformation focused care package review (SOC-02) and how this could disproportionately affect the most vulnerable with the top 10% and bottom 10% cost profile.
· The estimated cost of National Insurance and Living Wage contributions and cost differential between the estimated government settlement (settlement details expected to be released in February 2025).
The Leader of the Council confirmed that Cabinet would consider the views of the Committee in respect of the following matters, in proposing the Council’s General Fund Revenue Budget for 2025/26 for adoption by the Council at its meeting to be held on 20 February 2025.
The relevant Cabinet Members undertook to provide written responses to questions raised by members of the Committee with regard to:
· A breakdown of the additional National Insurance and Living Wage contributions for the Council’s wholly owned companies and the total exposure for the local authority. (Councillor D Cowan).
· What projects were earmarked for the £1.238 million spend under the Climate Change provision, to deliver suitable projects aimed at reducing the impact of climate change and support the Council’s aspirations to achieve net zero emissions by 20230 in line with the Climate Emergency Declaration (Councillor P Collins).
At 9.25pm the Chair advised the Committee that the meeting was approaching the 3-hour time limit. In accordance with Overview and Procedure rule 2.48 of Part 5 section 2 of the Council Constitution, the Committee decided by a simple unanimous vote to extend the meeting for a period of up to 30 minutes to 10.00pm.
Councillor T Cox proposed ... view the full minutes text for item 52
Meeting: 13/01/2025 - Cabinet (Item 6.)
Draft Budget Proposals 2025/26 to 2029/30
Report of Executive Director (Finance and Resources) to follow
Additional documents: