Issue - meetings

Members gave consideration to a report which presented the Executive Business Plan and the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2021/22 – 2025/26.  These documents were central to the Council’s financial and strategic planning.

The Executive Business plan detailed the deliverables to supporting achievement of the Corporate Plan Objectives and provided a national and local context to the environment the Council was working within.

The Medium Term Financial plan included the financial strategies, principles and assumptions which had been applied in developing the medium term financial analysis which forecast the revenue budgets over a 5 year period.

The report proposed a balanced budget for 2021/22 with a budget requirement of £13,279,100.   The one year Local Government financial settlement was detailed within the report and had provided additional resources, to those previously forecast for 2021/22.

The General Fund working balance, which was forecast in excess of the £2.5m minimum balance, both provided the opportunity to create new Earmarked Reserves, and increase reserves for future investment.

The budget assumed approval of a Council Tax increase of £5, the maximum allowable within referendum limits, and in terms of future year’s, an assumption of a 3% increase in the Council Tax had been applied.

In accordance with the Spending Review announcement, no pay award had been included for the 2021/22 budget, although 2% had been assumed with future year’s budgets.

Members’ attention was drawn to the statement on the robustness of estimates and adequacy of reserves in setting the budget presented.  The Statement also provided the context in which the Capital Programme had been set,  mitigating future financial risks and its affordability . (Page 82 of the reports pack related).

The fees and charges, had been recommended by both Policy Committees and were included at appendix 3 for approval.

In respect of our Capital Investment Programme the current year budget was £9.4m rising to a total £20.7m over the Medium Term, this level of investment was deemed to be both affordable and sustainable in the long term.

The Treasury Management Strategy, policies and prudential indicators had been scrutinised by the Governance and Audit Committee and were presented for Council approval.

Also included for approval was the Statutory Pay Policy Statement along with the Human Resource numbers on which the employee budget had been based.

In conclusion, the S151 Officer was please to confirm that the MTFP met the requirements of the regulations;

*        the requirement for the local Authority to agree a balanced budget for each financial year, prior to the start of that year;

*        the requirement for the local Authority to establish the level of Council Tax for the coming year on the basis of that budget; and,

Furthermore, met best practice (supported by CIPFA) by setting out the coming year’s budget in addition to a 5 year MTFP

The Leader of the Council made the following speech in response: -

“The Executive Business Plan and Medium-Term Financial Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26 are the documents that form the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62