Agenda and draft minutes

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To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 November 2024.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 27 November 2024 be agreed and signed by the Chair.

To consider the draft budget proposals agreed by Cabinet on 6 January 2025, to consider any alternative budget proposals put forward and to agree items for further scrutiny.

The Interim Director: Finance, People & IDT presented the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2025/26 to 2028/29 to the Committee. The presentation set out the position of the Council as it approached the end of the 2024/25 financial year, followed by a summary of the main proposals outlined within the budget for 2025/26.

The Cabinet Member: Finance, Governance & Customer Services provided Members with a brief overview of the Council’s financial position at the time of the meeting. Since the approval of the current Medium Term Financial Strategy, many Council’s had continued to face extreme challenges as result of unprecedented pressures driven by high costs and high demand for services particularly in Adult Social Care, Children’s Safeguarding an School Transport.  A total of £181.7m in savings will have been delivered by the end of 2024/25 by the Council since 2009 following a reduction in Government funding, however, the first one-year funding settlement received from Government for 2025/26 had been positive with significant increase in funding.

In 2024/25, 83% of the net budget was spent on statutory services which equated to 75% spent on social care for Adults and Children and 8% spent on Education & Skills services. Members heard that costs for Adult Social Care had risen disproportionately as a result of the Borough’s ageing population and subsequent increase in residents aged 65 years or over which had risen by 28.5% in the decade to 2023. This was the highest recorded increase amongst West Midlands upper-tier local authorities and the Council was the third highest amongst all 151 upper-tier authorities in England. The remaining 17% of the net budget was spent on costs for other Council services such as waste collection, leisure facilities, planning, housing and homelessness.

The net revenue budget set for the current year and which forms the basis for the budget for future years £157m with £88m funded from council tax, £57m funded from business rates and £12m funded from Government through the Revenue Support Grant. Since 2013/14, the amount of revenue support grant had fallen from over £50m to £12.4m in 2024/25. In 2013/14, the Revenue Support Grant funded 39% of the Council’s net budget. Council tax, including the Adult Social Care precept funded 56% of council spending in 2024/25 which was up from 37% in 2013/14. Whilst the Government had reduced the grants paid to the Council, there had been no reduction in national taxes such as VAT and income tax.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Government had issued a one-year funding settlement. The Core Spending Power for local authorities was set to rise by 6% in 2025/26 and Members heard that spending power was the Government’s measure of how authorities funding had changes between years and included some of the core grants issued including the revenue support and the social care grants. This measure also included assumptions around growth in business rates and council tax, assuming local authorities would increase their council tax by the maximum permitted. Council Tax Referendum limits were in line with the previous  ...  view the full minutes text for item BFSC31

To review the updated Work Programme for the Business & Finance Scrutiny Committee.

The Director: Policy & Governance presented the updated work programme to the Committee. The current focus of the Committee was the budget consultation however the next formal meeting was scheduled to take place in March 2025 where Members would receive an update on the Council’s Housing Investment Programme and the Telford Land Deal.

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