Agenda item

To receive the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 – 2029/30.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Customer Services presented the report of the Director for Finance, People and IDT, which sought the Council’s approval of its Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the four years 2026/27 to 2029/30.

 

This overview report, together with the following linked reports on the agenda for this meeting, formed the Council’s overall Medium-Term Financial Strategy for the next four years and the budget framework for 2026/27:

 

·         The Capital Strategy

·         The Medium-Term Capital Programme

·         The Investment Strategy

·         The Treasury Management Strategy

·         The Prudential Indicators

 

The report also built upon the MTFS report considered at Cabinet on 6 January 2026, which had been subject to public consultation and scrutiny by members of the Council’s cross-party Business and Finance Scrutiny Committee since that date. The January report was itself an update of the Council’s four-year MTFS approved at full Council on 27 February 2025, and this report remained consistent both with that strategy and the approach to prudent and successful financial management exercised by the Council for many years throughout an unprecedented and protracted period of severe financial constraint.

 

Councillor Hannington said she was presenting a MTFS with a clear, honest, fully compromised and practical approach, which chose stability and responsibility and by making difficult decisions early rather than waiting for crisis to dictate its actions. 

 

The Council had delivered £195m of ongoing savings since 2009, and yet, demand for the Council’s most essential services in adult social care and children's safeguarding, continued to rise sharply.  Seventy pence of every pound the Council spent now went into social care as it refused to abandon vulnerable residents simply because demand was hard to meet. 

 

This budget put people first and did so with clarity and conviction with £15.8m additional investments being put into adult social care and £2.7m more for children’s safeguarding.  These two services were not optional nor negotiable or something the Council could scale back and would fund these properly.

 

The Council continued to keep Council Tax as low as possible and, despite the proposed increase of £1.20 per week for a Band B property, Telford and Wrekin remained the lowest Council Tax authority in the Midlands for the services it provided, which was an achievement no other authority in this region could match.  Crucially, every penny of that increase went towards social care. 

 

The Council’s £437m Capital Programme was proof of that ambition and it was building more homes for local families through Nuplace and Telford and Wrekin homes, better roads and safer highways, new school places, which included vital CEN provision, regeneration in Station Quarter, Oakengates and Wellington, improved leisure facilities, new green infrastructure and climate-focused investment.

 

Investment was not a luxury but was the foundation of a strong local economy and thriving communities, and the Council would not step back from it.  The Cabinet Member made it clear that savings were not easy, but through consultation it had collaborated with Town and Parish Councils and worked with the voluntary sector in order to redesign services rather than abandon them, and the Council always prioritised protecting those who relied upon it most.  The new savings proposals, which totalled £19.1m, were challenging, but they were deliverable, measured and necessary to keep the Council’s medium-term position sustainable.

 

Seventeen consecutive years of balanced out-turn, an unqualified audit opinion, a budget strategy reserve of £21.7m held for prudence and flexibility, strong treasury, strong governance and strong risk management, which showed responsible financial stewardship, that the Council was stable and the future was being planned for.

 

The Council’s Business and Finance Scrutiny Committee, which was made up of six non-executive members, had reviewed the MTFS for 2026 to 2030.

 

On 15 January, Scrutiny Committee members had attended a workshop for further insight, and no opposition or independent alternative budget was proposed.  This MTFS was assertive because the times demanded assertiveness.  It protected the Council’s most vulnerable and continued to invest in the borough's future, kept Council Tax the lowest in the Midlands, set out a plan and it showed that the Council remained strong, capable and committed to the people it served.

 

On the invitation of the Leader, the Chair of the Council’s Business and Finance Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Nathan England, spoke in support of the Cabinet's 2026-27 budget proposals.  The Committee had examined these proposals thoroughly and he was proud to report that all but one member supported the budget with just a single vote against the proposal, which had demonstrated the strength and clarity of these proposals.

 

This budget reflected a careful and balanced approach in a challenging financial landscape, which protected vital services, supported vulnerable residents and made strategic investments in housing, infrastructure, education and economic growth across Telford and Wrekin.

 

Every recommendation had been scrutinised and was grounded in both sound financial management and a clear vision for the borough’s future.  Importantly, the proposals ensured that additional Council Tax resources were targeted to essential services, which showed responsible stewardship of public funds and a commitment to both short-term needs and long-term growth.

 

On behalf of the Scrutiny Committee, the Chair commended the Cabinet for preparing a budget that was well structured, fair and achievable and he was confident it delivered the right balance of service protection, community investment and fiscal prudence. The Scrutiny Committee therefore supported the Cabinet's budget proposals and endorsed them to this meeting. 

 

The Leader of the Council thanked the Cabinet Member and the Council’s Director of Finance for working through the process over many months to ensure these proposals were sound, robust and reasonable.

 

With regards to specifics within the Budget proposals, the Leader highlighted:

 

• Ensuring that 100% of local veterans’ military compensation was discounted when calculating benefits and the Council had become a fully signed up member of the Royal British Legion’s Credit their Service Campaign.

 

• The Council was purchasing its first 10 homes in the first ever Telford and Wrekin Homes for Veterans’ Housing Scheme.

 

• The Council was to roll out two-pound bus fares across the Council Owned Bus Network and promised that they would be in place for many years to come.

 

• The Council was to provide at least 100 additional SEND places in local hubs with more to follow.

 

• The Council was to support its Safer and Stronger Programme across Telford and Wrekin.

 

• The Council was to put £250,000 into replacing that funding, which had been cut by the Police and Crime Commissioner to make sure young people had access to youth services in neighbourhoods across Telford and Wrekin and that the Council was tough and robust on antisocial behaviour that blighted some of the borough’s communities.

 

• The Council was to extend its Grit Bin network to 1,000 bins.

 

• The Council was to increase the number of snow wardens in addition to continuing to grit nearly 7,000 miles of roads in a typical bad weather situation.

 

• The Council was to bring back into use, the Telford Town Park amphitheatre.

 

• The Council was to restate its commitment to securing a Priorslee campus for education, business and sports.

 

• The Council was to maintain free garden waste collections.

 

• The Council was to maintain free parking on Council-owned car parks where free parking had always existed.

 

• The Council was to continue to support the borough’s high streets and would continue that pride in its high street scheme, which had seen vacancy rates on these streets at a generational low.

 

• The Council had pledged £250,000 to support the Lingen Davies Campaign to bring a cancer treatment centre to Telford.

 

These were some of the specifics and all at the same time as keeping the Council Tax the lowest in the Midlands.

 

There was a lot here for people to get behind and with it, came a three-pronged assurance that would keep Council Tax the lowest that the Council possibly could; it would be an efficient organisation, where it needed to be and it would invest to generate income to protect frontline services that mattered most to its residents.

 

The Leader of the Conservative Group noted that, currently, 70% of the Council's expenditure was taken up by adult social care and if the Council was not careful, it could become in danger of just being a commissioning service for social care, which would put pressure on all the other services that the Council provided.

 

He recognised this was not down to just the current government, but also previous governments, that it was not good and had to be sorted out since it was crippling local government finances.

 

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group supported the proposed rise in Council Tax, and welcomed additional funding received from the Government of around £6m, but said the Council had to look after those who were the most vulnerable within the borough, to the detriment of others.  The Council had to look after people who were in adult social care and children’s services, and he acknowledged the good work being done to make cost savings responsibly and by doing things smarter. 

 

RESOLVED – that Cabinet noted:

 

a)     the Councils priorities to deliver our vision to protect, care and invest to create a better Borough:

 

· Every child, young person and adult lives well in their

   community

· Everyone feels the benefit from a thriving economy

· All neighbourhoods are a great place to live

· Our natural environment is protected, and the Council is taking a

   leading role in addressing the climate emergency

· A community focussed innovative Council providing efficient,

   effective and quality services.

 

b)   Council Tax be increased for 2026/27 by £1.20 per week for the average Band B home, supporting investment in social care services, which would continue to see Telford & Wrekin Council have the lowest Council Tax in the Midlands for the services it provides, and one of the lowest in the country.

 

c)    the continued strong track record of sound financial management of the Council including delivery of a balanced budget for over 17 years.

 

d)   that 70 pence in every £1 the Council spends be allocated to Social Services.

 

e)    that a number of the investments made in the report, such as Nuplace and the Growth fund, generate a financial benefit, as well as fulfilling their primary purpose, which was invested in front line services. This was equivalent to provision of over 585,000 home care hours or over 6million £2 bus fare rides.

 

f)     the savings of £195.3m delivered since 2009/10 as a result of reduced government funding from 2011 whilst the cost and demand for many Council services have been increasing and in particular for Adult Social Care.

 

g)   the changes to the Local Government Finance Settlement, which were welcomed by the Council, with the implementation of the Fair Funding Review 2.0 for 2026/27 including a multi-year settlement and an updated formula incorporating updated data for deprivation and population which would better reflect needs.

 

h)   the changes to the Business Rates System effective from 1st April 2026 which would introduce 3 new multipliers as well as a reset of the system and a revaluation.

 

i)     National and international economic pressures which had resulted in a challenging financial outlook with interest rates and inflation remaining higher than Bank of England forecasts.

 

RESOLVED – that Cabinet approved:

 

a)    the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2026/27 to 2029/30 and the budget framework for 2026/27 set out in the suite of reports.

 

b)   a Council Tax increase of 4.99% for 2026/27 including the Government’s 2% Adult Social Care precept, equivalent to £0.72 per week general Council Tax increase for the average Band B property and £0.48 per week for the ASC precept, which would be fully invested in the provision of social care services for the most vulnerable members of our community.

 

c)    the net investment of £15.8m into Adult Social Care and £2.7m in Children’s Safeguarding in 2026/27.

 

d)   the budget savings listed on Appendix 9 with a total of £19.1m ongoing savings including new savings of £9.3m in 2025/26 and £11.4m in 2026/27.

 

e)    the continuation of work with partner organisations, including Town & Parish Councils and Voluntary Sector and Community Groups to seek to identify ways to mitigate the impact of some of the cuts to services that we can no longer afford to deliver and to note the availability of the Invest to Save/Capacity Fund which is available to support partnership working.

 

f)     the base budget in Appendix 7.

 

g)   the policy framework for Reserves and Balances and their planned use outlined in Appendix 5.

 

h)   the Strategic Risk Register at Appendix 13.

 

i)     the endorsement of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme a link to which is included within Appendix 15, ready for implementation from 1 April 2026.

 

j)     the continuation of the Council Tax Reduction Hardship Assistance Policy.

 

k)    the revenue implications of the medium-term capital programme for the period 2026/27 – 2029/30 set out in the Capital Strategy and Programme.

 

l)     delegated authority be granted to the Director Finance, People & IDT after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Customer Services to action any virements required following the final allocation of the Dedicated Schools Grant and other Grants and following the completion of the NNDR1 and final estimates of Business Rates income.

 

m)  delegated authority be granted to the Director Adult Social Care after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration and Transformation, to enter into appropriate Section 256 and Section 75 Agreements under the NHS Act 2006 (as amended).

 

n)   the authorisation of Director Policy & Governance to execute all necessary contract documentation including affixing of the common seal of the Council as appropriate to enable the Council to enter into appropriate Section 256 and Section 75 Agreements under the NHS Act 2006 (as amended).

 

o)   the suite of MTFS reports as the Council’s Efficiency Strategy for 2026/27, including the documentation at Appendix 12, to enable new capital receipts to be used to fund the revenue costs of transformation and efficiency projects as assumed throughout these reports.

 

p)   delegated authority be granted to the Director Finance, People & IDT after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance & Customer Services to amend the use of the contingency in 2026/27 and to make any other associated adjustments to accommodate any difference in funding between that currently assumed and final grant allocations when received.

 

q)   delegation authority be granted to the Director Finance, People & IDT after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance & Customer Services to make changes to the Medium-Term Financial Strategy with immediate effect to reflect all grants received from Government with authority to incur associated spend.

 

r)    the Pay Policy for 2026/27. 

 

s)    the additional recommendations contained in the other reports included in the suite of Medium-Term Financial Strategy.