Agenda item

To consider the draft budget for 2024/25, the MediumTerm Financial Strategy 2024/25 to 2027/28 and the proposed Capital Programme for 2024/25 to 2027/28.

Recommendation - that Cabinet consider any recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Estates & Property Services, Councillor Lucy Shires, presented a report on the Council’s Draft Revenue Budget for 2024-25, along with proposed budget savings and use of Reserves used to set a balanced budget for 2024/25.

The Committee noted that the final budget report will be discussed by Cabinet at its meeting on 5 February 2024 along with any recommendations made by this Committee, so that it can make its recommendations to full Council on 21 February 2024.

Councillor Shires advised that local authorities throughout the UK are finding themselves affected financially by many external factors that are beyond their control such as the war in Ukraine, a continuing cost-of-living crisis and an uncertain economic outlook but the Council was in a better position that some other authorities in Norfolk.

The Committee noted that the Council was seeking to address a £1.49m deficit in its 2024/5 budget to be funded through proposed budget savings and the use of the Council’s reserves. The Portfolio Holder expressed her confidence that the level of proposed savings and expected increase in income expenditure could be achieved following the level of work that been undertaken by the Council officers in determining where savings could be best achieved. However, there was further work to be done on finalising the savings proposals before they went to full council.

The committee raised the question as to what provisions there were for contingency funding within the council’s budget to cover any unexpected circumstances that the council would face in the future. Councillor Shires commented that there enough savings proposals for this year and that work will be ongoing each year to determine where future savings will come to cover any budget gap the council may have.

In response to questioning, both Councillor Shires and Councillor Wendy Fredericks, Portfolio Holder for Housing and People Services, expressed their frustration at the level of government funding that the council received especially in respect in homelessness where local authorities of all political colours had sought additional government funding to deal with the extraordinary numbers of people becoming homelessness in their areas.

The Portfolio Holder and the Director of Resources gave more information to questions from Councillor Nigel Housden on the changes in expenditure in the Communities service area, the level of Revenue Financing for capital, and Retained Business Rates, that were shown on page 27 of the agenda.

In response to a question from Victoria Holliday, on using the income from the second homes premium on dealing with the number of people made Homeless in the District, the Leader of the Council, Councillor Tim Adams, stated that it was the council’s intention but due to the wording of the legislation, the council had to negotiate with Norfolk County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner to try and seek funding to help the Homelessness situation in the District.

Councillor Shires confirmed that 4 or 5 of the budget savings proposals would be subject to public consultation as well as questions on the overall budget on the council’s website and the business community, the results of which will be part of the budget report that goes to full council.

Councillor Shires considered that the vast majority of the current budget savings proposals were about doing things more efficiently rather than directly affecting members of the public, but it may be the case in the future that there may be proposals that could disadvantage some people.

Following a suggestion from Councillor Shires the committee agreed it would be useful for the council’s budget monitoring to include the expected level income streams within the council budget and this should be reported to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee further agreed that it would be useful for the Director of Resources to produce at the start of the new financial year a timetable that sets out the key events as the budget is developed throughout the year such as which committee meetings it will be reported to and periods of public consultation.

Recommendation – that (A) council’s budget monitoring to include the expected level income streams within the council budget should be reported in future to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and

(B) the Director of Resources be requested to produce at the start of the new financial year a timetable that sets out the key events as the budget is developed throughout the year such as which committee meetings it will be reported to and periods of public consultation.