Councillor Peter Butlin (Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Property) introduced the item by thanking the finance team for their assistance and hard work in developing the budget. He then proceeded to set out the Conservative Group’s budget proposals as contained in the appendix to the published report. In doing so he emphasised the following points:

• The proposed budget was based on the vision set out in the Council Plan and had been developed against the challenge of economic and political uncertainty and a turbulent policy environment.  At the same time, demand for services was growing due to the aging population, more children and families needing support and communities under pressure from the cost of living and the impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
• The approach focussed on four key principles:

·        investing to support the most vulnerable in the community; 

·        investing to support further economic growth across Warwickshire; 

·        ensuring the services delivered by the Council provided value for money; and 

·        using the Council’s financial strength to ensure decisions made were sustainable over the medium-term. 

• The proposals included:

·        Almost £25m invested to meet the growing numbers and cost of supporting elderly and vulnerable adults; 

·        Investment of over £5m in children’s social care services to meet the costs arising from the increasing numbers of children and families needing support, including investment of over £3m in additional staffing

·        Almost £5m to support children and young people with disabilities and those with Special Educational Needs 

• Whilst there were uncertainties around Government policy, the Council would not put business and Warwickshire on hold while clarity was awaited and the medium-term strategy focussed resources on social value and maintaining the growth trajectory of the Warwickshire economy.  The proposals, therefore, included provision in the capital programme for £187m to support the delivery of the 2023 business plans of the Warwickshire Property and Development Group and the Warwickshire Recovery and Investment Fund, in addition to capital programme investment of over £140m to ensure Warwickshire had a thriving economy with the right jobs, training, skills and infrastructure.
• The proposals also included £300K to support apprenticeships and reskilling across the county and brought forward proposals for a Social Fabric Fund. 
• The proposals committed resources to complete the £5m programme to implement the Digital Road Map, starting with a new customer platform approved by Cabinet in January 2023 and investing in digital technology and automation to both drive future cost reductions and improve the effectiveness of services.
• A further £800K investment was proposed in the Fire and Rescue Service which would further develop the joined-up approaches to fire prevention, protection and response as well as the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The Chief Fire Officer would be asked to develop viable proposals to further improve the value for money of the service. 
• Investment in the SEND and Inclusion Change Plan would continue.
• Over £8m was proposed to be invested to meet the additional inflationary and demand costs in home to school transport together with £5m to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6