Issue - meetings

A report that sets out proposals for the 2020/21 budget and proposals from Corporate Board.

Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Councillor Peter Butlin

In introducing this report Councillor Peter Butlin explained that a report setting out Corporate Board’s budget and service proposal is produced annually. The report to Cabinet is the first public expression of these proposals. That the County Council is in a strong financial position means that there are a number of options available to it in terms of how it moves forward. In response to a question from Councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group) it was confirmed that presentations will be made to political groups and that supporting papers will be made available to assist in ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the proposals.

Councillor Butlin explained that the final local government settlement is awaited adding that this should be announced before Christmas. Additional resources have been pledged by government but there remains uncertainty around what form these will take.

Monica Fogarty (Chief Executive) explained that the Corporate Board’s proposals as set out in the report are based on the settlement that was announced in September 2019. It is probable that the final settlement will largely reflect the earlier one. It is not possible to provide an indication of the overall percentage increase in funding as much of the additional resource is for one year and is focused on specific services. In response to a question from Councillor Helen Adkins (Deputy Leader of the Labour Group) Cabinet confirmed that it will continue to lobby government for additional funds. Regarding the longer-term prospects for local government finance members were informed that this is a cause for concern with a projected national funding gap extending into billions of pounds. Richard Ennis (Interim Head of Finance) informed the meeting that a full spending review is expected and that the next budget will be very significant.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

1) Agrees to develop its draft 2020/21 Budget and 2020-25 Medium Term Financial Strategy proposals, taking into account the information presented in the report, the recommended budget strategy from Corporate Board set out in Section 3 and the views of Corporate Board on the information presented.

2) Authorises the Chief Executive and Strategic Directors to begin all necessary preparatory work to deliver budget proposals, prior to the final decision on the budget on 18 February 2020.