Decision details

Cllr Lynden Stowe, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, presented for approval, the Medium Term Financial Strategy, (MTFS), and the final revenue and capital budget proposal for 2020/21, for recommendation to County Council on 12 February 2020.

In making his recommendations, Cllr Stowe highlighted the following changes for incorporation in the report to Council:

1. An additional £10k per member, (£530k in total), as highways local funding;
2. An additional £1m; which would be transferred from the Invest to Save Reserve to the Vulnerable Children Reserve, (this amount was already included in the cabinet report);
3. A change to the Treasury Management Strategy to address the options for green investment issues, (as agreed by the Audit and Governance Committee).

Having considered all of the information, including the outcomes of the council’s formal budget consultation, the due regard statement relating to the decision and observations from the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee meeting on 9 January 2020, Cabinet noted the reasons for the recommendations and,

RESOLVED to:- 

1.    Note the outcome of the budget consultation as set out in Appendix 2 of the report and the minutes of the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee (COSC) meeting held on 9 January 2020, as detailed at Appendix 3 of the report;

2.    Approve the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the final revenue and capital budget for 2020/21 for recommendation to County Council, including all of the proposals set out in the annexes of the detailed MTFS (Appendix 1);

3.    Note the schools funding allocations, the provisional local government finance settlement and forecast reserve movements, as summarised in the decision report and as set out in the MTFS;

4.    Recommend to Council a revenue budget of £468.183 million, a Band D Council Tax of £1,345.32 and consequential precepts on District Councils;

5.    Note the Capital Strategy and Treasury Management Strategy & Investment Strategy, as set out in Annexes 7 and 10 of the detailed MTFS;

6.    Note the Risk Management Policy Statement & Strategy, as set out in Annex 11 of the detailed MTFS.