Issue - meetings

CAB 66/16 

2017/18 Budget & Medium Term Financial Plan

Options Considered/Reasons for Decision

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources introduced the budget report and stated that the adoption of the recommendations in the report would begin the period of formal consultation on the 2017/18 budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and would run until 20^th January, 2017.

The Cabinet Member stated that he would welcome comments and asked people to respond and to let the Cabinet know what they think of the proposals or with any alternatives so that all points made could be considered before the final budget is set.

He stated that the Cabinet will finalise its proposals in its February meeting, having taken feedback from residents, key partners and interest groups and internally, feedback from our scrutiny committees, unions, school’s forum and, of course, the fairness commission. 

The Cabinet Member informed colleagues that the draft proposals had been developed in challenging times. He said that essentially, it comes on the back of over £45m of savings found in previous years and the pressure created by a reducing Revenue Support Grant, which continues into next year, and probably into the future. 

The Cabinet Member stated that the provisional grant settlement confirmed a £230,000 reduction in this Council’s rate support grant next year. He informed members that this grant is used to fund 80% of our net costs, meaning that savings need to be found to cover basic inflationary cost increases, cost pressures from increased demand for our services and the cost of policy changes such as the Apprenticeship Levy, which we have no choice over.

He and Cabinet Colleagues acknowledged the small increase in Local Government funding overall across Wales for 2017/18 – the Welsh Government is aware of pressures facing the sector, in particular from Social Care demands. But this Council’s individual settlement was not as good in relative terms across the sector, than previous years, when our annual grant change was amongst the best across all Councils. The reasons for this were explained in the report.

As to the budget proposals, the Cabinet Member stressed that it was important to note that it was not all about savings. He mentioned the Council was investing significantly in social care, to meet increased demand for these services and was also continuing to invest in the pay of key partners’ staff by funding increases in the Foundation Living Wage. The draft budget also contained investments to deal with national policy changes and to those budgets which require ‘right -sizing’ so that the Council can set a robust budget which is deliverable. The Cabinet Member stated that this needs funding and savings have to be found to do this.

The cabinet would be consulting on over £1m of savings and the report provided full details on other new savings of about £2.5m which do not require consultation as they have minimal impact on services and can be implemented by Heads of Service. The report also gave  ...  view the full decision text for item 3

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources introduced the budget report and stated that the adoption of the recommendations in the report would begin the period of formal consultation on the 2017/18 budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and would run until 20^th January, 2017.

The Cabinet Member stated that he would welcome comments and asked people to respond and to let the Cabinet know what they think of the proposals or with any alternatives so that all points made could be considered before the final budget is set.

He stated that the Cabinet will finalise its proposals in its February meeting, having taken feedback from residents, key partners and interest groups and internally, feedback from our scrutiny committees, unions, school’s forum and, of course, the fairness commission. 

The Cabinet Member informed colleagues that the draft proposals had been developed in challenging times. He said that essentially, it comes on the back of over £45m of savings found in previous years and the pressure created by a reducing Revenue Support Grant, which continues into next year, and probably into the future. 

The Cabinet Member stated that the provisional grant settlement confirmed a £230,000 reduction in this Council’s rate support grant next year. He informed members that this grant is used to fund 80% of our net costs, meaning that savings need to be found to cover basic inflationary cost increases, cost pressures from increased demand for our services and the cost of policy changes such as the Apprenticeship Levy, which we have no choice over.

He and Cabinet Colleagues acknowledged the small increase in Local Government funding overall across Wales for 2017/18 – the Welsh Government is aware of pressures facing the sector, in particular from Social Care demands. But this Council’s individual settlement was not as good in relative terms across the sector, than previous years, when our annual grant change was amongst the best across all Councils. The reasons for this were explained in the report.

As to the budget proposals, the Cabinet Member stressed that it was important to note that it was not all about savings. He mentioned the Council was investing significantly in social care, to meet increased demand for these services and was also continuing to invest in the pay of key partners’ staff by funding increases in the Foundation Living Wage. The draft budget also contained investments to deal with national policy changes and to those budgets which require ‘right -sizing’ so that the Council can set a robust budget which is deliverable. The Cabinet Member stated that this needs funding and savings have to be found to do this.

The cabinet would be consulting on over £1m of savings and the report provided full details on other new savings of about £2.5m which do not require consultation as they have minimal impact on services and can be implemented by Heads of Service. The report also gave details of those savings already approved and underway, from previous years. All proposals could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3