Agenda item

Report of Councillor Cartman (attached)

At the invitation of the Chairperson, Councillor Cartman introduced the combined report noting that local government finance was caught between rising costs and tighter funding. He informed members that the current in year budget overspend was £4m whilst for 2023/24, the gap had been reduced from £17m to £4.1m with savings of £10.53m already incoporated.  He thanked officers and members for their work; it had been a difficult process but the council had remained with its principles of protecting core services and the vulnerable in society.  The process of identifying savings was ongoing and there would be consultation with members and communities.

Members considered the report and raised the following observations: that historically children’s centres had been subjected to cuts but were needed more than ever and whether in the light of the proposed closure of Backwell recycling centre, consideration had been given to encouraging residents to recycle more with the introduction of 3-weekly black bin collections

Councillor Cartman explained that it was difficult to avoid “salami slicing” of services in the current climate and that the conversation around children’s centres had been the most difficult as the Executive shared this concern.  There were no proposals to go to 3-weekly bin collections currently.

Members were informed that children’s centres were at the heart of the council’s offering to families and that they were being transformed into family hubs as it was recognised that the council needed to change what was offered.  There was no desire to see cuts to front line staff who deliver the outreach services from the family hubs.  Additionally, evidence showed that there was not a significant increase in fly tipping with the closure of recycling centres.

Resolved:

1.               That the Executive noted:

a)           the updated revenue and capital budget forecasts as detailed within para 3.1 of the report in respect of the monitoring the budgets for 2022/23 financial year and the proposed strategy to balance the budget by the end of the year,

b)           the updated range of revenue budget assumptions and risks within the Medium-Term Financial Plan for the period 2023-2027 as detailed within paras 3.3 and 3.4 of the report,

c)           the draft savings strategies and proposals that have been included within the Medium-Term Financial Plan as described within para 3.5 and listed in Appendix 1 of the report

d)           the updated budget gap of £4.111m for 2023/24 financial year as detailed in para 3.2, together with outstanding areas of work which are to be completed before the Executive can present a balanced budget for the 2023/24 financial year

2.               That the Executive approved:

e)           the in-year amendments to the budgets within the current capital programme following the re-assessment and re-phasing of the current capital programme as detailed listed in Appendix 2 of the report and

f)             the release of the Executive’s latest draft budget for 2023/24 for consultation and engagement with the public and other stakeholders, incorporating growth and savings items as described throughout the report, whilst recognising that further changes will still need to be made to finalise and balance the budget for next year.

Reasons for the decision:

As set out in the report and discussed above.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

As set out in the report and discussed above.