Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation.
Additional documents:
Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Councillor Thorpe, Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation, presented the suite of budget papers with comprised of the key elements of the 2025/26 budget proposals and the framework for the longer-term Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2026/27 to 2027/28.
It makes available the latest financial information that will underpin the 2025/26 budget and the MTFS. The report also sets out the process that will lead to the agreement of the budget and the setting of the 2025/26 Council Tax at Full Council on the 19 February 2025.
This report reflects the Government’s Provisional 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement published in December 2024. The financial tables within the report focus on a three-year period.
The report is part of the suite of financial reports including:
· Council Tax Setting
· Treasury Management Strategy 2025/26
· Capital Strategy 2025/26 to 2027/28
· The Dedicated Schools Grant and the schools’ budget 2025/26
Decision:
Cabinet approved the recommendations and commended to Council the following:
· Approve the Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2027/28 and the assumptions regarding resources and spending requirements.
· Approve the Council Tax base for Bury Council for 2025/26 of 58,697.86 Band D equivalent dwellings, this is the basis on which the Council Tax funding has been calculated (Appendix 1).
· Approve the net revenue budget of £238.256m for 2025/26. Page 32
· Approve the Council Tax requirement of £118.296m and the increase in Council Tax in 2025/26 of 2.99% in terms of General Council Tax and a further 2% for the Adult Social Care precept for 2025/26 (Appendix 1).
· Approve the budget assumptions of £23.210m in 2025/26.
· Approve the new revenue budget proposal relating to residents parking permits pricing structure for consultation and referred to Council for their consideration.
· Note the remaining budget gap of £11.571m over the medium-term to 2027/28.
· Approve the use of £5.858m of reserves from the budget stabilisation reserve for 2025/26.
· Note the forecast position on reserves over the medium-term to 2027/28.
· Approve the recommendations set out in the Treasury Management Strategy (Appendix 2)
· To approve the Treasury Management Strategy including the associated Prudential Indicators and Annual Investment Strategy.
· To approve the Treasury Management Policy Statement.
· To approve the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy Statement.
· Approve the Capital Strategy and the Programme for 2025/26 – 2027/28 (Appendix 3).
· Approve the Dedicated Schools Grant budget for 2025/26 at £253.097m and approve the allocations between the four funding blocks as set out in Appendix 4 of this report.
· The Schools and Academies 20205/26 funding unit values as recommended by Schools Forum and detailed at Annex 1 to appendix 4.
· Approve the 2025/26 hourly rates for all early year’s providers as follows:
i. £5.48 per hour for 3- and 4-year-olds.
ii. £7.88 per hour for 2-year olds.
iii. £10.50 per hour for under 2’s.
· Note the Equality Impact Assessment for the budget report (Appendix 5).
· Note the Chief Finance Officer (Director of Finance) statement on the robustness of estimates and adequacy of financial reserves in setting the budget (Appendix 6).
Reasons for recommendations:
· The Council has a legal ... view the full minutes text for item 301