Agenda and minutes

To note any changes to the membership.

1.1      There were no changes to the membership,

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any pecuniary interests or any other significant interest in matters on this agenda.

2.1      There were no declarations.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 12 October 2020.

3.1      That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 October 2020 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record of the meeting.

Report of the Executive Director, Finance and Resources

4.1      The Leader of the Council invited Councillor Melvyn Caplan, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration to introduce the item.

4.2      Councillor Caplan provided an update on the medium-term financial plan over the next three years as set out in the report following Cabinet’s consideration of this in July.  He advised that initial service efficiencies of £5.6m had been identified which would contribute to the identified £90m of savings that would need to be made over the next three years.  With reference to paragraph 5.1 of the report which set out the council’s financial position at period 5 (August 2020) he advised that the table was now out of date as the council had, last Thursday received just under £10m of additional grant money from the government in recognition of the cost pressures and loss of income linked to the pandemic.  This will further help reduce the deficit for this financial year.  He stated that the council would ask the government for additional funding as required. 

4.3      Gerald Almeroth, the Executive Director of Finance and Resources, summarised the savings approach and proposals which were set out in section 7 of the report.  He explained that the council is taking a multi-faceted approach to identify savings proposals and highlighted that the £5.6m savings identified to date will be delivered through management efficiencies and are in the main not policy changes. He stated that where appropriate on individual savings proposals, equality impact assessments and consultations will be carried out.

4.4      The Leader of the council thanked Councillor Caplan and the Executive Director for Finance and Resources for their work on addressing the financial pressures in this financial year.

           RESOLVED:

           That Cabinet:

           1.        Noted the financial planning update including the latest government funding position. 

           2.        Approved the savings proposals listed in Appendix 1 to the report, subject to equalities impact assessments and consultation requirements where appropriate.

           3.        Noted the approach to identifying further savings for 2021/22 to 2023/24.

           Reason for Decision:

           The preparation of the budget and three-year medium-term financial plan is the first stage of the annual business planning cycle for the forthcoming financial year 2021/22. There is a statutory requirement to set a balanced budget and submit budget returns to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Approval of the revenue estimates constitutes authority for the incurring of expenditure in accordance with approved policies.