NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

22 February 2023

COUNTY COUNCILLOR GARETH DADD

Revenue Budget

I do not intend to say much about the councils financial position as one of the key areas for the council today is to set its budget and associated council tax.  We are clearly in a very challenging situation but unitarization presents us with some great opportunities to make significant savings. At the time of writing I can report, as I said I would, the following cashable savings as a result of LGR thus far

Chief Executive Officer savings	£1.2m
Members Renumeration savings	£0.75m
Other Senior Management savings	£0.7m
Total	£2.65m

Of course this is just early days and the beginning of our determination to make those efficiencies of a result of LGR that will be so necessary.

I am pleased to report that the final Local Government Finance Settlement provided us with an additional £1.4m as a one off in 2023/24.  This was predominately due to an increase in rural services delivery grant, an issue that we had lobbied government on.  The extra funding is welcome but it is relatively minor in the overall scale of the challenge.  The executive recommendation on the budget provided for flexibility of up to £5m and therefore the recommendations remain intact and it is proposed that the extra funding merely makes a further contribution to reserves.

Property

Part of the opportunity of unitarization is to reduce our property footprint thereby saving energy, money and carbon.  A number of Members have expressed a wish to be involved in the thinking around property and it is intended that we will create a Members Working Group to progress the issue.  There may well be some difficult decisions ahead but I am sure some shared thinking will help to deliver the best outcomes for the new council. 

COUNTY COUNCILLOR GARETH DADD