Issue - meetings

Purpose of Report:

To seek approval for, and makes recommendations to the County Council regarding:

·          Revenue Budget 2024/25 & Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2026/27

·          North Yorkshire Council Capital Five Year Spending Plan

·          Treasury Management and Capital Strategy

·          Housing Revenue Account Budget 2024/25 & Medium Term Financial Plan

Considered – The joint report of the Chief Executive and the Corporate Director - Strategic Resources setting out the financial issues and risks for the new North Yorkshire Council and asking the Executive to make recommendations to the County Council regarding the Revenue Budget for 2024/25, the Council Tax for 2024/25 and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2025/26 to 2026/27.

County Councillor Gareth Dadd introduced the report and thanked the Corporate Director for Resources and his team for their work on the budget, and for the production of the detailed report and the set of options detailed therein.  He acknowledged the financial and operational challenges facing the Council and noted the intention to deliver a sustainable Plan that would deliver the administration’s moral case for the advancement of services that would protect and support the most vulnerable.  Finally he also confirmed the Government’s local government financial settlement had not yet been finalised and released and therefore the report had been produced with that in mind allowing for a £7.5m variance.

Gary Fielding, Corporate Director for Strategic Resources thanked officers for their work on the savings plan and other components of the Budget, and made the following key points:

·         Last year the Council approved an in year deficit of £30m in order to buy time and deliver a plan that would start to enjoy the benefits of unitarisation, to get a sustainable budget position.

·         The budget under consideration delivered that in the short term but in the longer term that was questionable given the financial pressures across the country and the number of councils facing Section 114 notices.

·         There were significant pressures in the system and there was still more work to be done

·         There were a number of areas under significant spending pressure e.g. SEND, Adult Social Care, Children’s Placements, and the supply change in general.

·         There were gross savings proposals of £23.7m in 2024/25 rising to £46.2m by 2026/27

·         £36m of savings had been generated through Local Government Reorganisation to date and some harder to deliver savings proposals had been identified for the next 12/24/36 months

·         There were two proposed investments – a one-off investment of £5m to aid the delivery of the new Local Plan, and an additional £1m for the Local Assistance Fund in recognition of ongoing cost of living pressures

·         A proposed increase in Council Tax in 2024/25 of 4.99% - the second year of Council Tax Harmonisation

He went on to draw specific attention to Equality implications shown at section 7 of the Revenue report and to his Section 25 statement set out a paragraph 8.11 of the Revenue report.

Councillor Carl Les reiterated the thanks to the Director of Resources and the Management Board and was pleased to note the Section 25 statement.

Councillor Bryn Griffiths noted the proposed 50% saving from the Locality Budget as detailed in Appendix B of the Revenue report suggesting it would have a marked adverse effect on local communities and their support groups etc.  He asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 377