Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance and Assets, Councillor Peter Jeffries

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets presented his report as published, which gives a clear picture of the financial position on 30 June,  showing some changes from the original budget and highlighting some the pressures and challenges the council is facing.  He said the focus remains on maintaining strong financial management and protecting services whilst continuing to deliver on key priorities, and he thanked the finance and property team who work extremely hard to keep the council on track.

In response to a question from the Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities, he said the report doesn’t include specific detail of where CIL money is coming from or how the parish council share is allocated, but that the Cabinet Member for Planning and Building Control would be able to provide further information, and he would be happy to be part of any discussion.  The Cabinet Member for Planning and Building Control confirmed this, saying that Members need to be aware that adding more detail to this report would result in significant additional work for officers where an off-line conversation would be more useful.

The Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities was particularly pleased to see how S106 money has been allocated to public art, saying she had enjoyed working with the Paint Festival project on the Honeybourne Line and was working with officers to extend that.  It was great that housing and investment in the town was improving the town with the public realm and art.

The Cabinet Member for Major Development and Housing Delivery said she was the responsible Cabinet Member when the budget was set in February – it was extremely ambitious with huge opportunities as set out, and despite a lot of new challenges around housing, recruitment, and additional government requests, it was great to see the budget as it now stands bouncing back with resilience.   She was confident that ways and means would be found to reduce the overspend, and congratulated the Cabinet Member and officers on how well the budget has held up in difficult times.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets thanked Members for their comments, saying the council wants to invest as much as it can in the town, through CIL and S106, to provide the best possible services for residents but at the same time remain mindful, resilient and well-managed as we never know what is around the corner, with economic changes regionally, nationally and internationally all having an effect on the council’s finances,

The Cabinet Member for Waste and Recycling, Parks, Gardens and Green Open Space added that some of the challenges the council faces are completely beyond its control – such as the reduction in income from the crematorium, despite significant investment, as a result of lower mortality rates, fewer burials, and people looking for cheaper options.  The Leader agreed, saying that with a finite amount of money, any reduction in income requires the council to constantly monitor what it is delivering and make some difficult decisions.

RESOLVED THAT:

-       the contents of the report are noted, including the key projected variances to the general fund and update on the Housing Revenue Account (“HRA”) 2025/26 revenue and capital budgets approved by Council on 21 February 2025 and the actions to ensure overspends are reduced as far as possible by the end of the financial year.