Issue - meetings

At its meeting on 4 January 2023 the Executive Committee considered the Medium Term Financial Strategy and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCILthat the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24-2027/28 be ADOPTED.  

67.1          At its meeting on 4 January 2023, the Executive Committee had considered the Medium Term Financial Strategy and recommended to Council that the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24-2027/28 be adopted.

67.2          The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 22-38.

67.3          The Chair of the Executive Committee proposed the recommendation and it was duly seconded.  Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED           That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24-2027/28 be ADOPTED.

To recommend to Council the adoption of the Medium Term Financial Strategy.  

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24-2027/28 be ADOPTED.  

76.1           The report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 80-96, attached the Medium Term Financial Strategy which the Committee was asked to recommend to Council for adoption.

76.2           The Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that the Medium Term Financial Strategy provided a financial plan for the Council for the period 2023/24-2027/28 and set out the expected level of funding available to support the delivery of services, the likely cost of providing those services, the growth in service budgets that would be necessary to meet additional demands and the gap that existed between the funding available and the cost of service delivery. The Strategy concluded with the plans that the Council had to close the funding gap. The Strategy document covered the quantum of funding; funding reform – the draft settlement had confirmed a further two year delay meaning the earliest implementation would be 2025/26 which was not bad news for Tewkesbury Borough Council as it would most likely have a negative impact on it; business rates retention reset – this had also been delayed for at least two years which would allow the Council time to build its retention levels; funding guarantee – 3% Core Spending Power for the current financial year and into 2024/25 but after that the assumption had been removed; New Homes Bonus – the Council was looking for clarity within the forthcoming year about what would happen going forward; Council Tax referendum threshold; total forecast resources; aged profile of funding; and real term impact of funding forecast - in cash terms, the amount available remained the same which meant a significant reduction in funding in real terms. Applying the inflationary expectations to the current core budget allowed a forecast to be made over the medium term about levels of expenditure which were likely to be required to provide current services, at current service standards, over the next five years. In terms of growth, the cost of providing current services was set to increase significantly and, in addition, it was expected that the Council’s services would need to continue to grow to meet the increasing demands upon it – this was as a result of the projected growth in the size of the Borough where the number of domestic dwellings could increase by 5,000 units in the timeframe which would be growth of approximately 11.5%. As a result, services such as waste and recycling, housing, planning, revenues and benefits could all require an increase in capacity to meet the extra demand generated.

76.3           A Member expressed the view that the Council’s future seemed uncertain and she questioned whether it was safe, in response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management confirmed that it was safe in the short to medium term but in the medium to longer term things looked less stable so he hoped to see some changes in funding from the government going forward.

76.4           It was