Agenda item

To receive a report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) and recommendations from the Budget Task and Finish Panel.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) was being asked to make recommendations to Special Cabinet to consider at its meeting on 21 January 2025 before the budget was put to Council on 3 February 2025.

The Chair of the Budget Task and Finish Group, Councillor Michaelides, provided an update as follows:

‘The Budget Setting Task and Finish Panel met three times between November 2024 and January 2025.

In the first session, we were given an overview of the initial medium-term forecasts and the anticipated budget gap for the next three years. We discussed some of the newer pressures facing the Council, in particular the pressures on homelessness and benefit subsidy losses.

At the second session in December, we had a presentation from officers on the financial position of our leisure services and in particular, a focus on the income generation activities and how the teams are driving a change and expansion in activities to increase income. It was noted at the third meeting that the subsidy for Campus West is again forecast to reduce, to around £270k for 2025/26.

We were presented with the majority of the proposed budget savings during the second session, along with a handful of areas of unavoidable growth. We also had an update on the progress of the benefits subsidy losses work, and information on the provisional settlement. 

In the final session that was held last night, we discussed the impact of the settlement on the proposed budget, and the final savings items. We were presented with the updates to the Capital Programme and the Housing Revenue Account, before being provided with the medium term forecasts. 

Throughout all sessions, members of the panel were engaged and asked questions of officers on a range of items. Some fees and charges were discussed in more detail, and the panel noted they were pleased that there were no substantial increases in fees and charges.

One area that the panel explored with officers was around the fees and charges that had not been increased and where the Council is limited in what it can charge. In particular, a discussion was held around gambling licences. Officers explained there is a consultation on the settlement and future financing of councils which the Council would respond to, and one of the areas the Government was seeking views on was councils’ discretion over fees and charges.  It was recommended by the panel, that when the council respond to the consultation, it has a particular focus on this area. The Council should respond asking the Government to devolve fee setting wherever possible, to provide councils with the ability to set fees and charges appropriately.

It should also ask that for any charges that continue to be set nationally, legislation be updated to include provision for annual inflationary increases, which is not currently the case for all nationally set charges.’

During the discussion a Member commented that he was keen to see something done about smaller Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and that officers had recommended progressing the feasibility of licensing 3 and 4 bed HMOs although this had as yet to be progressed and would need to go Licensing Committee for a decision; should this be progressed, he wished Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) to recommend that Cabinet take on board any recommendations from Licensing Committee on this matter.

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A member commented that there were some inconsistencies within the report and the Chair noted it would be proofread and checked prior to consideration by Council.

RESOLVED

OSC:

(a)   Noted the budget proposals and updated medium term financial forecasts 2025/26 which would be considered by Special Cabinet on 21 January 2025 prior to Full Council on 3 February 2025; and

(b)   Recommended that Cabinet take on board any recommendations from Licensing Committee in relation to the HMO licensing scheme.