Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR - RESOURCES

This report recommends the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2020/21 to 2024/25 to guide and inform the Corporate Business Planning Process.

RESOLVED: That the Service Director – Resources be requested to update the  MTFS to show that it did not take account of any potential impacts of Brexit;

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020-25 as attached at Appendix A be adopted.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: Adoption of a MTFS and communication of its contents will assist in the process of forward planning the use of Council resources and in budget setting for 2020/2021 to 2024/2025, culminating in the setting of the Council Tax precept for 2020/21 in February 2020.

Audio Recording – 14 minutes 53 seconds

The Executive Members for Finance and IT presented the report entitled Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020 – 2025 together with the following appendix:

·           Appendix A - Medium Term Financial Strategy.

The following alternative option was considered:

The Council needed to have a strategy for setting its budget to ensure that it meets its statutory duty to set a balanced budget over the medium term, and ensure that spend was prioritised towards delivering statutory services and its strategic aims, (as set out in the Council Plan).  It was considered whether to delay the MTFS to follow the same timeline as the Council Plan. However, the development of savings ideas would take time, and it was felt necessary to commence this as early as possible.  Having a MTFS provided a structure for formulating, discussing and agreeing savings ideas.  To avoid conflict with the Council Plan, the MTFS is focused on headline information and referred to a net savings target, to allow opportunities for investments.

The Chairman of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee presented the referral from the meeting held on 29 July 2019 which contained the following recommendations to Cabinet:

(1) That Cabinet ask the Service Director – Resources to update the MTFS to show that it did not take account of any potential impacts of Brexit;

(2) That Cabinet recommended to Full Council the adoption of the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020-25, as attached at Appendix A.

It was moved by Councillor Ian Albert, Seconded by Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb and:

RESOLVED:  That the Service Director – Resources be requested to update the MTFS to show that it did not take account of any potential impacts of Brexit;

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:  That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020-25 as attached at Appendix A be adopted.

REASON FOR DECISIONS:  Adoption of a MTFS and communication of its contents would assist in the process of forward planning the use of Council resources and in budget setting for 2020/2021 to 2024/2025, culminating in the setting of the Council Tax precept for 2020/21 in February 2020.