Decision details

Decision

(a)       That the updated cost pressures set out in the paper of 6 October 2020 and the validation work that has been carried out on these, be noted;

(b)       That the amendments to the planning assumptions used in the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), be noted;

(c)        That the financial gap arising from (i) and (ii) above, be noted;

(d)       Cabinet notes the tactical and transformation savings set out in the paper to start to close the financial gap, recognising that these are work in progress;

(f)        That the Portfolio Holders work with officers to continue to identify and develop savings opportunities through tactical or transformational means;

(h)       Cabinet continues to make the case to Government for additional funding given the unprecedented financial consequences of Covid-19;

(i)         That Cabinet agrees the next steps leading up to the 2021/22 Budget being presented to full Council in February 2021.

Reason for Decision

Councils are required to set a balanced budget.  Essentially this means that expenditure is balanced by income without unsustainable use of one-off, or short-term sources of finance. 

This paper is coming to Cabinet to provide an update on the budget gap for 2021-22 and subsequent years and progress on action/savings to date. The paper proposes an approach to close the remaining gap.