Issue - meetings

Resolved to recommend:

1.     the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy for the period 2017/18 – 2021/22 be approved

Decision

Resolved to recommend:

1.     the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy for the period 2017/18 – 2021/22 be approved

Reason for Decision

To present to Cabinet the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy for approval.

Corporate Objectives

The Medium Term Financial Strategy supports the delivery of all five of the Corporate Objectives.

Monitoring Officer/S.151 Officer Comments

Monitoring Officer:  

No comments to add to the report.

S.151 Officer

This is a Section 151 Officer report.

Advice

J Deane introduced the report and referred Cabinet Members to Appendix A, the MTFS Update.

He explained that the Council had a multi-year savings programme in place which involved managers working towards identifying savings more than one year in advance. This has led to some of the future years’ savings targets having already been identified, and that work must now focus on ensuring that these projects are delivered. In order to ensure that progress against these longer term projects is robustly monitored, updates on key initiatives will be included within quarterly finance reports to Members throughout the year.

J Deane also explained that there were some significant risks to the Council’s medium-term funding streams assumed in Appendix A, as follows:

·        Revenue Support Grant – although the period 2019/20, inclusive, is covered by the 4-year Settlement agreement with government made in 2016, the tariffs assumed for the years beyond 2019/20 are estimates and subject to change. Given the size of previous years’ reductions, any further reductions within these estimates could have significant implications for the Council.

·        Business Rates Retained – uncertainty remains over Government’s implementation of 100% rates retention by the local government sector: including any additional responsibility it might bring for the council, when it will happen, and, given that the Local Government Finance Act was omitted from the Queen’s Speech, whether it will happen. Again, given the scale of Business Rates retained within the context of the Council’s overall budget, any changes to the amounts assumed in this MTFS could prove significant.

Councillor Elliot felt that it was important to keep a close eye on those savings identified but not yet delivered.

Councillor Williams agreed as delivery was key to help contribute to the overall savings.

Voting

None.