Agenda item

To consider the report of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources seeking Members to review the Council’s Money Plan for recommendation to Council.

RECOMMENDED to Council that:

(1)       the proposals for the 2023/24 budget included in the report be approved

(2)    it be noted that consultation has been undertaken on budget proposals

Cabinet considered the report of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources that sought Members to review the Council’s Money Plan for recommendation to Council.

The Leader of the Council outlined the main objectives of the Money Plan (4.2).  He placed it in the context of pressures such as the Local Government Finance Settlement, cost of living crisis, high inflation and ongoing challenges from the pandemic but emphasised that despite these there were no reductions in staff or the Council’s ambitions.  The Leader of the Council expressed gratitude to the Finance Team and the Section 151 Officer for their work.

The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources highlighted the savings in her own portfolio (Appendix 3).  She commented on the responses to the budget public consultation and noted that there were significantly more responses than last year.  The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources informed Members that she was proud that an overall balanced position had been reached.  She thanked them, senior officers and the Finance Team for their achievement in what had been a challenging year, not least with both inflation and the cyber incident.

RECOMMENDED to Council that:

(1)       the proposals for the 2023/24 budget included in the report be approved

(2)    it be noted that consultation has been undertaken on budget proposals