Agenda item

The Cabinet agreed to:

a)     Approve the savings and cuts listed in Appendix A (£4.4M) to be used as a contribution towards our 2024/25 financial deficit, and commission the Departments to move forward to implement the plans taking note of the issues highlighted in the report.

b)     Set a balanced budget in 2024/25, to approve the value of the cuts and savings listed in Appendix B (£0.8M) and note that further steps will be required before a final decision can be reached to implement them, as outlined in 2.13, and use reserves to bridge the savings that could not be realised in 24/25.

c)     Make provision of £0.52M to meet the risk level involved in realising this cuts plan.

d)     Delegate the right to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Finance, to make adjustments to this Savings Plan as the maturity of the schemes listed in Appendix A and B develops, within the financial totals.

The report was presented by Dafydd Gibbard.

DECISION

The Cabinet agreed to:

a)    Approve the savings and cuts listed in Appendix A (£4.4M) to be used as a contribution towards our 2024/25 financial deficit, and commission the Departments to move forward to implement the plans taking note of the issues highlighted in the report.

b)    Set a balanced budget in 2024/25, to approve the value of the cuts and savings listed in Appendix B (£0.8M) and note that further steps will be required before a final decision can be reached to implement them, as outlined in 2.13, and use reserves to bridge the savings that could not be realised in 24/25.

c)    Make provision of £0.52M to meet the risk level involved in realising this cuts plan.

d)    Delegate the right to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Finance, to make adjustments to this Savings Plan as the maturity of the schemes listed in Appendix A and B develops, within the
financial totals.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted with sadness that it was now normal to have to discuss an item about savings before it was possible to set the budget. It was stressed that as a result of the financial crisis facing local authorities, it was an essential item. It explained that the Council would receive an increase of 2.3% from the Local Government Grant, but that it was significantly below the level of inflation and below what would be needed to maintain the existing level of services. It was explained as a result the Council would need to cope with a funding deficit of almost £15m.

It was expressed that in order to do this the budget would need to include a combination of having to increase Council tax and delivering budget cuts across the Council. It was explained that, in October, workshops had been held for all elected members to prioritise savings plans for 2024/25. It was noted that the bids had a total value of approximately £8m. An impact assessment had been carried out on each proposal together with a legal and financial assessment to ensure they were schemes that were deliverable.

The conclusions of the workshops had been that around £5m of schemes could be implemented, and the list of cuts and savings had been presented in two parts. It was explained that list A contained plans that could be moved forward to be implemented by the Department. The schemes were highlighted under the headings such as efficiencies, increasing income and using other sources for funding.

It was noted that list B reflected schemes that were subject to statutory action or further decisions before they could be confirmed. It was highlighted that the Governance and Audit Committee had scrutinised the process, but raised concern about the level of reserve for savings schemes as it had been reduced from 20% to 10%. Despite this, it was noted that they were satisfied and that the process had been comprehensive and thorough.

It was explained that the Government grant would be reducing over the coming years, and a new round of savings would need to be initiated immediately, looking at how to cope and possibly re-defining what the Council would be able to offer.

Observations arising from the discussion

·         Attention was draw to the equality impact assessment and noted that it looked at the savings as a whole. It was suggested that a further report may be needed to make sure the schemes created them as vulnerable groups would be hit.