Decision details

The Director of Resources submitted a report asking Committee to agree the draft revenue budget for 2023/24 for this Committee, for consideration at Special Policy and Finance Committee.

The Council’s three-year budget forecast was last presented to Policy and Finance Committee in September 2022.  With regards to the Council’s overall financial position, Members were reminded that the forecast had predicted the following budget gaps: £1,040,966 in 2023/24, £1,394,296 in 2024/25 and £2,412,914 in 2025/26.

Since the September 2022 forecast, there has been another new prime minister and ministerial team and further increases in inflation, interest rates and energy costs.

A comparison between the assumption made in the Budget Forecast compared with the Provisional Settlement was included for the Committee’s information.

It was highlighted to Members that the significant concern is that the new Funding Guarantee is described as a one-off grant. It was noted that the forecast had assumed that the Council would receive protection via a transition grant each year. This adds considerably more uncertainty to the council’s future financial position and something that will be factored in when an updated 3-year Budget Forecast is produced later in the budget cycle. 

With regards to the 2023/24 draft revenue budget, the estimates have been prepared on the current levels of service, and they allow for pay increases at 5%, and price increases at 7.5% and income at 5%.

The base budget for these inflationary increases has been the Adjusted Original Estimate as referred to in the previous report on the Revised Estimate. This Adjusted Original Estimate brings in the known inflationary adjustments that have already been seen on the 2022/23 Original Estimate. For this committee, the impact of these adjustments to the base budget is minimal.

The difference between the Original Estimate for 2023/24 and the Adjusted Original Estimate for 2022/23 is an increase in net expenditure of £11,770.  This means that the net total movement from the true Original Estimate to the Original Estimate for 2023/24 is £10,670.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approved the revenue original estimate for 2023/24 for submission to the Special Policy and Finance Committee.