To consider the report of the Executive Director (S.151) (enclosed).

This will be followed with views from the Leader and Chief Executive on the financial settlement and white paper on devolution and government reorganisation.

The Chairman welcomed Members and Officers to the meeting and invited the Executive Director (Section 151 Officer) to present her report.

Key elements of the Statement that impact on the budget position for 2025/26 are:

·         Confirmation of provisional settlement figures for 2025/26, which were expected to align with those suggested in the 2024/25 Settlement.

·         Continuation of New Homes Bonus

·         Council Tax increase thresholds

·         Any changes to Business Rate Baseline

·         Information relating to additional funding streams.

Alongside the Settlement the government also published a technical consultation paper on the provisional local government finance settlement 2025/26, and also on the Local Authority Funding Reforms Objectives and Principles.

A Policy Statement (28 November 2024) had already announced the key principles that ministers applied in the provisional settlement.

The funding position for 2025/26 is a one-year settlement only.

The Provisional Settlement delivered larger increases in funding than were expected for the sector, however Ministers have made efforts to direct grant funding to authorities with higher levels of deprivation and less ability to generate income from Council Tax.

Within the Settlement a Recovery Grant of £600m was made available for distribution and this has been targeted at high need authorities. Blaby has received none of this grant funding. Other areas of increased funding prioritise Social Care and Children’s preventative services both of which are upper tier functions and have not benefitted Blaby.

Within the Settlement there is also a scaling back of the Minimum Funding Guarantee and as a result of all of the above, Blaby’s Government Funded Core Spending Power has actually decreased from that of 2024/25.

There is still substantial uncertainty surrounding how changes to Business Rate Retention and the Fair Funding Review will impact on Blaby in future years.  Members recalled that these changes were originally proposed to be put in place for 2020/21. It now seems certain that the Government will now implement its reforms in2026/27 and are looking to address the ‘unfairness’ of the existing system and are proposing to utilise the same principles put forward by the previous government in 2018. A consultation paper has been published regarding the reforms and whilst it suggests that many of the same building blocks of the 2018 Consultation will be present, there is also suggestion that Ministers may depart from that Consultation particularly in how funding should be prioritised and distributed.

Whilst these changes will not therefore directly impact on the budget for 2025/26 the MTFS illustrates the impact this may have on the Council’s finances in future years. It is with the future funding gaps that may arise from these changes that the Council needs to consider as we work towards the Council continuing to be financially sustainable into the future.

Total Budget Requirement

The proposed draft General Fund Revenue Account Net Budget Requirement for 2025/26 is £15.775M. The comparable Net Budget Requirement for 2024/25 that was approved in February 2024 was £16.2M.

It should be noted that funding of £913k will be received in 2025/26 from Defra relating to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

All non-executive Members will have the opportunity to question the Leader’s portfolio. (Portfolio Statement to follow)

The Chairman, Cllr. Nick Brown welcomed the Leader Cllr. Terry Richardson and the Chief Executive to the meeting. The Leader provided Members with the latest update on Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution.

a)    To consider the proposed 2025-26 budget and spending plans for the remaining Portfolio areas.

b)    Prepare lines of questioning for a written response from Portfolio Holders in advance of the next Scrutiny Budget meeting on Wednesday 22 January 2025.

Preliminary lines of questioning were identified for submission to Portfolio  Holders prior to the next Scrutiny Budget meeting on Wednesday 22 January  2025 for their response.

·         Wednesday 22 January 2025

·         Wednesday 22 January 2025.