1. That the reprofiling of previously approved Waste and Recycling Service budget reduction targets totalling a cumulative £2.1 million in 2018-2019 to 2019-2020, to reflect the anticipated implementation date of service changes, be approved.

2. That it be approved that Financial Transaction and Base Budget Revisions totalling a net reduction of £12.5 million in 2018-2019 be incorporated into the 2018-2019 draft budget.

3. That it be approved that authority be delegated to the responsible Cabinet Member and the Cabinet Member for Resources, in consultation with the responsible Director and the Director of Finance to implement financial transactions at the earliest opportunity where the proposal is not reliant on the outcome of formal budget consultation.

4. That a one-off base budget revision to the Treasury Management budget totalling £1.0 million for 2018-2019 be approved, due to an anticipated reduction in the forecast revenue implications arising from known capital programme requirements totalling £270,000 and the application of Treasury Management Equalisation reserves totalling £730,000 to support re-phasing in the capital programme.

5. That the one-off use of £700,000 from the Job Evaluation reserve in 2018-2019 be approved.

6. That the use of capital receipts totalling £2.7 million to fund the revenue cost of transformational projects that are anticipated to deliver efficiencies be approved.

7. That it be approved that work continues to identify additional recurring budget reduction opportunities that will work towards the remaining budget challenge to be delivered by 2019-2020. An update on progress on the budget strategy will be incorporated into the Final Budget report to be presented to Cabinet in February 2018.

8. That it be approved that authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Resources in consultation with the Director of Finance to approve the final budget consultation arrangements.

9. That it be approved that the Council opts-up from retail to professional status with regards to investment opportunities under the Financial Conduct Authority regulations, with the institutions that the Council currently uses as part of its Treasury Management Strategy. This will enable the continued use of the current instruments post 3 January 2018.

10. That it be noted that, of the total £12.5 million financial transaction and base budget revisions identified in July 2017 for 2018-2019, £5.0 million are ongoing opportunities, as detailed in Appendix B, whilst £7.5 million are one-off opportunities, as detailed in Appendix C. Therefore, a significant element of the budget reduction proposals relate to one-off opportunities that can be achieved in 2018-2019. Taking this into account, the remaining cumulative budget challenge to be identified by 2019-2020 stands at £15.5 million.

11. That it be noted that the updated projected deficit assumes the achievement of budget reduction proposals amounting to £33.8 million over the three year period to 2019-2020. Over the last seven financial years the Council has identified budget reductions in excess of £200.0 million. This continues to be the most significant financial challenge that the Council has ever faced.

12. That it be noted that, due to external factors, budget assumptions remain subject to change. This could therefore result in alterations to the financial position faced by the Council.

13. That it be noted that the 2018-2019 budget timetable will, as in previous years, include an update on all budget assumptions and the Provisional Local Government Settlement which be presented to Cabinet (Resources) Panel by January 2018, with the final budget report due to be approved by Full Council in March 2018.

Councillor Andrew Johnson presented the Draft Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2018-19 – 2019-20 for approval. The report provided an update on the progress towards identifying a strategy to address the projected £14.8 million budget deficit for 2018-19. The report outlined the key factors, the timetable for the budget process and the risks in relation to them. The report formed part of the budget consultation process and would be circulated for consultation shortly. The Council had successfully made savings of £200 million over the past six years but there were £15.5 million of further savings to be identified over the next two years.

Resolved:

1. That the reprofiling of previously approved Waste and Recycling Service budget reduction targets totalling a cumulative £2.1 million in 2018-2019 to 2019-2020, to reflect the anticipated implementation date of service changes, be approved.

2. That it be approved that Financial Transaction and Base Budget Revisions totalling a net reduction of £12.5 million in 2018-2019 be incorporated into the 2018-2019 draft budget.

3. That it be approved that authority be delegated to the responsible Cabinet Member and the Cabinet Member for Resources, in consultation with the responsible Director and the Director of Finance to implement financial transactions at the earliest opportunity where the proposal was not reliant on the outcome of formal budget consultation.

4. That a one-off base budget revision to the Treasury Management budget totalling £1.0 million for 2018-2019 be approved, due to an anticipated reduction in the forecast revenue implications arising from known capital programme requirements totalling £270,000 and the application of Treasury Management Equalisation reserves totalling £730,000 to support re-phasing in the capital programme.

5. That the one-off use of £700,000 from the Job Evaluation reserve in 2018-2019 be approved.

6. That the use of capital receipts totalling £2.7 million to fund the revenue cost of transformational projects that were anticipated to deliver efficiencies be approved.

7. That it be approved that work continues to identify additional recurring budget reduction opportunities that would work towards the remaining budget challenge to be delivered by 2019-2020. An update on progress on the budget strategy would be incorporated into the Final Budget report to be presented to Cabinet in February 2018.

8. That it be approved that authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Resources in consultation with the Director of Finance to approve the final budget consultation arrangements.

9. That it be approved that the Council opts-up from retail to professional status with regards to investment opportunities under the Financial Conduct Authority regulations, with the institutions that the Council currently uses as part of its Treasury Management Strategy. This would enable the continued use of the current instruments post 3 January 2018.

10. That it be noted that, of the total £12.5 million financial transaction and base budget revisions identified in July 2017 for 2018-2019, £5.0 million were ongoing opportunities, as detailed in Appendix B, whilst £7.5 million were one-off opportunities, as detailed in Appendix C. Therefore, a significant element of the budget reduction proposals relate to one-off opportunities that can be achieved in 2018-2019. Taking this into account, the remaining cumulative budget challenge to be identified by 2019-2020 stands at £15.5 million.

11. That it be noted that the updated projected deficit assumes the achievement of budget reduction proposals amounting to £33.8 million over the three-year period to 2019-2020. Over the last seven financial years the Council had identified budget reductions in excess of £200.0 million. This continues to be the most significant financial challenge that the Council had ever faced.

12. That it be noted that, due to external factors, budget assumptions remain subject to change. This could therefore result in alterations to the financial position faced by the Council.

13. That it be noted that the 2018-2019 budget timetable would, as in previous years, include an update on all budget assumptions and the Provisional Local Government Settlement which be presented to Cabinet (Resources) Panel by January 2018, with the final budget report due to be approved by Full Council in March 2018.