Decision details

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet

1.     Noted the revised MTFP forecasts, as outlined within the report and appendix 1; and

2.     Endorsed the approach taken to set the Revenue Maintenance and Capital Programme Budgets for 2026/27.

KEY DECISION:

No

PORTFOLIOS:

Finance and Corporate & Housing and Homelessness

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED/REJECTED:

As set out in the report.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

None.

DISCUSSION:

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness introduced the report and explained that the Council had a legal requirement to provide an annual, balanced budget demonstrating financial stability over the medium to long term. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) would need to be stable in order to facilitate the orderly transition of services as part of LGR.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate explained how the robust budgeting of the HRA continued to enable the Council to reinvest in its housing stock as well as develop new stock, supported in part through the £11.114m, of HRA reserves.

The Assistant Director for Finance confirmed that the report covered the four-year period up to 2029/2030 and that there was nothing significant to update other than the improvement due to the reduction in pension contributions.

A non-Cabinet member asked whether NFDC housing stock would be maintained to the best condition prior to handover to the new authority post-LGR. The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness referred to the ongoing project of keeping stock up to highly maintained standards and that the Stock Condition Survey, currently at 87% completion, would be finalised by March 2026. Those units that were most in need of updating were being prioritised. The Portfolio Holder was confident that the legacy of NFDC’s housing service would be overwhelmingly positive.