Issue - meetings

To be advised of the Council’s financial performance in the year to date.

RESOLVED:

(a)             That the timeline for reporting the development of the Medium Term Financial Plan, as set out in paragraph 8 of report item 5 to the Cabinet, be approved; and

(b)             The development of plans for options to support the Medium Term Financial Plan, as set out in the timeline, be approved.

Members considered the developing Medium Term Financial Plan which now included the draft resource plan for each portfolio, as attached as Appendices 1-6 of Item 5 considered by the Cabinet.  The draft portfolio resource plans would be further reviewed to ensure that they would deliver the new Corporate Plan which would be published in draft in November 2015.

Although the Chancellor had made a number of statements about possible future changes to local government funding, current indications remained that the Council would face further reductions in Government funding, which would present increasing challenges to continue to deliver high quality services.  A number of actions were being taken to reduce the overall budget requirement and actions to deliver savings of £1 million had already been identified, as set out in Appendix 8 to the report.  Work on the budget would continue, with the outcome of the Government’s spending review likely to be announced in December 2015 and the provisional Local Government Finance settlement in January 2016.

A number of questions relating to the portfolio resource plans were discussed.

RESOLVED:

(a)   That the timeline for reporting the development of the Medium Term Financial Plan, as set out in paragraph 8 of report item 5 to the Cabinet, be approved; and

(b)   That the development of plans for options to support the Medium Term Financial Plan, as set out in the timeline, be approved.