Issue - meetings

The Council considered a report presenting the revenue and capital budgets together with proposals for increases in Council Tax and the Adult Social Care Precept for 2025/26.

On a motion from Councillor Kevin Guy, seconded by Councillor Robin Moss and RESOLVED that, in accordance with rule 3.1.14 (Suspension of rules), rule 3.1.33 be suspended to allow the length of speeches for the Budget debate to be varied (NB: unless otherwise stated, all mover speeches 5 minutes, all others 3 minutes).

On a motion from Councillor Mark Elliott, seconded by Councillor Paul May, it was

RESOLVED

1.  To approve;

·  The General Fund net revenue budget for 2025/26 of £151.71m and the individual service cash limits for 2025/26 as outlined in Annex 1.

·  The savings and income plans outlined in Annex 2(i), funding requirements 2(ii), in conjunction with the Equalities Impact Assessment Report in Annex 3.

·  An increase in Council Tax of 2.99% in 2025/26 (an increase of £51.92 per Band D property or £1 per week).

·  An increase of 2% to Council Tax for the Adult Social Care Precept in recognition of the current demands and financial pressures on this service. This is equivalent to an increase of £34.72 on a Band D property (67p per week).

·  The movement in reserves outlined in section 5.6 and the adequacy of Un-earmarked Reserves at £12.58m within a risk assessed range requirement of £11.8m - £13.0m.

·  To note the Children’s Services management plan update set out in section 5.2.6 of the report.

·  The Efficiency Strategy attached at Annex 4.

·  The Capital Programme for 2025/26 of £76.41m including new and emerging capital bids outlined in Annex 5(i), planned sources of funding in 5.8.3, and notes the programme for 2026/27 to 2029/30 and that any wholly funded projects coming forward during the year will be added to the Capital Programme in line with the Budget Management Scheme.

·  The delegation of implementation, subject to consultation where appropriate, of the capital programmes set out in Annex 5(i) to Annex 5(iv) to the relevant Director in consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Portfolio Holder.

·  The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allocations and amendments outlined in Annex 5(v).

·  The Capital & Investment Strategy attached at Annex 6.

·   The MRP Policy attached at Annex 7.

·  The Capital Prudential Indicators outlined in 5.8.7.

·  The Annual Pay Policy Statement at Annex 8.

·  The Community Contribution Fund extension outlined section 5.5.

·  The Council Tax Support Scheme for 2025/26 shown in the following link:  https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-01/Bath%20%26%20NE%20Someset%20S13A%20202526%20FINAL%20.pdf  and referred to in 5.3.5 of the report.

·  The Fees and Charges schedule for 2025/26 at Annex 11 and support its publication following approval of the budget, with delegation to amend individual costs within the schedule in line with market needs, to the Director of Place Management, in consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Portfolio Holder.

2.2  That the Council approves the technical resolutions that are derived from the budget report, and all the figures in that report, including the precepts for towns, parishes and other precepting bodies as set out in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14

This report presents the revenue and capital budgets together with proposals for increases in Council Tax and the Adult Social Care Precept for 2025/26.

Cllr Mark Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the report, moved the officer recommendation and made the following points:

·  The budget reflects ongoing uncertainty, despite moving away from the previous chaotic Tory regime.

·  The Labour government has been slow to implement the significant reforms needed for local government stability.

·  The promised multi-year settlements are not yet confirmed; only 50% of the direct costs from the Employers’ National Insurance increase are funded.

·  Successful bids for new schools are still pending central government funding, causing additional costs to the Council.

·  The government's review into social care, set to complete in 2028, shows a lack of understanding as to the urgency of the issues facing local authorities with social care funding.

·  The starting point for the 2025/26 budget was a £14m shortfall, addressed through £6.7m in income generation and £7.31m in savings.

·  Unpredictable financial pressures, especially in Children's Services, have impacted the budget.

·  An increase of £6.5m in social care funding is proposed, following an £8m increase last year.  It is important to ensure that those who need care have the funding in place to meet their needs.

·  Significant contingency and provision budgets are included to mitigate risks, including £2.6m for contract inflation and £4.3m for high-risk service demand and cost increase provision.

·  Funding is being provided for "clean and green" initiatives, electric waste and recycling vehicles, new school street schemes, pedestrian crossings, and extended park and ride hours.

·  There is also investment in new technology to improve customer service and coordination.

·  The budget aims to protect the most vulnerable while managing unpredictability and uncertainty.

·  The council has healthy reserves and is not at risk of financial difficulty, unlike some other local authorities.

·  The budget reflects the council's commitment to improving lives and maintaining stability despite many current challenges.

Cllr Paul May seconded the motion and made the following points:

·  Children’s Services have been under intense pressure, but the administration has supported the service and openly and consistently backed the most vulnerable in our community.

·  Through this budget the children’s base budget of £36m has increased to nearly £41m following the previous year’s commitment of a 10% increase.

·  Reviews and inspections have consistently shown that the children’s services the Council provides are good with outstanding features delivered by dedicated staff.

Cllr Manda Rigby spoke about the new proposal to extend the hours of the Park and Ride scheme on a trial basis from April, to run until 11.30pm Monday to Saturday.  This will help the nighttime economy and will be beneficial to tourists visiting the city.  The importance of marketing this extended service was noted.

Cllr Alison Born stated that the decision to bring adult social care services back in-house has allowed for more skilled and compassionate care, early intervention, collaborative decision-making, and better resource allocation. Despite rising demand, costs, and staff shortages, progress is being made on transformation plans with continued investment from the administration. However, the council must also develop universal services, balancing investment in adult social care with necessary savings.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77

The Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Mark Elliott introduced the report. He explained that the underlying theme was uncertainty and that the final figures would be available in early February. He stated that a cautious and carefully balanced budget would be presented.

The Chair of the Children, Adults, Health and Wellbeing PDS Panel gave feedback from her Panel. Councillor Romero stated that there was a lack of information due to the growing lateness of information from Government (for example funding of the safety valve) which made the budget proposals difficult to scrutinise. She stated that there were concerns about there being similar proposals to last year. She pointed to the huge amount of work in non-statutory services and work on early support.

The Chair of the Climate Emergency and Sustainability PDS Panel gave feedback from his Panel. Councillor Wait stated that most things within the remit of the Panel are non-statutory activities so difficult to scrutinise. He agreed that there had been a lack of information in that no Capital Budget information was available. He stated that he was pleased to see funding for 3 school streets in the budget. He asked that more information be supplied in future years.

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor MacFie asked if the costs regarding Children’s Services are being investigated. The Cabinet Member stated that the plan is to bring more back in house and address the home to school transport issue as we are currently at the whim of the external market. He stated that things that were dismantled a long time ago are being rebuilt. Regarding home to school transport he stated that there is some work we can do around single taxi journeys. The Executive Director added that there is an action plan regarding home to school transport and that there are several drivers to the current pressures in the budget area such as more children in residential care. She stated that the focus was on what is best for young people. She stated that work is being done with health colleagues regarding children with education and health needs.

Councillor Blackburn stated that the Panel had consistently asked for data to show the context of the budget proposals to include information from the previous year and trajectory. He stated that we can look at a 5 year projection but not look back. He stated that he totally took on board the pressures but asked for more data. The Cabinet Member stated that he would be happy to work with the Panel to produce the detail they want. He stated that Annex 1 shows the last year and this year for each portfolio. He stated that there is no attempt to hide information.

Councillor Simon stated that these are more transparent budget papers than in previous years and in other authorities. He stated that it can be difficult to balance the bigger picture with too much detail. He stated that he felt there were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 132