Agenda item

This report will present the draft revenue budgets together with proposals for increases in Council Tax and the Adult Social Care Precept for 2026/27.

The Executive Director – People introduced the report to the Panel and highlighted the following points.

·  The Council’s 2026/27 Budget and Council Tax proposal will be considered by Cabinet on 12th February 2026 and presented to Council for approval on 24th February 2026.

·  To deliver a balanced budget in 2026/27 savings and income generation plans total £7.49m, with income and savings to find of £32.05m in the following four years covering 2027/28 to 2030/21. The Council has a good track record of delivering proposed savings, in relation to the Cabinet Portfolio’s being Scrutinised by this Panel there are savings and income generation plans of £3.20m.

·  The proposals for savings and income generation for this Panel’s attention are outlined in Annex 1. Growth and pressures to bring to this Panel’s attention are outlined in Annex 2.

He stated that it has been a tough process so far as both services are demand led. He said that the Council was committed to maintaining delivery of its high standard services.

He explained that the public consultation on the current budget proposals was to conclude later in the day.

Councillor Alison Born, Cabinet Member for Adult Services said that the Liberal Democrat administration has a history of committing investment into Adult Social Care whilst also seeking potential savings where possible.

She confirmed that contract inflation (£2.6m) and funding of demographic growth (£2m) would form part of the Adult Social Care budget for 2026/27.

She reminded the Panel that Adult Social Care accounts for the largest proportion of the Council’s budget and that they continue to be committed to delivering quality services that are also value for money.

Councillor Paul May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services stated that the pressure on the service currently was enormous as demand continues to outstrip resources. He said that he was proud of the support that the Liberal Democrat administration has given to the service over many years.

He explained that the finance of the service is monitored every two weeks and that very good quality of services are in place.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if the increase in family reunifications and step down from residential placements had been achieved for the current year as this was a highlighted area also for this proposed incoming budget.

The Director of Children's Services & Education replied that the figures for 2025/26 had already been achieved and was based on 10 children being able to return to their homes. She added that this outcome has resulted in achieving a saving of around £500,000 in this financial year.

Councillor Hardman asked if in order to achieve the £300,000 saving associated with transitions into Adult Social Care a dedicated team was required to be recruited.

The Assistant Director for Operations & Safeguarding replied that there is already a transitions team in place within Adult Social Care and that they seek to begin conversations with young people about this process from the age of 16 onwards.

She added that part of this proposal will look at whether any young people from the ages of 18 / 19 can move out of residential accommodation and into reduced dependency models which would lead to a saving on accommodation costs.

Councillor Lesley Mansell asked if there was an update available on the proposed Government White Paper.

The Executive Director – People replied that two pieces of legislation were in progress. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to seek to strengthen provision about the safeguarding and welfare of children, this was currently being debated in the House of Lords. And, the Schools White Paper, which was due to set out the Government’s planned reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, this was now expected to be published by the end of January.

Councillor Mansell asked if additional SEND staff will be required to attempt to improve outcomes and monitor EHCP progress.

The Director of Children's Services & Education replied that our prevention approach requires the Council to better front load this work area. She added that Family Hubs are still in place to offer universal help and support and that funding is in place to develop further later in the year.

She stated that a team was now in place to improve the timeliness of applications for an EHCP.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding added that recent work has seen caseloads reduced for individual practitioners to 26, down from 30. He said that complaints relating to SEND have reduced and that teams are working very collaboratively.

Councillor Mansell said that she welcomed these improvements and would like to see information added to the relevant Equalities Impact Assessment. She asked if enough Health Visitors were in place to support the preventative measures planned.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding that he would seek for the Equalities Impact Assessment to be updated and for an update on SEND to be provided to the Panel in March.

The Director of Public Health & Prevention said that she was confident that enough Health Visitors and School Nurses are in place through arrangements made by HCRG.

The Chair asked for the proposed budget savings to be tracked and reported to future meetings of the Panel.

Councillor Paul May replied that the Cabinet Member for Resources regularly reports on budget monitoring to the Corporate PDS Panel and Cabinet and that he would provide such comment within his future updates to this Panel.

Councillor Joanna Wright asked if an explanation could be given for an unaccounted £6m in relation to children’s transport in comparison to previous years.

The Executive Director – People replied that the £6m was in connection with the Home to School Transport budget and that this had moved into another directorate of the Council.

Councillor Wright asked if contingency measures were in place should the cost of family setting breakdowns rise.

The Director of Children's Services & Education replied that the budget has been set with the current demand in mind and said that officers will work hard to be able to keep children at their homes for as long as possible. She added that the numbers of Children in Care have been steady within B&NES and are expected to reduce.

Councillor Wright asked if the budget for Legal Services was available to comment upon.

The Executive Director – People replied that this was not within the remit of this Panel, but that he could send that information to her.

Councillor Wright referred to a saving attributable to Technology Enabled Care and asked if this would include Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what impact that would have on data governance and safeguarding.

The Executive Director – People replied that this was not solely about AI although a tool (Magic Notes) has been introduced within the past year to enable conversations during visits to be recorded and transferred into a case file note.

The Assistant Director for Operations & Safeguarding added that a governance process is in place and that consent is sought prior to any recording.

Kevin Burnett asked for further comment to be given in relation to Safety Valve and Charlton House in the context of the budget setting process.

The Executive Director – People replied that Safety Valve funding would be delivered under a separate budget area and added that DfE discussions remain ongoing. He also explained that savings attributable to Charlton House were not due to be seen until 2027/28 and therefore not in this current budget setting timeframe.

Kevin Burnett asked if the Council and the ICB were aligned on how the budget for complex need cases should be shared.

The Executive Director – People replied that there were well established processes in place between the Council and the ICB in relation to complex care packages.

Kevin Burnett asked if enough funding was in place for the work associated with Families First.

The Director of Children's Services & Education replied that confirmation had been received that funding for three years was in place.

Councillor Paul May commented that he would provide the Panel with an update on Home to School Transport via a future Cabinet Member report.

Councillor Wright asked if it was known where and why the demographic growth pressures mentioned (£3.3m) would occur.

The Executive Director – People replied that modelling has been undertaken due to an ageing population.

The Assistant Director for Operations & Safeguarding added that demographic analysis has taken place over the past 2 – 3 years and also takes into account those young people who are likely to transfer into Adult Social Care. She said that also some older people, between the age of 80 – 90, were presenting to the service for the first time.

Councillor Mansell asked if there was a proposed saving that a higher delivery risk.

The Executive Director – People reiterated that it was a challenging budget all round and that he could not single out a specific proposal.

Kevin Burnett asked if any elements of the budget were discretionary or were they all statutory.

The Executive Director – People replied that they were all statutory requirements.

The Chair said that she appreciated the role that both officers and Cabinet Members have played during this process.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the proposals that impact the Council’s 2026/27 revenue budget.