Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2016/040

Contact: Katy Jurczyszyn, Strategic Finance Manager (Finance, Strategy & Monitoring) Tel: 07584 909518

Report by Chief Finance Officer (CA7).

This report is the first in the series on the Service & Resource Planning process for 2017/18 which will culminate in Council setting a budget for 2017/18 in February 2017. This initial report sets the context and the starting point for the process. It sets out:

•                  the assumptions on which the existing Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) is based,

•                  known and potential financial issues for 2017/18 and beyond which impact on the existing MTFP, and

•         a proposed process for Service & Resource Planning for 2017/18 including a timetable of events.

The report follows on from the report presented to Cabinet in July 2016, ‘Revised Medium Term Financial Plan 2017/18 - 2019/20’.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)                note the report;

(b)               approve the Service and Resource Planning process for 2017/18; and

(c)            approve a four year period for the Medium Term Financial Plan and Capital Programme to 2020/21.

Recommendations agreed.

Cabinet considered the first in the series on the Service & Resource Planning process for 2017/18 which will culminate in Council setting a budget for 2017/18 in February 2017. This initial report set the context and the starting point for the process including:

·                     the assumptions on which the existing Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) is based,

·                     known and potential financial issues for 2017/18 and beyond which impact on the existing MTFP, and

·                     a proposed process for Service & Resource Planning for 2017/18 including a timetable of events.

Councillor Nick Hards, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, referred to the summary at the beginning of the report highlighting the savings that had been identified but remained to be delivered and those savings yet to be determined. He hoped that if government were to introduce further savings that this information would be flagged up in the Autumn Statement, avoiding the problems, not of the Council’s making, that there had been in the current financial year budget process. He looked forward to hearing of the proposals from the Director of Transformation and highlighted areas that continued to be a challenge.

Cabinet members responded to the points raised.

RESOLVED:             to:

(a)             note the report;

(b)             approve the Service and Resource Planning process for 2017/18; and

(c)             approve a four year period for the Medium Term Financial Plan and Capital Programme to 2020/21.