Minutes:
The Committee received a report which provided the financial context and an overview of the Future Tandridge Programme’s 2-year savings plan. Upon approval, this report would form the basis of a draft budget which would be proposed at the Strategy & Resources Committee in November. Individual budgets would then be proposed at the Strategy & Resources Committee in January 2025 and Full Council in February 2025.
The financial context of the Council had been discussed at the previous Strategy & Resources Committee in September and Full Council in October. The principles approved at these meetings had been used to develop the 2-year savings plan. Officers highlighted that it was unclear how much the Council would receive following the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Statement. A settlement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to provide clarity on how the Statement would affect the Council was expected in December, therefore, the financial context of the Council outlined in the report remained the same.
For the Council overall, the savings plan detailed a saving of £4 million over 4 years. This would involve £1 million in savings in the first year and an additional £1 million saved each year in years 2, 3 and 4. The savings plan looked at more difficult areas where savings could be located within Community Services. Officers highlighted key areas of the savings plan and explained that:
In response to Member questions, Officers explained that further discussions would take place with Parish Councils on playgrounds regarding asset transfer. This would be developed further upon report approval; however, individual responsibilities would be decided on a site by site basis developed from discussions with Parish Councils. Officers noted that as long as an agreement would be made, any obligations or previous agreements, such as through Lottery funding, could be passed over to the Parish Council.
R E S O L V E D – that:
A) the financial context and progress in the development of the 2025/26 Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) be noted.
B) the budget principles, approved by Full Council, which underpinned the approach to the 2-year savings plan and which the Committee is required to operate in be noted.
C) the savings targets in Section 3 of the paper, subject to details of how the savings would be made in the January Community Services Committee papers be approved. The targets would form the basis of the development of the 2025/26 Community Services draft budget to the Strategy & Resources Committee.
Supporting documents: