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Medium-Term Financial Plan update July 2024

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What's in the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) update

The report gives an update on the budget and MTFP since this year's budget was set in February. Our Strategic Director of Finance, Richard Bates wrote the update. Lead Councillor for Finance and Property, Cllr Richard Lucas, is accountable for finance. He introduced the report at Full Council on 23 July 2024. A timetable for work we need to complete over the coming months was also included.

Improved financial position for 2024 to 2025

We set a balanced budget for 2024-25. But there is still a remaining budget gap over the following two years.

After closing the unaudited draft accounts for 2023-24, we reported:

  • an underspend of £4.1 million on the General Fund
  • £8.1 million on the Housing Revenue Account

The main differences for this were outlined in the MTFP report.

Improvement in our reserves and balances

Work done on the Financial Recovery Plan and year end position means:

  • we've significantly improved our usable reserves
  • the uncommitted balance in the General fund now stands at £7.3 million. (after allocating £1 million to one-off project expenditure that we agreed in the February)
  • the HRA general budget remains at £2.5 million

A review of reserves and balances for 2024-25 is being undertaken. This will confirm whether services still need their allocated budget.

On-going budget changes

The net increase in on-going costs highlighted in the MTFP report will be around £130,000. This will increase after we consider the finance restructure proposals later this year.  The budget changes are mostly linked with:

  • the corporate improvement plan
  • the remaining issues in the financial recovery plan

Keeping our savings plan on track

We set out a schedule of budget savings in the February budget. These contributed to the balanced budget position. We will review these to ensure that they are on track.

Aligning MTFP with our revised corporate strategy

Over the summer we'll consider how to address the revised corporate priorities. These were agreed at last night's Full Council meeting. This will need investment which the council will have to factor into the budget gap to 2027-28.

Lead Councillor for Finance and Property, Cllr Richard Lucas says:

"Last year we had to find savings to create a balanced budget. This year our focus will be on allocating resources to activities that align with our priorities. These investment decisions will shape our borough for years to come."

2025 to 2026 budget timetable

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Resources will undertake detailed scrutiny of budget proposals.

The meetings will take place in September, November and January. The final budget papers will be presented to Full Council for approval on 5 February 2025.

Read the Medium-Term Financial Plan update (opens new window) 

Published on: 24 July 2024