a) RECOMMENDED (TO COUNCIL):

1. That the level of General Fund Budget for 2025/26 be agreed and recommend the summary as shown in Appendix A of report CAB3494.

2. That the Greener Faster and carbon investment proposals be approved, used as the basis of this budget and as set out in the CAB3483 including:

a. £135,000 additional budget per annum for the ongoing costs of providing the food waste collection service.

b. £460,000 one-off budget to fund the phased roll out of the food waste service from October 2025, without government funding.

3. That, in relation to the Healthy Communities priority of the new Council Plan:

a. Approve the revised income bands for the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants (set out in appendix E) that ensure claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of support after the DWPs increase in Universal Credit rates with effect from 1 April 2025.

b. Approve the amendment of the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants to include all additional support and new disregards with effect from 1 April 2025, as set out in this report.

c. That £15,000 from the Cost of Living Reserve be used to extend the Council Tax Exceptional Hardship Fund into 2025/26.

4. That in relation to the Good Homes for All priority, additional investment of £300,000 per annum be approved to fund increased demand for temporary accommodation to prevent homelessness.

5. That an additional £50,000 per annum be included to fund additional pressures on council contracts.

6. That service income annual budgets be amended as follows, in response to revised estimates:

a. Garden Waste income increased by £30,000 (to reflect increases subscriptions, although partly off-set by increased contract costs of delivering the service to more households).

b. Planning fee income reduction of £200,000 (to reflect the current reduced levels of applications received)

7. That following a review of earmarked reserves that they be amended as follows:

a. £200,000 of the Transitional Reserve be re-allocated to the Thriving Places Reserve to invest one-off resources into planning enforcement.

b. £2m of the Transitional Reserve be re-allocated to the Property Reserve to fund maintenance requirements of corporate properties.

c. £902,000 of the Exceptional Inflation Reserve be re-allocated to the Car Parks Property Reserve to fund maintenance of and investment in parking.

d. £425,000 from the Major Investment Reserve be re-allocated to the Local Development Framework Reserve to fund Local Plan requirements.

e. An additional £100,000 per annum be set aside into the Car Parks Reserve to fund maintenance of and investment in parking.

8. That the sum of £1,364,045 be treated as Special Expenses under Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 in respect of the Winchester Town area as set out in section 16 and Appendix D.

9. That the Council Tax for the Special Expenses in the Winchester Town area at Band D for 2025/26 be increased by the maximum allowed under the referendum limit of 2.99% combined between the town and district. ... view the full agenda text for item 6

Councillor Cutler (Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance) moved that the recommended minute of Cabinet be approved and adopted (seconded by Councillor Tod, Leader and Cabinet Member for Asset Management).

Council proceeded to ask questions and then debate the matters in the recommended minute and report.

In accordance with legislative requirements on recorded votes at Budget meetings, a recorded vote was first taken regarding Recommendations 1 – 8 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet.

The following Members voted in favour of Recommendations 1 – 8:

Councillor Sudhakar Achwal
Councillor Vivian Achwal
Councillor Rachel Aron
Councillor Kathleen Becker
Councillor Michael Bennett
Councillor Adrian Brophy
Councillor Angela Clear
Councillor Susan Cook
Councillor Steve Cramoysan
Councillor Neil Cutler
Councillor Nathan Eve
Councillor Russell Gordon-Smith
Councillor Brian Laming
Councillor Ritchie Latham
Councillor Kelsie Learney
Councillor Danny Lee
Councillor Jonny Morris
Councillor Jerry Pett
Councillor Clare Pinniger
Councillor Jackie Porter
Councillor Margot Power
Councillor Jane Rutter
Councillor Jamie Scott
Councillor Lucille Thompson
Councillor John Tippet-Cooper
Councillor Martin Tod
Councillor Malcolm Wallace
Councillor Chris Westwood
Councillor Suzanne White
Councillor Jonathan Williams
Councillor Charlie Wise

The following Members voted against Recommendations 1 – 8:

Councillor Neil Bolton
Councillor Caroline Brook
Councillor Stephen Godfrey
Councillor Caroline Horrill
Councillor Paula Langford-Smith
Councillor Jan Warwick

No Members abstained from voting.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended minute of Cabinet held 12 February 2025 (Recommendations 1 – 8, as follows) be approved and adopted:

1. That the level of General Fund Budget for 2025/26 be agreed and Council endorse the summary as shown in Appendix A of report CAB3494.

2. That the Greener Faster and carbon investment proposals be approved, used as the basis of this budget and as set out in the CAB3483 including:

a. £135,000 additional budget per annum for the ongoing costs of providing the food waste collection service.

b. £460,000 one-off budget to fund the phased roll out of the food waste service from October 2025, without government funding.

3. That in relation to the Healthy Communities priority of the new Council Plan:

a. the revised income bands for the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants (set out in appendix E of the report) that ensure claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of support after the DWPs increase in Universal Credit rates be approved with effect from 1 April 2025.

b. That the amendment of the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants to include all additional support and new disregards with effect from 1 April 2025 be approved, as set out in the report.

c. That £15,000 from the Cost of Living Reserve be used to extend the Council Tax Exceptional Hardship Fund into 2025/26.

4. That in relation to the Good Homes for All priority, additional investment of £300,000 per annum to fund increased demand for temporary accommodation to prevent homelessness be approved.

5. That an additional £50,000 per annum be included to fund additional pressures on council contracts.

6. That service income annual budgets be amended as follows, in response to revised ... view the full minutes text for item 6

That Cabinet recommend to Council*:

1. That the level of General Fund Budget for 2025/26 be agreed and recommend the summary as shown in Appendix A of report CAB3494.

2. That the Greener Faster and carbon investment proposals be approved, used as the basis of this budget and as set out in the CAB3483 including:

a. £135,000 additional budget per annum for the ongoing costs of providing the food waste collection service.

b. £460,000 one-off budget to fund the phased roll out of the food waste service from October 2025, without government funding.

3. That in relation to the Healthy Communities priority of the new Council Plan:

a. the revised income bands for the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants (set out in appendix E of the report) that ensure claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of support after the DWPs increase in Universal Credit rates be approved with effect from 1 April 2025.

b. That the amendment of the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants to include all additional support and new disregards with effect from 1 April 2025 be approved, as set out in the report.

c. That £15,000 from the Cost of Living Reserve be used to extend the Council Tax Exceptional Hardship Fund into 2025/26.

4. That in relation to the Good Homes for All priority, additional investment of £300,000 per annum to fund increased demand for temporary accommodation to prevent homelessness be approved.

5. That an additional £50,000 per annum be included to fund additional pressures on council contracts.

6. That service income annual budgets be amended as follows, in response to revised estimates:

a. Garden Waste income increased by £30,000 (to reflect increases subscriptions, although partly off-set by increased contract costs of delivering the service to more households).

b. Planning fee income reduction of £200,000 (to reflect the current reduced levels of applications received)

7. That following a review of earmarked reserves they be amended as follows:

a. £200,000 of the Transitional Reserve be re-allocated to the Thriving Places Reserve to invest one-off resources into planning enforcement.

b. £2m of the Transitional Reserve be re-allocated to the Property Reserve to fund maintenance requirements of corporate properties.

c. £902,000 of the Exceptional Inflation Reserve be re-allocated to the Car Parks Property Reserve to fund maintenance of and investment in parking.

d. £425,000 from the Major Investment Reserve be re-allocated to the Local Development Framework Reserve to fund Local Plan requirements.

e. An additional £250,000 per annum be set aside into the Property Reserve, for the maintenance of and investment in operational assets.

f. An additional £100,000 per annum be set aside into the Car Parks Reserve to fund maintenance of and investment in parking.

8. That the sum of £1,364,045 be treated as Special Expenses under Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 in respect of the Winchester Town area as set out in section 16 and Appendix D of the report.

9. That the Council Tax for ... view the full decision text for item 9

Councillor Cutler introduced the report and drew Cabinet’s attention to an updated version of Appendix C (earmarked reserves) which had been circulated with a supplementary agenda. The updated copy reflected the new Council Plan priorities and the £200,000 transfer to the Thriving Places Reserve for planning enforcement, recommendation 7a) of the report. Councillor Cutler also proposed an amendment to recommendation 13 of the report to replace the words “the Cabinet Member for Business and Culture” with “the relevant Cabinet Member”. This was agreed.

Councillor Cutler advised that the report had been considered by Scrutiny Committee on 4 February and the minutes of that meeting had been circulated to all present and published on the web here. The Committee had asked a number of questions which had been responded to at the meeting.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Lee and Godfrey addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Lee

He thanked Councillor Cutler and the Finance Team for the recent Member briefing on the budget and TC25 proposals and also welcomed a number of proposals in the report including the additional funding for planning enforcement. He queried the impact of the proposed reductions on service quality, the necessity to learn from the experience of new unitary authorities regarding the financial impact of local government reorganisation and whether a specific budget had been allocated for the nature improvement programme.

Councillor Godfrey

He welcomed the proposed additional funding for planning enforcement. He queried whether sufficient resources had been allocated for the work of the Strategic Planning Team. Noting the significant predicted future budget shortfall, he asked whether the TC25 savings programme would be sufficiently robust to address this.

Councillor Cutler and the Director (Finance) responded to the comments and questions raised.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and outlined above.

RECOMMENDED (TO COUNCIL):

1. That the level of General Fund Budget for 2025/26 be agreed and recommend the summary as shown in Appendix A of report CAB3494.

2. That the Greener Faster and carbon investment proposals be approved, used as the basis of this budget and as set out in the CAB3483 including:

a. £135,000 additional budget per annum for the ongoing costs of providing the food waste collection service.

b. £460,000 one-off budget to fund the phased roll out of the food waste service from October 2025, without government funding.

3. That in relation to the Healthy Communities priority of the new Council Plan:

a. the revised income bands for the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants (set out in appendix E of the report) that ensure claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of support after the DWPs increase in Universal Credit rates be approved with effect from 1 April 2025.

b. That the amendment of the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants to include all additional support and new disregards with effect from 1 April 2025 be approved, as set out in the report.

c. That ... view the full minutes text for item 9

RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that scrutiny committee comment on the proposals within the attached cabinet report, ref CAB3494 which is to be considered by cabinet at its meeting on the 12 February 2025.

Councillor Neil Cutler, Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance introduced the report, ref CAB3494 which set out proposals for the General Fund budget 2025- 2026, (available here). The introduction included the following points.

1. The budget paper was prepared based on the medium-term financial strategy (MTFS) and budget options presented to the committee in November 2024.

2. The Government settlement had been confirmed with significant changes, resulting in a £230,000 reduction in the forecast of government funding.

3. Updated baseline figures since November 2024 included a forecast 2024/25 surplus of £1.46 million. £1m of the surplus was due to the release of surplus non-domestic rates.

4. TC-25 savings had increased from £250,000 to £682,000, giving total savings of £1.3 million across the two years.

5. The updated MTFS showed a balanced budget for 2025/26 and 2026/27, with a £1.197 million deficit in 2027/28, rising to £4.45 million in 2029/30.

6. Changes in the budget proposal since the draft included a proposal to increase District Council tax by 2.7%, which was an increase of £4.30 on band D properties.

7. Changes to the Council tax reduction scheme, to operate in line with universal benefit increases, and to increase support to various groups were proposed.

8. An additional £15,000 to the Exceptional Hardship Fund to replenish it to its original level of £50,000 was also proposed.

9. A 100% Council tax premium would apply to empty and second homes from April 2026.

10.Significant transfers from two risk reserves were proposed, including the transition reserve and the exceptional inflation reserve to top up operational reserves. Also £200,000 additional resources were to be allocated to planning enforcement .

11.The council was committing significant sums to its Council plan priorities, particularly greener faster, food waste collection, good homes for all, and additional investment in temporary accommodation.

12.That recommendation 6c of the cabinet report was to be removed.

The committee was asked to comment on the proposals within the attached cabinet report, ref CAB3494, which was to be considered by the cabinet at its meeting on 12 February 2025. The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the report. In summary, the following matters were raised.

1. The use of the property portfolio to drive additional income sources.

2. Investment in the parking reserve.

3. The cost of the Guildhall per resident or council taxpayer.

4. The financing of the food waste service without government funding, given that the consultation showed 69% of people were in favour of the service with government funding.

5. How to "turbocharge" the TC-25 programme.

6. How the £11m of CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) funding could be spent on capital projects.

7. Where the interest received on CIL funds was reflected in the budget.

These points were responded to by Councillor Cutler, Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance, Councillor Tod, Leader and Cabinet Member for Asset Management, and Liz Keys, Director (Finance) accordingly.

RESOLVED

1. That the report be noted.

2. That the cabinet member considers ... view the full minutes text for item 7

Issue - meetings

General Fund budget 2025/26

Meeting: 27/02/2025 - Council (Item 6)

Meeting: 12/02/2025 - Cabinet (Item 9)

Meeting: 04/02/2025 - The Scrutiny Committee (Item 7)