1. That the assumptions set out in respect of Government funding, council tax, inflation rates and fees and charges (set out in full in section 13 of report CAB3483) and the projections set out in Appendix 1 be noted.
2. That the Medium-Term Financial Strategy be approved as set out in sections 13 to 17 of report CAB3483.
3. That a detailed budget be prepared for consideration by Council in February 2025 based on the assumptions set out in this MTFS; final spending review announcements; and including the following options shown in Appendix 2 and Section 14 of the report:
a. That, in relation to Greener Faster and carbon reduction priorities:
i. An additional £135,000 per annum be included for the ongoing costs of providing the food waste collection service.
ii. An additional one-off budget of £460,000 be included to fund the phased roll out of the food waste service from October 2025, without government funding.
b. That, in relation to the Homes for All priority:
i. Additional estimates, shown in Appendix 2, of c£300,000 per annum be included to fund increased demand for temporary accommodation to prevent homelessness.
c. That, in relation to services:
i. A reduction of £300,000 per annum to the energy benchmarking budget in relation to the operation of the leisure centres.
ii. An additional £50,000 per annum be included to fund additional pressures on council contracts.
d. That, in relation to service income annual budgets, amendments be made as follows, in response to revised estimates:
i. An increase of £30,000 per annum to Garden Waste income to reflect increased subscriptions (although partly off-set by increased contract costs of delivering the service to more households, already assumed in the MTFS).
ii. A reduction of £200,000 per annum of planning fee income to reflect the current reduced levels of applications received.
e. In relation to management of the council’s property assets:
i. An additional £250,000 per annum be set aside into the Property Reserve for the maintenance of and investment in operational assets.
ii. A reduction of £500,000 per annum to reflect estimates of future rental income on investment properties.
4. That a risk reserve of £1m for homelessness prevention be established by transferring existing risk reserve funds from the Exceptional Inflation Risk Reserve.
5. That maintaining the concessionary price of the Garden Waste collection service at £29 and increasing the prices for small and large bin collections by the waste collection contract inflationary increase with effect from March 2025 be approved, resulting in charges of £46 for small bins and £70 for large bins.
6. That a capital budget of up to £190,000 be approved to enable a grant of developer contributions, under ‘Section 106’ agreements monies to be made to Wickham Parish Council for a replacement pavilion at Wickham Recreation Ground.
7. That the council’s application to participate in the Hampshire Business Rates Pool for 2025/26 be noted.