Decision details

To receive an update on the latest medium term financial planning assumptions for the Council and take any decisions relating to savings and growth plans as part of the budget setting process leading to Budget Council on 20^th February 2020.

(a)  That the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) is approved, as the basis for considering 2020/21 budget options;

(b)  That the 2020/21 budget is modelled on the basis of a Council Tax increase of 3.99% for 2020/21 (which includes the Government’s 2.00% adult social care precept), for resource planning purposes; the 3.99% is for modelling purposes only at this time.  The decision on the Council Tax to be set for 2020/21 will be made by members in February and may not be at the maximum figure included in the MTFS once the budget work has been finalised.

(c)  That the ongoing uncertainty is noted, regarding the extent to which the Authority may retain a share of business rates growth and the way that central government assesses the Authority’s need to spend in the future. This makes medium term financial planning more difficult than usual;

(d)  That the timing of the provisional local government finance settlement is noted, as it will be announced later than normal (due to the General Election), so the time for scrutinising budget proposals will be less than usual;

(e)  That the initial savings proposals (and additional income generation proposals) are noted, as they are designed primarily to fund some of the additional 2020/21 spending pressures from Slough Children’s Services Trust (SCST).