1.To thank scrutiny commissions for taking time to consider and comment on the draft budget.
2. To recommend to Council the following:
(a) approve the three year budget strategy described in this report;
(b) approve the proposed budget and council tax for 2026/27, including the recommendations in the formal budget resolution circulated separately;
(c) that £2m is transferred from the budget strategy reserve to an earmarked reserve to support the Council-owned Adventure Playgrounds in the City. The funding will be provided as capital and revenue therefore it is proposed to add up to a maximum of £2m to the capital programme to be funded from this earmarked reserve.
(d) approve the transfers from the budget strategy reserve as set out in paragraph 8.3 of this report;
(e) approve the budget ceilings for each service shown at Appendix 1 to this report;
(f) approve the scheme of virement described in Appendix 2 to this report;
(g) note the Director of Finance’s view on the adequacy of reserves and the estimates used in preparing the budget;
(h) note the equality implications arising from the proposed tax increase, as described in paragraph 14 and Appendix 3;
(i) note the medium-term financial strategy and forecasts presented at Appendix 4, and the financial challenges ahead;
(j) note the earmarked reserves position set out at Appendix 5;
(k) note the policy on council tax premiums and discounts set out at Appendix 6;
(l) note that the impact of the Council Tax Support Scheme has been reviewed by the Executive, and reported to OSC, during the year;
(m) approve the inflationary increase to Council Tax Support Scheme thresholds as shown at Appendix 7 and approve further inflationary increases in future years (to be calculated with reference to published CPI inflation for the September prior to the start of the year in question);
(n) approve the capital receipts flexibility policy at Appendix 8.