Skip to main content

Agenda item

Budget 2026/27 & medium term financial strategy

Purpose:

This report provides an update on the budget for 2026/27 following the provisional government funding settlement on 17 December 2025.

To consider:

1.    The Draft Base Budget for 2026/27

2.    The Council’s Capital Programme for 2026/27 to 2030/31

3.    The level of Council Tax for 2026/27

4.    The Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)

5.    The Capital Strategy 2026/27

6.    The Investment Strategy 2026/27

7.    The Treasury management Strategy 2026/27

8.    The Responses from the Statutory Budget Consultation 2026/27

9.    The Pay Policy Statement 2026/27

 

Recommendations:

That the Executive resolves to:

  1. Note the Parish Precepts and Tax Levels set out in Annexes G.

 

And resolves to recommend to Council to:

  1. Approve the General Fund Revenue Budget as Summarised in Annex A.
  2. Approve the Updated Medium Term Financial Strategy in Annex B.
  3. Approve the Capital Programme for 2026/27 to 2030/31 as set out in Annex C.
  4. Approve the Council’s Pay Policy Statement as set out in Annex I
  5. Approve the Level of District Council Tax for 2026/27 for a Band D property of £134.38 as shown in Annexes D-G.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Alaric Smith, Executive Member for Finance, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to provide an update on the budget for 2026/27 following the provisional government funding settlement on 17 December 2025. The report was to consider the following:

1. The Draft Base Budget for 2026/27

2. The Council’s Capital Programme for 2026/27 to 2030/31

3. The level of Council Tax for 2026/27

4. The Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)

5. The Capital Strategy 2026/27

6. The Investment Strategy 2026/27

7. The Treasury management Strategy 2026/27

8. The Responses from the Statutory Budget Consultation 2026/27

9. The Pay Policy Statement 2026/27 

 

In his presentation Councillor Smith focussed on the following aspects of the report:

 

  • Full Council would consider the budget for 2026/27 on 25 February 2026.
  • The final draft had been updated with the provisional government funding settlement announced on 17 December 2025, and for updated Publica and Ubico contract sums, investment property information and Retained Business Rates.
  • The strategy papers for Capital, Investment and Treasury Management had been reviewed by the Audit and Governance Committee on 22 January 2026 and were included in the report.
  • The final Local Government Finance Settlement was published on 9 February 2026, and a supplementary briefing note had been published to address this. Councillor Smith advised that the government's methodology for the calculation of Business Rates pooling in the Funding Floor baseline had been adjusted, with the result that there was a reduction in funding of £2.318m over the three-year funding period, when compared to the provisional settlement. The Business Rates pooling gain was still included in Core Spending Power, but the methodology had changed, giving 50% to Counties and 50% to the districts. This had meant that there was a reduction in funding in years two and three. However, a new Adjustment Support grant introduced for 2026/27 ensured that no Council received less Core Spending Power than had been announced in the provisional settlement. 
  • The final draft budget resulted in a contribution to general fund reserves of £683,814 before growth requests and was balanced after growth requests.
  • The table at section 2 of the report showed key movements in the budget from that proposed to the Executive in January. Changes had included: the reduction in the Ubico contract; the Publica contract in which a re-based cost model had been adopted; additional movements to earmarked reserves for the Waste and Environmental Services Project and the next phase of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR); the removal of cost of interest on external borrowing from the base budget.
  • The Council proposed to invest in areas such as: management of the property portfolio; shared positions in Pollution Services, Tenancy Relations and Private Water Supplies; habitat improvements on Council land, species recovery projects; projects to prevent violence against women and girls; Environmental Officer and Field Worker posts; and a Planning Services Transformation Lead.
  • Councillor Smith paid tribute to the Officers responsible for the budget, which he considered to be good in the circumstances faced by the Council.
  • Councillor Smith proposed the Executive accepted the recommendations shown in the report.

 

In the discussion Executive members noted and welcomed the budget and highlighted the inclusion of growth requests in their portfolios.

 

Councillor Hugo Ashton, Executive Member for Planning, drew the attention of the Executive to three areas in his portfolio: Increased capacity in project management for the Local Plan; increased capacity to manage infrastructure funds; and the extension to the Planning Transformation Lead role. Councillor Ashton also welcomed the capital funding allocated for improvements to lighting for parking in Burford.

 

Councillor Andrew Prosser, Executive Member for Climate Action and Nature Recovery, highlighted the work across local authorities towards the Nature Recovery Strategy. Councillor Prosser noted that the budget allowed delivery on the Strategy across the District including investment in officers to enable engagement with communities. Projects such as Coronation Orchards were examples of this work and had provided nature rich community assets.

 

Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council, seconded the proposal and stated that the budget was a result of the diligent and detailed work of the Council’s officers. Investments and improvement work on Council owned assets, such as at Elmfield, had ensured financial returns that had enabled the Council to continue to provide services to residents. In some other authorities Government funding shortfalls had meant cuts to services to manage deficits, however the Council had made no such cuts to services provided. 

 

This was voted on and agreed unanimously.

 

RESOLVED:

That the Executive:

1. Noted the Parish Precepts and Tax Levels set out in Annex G.

 

Recommend to Council to:

1. Approve the General Fund Revenue Budget as Summarised in Annex A.

2. Approve the Updated Medium Term Financial Strategy in Annex B.

3. Approve the Capital Programme for 2026/27 to 2030/31 as set out in Annex C.

4. Approve the Council’s Pay Policy Statement as set out in Annex I

5. Approve the Level of District Council Tax for 2026/27 for a Band D property of £134.38 as shown in Annexes D-G.

Supporting documents:

 

Related Pages