RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet noted:

i)          The alignment of this report with other reports on this agenda, including the Fees and Charges proposals, the proposed Capital Strategy, and the proposed Treasury Strategy; also the alignment to the position reported for the current financial year, set out in the Q3 Financial report and the Q3 Treasury Management report.

ii)         The analysis of the financial position of the council set out in this report and confirms the alignment of the new proposals to the outline of the necessary actions for 2024/25 already set out in the December update to the MTFS.

iii)        The levels of reserves in recent years, the forecast levels of reserves at the end of the current year, and the plans set out to ensure the adequacy of the reserves in future years.

iv)       The proposed capital investment programme including the commentary on priority schemes.

v)         The proposed spending reductions for 2024/25.

vi)       The approach of combined spending reductions and replenishment of general reserves.

2. That Cabinet recommended to Council:

vii)      Approval of the budget proposals, including revenue and capital budgets, and the associated strategies, subject to further amendments required by Cabinet, or identified as necessary by the Chief Finance Officer (“CFO”).

viii)    to approve a delegation to the CFO in consultation with the Portfolio Holder - Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities to enable specific work to be commissioned from PwC in line with the conditions set out in paragraph 4.8.