Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities

Lead officer -  Ben Jay

RESOLVED:

3.1. To take necessary actions regarding the seven areas underpinning the strategic risk set out in the report (para 2.2)
3.2. To note the and endorse the actions achieved and planned (para 2.4 and 2.5)
3.3. To take necessary action to improve Period 2 forecast (31 st May 2024), by year end in terms of the indicative level of savings delivery of £38.403m (61%), resulting in a projected spend over budget of £38.553m for 2024/25.
3.4. To note the projected General Fund Balance of £0.268m arising if no further action were taken.
3.5. To formally acknowledge that the current information indicates the need for urgent corrective action, and to request that the Council’s senior team undertakes that urgently.

The Portfolio Holder referred to the discussion of the Strategy at the Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee held earlier in the week and referred to a number of factors impacting the economic outlook for the council, including the change in government, inflation, rising demand for services, weather events and geopolitical conflict. 

To mitigate these challenges, the intention was to bolster reserves as much a possible to set a foundation for dealing with future uncertainties from 2025 to 2030. 

It was confirmed that pay inflation had been assessed as 3% in the Financial Strategy approved in February 2024 but that the 2024/25 pay offer had been lower and revised down to 2.5%.

A Group Leader referred to a recent survey of councils where a number had answered yes to the question was there likelihood of issuing a Section 114 notice before the end of the financial year.  The Leader confirmed that Shropshire Council’s response to that question had been no. 

RESOLVED:

3.1 To take necessary actions regarding the seven areas underpinning the strategic risk set out in the report (para 2.2)

 
3.2. To note the and endorse the actions achieved and planned (para 2.4 and 2.5)

3.3. To take necessary action to improve Period 2 forecast (31 st May 2024), by year end in terms of the indicative level of savings delivery of £38.403m (61%), resulting in a projected spend over budget of £38.553m for 2024/25.

3.4. To note the projected General Fund Balance of £0.268m arising if no further action were taken.

3.5. To formally acknowledge that the current information indicates the need for urgent corrective action, and to request that the Council’s senior team undertakes that urgently.