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

Lead Officer -  Ben Jay

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

3.4.     Accepted the themes identified by the cross-party task and finish group and take them into account in the development of the council budget for 2025/26.

3.5.     Accepted the feedback from the Transformation & Improvement Scrutiny on learning from the collaborative budget process and how it compares to the previous alternative budget arrangements.

3.6.     Considered and confirmed that the Collaborative Budget approach should be adopted by Council in future years.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities introduced the report of the cross-party Collaborative Budget task and finish group which set out the work carried out and broad themes identified as contributions to the 2025/26 budget setting process. This approach had helped to make best use of officer time, whilst they work to meet the financial challenges of the current year, as well as providing a forum for open and transparent discussions, where members from all parties had access to the same information and answers to the questions asked and points raised.

Concern was raised regarding the time it had taken to reach the stage of discussing options at the task and finish group meetings. The Portfolio Holder acknowledged that the process took longer than expected due to the need to ensure all members understood the budget planning process. He emphasised the importance of this understanding, especially for new members post-election. Further, he assured members that all relevant information would be shared and that the collaborative approach would continue to evolve.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

3.4.     Accepted the themes identified by the cross-party task and finish group and take them into account in the development of the council budget for 2025/26.

3.5.     Accepted the feedback from the Transformation & Improvement Scrutiny on learning from the collaborative budget process and how it compared to the previous alternative budget arrangements.

3.6.     Considered and confirmed that the Collaborative Budget approach should be adopted by Council in future years.

To consider the report of the Collaborative Budget Task and Finish Group ahead of it being presented to Cabinet.

REPORT TO FOLLOW

The Committee received and noted the report of the cross-party Collaborative Budget Task and Finish Group.   The Portfolio Holder for Resources reported that the meetings of the group had been very well attended.  No questions on the report were raised and the Portfolio Holder observed that this demonstrated the success of the approach.