That Cabinet recommend to Council;

1.    that for 2025/26 a net revenue expenditure of £147.5m, resulting in a Council Tax requirement of £96.2m (a 4.75% increase in Council Tax, of which 2% is for Adult Social Care) be approved (as outlined in Appendix 1 to the submitted);

2.    that the proposed Fees and Charges for 2025/26 be approved as set out in Appendix 4 to the submitted report;

3.    that in accordance with the requirement of the Local Government Act 2003, the advice given by the Chief Finance Officer with respect to the robustness of the budget estimates and the adequacy of the Council’s Reserves, (as set out in the Reserves Statement published in November 2024), be noted;

4.    that it be noted that the Brixham Town Council precept for 2025/26 of £531,935 will be included as part of the Torbay Council budget for Council Tax setting purposes;

5.    that the Director of Public Health be instructed to prepare proposals for the increased allocation of the Public Health Grant, which meet the specified grant criteria, for consideration by the Council as part of the budget setting for 2025/26;

6.    that the Revenue Reserves Statement 2025/26, Capital Strategy 2025/26 and Treasury Management Strategy 2025/26 be approved as published for Cabinet on 26 November 2024; and

7.    that any technical adjustments to the Revenue and Capital Budget be delegated to the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Finance.

The Council has a statutory obligation to set a budget each financial year and must take account of all factors when setting the budget.  The Cabinet’s response to the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Board were set out in the submitted report.

None

The recommendations of the Cabinet will be considered at the meeting of Council being held on 27 February 2025.

The Council has a statutory responsibility to set a budget each year.  By setting and approving the net revenue budget for 2025/26 and the budget allocations proposed, the budget would be used to achieve a range of objectives across several plans within the Council including the ambitions expressed within the Community and Corporate Plan and related strategies.

The Cabinet published its budget proposals on 26 November 2024 and commenced a period of consultation that ran until 12 January 2025.  Feedback had been received from members of the public as well as from the Overview and Scrutiny Board who considered the draft budget proposals in December 2024.  The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement was received on 18 December 2024, part way through the consultation period, and the Overview and Scrutiny Board subsequently received an update on the material changes to funding and resource assumptions on 8 January 2025.  The Final funding Settlement was received on 3 February 2025.

The Cabinet’s revised budget proposals, take into account changes announced within the Settlement and consultation feedback.  At the meeting, Councillor David Thomas proposed and Councillor Tyerman seconded a motion that was agreed unanimously by the Cabinet, as set out above.

None