Decision - General Fund Draft Budget & Resource Update - 2026-27 to 2029-30

This report seeks agreement on the Budget assumptions and resource update for 2026/27 to 2029/30.

That Cabinet: 1) Note the updated forecasts including funding assumptions and net expenditure projections included in this report. 2) Note the updated predicted budget gaps totalling over £86 million over the Medium Term Financial Strategy period, including £24.926m in 2026/27. 3) Note the draft savings proposals totalling £12.446m at Appendix 1. 4) Note the draft accompanying Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) at Appendix 4, and note that the final EIAs will be provided to Cabinet and Budget Council in February 2026. 5) Approve the extension of the Innovation Fund to 2029/30, committing additional total funding of £8.140m, as detailed in Section 6, to ensure the continuation of transformational activity across the full Medium Term Financial Strategy period to 2029/30. 6) Approve the release of £1.041m of earmarked reserves into a new general risk reserve as set out in Section 8 and Appendix 5. 7) Note that plans to arrive at a legally balanced budget for 2026/27, and the legal requirement to set a Council Tax will be presented to Cabinet and Budget Council in February 2026. 8) Note that projections for next year and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) will be updated following the announcement of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, expected week commencing 15 December 2025.

The document assesses the equality impacts of 11 proposed 2026/27 budget savings and income measures across children’s services, adult social care, housing, parks and environmental services. It identifies potentially disproportionate impacts on vulnerable children and young people, disabled people, low-income households, homeless people, carers, older people and public toilet users, with mitigation and monitoring actions proposed.