Agenda item

This report sets out a number of proposed amendments to the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme.

Background:

This report set out a number of proposed amendments to the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme.

The report was a composite of three reports previously considered by the Cabinet. These were:

i)    the Capital and Revenue Outturn and Annual Debt Write Off Report 2025/26, considered on 2 June 2026. This requested an addition to the Council’s revenue budget to fund a budget overspend and also requested some removals from the Capital Programme due to underspends or alternative funding being utilised.

ii)   Resources to Support Local Government Reorganisation, considered by the Cabinet on 2 June 2026. This requested the addition of anticipated capital receipts to the revenue budget to fund costs associated with Local Government Reorganisation.

iii)Medway Development Company (MDC) Phase 2 Sites, considered by the Cabinet on 30 June 2026. This requested an addition to the Council’s revenue budget to progress planning applications in respect of MDC’s phase 2 development sites.

The reports as originally considered by the Cabinet were attached as appendices 1 to 3 of the Council report.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Maple, supported by the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness, Councillor Louwella Prenter, proposed the recommendations set out in the report.

Decisions:

a)    The Council agreed the addition of £3.743million to the revenue budget from general reserves to fund the final overspend, as set out in Section 6 of the report. This included the £2.825million agreed by the Council in February 2026 and preserved the Council’s general reserve balance at £10.012million, just above the minimum level set by the Section 151 Officer.

b)    The Council agreed the addition of £7million of anticipated capital receipts to the revenue budget, as set out in section 7 of the report, to be allocated across the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years, in order to fund the Council’s contribution towards the county-wide Programme Management Office and the Council’s own LGR project team and associated workstreams.

c)    The Council agreed the addition of £1.8m to the Council’s revenue budget, as set out in section 8 of the report, to progress planning applications in respect of MDC’s phase 2 development sites, whilst also noting the flexibility to apply the funding to alternative sites that may be added to the programme, as set out in Exempt Appendix 1 to the original Cabinet report. This budget was to be funded from capital receipts under flexibilities granted by the Government.

d)    The Council agreed to the following removals from the Capital Programme for schemes that had underspent, as set out in Section 5 of the report:

·        £160,000 for Greenacre Academy; 

·        £133,000 for Hundred of Hoo 6^th Form; 

·        £63,000 for Leigh Academy Canopy; 

·        £20,000 for Strood Academy; 

·        £226,000 for Victory Academy; 

·        £65,000 for Dane Court; 

·        £2,000 for Luton Primary (Nursery);

·        £3,000 for ICT Infrastructure; 

·        £168,000 for Waste Fleet Replacement. 

e)    The Council agreed the following removals from the Capital Programme for schemes that could be funded by revenue Section 106 developer contributions, as set out in section 5 of the report:

·        £400 for Rainham Play; 

·        £400 for Jackson Fields & Victoria Gardens;

·        £10,000 Luton Millennium Green.