Budget proposals for 2026/27 and Medium Term Financial Plan 2026/27-2029/30 (Phase two consultation)
We continue to work towards finalising our budget proposals for the year ahead and across the next four years as part of our Medium Term Financial Planning process. We will not know what levels of funding we will receive from the Government next year until late December and are continuing to face significant financial pressures.
We have consistently made a strong case for more fairness in how local government funding is distributed and the urgent need for the Council to receive a much bigger financial settlement from central government. Our financial position has been impacted by escalating demand and cost pressures in its statutory social care budgets and responsibilities, which we have had no choice but to address in our budget assumptions. For many years now, we have been asked by successive governments, to do increasingly more, at greater cost, with less and less resources.
We must therefore consult you on additional savings, developed to help with balancing the budget next year and across the next four years through to 2029/30. These further savings are in addition to the savings set out in the consultation on our budget proposals which took place between 19 September and 14 November 2025.
Update on financial position
The financial forecasts set out in the 17 September 2025 Cabinet report demonstrate that balancing our budget will be extremely challenging over the next four years, especially if no Council Tax increases are applied across the Medium Term Financial Planning (MTFP) period.
The September Cabinet report assumed that the £5.662 million of savings proposals agreed in February 2025, which impact on the current MTFP planning period, are continued and delivered. These savings proposals were subsequently subject to the consultation which we held earlier this year, which closed on 14 November 2025.
You can read the full report in the Cabinet agenda and minutes 19 November
Updated savings proposals - November 2025 savings plan
To assist with addressing the budget challenge we face, we now propose £10.057 million of new savings proposals that have been developed, with £9.103 million (90%) in 2026/27, £0.586 million (6%) in 2027/28 and £0.368 million (4%) in 2028/29.
These savings proposals have been developed as part of our financial planning arrangements in recent weeks. Most of these savings will be implemented in 2026/27.
These savings seek to once again limit the impact on front line service delivery and can be categorised as follows:
- Savings from back office and making operational efficiencies
- Raising additional income and considering our third-party contributions
- Savings from changes in the way we deliver front line services
Impact on our budget
Once the £10.057 million of new additional savings proposals across the four year MTFP (16) planning period are factored in, the revised budget shortfall, based on 0% Council Tax increases across this period, is summarised below. A comparison is provided drawn the position reported to Cabinet on 17 September 2025:
If these savings are agreed our budget shortfall would be £18.464 million for 2026/27, and we would have a cumulative budget shortfall in the first two years of MTFP (16) of £36.241 million (covering the period 2026/27 and 2027/28).
The table above shows that despite the implementation of proposed savings of £10.057 million, we are facing a more challenging financial position than it assumed in September. This is primarily due to rising cost pressures in relation to Children’s Social Care and costs of Home to School Transport.
By the end of the Medium Term financial planning period, we will have had to find savings and efficiencies of more than £300 million since 2010.
Outcomes and next steps
Despite the development of £10.057 million of new savings proposals, if agreed, a significant budget deficit remains. Our Cabinet will therefore need to carefully consider options to raise Council Tax, find further financial savings and consider the use of reserves as a temporary measure to help balance the budget next year.
Your feedback from this further phase of consultation and the previous phase of consultation will help us shape and finalise our budget proposals for 2026/27, as well as help us look ahead longer term to make future savings. This will be reported to our Cabinet and Full Council in January and February 2026.
Phases
Further update and decision making
Thank you to everyone who took part in two phases of consultation on our savings proposals between September 2025 and January 2026.
The first consultation engaged nearly 1,700 participants, including responses from residents and our partners and focused on the previously agreed savings and the wider financial position of the Council.
Key findings included:
- Support for savings approach: 51% of respondents agreed with the Council’s approach to balancing the budget, with strong themes around efficiency, protecting frontline services, and opposition to council tax increases
- Council Tax preferences: 69% of respondents supported some level of council tax increase to avoid cuts to local services, with 5% being the most frequently chosen option
- Savings priorities: Respondents prioritised savings in local council tax support, environment and climate change, and council tax processing services
The second round of budget consultation focussed on the new savings proposals set out in the 19 November 2025 Cabinet report. This consultation engaged 1,610 responses which again included responses from residents and our partners.
The key findings included:
- Support for back-office savings of £5.684 million over the four years: A majority (52.1%) agreed with the additional savings from back office and efficiencies that have been identified, emphasising reducing management roles, agency work, and promoting shared services, though concerns were raised about impacts on vital areas like Building Safety and Adult Social Care
- Support for raising additional income and reducing contributions to third parties of £2.971 million over the next four years: 54.5% agreed with proposals to increase income through charges and reviewing third-party contributions, supporting fines and asset sales, but concerns focused on potential negative effects on vulnerable groups and local businesses, and there was some opposition to the Council ending grants to Town and Parish Councils, particularly from Town and Parish Council representatives.
- Frontline service budget savings of £1.402 million over the next four years: 41% of respondents disagreed with changes to frontline service delivery, citing risks to vulnerable groups, increased antisocial behaviour, and rural community impacts, though some supported streamlining and increased community volunteering
Cabinet and Full Council decision making
The consultation results and feedback were presented to Cabinet on 21 January 2026 and Full Council on 18 February 2026 as part of a report on our Medium Term Financial Plan 2026/27 – 2029/30.
As part of the report, our budget and financial planning proposals have been further developed in consideration of a number of things such as our need to balance our legal (statutory) responsibilities, protect frontline services, and maintain financial sustainability, our unavoidable ongoing cost pressures (particularly in legal required (statutory) children’s and adult social care, home to school transport, and in waste management services) and the impact of the Local Government Finance Settlement.
At the meeting on 18 February, Full Council made decisions on several items related to our financial planning and budget setting.
Amongst this they agreed the following:
- the outcome of two budget consultations on the proposed saving proposals
- a 0.00% core Council Tax increase and a 1.99% increase which relates to the Social Care precept, to create a combined 1.99% overall increase in council tax in 2026/27
- our savings plans totalling £12.914 million in 2026/27, £2.124 million in 2027/28 and £0.432 million in 2028/29
The full report is available to read at County Council Wednesday 18 February 2026.
Upcoming and ongoing events
Past events
Event date: December 4th, 2025 from 13:30 to 14:00.
29 registrants
Event date: December 1st, 2025 from 17:00 to 17:30.
53 registrants