A Firm Financial Foundation

Strong finances provide the foundation for a well-run council. Without a solid financial plan it is impossible to carry through with many of our other manifesto commitments. Since taking office in 2019, and despite the extreme financial pressures of the pandemic, we have successfully balanced the books each year, rebuilt reserves, and kept council tax increases to the minimum possible. We have introduced better project management and planning for major capital schemes, prioritised local businesses in local tenders, and maximized help for businesses throughout the pandemic. We have also published regular data on how the Council is performing, scrapped wasteful projects, and revamped our approach to empty properties. In addition, we have published detailed budget performance reports and published a five-year plan for the Council's finances.

Building on this solid foundation, over the next four years we will:

• Maintain our effective management of the Council’s finances and balance the books each year.

• Regularly report our financial performance in public.

• Maximise income on our investments to generate cash for Council services.

• Never make risky investments on the money markets.

• Prioritise investment in environmentally sound funds and avoid carbon generating investments.

• Prioritise a major review of Children’s Services to ensure continuing excellent care and value for money.

• Gather as much funding from outside the Council to reduce the costs to local taxpayers.

• Lobby for additional powers to raise funds locally from central government.

• Maintain very high rates of compliance in payment of council tax and business rate.

• Encourage external scrutiny of our finances.

• Reduce or limit the extent to which the Council uses external consultants and contractors by bringing services in-house under local democratic control.

• Review the council tax reduction scheme to make sure it works equitably.