Initial proposals for Cornwall Council’s budget for 2025/26 will lead the agenda when the Cabinet meets in Truro today.
Despite some increased funding announced in the Autumn Statement in Westminster last week, the financial challenges facing local authorities across the UK means difficult choices must be made in order to balance the books.
Residents will have the opportunity to have their say on the proposals following the meeting next week as part of a public consultation.
Also on today's agenda are the Langarth Business Plan, a council homes update and the Housing Decarbonisation Strategy.
You can watch the meeting live via the webcast service, or follow proceedings via the online blog below.
9am: Today's meeting will begin at 10am.
10am: Today's meeting is now underway
10.01am: Declarations of interest and the approval of previous minutes are approved.
10.02am: Now it is time for the Leader's announcements. Cllr Linda Taylor highlights this week's Remembrance Services, the new solar canopy at County Hall and the signing of a new Cornwall Faith Covenant.
10.07am: Cllr Taylor pays tribute to Tracie Langley, the council's section 151 officer, who is retiring shortly. She thanks her for her hard work and willingness to have difficult conversations in achieving a balanced budget.
10.09am: We now move onto the next item, the Council Performance Report 2024/25 (quarter 2). It is introduced by Cllr David Harris, deputy leader of Cornwall Council and portfolio holder for resources.
10.12am: Cllr Harris highlights the pressures on the authority's finances, with a forecast overspend of over £7million for the year. He says work is being undertaken to tackle that situation, saying: "I am expecting this adverse forecast to improve in the next four and half months. But I acknowledge the position is difficult and officers have my sympathies as I know they are trying hard to be frugal in the face of growing demands and costs."
10.16am: Cllr Harris concludes: "Finally, returning the overriding financial challenge that we continue to strain every sinew to overcome the ‘in-year’ pressures seen in q2, and as you can see from the next report, it feels like it’s going to get even harder before it gets any easier.
"But we can’t and will not throw the towel in. I know its hard for officers, but I don’t want this Council to be the latest in a growing number of local authorities applying to the Government for Exceptional Financial Support.
"Not on my watch, and definitely not on Tracie’s, as Linda has already said, this is her last Cabinet meeting before retiring from the Council. Obviously, her input has been key to this report and the next report, and we will come on to that in a moment, but her support in bringing forward the comprehensive Council Performance Reports every quarter has been hugely appreciated."
10.17am: Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, cabinet member with responsibility for children and families, says she is awaiting details on the exact level of funding from central government, and recognises the challenges faced by her department in the face of growing demand.
10.21am: Cllr Olly Monk, portfolio holder for housing, seconds the report. He says that his department, as with all others, are working incredibly hard to tackle the overspend, not just by cutting spending, but by increasing revenue as well. He recognises the extra demand on emergency accommodation in recent years as a real challenge.
10.23am: Cllr Louis Gardner, portfolio holder for the economy, recognises the positive impact Shared Prosperity Funding has had for Cornwall. He tells the meeting that although the Government has announced more funding to extend the scheme, no details on Cornwall's share have been announced.
10.29am: Cllr Carol Mould, portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, updates the cabinet on progress on the new waste collection rollout, with 7,000 tonnes of food waste now collected, and recycling rates increasing from 30% to 50%.
10.35am: Cllr Martin Worth, portfolio holder for customers, said that work to improve access to information for residents has improved customer experience, and is providing insights into the demands coming into the authority.
10.39am: The report is opened to questions from other councillors. Cllr Colin Martin asks for clarification on a number of issues, including whether new recycling facilities for small electrical items are available at libraries no longer run directly by the council. Cllr Mould confirms they are.
10.46am: The report is approved. We now move onto the Draft Revenue Budget 2025/26, introduced by Cllr Harris.
10.51am: Cllr Harris explained that the authority was still awaiting clarification on the exact figures of extra funding announced in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement last month.
He tells the meeting: "The ball is still very much in the Government’s court, and when we as Cabinet meet the Cornish MPs on Friday, we will be encouraging them to speak up for us, and I'm sure they will.
"However, in any event, we haven’t got time to sit around with everything crossed. Even if we receive more than we’ve assumed, it won’t be £48 million more, and £48 million was the size of our forecast budget gap for 2025/26 when we started this process.
"Consequently, we are in the invidious position of having to bring forward savings proposals to that value.
"The reality is that while these proposals are lawful and achievable, many are not in any way shape or form considered desirable and I know that officer and Cabinet members have had sleepless nights.
"Like the vast majority of councils up and down the country, we are faced with having to make some deeply unpalatable choices."
10.52am: Cllr Harris tells the meeting that, rather than relying on the council's reserves to make up shortfalls, a decision has been made to put more money into them instead to ensure sustainability moving forwards.
10.54am: Cllr Harris says: "In closing, I wanted to thank the Budget Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee, under the chairmanship of Cllr Peter Perry, for considering the initial proposals brought forward by officers.
"As you will see from the table in the report, Cabinet have taken onboard many of the recommendations put forward by the OSC and shows the benefit of this new approach."
10.55am: Cllr Harris concludes that, if funding from Westminster proves to be higher than expected, it may be used to mitigate some of the more challenging decisions made in the budget.
10.56am: Cllr Peter Perry tells the meeting that he understood the difficulty faced by those setting the budget in finding areas where spending could be reduced. He says he welcomes the fact a proposed reduction in spending on domestic violence support has been dropped, but questions why a proposed small increase in costs for green waste collection has not been included in the proposals.
10.58am: Cllr Mould explains that regulations mean that you cannot make revenue through charging for green waste collections, so the proposal was not viable.
11.09am: Cllr Colin Martin asks if the cabinet are clear on the consequences of the cuts that are being proposed. He says some do not appear to have been risk assessed.
He raises cuts to preventative services in early help.
11.11am: Cllr Harris says impact assessments are being carried out, and the consultation on the budget allows people to raise issues with the proposals in the weeks ahead before the budget comes back in the New Year. Cllr Taylor says the consultation will run from Friday (November 15) until January 5.
11.14am: Cllr Ellenbroek says the cuts in preventative services for children are removing posts which have been vacant for some time, rather than any reduction in the service that is already provided.
11.24am: The draft budget is approved, and will now go out for public consultation, running from Friday (November 15) until January 5, 2025.
11.26am: We now move onto the Langarth Business Plan. Cllr Harris reads to the Cabinet a message from Ian Cox, the chair of the Langarth LLP. He says: "We recognise the extreme financial constraints that Cornwall, like many other Councils, are having to work within.
"We see Langarth as a medium and long term positive contribution to Cornwall's future sustainable growth. The Council has invested heavily in order to set the scene and create the development environment.
"We are ready to move to the delivery phase through the continued collaborative approach we have created with Council colleagues. Langarth will become market facing, it will work within budget capped limits and will bring forward developer partners to enable land receipts and future phased delivery.
"Our request to Cabinet is to approve the Interim Business Plan which will enable us to quickly move forward."
11.32am: Cllr Monk seconds the report, and says he is confident that the plans will move forward.
11.45am: Cllr Lois Rich asks if private rental housing will form a part of the offering at Langarth, and is reassured by Cllr Olly Monk that they are aware of the demand, and that it will be a vital consideration as the plans progress.
11.51am: The business plan is approved. We now move onto the Council Homes Update, which is introduced by Cllr Olly Monk.
11.53am: Cllr Monk tells the meeting that the standard of council homes are on an 'improvement duty' and thanks those who have worked so hard to make homes safe across Cornwall.
He highlights that budget pressures make it a difficult situation.
11.57am: The update is seconded by Cllr Harris
12.05pm: Cllr Loic Rich asks if, when a decision is made to dispose of a property where maintenance costs are unsustainable, the local member is kept informed of the situation.
12.09pm: Cllr Dick Cole echoes Cllr Rich in calling for local members to be informed of any disposals in their divisions.
12.25pm: The recommendations are approved. We now move onto the Housing Decarbonisation Strategy for Cornwall.
12.26pm: The paper is introduced by Cllr Olly Monk who welcomes the report as the first decarbonisation strategy for Cornwall. He says residential homes account for around a fifth of emissions across Cornwall, and that the plans will help achieve a carbon-neutral Cornwall where everyone can start well, live well and age well.
12.29pm: The strategy is seconded by Cllr Martyn Alvey, the portfolio holder with responsibility for environment and climate change.
12.34pm: Cllr Colin Martin says he welcomes the report, but would like clarity on how much the strategy will cost, and how much money will be needed from Government to implement it.
12.36pm: Cllr David Harris says that there is no funding available at present, and that the funding will need to be secured from a variety of sources. The strategy is approved unanimously.
12.39pm: We now move onto the final paper today, the Adult Skills Fund Commissioning Plan, which is introduced by Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek.
12.41pm: She tells the meeting that the devolution of the adult education budget in the level two devolution deal last year offers the chance to increase the number of adults that can be supported, and is a great opportunity. It is seconded by Cllr Louis Gardner, portfolio holder for the economy.
12.44pm: Cllr Gardner says it will help boost wages and opportunities for people across Cornwall.
12.59pm: The plan is approved, and that concludes today's meeting. You can watch today's proceedings back via the webcast archive:
ENDS