Issue - meetings

This report sets out estimates for income and expenditure on services in 2026/27.

The Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Recommend the 2026/27 service estimates, as amended by the Chief Accountant verbally at the meeting, for approval at the budget meeting of Full Council in February 2026.

The Committee received a report setting out estimates for income and expenditure on services in 2026/27.

The Committee considered the following matters:

a)            Cost of Homelessness. The Committee considered that homelessness in the Borough remained a high expense for the Council. The Head of Housing and Community stated, following the introduction of the Renters Reform Act and the abolishment of s.21 evictions, it was forecast that there would be a significant reduction in people presenting as homeless. The Chief Accountant stated that the s.151 Officer had been working to put contingencies in place to account for unforeseen financial challenges that might arise in relation to homelessness.

b)            Verbal Update from the Chief Accountant. The Chief Accountant provided the Committee with a verbal update in respect of the Community & Wellbeing Budget to be recommended to Full Council on 10 February 2026. In accompaniment to her verbal update, she provided to Members a supplementary document (subsequently published as a supplement to the agenda item) setting out the information in print. The update set out the following:

Grant funding for Rough Sleeping had been mistakenly double counted in the 2026/27 budget for Community & Wellbeing Committee as detailed within the Draft Budget Book 2026/27 and the Committee papers for the meeting on 13 January 2026. This error had arisen because for 2026/27 the government had rolled it into the Homelessness Prevention Grant, so it had mistakenly been included within that grant figure as well.

To ensure the correct budget figures were considered at Full Council on 10 February 2026, the double counted grant figure of £42,790 had been removed from the Committee budget. No expenditure budgets had changed. The impact was that the budget for the Housing service, and for C&W committee overall, had increased by £42,790.

The table from 4.2 of the Revenue Budget report had been provided within the supplementary document with an additional column showing how the removal of the grant affected the Community & Wellbeing Committee budget for 2026/27.

Members were asked to consider recommending the revised base position to Full Council in February 2026 (as detailed within the table included within the supplementary document). The only changes were to the Housing service and the overall total for the Committee. This change to the budget would be offset by a reduction in the corporate contingency held within Strategy & Resources committee.

The update from the Chief Accountant was noted by the Committee.

Following consideration, Councillor Bernice Froud proposed that the recommendation be amended as follows:

1)        Recommend the 2026/27 service estimates, as amended by the Chief Accountant verbally at the meeting, for approval at the budget meeting of Full Council in February 2026.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Rob Geleit. The Committee voted unanimously in favour of the amendment.

Subsequently, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Recommend the 2026/27 service estimates, as amended by the Chief Accountant verbally at the meeting, for approval at the budget meeting of Full Council in February 2026.