A DRAFT budget to protect frontline services and address the financial challenges facing local government has been approved by Cornwall Council’s Cabinet committee.
The draft budget, which will now go before the full council for final approval, would result in a 4.99% increase in Council Tax rates, which includes a 2% levy to be used for adult social care.
It includes an increase of £22 million in the council’s net spending on care for adults and children.
Capital investments include £173 million to create new school places and repair school buildings, investments in appliance replacements for Cornwall Fire and Rescue, continuing to invest in new technology to create modern, low-carbon ways of working, and £1.5 billion on projects to support economic growth, maintain the transport network, and create homes and jobs for local people.
Cllr David Harris, Deputy Leader of Cornwall Council and portfolio holder for resources, outlined the financial situation for the council, explaining that the draft budget put before Cabinet in November was thought to be a worst-case scenario for the funding the authority would receive from Westminster.
He said: “After years of every political group on the Council standing united in making the case for fairer funding, I was confident, or hopeful anyway, that Cornwall’s moment had finally come, and our proposed budget was a worst-case scenario. I could not have been more wrong.
“As stated clearly in the report before Cabinet, the Provisional Local Government Settlement announced on 18 December, and subsequently confirmed in the Final Settlement issued on 3 February, unbelievably made the funding situation even more unfair and urban biased.
“Without any prior consultation the Government ‘repurposed’ the entire £105m Rural Services Delivery Grant, so the £5.3m we had assumed to get for 2025/26 evaporated.
“To add insult to injury, the Government created a new ‘one-off’ £600m Recovery Grant which was allocated almost exclusively to urban metropolitan councils. As you can see from Table 1 on page 116, we had assumed we would receive at least £2.7m of the £600m Recovery Grant, we got nothing.
“In the interest of balance, we did receive a larger social care grant than we had assumed, but overall, the Settlement left with a circa £5m gap in our budget for 2025/26 that we, officers, cabinet, me, hadn’t expected.
“At that November Cabinet meeting I said the big question was whether the new Government will be more or less generous to Cornwall than their predecessors or retain the same funding ratios.
“We now know the answer to that question now at least in terms of the 2025/26 budget, and we are out of pocket to the tune of £6m when you add in the shortfall in the money we’ve been allocated to cover the increase in NI employer contributions.”
Cllr Harris told the Cabinet that despite the challenging financial climate, the council is determined to continue to invest in Cornwall's future.
He said: “Our Capital Programme continues to have investment of over £1.9bn through to 2029/30. This is a big number, but Cornwall Council is one of the largest local authorities in the country, based on population served and geography covered. I would urge you to read the Capital and Investment Strategy at Appendix 5 and see how that money is being used to deliver our four Outcomes. That’s crucial investment in schools, building more affordable homes and workspace, enhancing community facilities and ensuring the Council is digitally enabled and carbon efficient.
“If Cornwall Council doesn’t make that vital investment, then who will?”
The draft budget was approved unanimously by Cabinet, and will go before the Full Council on Tuesday, February 25 for final approval.
Today’s meeting also saw reports on the council’s quarter three performance, it’s Missions and Outcomes report for 2021-25, the Housing Assistance Policy and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy approved.
You can watch the meeting back via the council’s webcast service.