Draft budget for Buckinghamshire Council centres around Covid-19

Buckinghamshire Council's proposed budget has been heavily influenced by the pandemic.

Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet is meeting this morning to discuss the proposed Budget for 2020/2021, as well as the Capital Programme.

Both of these have been hugely influenced by the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing uncertainty it has created.

Coronavirus has impacted a range of aspects for the budget, including the level of government funding and the difficulty to accurately predict longer-term implications from it.

The key proposals contained within the draft budget are:

• Reductions in both Council Tax (£5m) and Business Rate (£4.8m) receipts as a result of declining economic activity
• Significant increases in corporate contingencies to mitigate the increased risk (especially for social care placements, leisure providers and the wider economic uncertainties) arising from the pandemic
• The use of £2, of General Fun reserves to create an earmarked reserve to mitigate economic risk in 2021/22
• Additional investment in both Adults and Children’s Social Care budgets to address the continued increases in demand, cost, complexity of the cases managed and market sustainability
• A reduction in expected income levels from parking of £5.3m, from Leisure services of £1.9m and from property rental income of £1.2m
• The addition of £4.5m in Home to School Transport budgets to reflect increased complexity in Special Need provision, increased demand and lost income
• The delivery of savings of £13m in 2021/22, which includes a further £3.3m savings from the creation of the Unitary Council and £2.2m of transformational savings in Adult Social Care

Council tax is expected to rise by 3.99%, which includes 1.99% from Buckinghamshire Council and 2% required by the government for Adult Social Care.

The Capital Programme is presented over 4 years as many schemes span multiple financial years.

Bucks Council explains it is "where schemes are brought forward with a financially viable business case these schemes can be added to the Capital Programmes, subject to due diligence and final Cabinet approval."

Key highlights within the draft programme are:

• £39.1m to support Economic Growth & Regeneration
• £161.1m on schools, and school improvement projects
• £128.4m on Strategic Highways maintenance including £62.4m on the Strategic Highways maintenance programme, £17.4m on Plane & Patch and £8.3m on Footways
• £62.6m on Strategic Transport & Infrastructure
• £19.9m investment in Waste, primarily on vehicle replacement
• £15.5m to support Housing and Homelessness including affordable Housing action plans and disabled facilities grants
• £14.9m investment on Leisure Centres

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• buckinghamshire council
• coronavirus