Councillor Muldowney introduced the report and stated that the councils position remains very challenging and Government support is needed to set the budget this year and for years to come. A £71 million pound loan from the Government is required to balance the 2025-26 budget. Council Tax will rise by 4.99%. Thurrock’s Council Tax remains the lowest in Essex. The Lead Commissioner has noted the increased pace of improvement on the recovery. The council still has a long way to travel towards financial sustainability .

Councillor Worrall commented on the tremendous amount of work that had gone into the budget. Councillor Worrall commented that she was proud of this administration and the work completed across all portfolios. This administration said it would be an enabling council and this budget focusses on delivering to residents. Councillor Worrall also commented on the good work completed by scrutiny and confirmed that their recommendations had been listened to and changes made accordingly.

Councillor Hooper stated that he cannot be the councillor he wants to be because of the councils financial position. Councillor Hooper thanked officers for their hard work and stated that other councils could learn from Thurrock in the way the budget has been set.

Councillor J Kent thanked everyone who had contributed to the budget and stated that none of the cabinet members came into this job to make cuts but it is the hand they have been dealt. Councillor J Kent commented that residents have to come first and they have done their best to protect front line services. The 5% council tax increase is a welcome change from the 10% and 8% over the last two years.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet agreed to:

a.    Recommend the 2025/26 budget to Council for approval, being mindful of comments from the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to enable the Council Tax for 2025/26 to be set (Appendix 2)

b.    Recommend the Model Council Tax Resolution 2025/26 to Council for approval as set out in Appendix 9;

c.    Recommend to Council that, in accordance with Section 38(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the Chief Executive be instructed to place a notice in the local press of the amounts set under recommendation 2 above with a period of 21 days following the Council’s decision;

d.    Approve the Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2025/26 to 2028/29 for referral to Council (Appendix 2);

e.    Note the intention to increase Council Tax by 2.99% in 2025/26 (Table 7);

f.      Note the intention to increase Council Tax by a further 2% in 2025/26 in respect of the adult social care precept (Table 7);

g.    Note the 2025/26 budget for Public Health as set out in Appendix 5;

h.    Note the Council’s revised Capitalisation Direction Requirement of £691m which is set at a point in time and will continue to be subject to change (Paragraph 7.4 and Table 5);

i.      Approve to continue with the 100% deployment of the Household Support Fund through the Essential Living Fund (Paragraph 5.1);

j.      Agree that Thurrock’s 2025/26 Early Years funding formula be implemented as stated in paragraphs 8.7 to 8.13. This is consistent with previous decisions to maximise the funding rates that providers receive;

k.    Approve the repurposing of the recurrent revenue contingency budget as detailed in paragraph 12.5; and

l.      Recommend the 2025/26 Members Allowance Scheme to Council for approval (Appendix 10)

Reason for the decision: as outlined in the report

This decision is subject to call-in