In delivering our day-to-day services, we will spend over £65m. The majority of this expenditure is financed by income from charges for services and specific central government grants, the largest of which is for the reimbursement of benefit expenditure which exceeds £30m. The remaining balance (known as the net budget) is around £9.9m and is financed by:
- Council Tax – a vital source of locally determined income which is approximately £5.5 Million each year and is charged to all households in the Borough
- General Revenue Support Grant from Central Government
- Allocation of National Non-Domestic Rates
We also have a large Community Investment Programme comprising a number of new facilities and other projects each year. This will be over £40m and includes a range of environmental improvements, construction projects and the replacement of old vehicles.
In planning the budget, we prepares a three year rolling strategy for our day to day running expenses and a five year strategy for our Community Investment Programme. The budget ensures that the Council continues to provide high quality services and maintains a sound financial base on which to build for future years.
Documents and Publications
Each year, we publish:
- A budget book, which sets out the Council's financial plans for the year for each service.
- A statement of accounts and internal control which provides an audited account of the Council's finances and control arrangements for the year (this is published in late September each year as it takes six months to close the accounts, have them audited and produce the statement).
- An audit inspection letter which is sent from the government appointed external auditors to the Council and contains the auditors opinion on the accounts and the Council's arrangements for financial control.