Budget and Capital Programme update

Budget and Capital Programme update

Cabinet has tonight received an update on the first quarter of the Council's revenue budget for 2026/2027.

On 4 March 2026, the Council set a balanced budget for 2026/27 without the need for cuts in frontline services or a reduction in jobs. The Council approved a net revenue budget of £285.334m including over £29m of new investment in priority areas aligned to the Council Plan priorities and the needs of the Borough's communities. Overall, the Council's gross expenditure budget for the year across all Council services is £570m.

While the Council reported a balanced final position for 2025/26, it continues to face significant pressure in a number of service areas like all councils - particularly Children's Social Care, Home to School Transport and Adult Social Care - due to the complex and volatile nature of spending in these demand-led services.

Early forecasts indicate potential pressures of £4.6m. The main pressure is on the cost of residential homes for the Council's cared-for children, which is forecasting additional costs of £2.9m by the end of the current year largely due to increased numbers of children needing support during the final quarter of 2025/2026.

There are also unbudgeted costs in Adult Social Care from the transition of clients from children to adult services and from specialist commissioning of complex care packages. Indications in the early months of the year are that the assumed levels of growth used for setting the 2026/27 budget will be exceeded.

Due to its robust approach to financial management, the Council has planned for future financial risks and will have sufficient one-off resources to fund the impact of these pressures in 2026/27; however, the ongoing impact will need to be reflected in updated financial forecasts reported to the Cabinet later in the year.

Cllr Jayne Lonergan, Cabinet Member for Resources, said "We will continue to monitor our budget due to the growing demand for our services, coupled with the increased costs to deliver those services.

"We have identified a range of actions to mitigate the ongoing impact facing our services to ensure that we can continue to provide these essential services, maintain our robust financial management and reduce budget pressures through the continued challenge of non-essential expenditure."

In addition, Cabinet also received an update on the Council's Capital Programme for 2026/27 and future years.

The Council's total Capital Programme for the next three years is £118.011m, of which £62.994m is scheduled to be spent in the current year.

The planned 2026/27 spending will include:-

• Investment across the Borough on transport improvements (£16m)
• The provision of new mainstream and special school places and creation of Additional Resourced Provisions (ARPs) (£7.7m)
• Disabled facilities grants (£5m)
• Halewood Levelling Up Fund (£6.5m)
• Improvements to Town Centres (£14m)
• Support to prevent residents becoming homeless (£2.7m)

The expenditure included in the three-year Capital Programme demonstrates the Council's continued commitment to investing in the future of the Borough, support local businesses and helping residents to access local jobs.