A report of the Director of Finance included the annual update of the Medium Term Financial Strategy, the most recent of which had been agreed by the Cabinet on 4 November 2010 (Minute No. 199 refers). The aim was to give the Cabinet a strategic overview highlighting the significant issues to be considered for use in financial planning and informing future priorities.  It had been refined to reflect recent information from the Government and the revised Corporate Plan agreed in March 2011.

Councillor S Foulkes made reference to the recent Conservative Party Conference where the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne had announced that Council tax was to be frozen again next year as the Government tried to show it understood the mounting pressures on family budgets.  Mr Osborne had said he would spend more than £800million to enable local authorities to avoid painful increases and requested some detail on how the Council would deal with this.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)  the Medium Term Financial Strategy be approved; and

(2)  regular updates of the Budget Projections be reported to the Cabinet and to the Council Excellence Overview and Scrutiny Committee.