The Panel is asked to agree the notes of the meeting held on 4 December 2024 as a true and accurate record.

The Panel is asked to consider the Work Plan and agree any amendments.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 5 February 2025, will consider a report from the Head of Financial Services seeking approval for changes to the Council’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2025/2026. Cllr Ed Turner, Deputy Leader (Statutory) and Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management, Nigel Kennedy, Head of Financial Services and Laura Bessell, Benefits Manager have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Panel is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

The report will be published as part of a supplementary agenda.

The Panel is asked to note the dates and times of future meetings of the Finance and Performance Panel:

·       07 April 2025, 6pm

Meetings will take place remotely via Zoom.

If the Panel wishes to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any aspects of the preceding or following agenda items it will be necessary for the Panel to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 specifying the grounds on which their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act if and so long, as in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

(The Access to Information Procedure Rules – Section 15 of the Council’s Constitution – sets out the conditions under which the public can be excluded from meetings of the Council).

The Panel is asked to agree the exempt notes of the meeting held on 4 December 2024 as a true and accurate record.

The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor has drafted a report following the conclusion of the Budget Review Group meeting in December 2024 and January 2025, commissioned by the Scrutiny Committee in September 2024.

The final report will be considered at Scrutiny Committee on 29 January 2025, before being presented at Cabinet on 5 February 2025 and Council on 13 February 2025.

The Panel is asked to:

1.    Approve the draft 2025/2026 Budget Review Group report for submission to the Scrutiny Committee meeting on 29 January 2025 for approval and submission to Cabinet, subject to any necessary amendments.

2.    Delegate authority to the Scrutiny and Governance Advisor, in consultation with the Finance and Performance Panel Chair, to implement any agreed amendments to the report and make any necessary minor editorial amendments prior to submission to the Scrutiny Committee.

The report will be published as part of a supplementary agenda.