Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Vince Maple, said: “We have published the papers for next week’s Cabinet meeting, which includes items on our revenue and capital budget forecasting.
"As far as I’m aware, this is the first time any Cabinet has presented a draft budget in November which clearly articulates a plan to deliver a balanced budget for the year ahead.
“Preparing our budget forecasting papers earlier than usual has given us the opportunity of having early discussions with central government on the additional funding we may require to help us meet the budget gap. The risk outlined in the report is if we are unable to deliver a balanced budget come the annual budget setting meeting in February. However, we are hopeful that our early planning work and promising discussions we’ve already had with central government will help address that risk. We are also looking forward to receiving confirmation from government in December on Medway’s allocation of funding, following measures announced during the autumn Budget statement, as this could help bridge the gap we are currently forecasting. Any additional funding announced next month will then be added to our draft papers, before being taken to our annual budget setting meeting in February.
“The papers also highlight that our services are continuing to see an increasing demand from our residents and that the ever-increasing cost of supplying this support is putting a strain on the budget we do have. The draft budget papers outline our commitment to supporting Medway’s most vulnerable children and adults, with millions of pounds more being ringfenced for both adults and children’s social care, as well as SEND. Our proposed budget papers also reveal the huge funding required to address housing shortages, with work ongoing to provide more social housing.
“I’d like to thank council officers who are working incredibly hard to get us in the best possible position before the annual budget setting meeting in February, taking these draft papers through the usual scrutiny process. We are making progress towards closing the projected gap and our final budget will be presented for consideration by Cabinet and Full Council in February.”