To progress the Council’s change programme, to report on the service plan reviews for 2013/14 conducted in March/ April aimed at de-risking identified areas of weakness to ensure the Council’s plans are resilient and remain within its overall funding envelope of £150.296 million, and to seek Cabinet agreement on next steps. 

THAT:                 (a)               Cabinet refers the proposed actions in Agenda Item 4 to an extraordinary Council Meeting to be held on 24 May 2013 concerning the reshaping of Council services and to ensure the necessary steps are taken to deliver a balanced budget in 2013/2014.

The Council must stay within its available resources to ensure it does not deplete its reserves and delivers financial stability in the light of ongoing Government reductions in funding.

There is no alternative to ensuring that services operate within total Council budget limits, however there are alternatives to approaches that may be taken to continue services and functions that the Council may be unable to fund in future.