Decision details

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources providing a financial update and an update on budget setting and provisional cash

limits 2021/22.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor House addressed Cabinet, raising the question of how to finance the significant unfunded net costs of the pandemic in the absence of government support.

The report was introduced and Cabinet’s attention drawn to the scale of the financial impact of Covid-19. The County Council was at least £50m short of being financially viable in the medium term and this would include exhausting all unallocated reserves, meaning further vulnerability in the event of any further pressure. As a result of the crisis, a new baseline had been set for the Transformation to 2019 programme and the impact of this incorporated into the financial projections. The process of setting the budget was explained and it was noted that there would be no scope for any late delivery of future savings programmes.

Cabinet welcomed the comprehensive report and recognised the difficulty of the situation. The importance of explaining the impact to Government was recognised and it was confirmed that the Leader was meeting regularly with Hampshire’s MPs to highlight the situation.

The proposed spend on health and safety items, in particular with regards to Ash die-back and the necessity of tackling it quickly was set out.  

The recommendations set out in the report were considered and agreed. A

decision record is attached to these minutes.