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Medium Term Financial Strategy

Published: 11/06/2015

The Council has been updating its Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to ensure that it continues to be a high performing local authority despite a challenging financial gap, with its budget being reduced year on year. The MTFS 2015 – 2018 forecasts the resources that the Council is likely to have over the next three financial years, and to guide planning on how best to use them. Reductions in Welsh Government grants, rises in demand for critical services and the cost of legal obligations are just some of the financial pressures that the Council is facing. The current projected gap that the Council needs to find in three years is £52.8 million: £18.3m in 2015/16; £20.8m in 2016/17 and £13.7m in 2017/18. Part one of the MTFS will be discussed at Cabinet on Tuesday 16 June, and focuses on the financial forecasts. The five principal factors taken into account are: national cost pressures, local cost pressures, income, the Council’s workforce, and inflation. Part two of the MTFS is being developed and will set out the solutions and options available to the Council to help close this funding gap. Chief Officers and Cabinet Members have been reviewing options for the next two financial years, drawing on the developing business plans for each portfolio. This work, as well as the Council’s strategies for organisational change and service reform, will form the second part of the Strategy. Full Member engagement on its development will take place over the summer months. Cllr Aaron Shotton, Leader of the Council, said, “All councils in Wales are finding themselves in this unprecedented financial situation. Predicting an accurate medium term forecast in these times of economic uncertainty is challenging, and we have to make some assumptions, but we feel that this Strategy is a fair assessment. Flintshire is working tirelessly to meet this major funding gap and we remain committed to being an efficient and cost effective Council but there is a limit to how much our public services can take in the face of year on year cuts.” Colin Everett, Chief Executive of the Council, said: “The Medium Term Financial Strategy is a significant document which forecasts this Council’s financial picture for the next three years. In the current financial year, we found the majority of the savings, once again, from streamlining the Council and savings costs, but every year we are having to become more creative with our savings – and that is why we continue to appeal to local communities to work with us under our community asset transfer programme. I would also encourage everyone to read this document – it sets out the Council’s financial position in a very accessible way.” The Medium Term Financial Strategy document can be found as part of the Cabinet agenda at www.flintshire.gov.uk