Spending Plans Explained

How we set our Spending Plans

Stage 1 - We produce an annual budget which addresses the financial implications of all the Council's strategies and plans.

Stage 2 - We allocate funds from the Fareham part of your Council Tax grants we receive from Government.

Stage 3 - Elected Members scrutinise the budget and spending plans approving it at a full Council meeting.

Day to day running costs

The Council is also continually striving to deliver better quality and wider ranging services within the envelope of its total budget.

Capital Investment Plans

We plan to spend £37m on capital projects between 2015/16 and 2019/20. The funding either comes from the Council's own resources (£28.1m), Government support (£4.2m) or from external contributions (£4.7m). These include:

• £13.3m for Daedalus Development
• £10.3m for leisure and community buildings including Ferneham Hall
• £2.7m for housing renovation grants
• £1.9m for Commercial property investment acquisitions
• £1.9m for vehicle replacement programme
• £1.4m for Civic Office and Depot maintenance work
• £1.2m for parks, play areas and outdoor recreation schemes
• £1.1m for affordable housing schemes
• £1.0m for information technology projects
• £0.7m for car park improvements
• £0.5m for bus shelters
• £0.5m for CCTV
• £0.3m for environmental improvement schemes
• £0.2m for matched funding schemes and neighbourhood initiatives

Financial Standing

Each year, we produce a Financial Strategy - a forward-looking document, projecting the service and financial pressures expected over the next 5 years. This is used to control and manage the level of spending and the anticipated tax burden, as well as inform the council's borrowing and investment decisions.

When setting the Council Tax for 2017/18 the Council has revenue reserves stood at £4.5 million (money saved to invest in the future), funds balances of £7.3 million and capital reserves of £10 million. These are used to pay for new projects and services, meet any unforeseen costs and to smooth the effect of other financial pressures and changes in Government funding on Council Tax.