URL: https://cds.bromley.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=11096

Decision Maker: Council

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: No

Purpose:

Content: 1.  That Council be recommended to:   a)  Note the recent changes from the outcome of the Final Local Government Finance Settlement 2026/27 announced by MHCLG on 9th February as detailed in Appendix 6;   b)  Approve the overall Dedicated Schools Budget (DSG) of £154.4m which matches the estimated level of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), after academy recoupment;   c)  Approve the draft revenue budgets (as detailed in the revised Appendix 2) for 2026/27;   d)  Agree that Chief Officers identify alternative savings/mitigation within their departmental budgets where it is not possible to realise any savings/mitigation reported to the previous meeting of the Executive held on 21st January 2026;   e)  Approve a revised Central Contingency sum to reflect movement of levies, resulting in a sum of £4,561k (see Section 4.4 and the revised Appendix 3);   f)  Approve the following provisions for levies for inclusion in the budget for 2026/27:     £’000 London Pensions Fund Authority * 440 London Boroughs Grant Committee 248 Environment Agency (flood defence etc.) 280 Lee Valley Regional Park * 369 Total 1,337 * This amount is provisional and subject to revision.   The decrease of £4k in the confirmed 2026/27 levy amounts compared to what was estimated is offset by a £4k increase in the 2026/27 Central Contingency as a provision towards meeting inflation cost pressures;   g)  Note the latest position on the GLA precept, which will be finalised in the overall Council Tax figure to be reported to full Council (see section 4.9);   h)  Set a 2% increase in Adult Social Care Precept with a 2.99% increase in Bromley’s General Council Tax, compared with 2024/25 (2% increase in Adult Social Care Precept and 2.99% increase in Bromley’s General Council Tax) and note that, based upon their consultation exercise, the GLA are currently assuming a 4.1% increase in the GLA precept;   i)  Approve the approach to reserves outlined by the Director of Finance, including funding of 2025/26 overspends and redesignation of various reserves, as detailed in Appendix 4; and   j)  Consider the Section 25 commentary (Local Government Act 2003), reflected in section 4.15 of the report, in making recommendations to full Council.   2.  That Executive agree that the Director of Finance be authorised to report any further changes directly to Council on 26th February 2026.   3.  Council Tax 2026/27 – Statutory Calculations and Resolutions (as amended by the Localism Act 2011).   Subject to 2.1 (a) to (h) above, if the formal Council Tax Resolution as detailed below is approved, the total Band D Council Tax will be as follows:     2025/26 £ 2026/27 £ Increase £ Increase % (note #) Bromley 1,552.08 1,629.53 77.45 4.99 GLA * 490.38 510.51 20.13 4.10 Total 2,042.46 2,140.04 97.58 4.78 * The GLA Precept may need to be amended once the actual GLA budget is set.   (#)  in line with the 2026/27 Council Tax Referendum Principles, the % increase applied is based on an authority’s “relevant basic amount of Council Tax” (£1,629.53 for Bromley) – see paragraph 6 below.  Any further changes arising from these Principles will be reported directly to Council on 26th February 2026.   4.  That Council be recommended to formally resolve as follows:   a)  It be noted that the Council Tax Base for 2026/27 is 138,104 ‘Band D’ equivalent properties.   b)  Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2026/27 is £225,044k.   c)  That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2026/27 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the Act):   i)  £839,900k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.   ii)  £614,856k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates or the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.   iii)  £225,044k being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year.   iv)  £1,629.53 being the amount at 3(c) above, divided by (1) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year.    5.  To note that the Greater London Authority (GLA) has issued a precept to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated in the table below (NB. the GLA precept figure may need to be amended once the actual GLA budget is set).   6.  That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the table below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2026/27 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.   Valuation Bands London Borough of Bromley £ Greater London Authority £ Aggregate of Council Tax Requirements £ A 1,086.35 340.34 1,426.69 B 1,267.41 397.06 1,664.47 C 1,448.47 453.79 1,902.26 D 1,629.53 510.51 2,140.04 E 1,991.65 623.96 2,615.61 F 2,353.77 737.40 3,091.17 G 2,715.88 850.85 3,566.73 H 3,259.06 1,021.02 4,280.08   7.  That the Council hereby determines that its relevant basic amount of council tax for the financial year 2026/27, which reflects a 4.99% increase (Adult Social Care Precept increase of 2%), is not excessive. The Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increases (Principles) (England) Report 2026 to 2027 sets out the principles which the Secretary of State has determined will apply to local authorities in England from 2026/27. Any further changes arising from these Principles will be reported directly to Council on 26th February 2026. The Council is required to determine whether its relevant basic amount of Council Tax is excessive in accordance with the principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.  

Date of Decision: February 11, 2026