Following statutory government intervention and the issuing of a Section 114 Notice, we are required to put in place an Improvement and Recovery Plan.
The Improvement and Recovery Plan will deliver the expectations detailed in the Secretary of State’s Directions published on 25 May 2023 and help us return to meeting its best value duty. It will also draw upon the recommendations of the non-statutory external assurance review into our finances, investments and related governance.
The three to five year plan, which was adopted at an Extraordinary Meeting of Full Council on 22 August 2023, details the actions that we will undertake, together with milestones and delivery targets to measure progress. It seeks to deliver sustained improvements in financial management, governance and commercial functions, and organisational effectiveness.
Included in the list of actions outlined, the plan commits the council to deliver a Medium-Term Financial Plan to close the ‘business as usual’ budget gap for 2024/2025, reduce outstanding debts through asset rationalisation and commercial strategies, strengthen governance underpinning financial decision-making and agree financial support from government.
These steps will enable us to contribute towards mitigating the £1.2 billion deficit in financial year 2023/2024 that was set out in the Section 114 Notice.