Agenda Document Pack - Council - 26/02/2026
North Lanarkshire Council · 26 February 2026
Back to Council — 26 February 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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17 February 2026 Members of the Council Chief Executive’s Office Rachel Blair Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the Council is to be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB on Thursday, 26 February 2026 at 14:00 PM which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Des Murray Chief Executive Members : Clerk Name: Mark Hamill Clerk Telephone: 07811294702 Clerk Email: committee@northlan.gov.uk D Ashraf, A Ballinger, C Barclay, B Baudo, A Beveridge, M Boyd, H Brannan-McVey, G Brennan, B Burgess, A Bustard, J Cairns, A Campbell, T Carragher, C Costello, M Coyle, S Coyle, D Crichton, G Currie, P Di Mascio, K Docherty, K Duffy, A Duffy-Lawson, H Dunbar, T Fisher, F Fotheringham, W Goldie, H Gray, K Harmon, M Hughes, J Hume, L Jarvie, D Johnston, T Johnston, J Jones, P Kelly, J Keltie, A Khan, K Larson, J Leckie, G Lennon, J Logue, H Loughran, F MacGregor, A Masterton, M McBride, B McCluskey, A McCrory, B McCulloch, M McCulloch, P McDade, F McKay, R McKendrick, J McLaren, C McManus, M McPake, J McPhilemy, A McVey, L Mitchell, L Nolan, P Patton, C Quigley, J Reddin, L Roarty, D Robb, G Robinson, N Shevlin, W Shields, A Smith, A Stubbs, L Stubbs, R Sullivan, A Thomas, J Toner, S Watson, C Williams, N Wilson, G Woods. Page 1 of 16
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Agenda 1 Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 2 Revenue Budget 2026/27 to 2028/29 and Council Tax 2026/27 Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) providing financial information that enables the Council to set its Revenue Budget and Council Tax for 2026/27 and provide a forecast Revenue Budget position for financial years 2027/28 and 2028/29. 5 - 16 Page 3 of 16
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Does this report require to be approved? ☒Yes No Ref GT/ KS/ FC Date 26/2/2026 From Greg Telfer, Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) E-mail TelferG@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07583 010692 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide financial information that enables the Council to set its Revenue Budget and Council Tax for 2026/27 and provide a forecast Revenue Budget position for financial years 2027/28 and 2028/29. The Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), approved by Policy and Strategy Committee in June 2025, identified an envisaged three-year budget gap of £85.949 million, with an estimated shortfall of £34.638 million in 2026/27. This forecast position has now been updated to reflect the draft Local Government Finance Settlement Circular (01/2026), and some other changes to planning assumptions, which result in an overall decrease in the forecast gap of £15.365 million, resulting in a revised gap of £70.584 million over three years. The reduction in the gap relates to year one only, resulting in a revised gap of £19.273 million for 2026/27. The gap for 2027/28 and 2028/29 remains unchanged at £25.956 million and £25.355 million, respectively. Members are reminded that a Council Tax Strategy report was presented to Policy and Strategy Committee on 4 December 2025, outlining scenarios for consideration. The Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) has recommended members give due consideration to Council Tax increases, which will help close the budget gap. The impact on the revenue budget gap as a result of Council Tax increases will depend on members’ decisions on how any additional income should be used. Ultimately, the Council Tax level will be a decision for members, along with any requirement for savings, in order to ensure the Council meets its statutory requirement to set a balanced budget. In December 2025 and prior to the Scottish Government’s Budget, the Section 95 Officer outlined a budget approach that would utilise circa £9.282 million of reserves to smooth the budget gap over a three year period. With the reduction in the budget gap for 2026/27 and the three-year budget period, and in line with the Council’s Reserves Policy, the Section 95 Officer has agreed to release £10.000 million of the reserve held for future budget challenges to support one-off investment proposals as part of the 2026/27 budget. Recommendations It is recommended that Council: (1) Acknowledges the key movements on financial planning assumptions in relation to expenditure and resources at paragraphs 2.4 to 2.9. (2) Recognises the key movements and the subsequent impact on the financial outlook for 2026/27 to 2028/29, summarised in Appendices 1 and 2, which show Council Revenue Budget 2026/27 to 2028/29 and Council Tax 2026/27 Item 2 Page 5 of 16
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a budget gap for 2026/27 of £19.273 million and £70.584 million over the three- year planning period to 2028/29. (3) Acknowledges the Council Tax Strategy presented to Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2025 and the potential income generating opportunities to manage the challenging financial position reported. (4) Acknowledges the additional funding allocated to North Lanarkshire Integrated Joint Board as outlined in paragraph 2.4.5. (5) Confirms the level of Council Tax for 2026/27 and sets a balanced budget in line with statutory requirements. (6) Agrees the general fund contingency reserve as advised by the Chief Officer (Finance and Technology), outlined in paragraph 2.16. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence-based decision making and future planning Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement 1. Background 1.1. The statutory requirements in relation to budget setting are contained within Section 93 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. This is reinforced by CIPFA’s guidance which requires that total estimated expenses for the year should be funded by the income estimated from grants, Council Tax and other income. Failure to meet these requirements would result in serious consequences for Council operations and individual members. Section 102 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 sets out specific processes for the Controller of Audit to report to the Accounts Commission on the failure to set a budget. The Commission can recommend that Scottish Ministers direct the Council to rectify this. 1.2. It is worth noting that the Accounts Commission in its Local Government in Scotland Financial Bulletin 2024/25 published in January 2026, highlighted that ‘Scotland’s councils risk becoming financially unsustainable’. The report acknowledges councils have made significant savings but the cost of delivering services is rising faster than available funding, with councils facing a budget gap of nearly £1bn by 2027. The report also recognises that councils have been ‘largely successful in implementing action agreed to manage budgets’, with the majority of savings targets delivered. This budget report aims to address the ongoing challenging financial position facing North Lanarkshire and ensures that the Council meets its statutory requirement to set a balanced budget and help ensure financial stability. UK Government Autumn Statement and Scottish Government Budget 1.3. On 26 November 2025, much later than normal, the Chancellor of the Exchequer presented her Autumn Statement to the UK Parliament, taking cognisance of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The announcements resulted in an additional £820 million for Scottish Government, comprising of £510 million resource funding and £310 million capital funding over the spending review period. The Scottish Government set out its priorities in its delayed budget on the 13 January 2026, indicating how capital and resource funding is to be allocated in 2026/27. 1.4. The Scottish Government’s Budget outlined the financial impact for Local Government Page 6 of 16
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in 2026/27, with the Draft Local Government Financial Settlement (01/2026) confirming the position at individual council level. This presented a more favourable position than had been assumed in the MTFP of June 2025. The impact of this is explained in section 2 of the report. 1.5. However, it is important to acknowledge that whilst the settlement was better than many councils were anticipating, COSLA and others recognise the settlement does not address the challenging financial position facing local authorities, and this report shows funding remains insufficient to meet the budget pressures faced by North Lanarkshire Council and therefore does not close the budget gap. In addition, over the medium- term, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has reported that the Scottish Government’s Local Government & Finance portfolio will see real terms reductions, with Local Government’s share of the Scottish budget expected to reduce. This will be given due consideration in the updated Medium Term Financial Plan to be reported to Policy and Strategy Committee in June 2026. 2. Report Revenue Expenditure Budget 2026/27 to 2028/29 2.1. Appendix 1 highlights the updated revenue budget position for 2026/27, and Appendix 2 summarises the changes since the MTFP was approved, across the three-year planning period. Adjusted 2025/26 Budget 2.2. The starting point for determining the revenue budget for 2026/27 is the 2025/26 revised base budget of £1,103.391 million. Net Expenditure Budget 2026/27 2.3. The 2025/26 revised base budget has been adjusted to reflect the planning assumptions detailed in the Medium-Term Financial Plan 2026/27 to 2030/31 approved by Policy and Strategy Committee in June 2025, any subsequent updated financial planning assumptions, and estimated changes arising from the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026/27. 2.4. The total expenditure budget for 2026/27 reflects additional net expenditure requirements totalling £45.847 million with the most significant relating to employee cost pressures. After accounting for Directed Expenditure and Ring-Fenced Grant movements of £30.654 million, predominantly in respect of Adult Social Care, the Council’s revised net forecast expenditure budget for 2026/27 is £1,179.893 million. Appendix 2 summarises the changes since the MTFP, which are outlined below: 2.4.1. The 2026/27 expenditure budget reflects an additional recurring cost of the agreed 2025/26 and 2026/27 pay awards for teachers and single status employees, of £9.465 million, which has been offset by additional directed funding from Scottish Government along with an element of additional funding set aside from the allocation outlined within the draft 2026/27 Local Government Financial Settlement, of £9.465 million (inc. Adult Health& Social Care (AHSC)). 2.4.2. In respect of future years’ pay awards members are reminded that the MTFP continues to provide for a 3% award for the next 4 years and sets out an expectation of the level of provision local authorities can be reasonably asked to contribute. This also reflects the Scottish Government previously set Public Sector Pay Policy (PSPP) at a maximum of 9% over the three years (2025/26 – 2027/28). As previously reported, while we are not bound by the PSPP there is Page 7 of 16
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a general expectation that we should manage within those parameters. However, pay settlements agreed during 2025/26 are already above the annual average as set out in the policy. Therefore, there is a risk that could be repeated in years two and three of the policy, thus putting this financial planning assumption at risk. However, we continue to assume that any award greater than 3% will be funded by the Scottish Government. 2.4.3. Members will be aware that the Medium-Term Financial Plan report highlights that assumptions applied to income and expenditure projections are based on the best information available at the time of writing, which are inherently uncertain. Therefore, this report reflects updated estimates in respect of a number of expenditure items which result in an overall net increase in costs of £2.811 million. This mainly relates to estimated increased contract inflation, other contractual obligations, and increased demand pressures. In addition, it should be noted that the delay in the Scottish Government budget which included announcements around non-domestic rates poundage, updated rateable values and associated transitional reliefs, along with late confirmation in respect of Scottish Government’s contribution to pay settlements over 2025/26 and 2026/27, means that further work is required to determine if there are any other financial consequences not yet quantified. Whilst this report assumes there are no further financial consequences at this stage, it is intended that should further financial impacts be identified, these will be treated similarly to any changes in respect of Scottish Government funding, as outlined in paragraph 2.22. 2.4.4. Members are also asked to note that the MTFP provided for a prudent increase in the cost of Council Tax Reduction based on the Council Tax Strategy. Should members approve a Council Tax increase that is not in line with financial planning assumptions, the change in the cost of Council Tax Reduction will also be managed in accordance with paragraph 2.22 below. 2.4.5. Appendix 1 highlights significant additional funding for Adult Health and Social Care of £25.050 million. This is reflective of two factors. Firstly, additional directed funding of £11.283 million associated with the uprating of free personal care and to support the continuation of the living wage for social care provision. Secondly, and more significantly, additional funding of circa £13.767 million following changes to the funding distribution methodology incorporated into the local government settlement for older adult services. The Section 95 Officer recommends that this whole sum is added to the Council’s contribution to the Health and Social Care Partnership to support their cost pressures. Available Resources 2.5 Resources available to the Council in setting its 2026/27 budget total £1,160.620 million, as set out below and detailed in Appendix 1. 2.6 The draft 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement issued in January 2026, details the level of grant available to the Council for 2026/27. The Scottish Government has indicated that it will work in partnership with local government to implement the budget and the joint priorities in return for the full funding which includes: • baseline additional resource to support teacher and single status local government pay uplifts. • additional funding to support local priorities and social care commissioned services and free personal nursing care. Page 8 of 16
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2.7 It is currently anticipated the level of government grant (Aggregate External Finance) for 2026/27 will be £965.951 million, including assumptions on undistributed funding of £16.784 million primarily in respect of Teacher Induction Scheme, Discretionary Housing Payments, and undistributed teachers’ pay funding. After accounting for the anticipated funding for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 pay awards and the additional directed funding, there is an overall undirected increase in core funding of £18.176 million, better than the flat cash position Local Authorities were previously advised to expect. 2.8 The Council Tax base budget of £187.769 million is anticipated to increase by a total of £6.900 million as a result of growth in housing stock, which incorporates the Community Investment Fund updated position reported to Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2025, along with an assumption that members continue their commitment to ring fence 2% of Council Tax increases for the Community Investment Fund for 2026/27. This results in a total Council Tax budget of £194.669 million. 2.9 It should also be recognised that as a result of decisions in respect of the 2024/25 previous budget strategy there is now no further use of balance requirements to support the delivery and timing of previously approved savings. Budget Gap 2.10 The total resources outlined equate to £1,160.620 million compared with an estimated expenditure budget for 2024/25 of £1,179.893 million, which results in a shortfall of £19.273 million, as highlighted in Appendix 1. 2.11 Appendix 2 contains an update on the Financial Outlook for 2027/28 and 2028/29, highlighting anticipated budgets shortfalls of £25.956 million and £25.355 million respectively. The revised three-year budget gap is therefore anticipated to be £70.584 million. Addressing the Budget Gap 2.12 As indicated in the Revenue Budget Framework reported as part of the MTFP to Policy and Strategy Committee in June 2025, officers continued to work with Elected Members to ensure options for potential solutions are presented to enable the Council to address the budget gap in each financial year and to meet its legal obligation to set a balanced budget. 2.13 Members will recall the budget strategy proposed by the Section 95 Officer in setting the 2024/25 budget made an assumption around Council Tax increases over the three- year period, with the potential to materially reduce the forecast budget gaps and therefore ultimately the savings requirement. Subsequently, the Section 95 Officer presented an update on the Council Tax Strategy to Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2025, with a similar approach recommended for the 2026/27 to 2028/29 three-year budget, in order to protect vital public services valued by local communities i.e.10% Council Tax increase for the next two years, and 5% in 2028/29. However, it is acknowledged that the Council Tax level will ultimately be a decision for members when setting the budget, with the financial impact that differs from such illustrations also reflected. Members are reminded that an annual Council Tax increase of 1% will generate additional income of c. £1.872 million. General Fund Reserves 2.14 The Reserves Policy sets out the types of reserves held by the Council, establishes procedures for their governance and outlines the approach to be taken in determining Page 9 of 16
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the appropriate reserve levels held by the Council. The policy provides guidelines which ensures reserves are established and managed in a way that safeguards long term financial sustainability and supports good financial management, allowing the Council to balance current obligations, whilst preparing for future commitments and financial risks. 2.15 In December 2025, the Policy and Strategy Committee approved a revised Reserves Policy, which aims to ensure the Council’s reserves continue to be managed effectively. The updated policy provides a balance between supporting short term operational needs and medium/ longer term strategic objectives, whilst establishing a procedure for the use of unallocated reserves, ensuring that any use is linked to/set out as part of the Council’s budget setting process. 2.16 Within the General Fund Reserve, a Contingency Fund is maintained, which is an uncommitted amount held for unexpected events or emergencies. Historically this has remained at a static £8m. However, the revised policy now requires the Council to hold a contingency reserve equivalent to 1% of the Council’s net revenue budget, making it more flexible and proportionately aligned with the overall size of the organisation i.e. if Net Revenue increases, the contingency adjusts to reflect this change. In accordance with the revised policy the revised contingency will require to be c. £11.800 million, based on the budgeted expenditure within this report, which is an increase of £3.800 million. However, this will be confirmed following members’ decisions on how the budget gap will be managed. 2.17 The Council also maintains a Change Management Fund to support future budget pressures, one-off costs of approved savings, and transformation initiatives, whilst ensuring the Council has a strategic plan that is prudent, affordable and sustainable in the medium to longer term. Based on the latest financial projections it is estimated that the Change Management Fund balance as at 1 April 2026 will be £10.200 million, as detailed in the forecast at Appendix 3. The forecast also reflects estimated fund requirements for approved savings and one-off costs to support future budgets savings to 20230/31, of £25.047 million. The current funding is shown to be sufficient to meet estimated requirements until 2027/28, with top ups required from 2028/29. However, as this position makes assumptions about Council Tax increases in future years to partly manage the forecast budget gaps, as well as savings requirements, it is proposed that the overall fund is unchanged for now, and the position is kept under review on a year-on-year basis, when there is greater clarity over actual resource requirements. 2.18 Members are aware there is also an amount set aside within earmarked reserves for Future Budget Pressures. As part of the review of Reserves Policy it was proposed that this is also set based on a target to ensure that it is reflective of the envisaged budget shortfall and provides an appropriate level of one off resources to assist with smoothing the impact of service redesign, allowing lead in time for savings and supports strategic service redesign rather than applying budget cuts. The revised policy requires the Council to target holding a reserve for Future Budget Challenges at the average of the three-year budget gap, which indicatively equates to £23.500 million over 2026/27- 2028/29, at the time of writing this report. 2.19 The overall forecast balance for future budget pressures as at period 10 2025/26 is £37.713 million. However, reflecting the increase to contingency fund of £3.800 million and an estimated target of c. £23.500 million for future budget pressures, this would leave c. £10.413 million available for other Council priorities on a one-off basis, at this time. Therefore, the Section 95 Officer has agreed up to £10.000 million of this reserve can be released for one-off investment during 2026/27. Page 10 of 16
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2.20 The overall reserves position will continue to be updated at the closing of the year end and be linked to the MTFP prepared at the same time i.e. 2026/27 amount will be confirmed based on the June 2026 MTFP budget gap forecast for 2027/28 – 2029/30. This position will be reviewed on a continuous basis and the position will be flexed as appropriate and reported within regular budget monitoring reports presented to Finance and Resources Committee. Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators 2.21 The Treasury Management Strategy outlines the Prudential and Treasury Indicators that allow the Council to demonstrate that investment plans are managed within a sound financial environment. These indicators are endorsed by Finance and Resources Committee and remitted to Council for approval to meet the full requirement of the Prudential Code. Areas of Risk and Uncertainty 2.22 The forecast budget position includes a number of volatile assumptions and estimates including those in relation to draft figures contained within the Local Government Finance Settlement 2026/27, future cost of pay and non-pay inflation etc., all of which present significant risk and uncertainty to the position reported. Thus, the position remains under continuous review and will inevitably lead to some changes. However, this will be managed by the Section 95 Officer as the budget is rolled out to Services in 2026/27. The current planning assumption is that should further net unbudgeted cost pressures / resources arise, they will be managed on a one-off or recurring basis to mitigate any emerging additional risks and challenges. Alternatively, they may increase the call on / add to reserves balances, with any unresolved net recurring financial implication addressed in a future update to the Medium-Term Financial Plan, when there is greater certainty of impact. 3 Measures of success 3.1 Ensuring that the Council sets a balanced budget for 2026/27. 4 Supporting documentation Appendix 1 North Lanarkshire Council Revenue Budget 2026/27 Appendix 2 Updated Financial Outlook Appendix 3 Change Management Fund Forecast Greg Telfer Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) Page 11 of 16
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5 Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The financial impacts are detailed in the report. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 12 of 16
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The production of the annual budget report, annual updates to the Medium Term Financial Plan and regular updates to the Council’s Financial Outlook presented to Elected Members all support the Council in managing the risk of ongoing financial sustainability which is a key corporate risk. The delivery of recurring savings and sustainable use of reserves mitigate against risks to the Council’s financial sustainability. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 13 of 16
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Appendix 1 £m £m 2025/26 Adjusted Base Budget 1,103.391 Additional Net Expenditure Requirements Employee - Pay Award Recurring impact 25/26 11.693 Employee - Pay Award 26/27 17.373 Reinstatement of Non-Teachers Pension at 17.5% 24.000 Removal of CFCR linked to Temporary Pension Cost Reduction (23.416) Contract Inflation 5.550 Strategic Priorities 8.590 Other Net Expenditure 8.782 Recategorisation of COSLA/Improvement Service Expenditure (4.506) Income Generation from Sales, Fees & Charges (1.000) 24/25 Approved savings deliverable in 26/27 (1.218) 45.847 Additional Net Directed Expenditure and Ring Fenced Grants Ring Fenced Funding 0.665 General Fund Services 4.939 Adult Health & Social Care 25.050 30.654 Expenditure Budget 2026/27 1,179.893 Available Resources: Anticipated Aggregate External Finance 965.951 Council Tax Base Budget 187.769 Council Tax Base Growth 3.072 Council Tax Budget Increase (2% for CIF) 3.828 194.669 25/26 Use of One Off Reserves 5.289 Reversal of previous years use of reserves for delayed saving (1.218) Reversal of use of Reserves for CTR impact of Council Tax (1.730) Reversal of use of Reserves for eNIC shortfall (2.341) 0.000 2026/27 Available Resources 1,160.620 Recurring Budget Shortfall/ (Excess) 19.273 Revised Estimated Recurring Budget Shortfall 2027/28 25.956 2028/29 25.355 North Lanarkshire Council Revenue Budget 2026/27 Page 14 of 16
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Appendix 2 2026/27 £m 2027/28 £m 2028/29 £m Total £m Net Budget Shortfall MTFP June 2025 34.638 25.956 25.355 85.949 Changes in Expenditure Requirements; Additional cost of 2025/26 & 2026/27 pay awards 9.465 9.465 Additional Service Cost Pressures 2.811 2.811 Changes in Resources; Additional/ Implicit funding for 2025/26 & 2026/27 pay awards (9.465) (9.465) Net Impact of LG Finance Settlement (18.176) (18.176) Total Changes (15.365) 0.000 0.000 (15.365) Revised Budget Gap 19.273 25.956 25.355 70.584 Updated Financial Outlook Page 15 of 16
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Appendix 3 Change Management Fund Forecast 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 £m £m £m £m £m Opening Balance Projected Balance at P9 10.200 7.553 3.953 (2.447) (8.947) Less: Known Commitments Revised One off Costs of Approved Savings (1.147) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Less: Estimated Future Commitments Indicative One off Costs of Future Savings (1.500) (3.600) (6.400) (6.500) (5.900) Forecast Closing Balance 7.553 3.953 (2.447) (8.947) (14.847) Page 16 of 16