Budget options to be brought forward for 2020/21

05 December 2019

Budget options are to be developed by Council officers ahead of Aberdeen City Council deciding its spending priorities at its annual budget-setting meeting on March 3, 2020.

A report for the Council’s City Growth and Resources Committee forecast running costs of £490m, while funding is expected to be £452m, leaving an anticipated shortfall of approximately £38 million.

A combination of static grant funding coupled with rising costs and demand has increased pressure on the General Fund Revenue Budget, and this is expected to continue in the years ahead, with grant funding also expected to decline.

In 2019/20 the Council faced a shortfall of approximately £41m, which the local authority is on course to bridge through revenue generation and cost saving measures, including innovations in service delivery.

The report described how the approved strategic commissioning approach provides the basis for the development of the Council’s planning and budgeting.

This includes linking investment to the refreshed Local Outcome Improvement Plan, which was developed with community partners and has a vision of Aberdeen as a “place where all people can prosper”.

The committee also received an update on the General Fund Capital Programme.