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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED 1. That the Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2026-2031 as set out in Appendix A to the report be agreed in principle. Councillor J Yeomans joined the meeting. Recommendation 2 By 31 votes to 29 with 4 abstentions it was RESOLVED 2. That the Revenue Budget for 2026-27 with the inclusion of a 4.9% increase in Council Tax in 2026-27 shown in the Financial Resource Model in Appendix B and Table 4 of the report. Recommendation 3 By 33 votes to 28 with 1 abstention it was RESOLVED 3. That the Fees and Charges Register in Appendices D and E be approved. Recommendations 4 – 9 By 34 votes to 29 it was RESOLVED 4. That the Capital Strategy and Capital Programme for 2026-31 shown in Appendix H be approved. 5. That the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement as set out on Appendix H be approved. 6. The Treasury Management Strategy and the Annual Investment Strategy in Appendix H be approved. 7. That the authorised borrowing limit for 2026-27 as required under section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 is set at £556 million and the Operational Boundary is set at £540 million as set out in paragraph 3.113 of the report. 8. The Prudential Indicators for 2026-27 as set out in section 3.109 to 3.116 of the report and Appendix H be approved. 9. That Council delegates approval of the virement to allocate the Pension Actuary Savings across services and re-align the corporate recharges as a result of these changes to the Head of Finance. Councillors L Brighouse, A Evans and G Mitchell left the meeting.
RESOLVED that the annual update to the Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan is approved for publication, with implementation from 01 April 2026.
Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors Chloe Masefield, Geoff Morgan and Jonathan Wilkinson.
There were no declarations of interest reported.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED 1. That the Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2026-2031 as set out in Appendix A to the report be agreed in principle. Councillor J Yeomans joined the meeting. Recommendation 2 By 31 votes to 29 with 4 abstentions it was RESOLVED 2. That the Revenue Budget for 2026-27 with the inclusion of a 4.9% increase in Council Tax in 2026-27 shown in the Financial Resource Model in Appendix B and Table 4 of the report. Recommendation 3 By 33 votes to 28 with 1 abstention it was RESOLVED 3. That the Fees and Charges Register in Appendices D and E be approved. Recommendations 4 – 9 By 34 votes to 29 it was RESOLVED 4. That the Capital Strategy and Capital Programme for 2026-31 shown in Appendix H be approved. 5. That the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement as set out on Appendix H be approved. 6. The Treasury Management Strategy and the Annual Investment Strategy in Appendix H be approved. 7. That the authorised borrowing limit for 2026-27 as required under section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 is set at £556 million and the Operational Boundary is set at £540 million as set out in paragraph 3.113 of the report. 8. The Prudential Indicators for 2026-27 as set out in section 3.109 to 3.116 of the report and Appendix H be approved. 9. That Council delegates approval of the virement to allocate the Pension Actuary Savings across services and re-align the corporate recharges as a result of these changes to the Head of Finance. Councillors L Brighouse, A Evans and G Mitchell left the meeting.
The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Transformation presented the draft budget for 2026-2027, the draft Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2026-2031 and draft Capital Programme for 2026-2031. The Cabinet was proposing a balanced budget supported by an increase of 4.9% in Council Tax. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Transformation explained that the Cabinet had given careful consideration to affordability for Council Tax payers and to increasing demand for services. The budget plan also included proposals to remove £12 million from the revenue budget and fees and charges increased in line with inflation. £6 million of the saving came from reducing the employer’s contribution to the Powys Pension Fund. This was possible because the Fund was in a surplus position. The Leader thanked everyone who had engaged in the budget process, particularly the members of the Budget Advisory Group and the Scrutiny Committees who had looked in proposals in detail. The recommendations of the Scrutiny Committees and the Finance Panel and the responses from Cabinet were included in the papers for the meeting. The leaders of political groups responded on behalf of their groups. The Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees and the Finance Panel presented the recommendations of their committees. Cabinet Members responded to the issues raised by Councillors. Councillor G Morgan joined the meeting. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Transformation moved the recommendations in the report which were seconded by the Leader. Recommendation 1 By 31 votes to 28 with 4 abstentions it was RESOLVED 1. That the Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2026-2031 as set out in Appendix A to the report be agreed in principle. Councillor J Yeomans joined the meeting. Recommendation 2 By 31 votes to 29 with 4 abstentions it was RESOLVED 2. That the Revenue Budget for 2026-27 with the inclusion of a 4.9% increase in Council Tax in 2026-27 shown in the Financial Resource Model in Appendix B and Table 4 of the report. Recommendation 3 By 33 votes to 28 with 1 abstention it was RESOLVED 3. That the Fees and Charges Register in Appendices D and E be approved. Recommendations 4 – 9 By 34 votes to 29 it was RESOLVED 4. That the Capital Strategy and Capital Programme for 2026-31 shown in Appendix H be approved. 5. That the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement as set out on Appendix H be approved. 6. The Treasury Management Strategy and the Annual Investment Strategy in Appendix H be approved. 7. That the authorised borrowing limit for 2026-27 as required under section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 is set at £556 million and the Operational Boundary is set at £540 million as set out in paragraph 3.113 of the report. 8. The Prudential Indicators for 2026-27 as set out in section 3.109 to 3.116 of the report and Appendix H be approved. 9. That Council delegates approval of the virement to allocate the Pension Actuary Savings across services and re-align the corporate recharges as a result of these changes to the Head of Finance. Councillors L Brighouse, A Evans and G Mitchell left the meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the annual update to the Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan is approved for publication, with implementation from 01 April 2026.
The Leader presented the annual update to the Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan: Stronger, Fairer, Greener (2026-2027). The update included amendments made to the activities for 2026-2027 following a review of the plan’s supporting actions and measures by leaders across all the Council’s service areas. The Leader thanked the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees for their challenge. The report set out the observations made by them and the responses of officers. It was moved by the Leader and seconded by the Deputy Leader and by 45 votes to 4 with 11 abstentions it was RESOLVED that the annual update to the Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan is approved for publication, with implementation from 01 April 2026.
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