Funding Shortfall/Gap and Cost of reaching net Zero
Case reference FOI2022/00759
Published 4 July 2022
Request
For clarification, Questions 1 and 2 are in relation to council funding as whole, not just one area or service.
Q1. What is your current predicted funding gap by the end of the financial year 2023/24?
Q2. What is your current predicted cumulative funding gap by the end of the financial year 2024/25?
Q3. Has your council estimated the costs of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions? Yes / No / Don't know
Q4. How much does your council estimate reaching net zero will cost? (Please state amount and any associated timescale) £
Q5. Can your council access enough funding to be able to deliver your emission reduction ambitions? Yes / No / Don't Know
Response
Q1. What is your current predicted funding gap by the end of the financial year 2023/24?
The Council is currently working on a refresh of its Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and is therefore, currently not in a position to accurately predict whether there will be a funding gap for 2023/24 or the size of any gap until that work is concluded. In the last comprehensive spending review (CSR) the Government announced a one-year settlement only (for 2022/23) and therefore central government funding for 2023/24 is not certain. The exceptional position in terms of the volatility in the wider UK and Global economy also means that reliable estimates of changes to expenditure are currently being worked. The details of the 2023/24 proposed budgets will be available later in the financial year when the Council takes a formal decision on the budget to be set for 2023/24 following announcement by the Government of the next Settlement Funding Assessment. We, therefore, do not currently hold the data requested.
Q2. What is your current predicted cumulative funding gap by the end of the financial year 2024/25?
The Council is currently working on a refresh of its Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and is therefore, currently not in a position to accurately predict whether there will be a funding gap for 2024/25 or the size of any gap until that work is concluded. In the last comprehensive spending review (CSR) the Government announced a one-year settlement only (for 2022/23) and not a multi-year settlement and therefore central government funding for 2024/25 is not certain. The exceptional position in terms of the volatility in the wider UK and Global economy also means that reliable estimates of changes to expenditure are currently being worked. The details of the estimates for 2024/25 funding position will be available later in the financial year when the refresh of the MTFS is presented to Cabinet and the Council. We, therefore, do not currently hold the data requested.
Q3. Has your council estimated the costs of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions? Yes / No / Don't know
No.
Q4. How much does your council estimate reaching net zero will cost? (Please state amount and any associated timescale) £
N/A
Q5. Can your council access enough funding to be able to deliver your emission reduction ambitions? Yes / No / Don't Know
N/A
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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