Council Meeting 8 January 2026
Budget and Precept 2026/27

The Budget
1. In the autumn cycle of meetings, the standing committees considered their budget requests
for 2026/27. The direction to committees from the Chairman of the Strategy, Policy and
Finance Committee was that apart from SPF Committee, no committee budgets were to
contain contingencies and expenditure should be limited to stated budget heads. If the total
budget exceeded the precept, the balance would have to be taken from the Council’s
unallocated reserves.

2. The Strategy, Policy and Finance Committee met on 25 November 2024 to review the
committee submissions and the documents attached to this report are the SPF Committee
recommendations to Council for the Council’s budget for 2026/27.

3. Burial Grounds – The majority of the committee’s expenditure is the cost of the
groundsmen contractors and for grounds maintenance The former is governed by the rates
approved in the three year contract which can be met at existing budget levels and the
grounds maintenance budget has been increased by £100 to take account of inflation to
£4,600.

Anticipated cemetery fees offset the expenditure and in 2025/26 £10,000 was assumed.
This sum is likely to be realised and may be exceeded slightly but was considered a
prudent amount to include in the budget for 2026/27, particularly as cemetery fees have
been held at current levels.

The total budget has decreased from £9,120 to £9,115, as a result of minor increases and
decreases on the various budgets heads.

4. East Bergholt Neighbourhood Plan – In 2024/25 the Committee had a budget of £37,000
for neighbourhood plan projects, primarily to provide funding for the engagement of
consultants and the costs of completing the neighbourhood plan process As a result of
employing consultants the drafting of the Neighbourhood Plan has progressed well and an
advanced draft copy will be available for Parish Council scrutiny in 2026. However, due to
the need to tie in with the Babergh DC strategic plan procedures some delay may occur
before the revised plan can be finalised and published. The budget for 2026/27 has taken
account of these factors and been reduced significantly.

The largest budget head in 2025/26 was for Traffic Consultants, £16,500, for the next stage
in the process to report to Suffolk County Council and work through the next stages in
delivery of the traffic management proposals. This work remains ongoing but as it is no
longer a direct neighbourhood plan issue, the budget has been reallocated to the SPF
Committee.

With the foregoing reductions, the budget has been reduced from £37,000 to £10,000 for
2026/27.

5. Playing Fields – In 2025/26 the committee had to seek a supplementary estimate of
£15,000 for the unforeseen works to the playing field fencing to combat rabbit infestation.

For 2026/27 the committee has doubled the grounds maintenance budget from £5,000 to
£10,000 to provide for both regular and unexpected grounds maintenance. Two new
maintenance budget heads have been introduced for Pavilion maintenance (£3,000) and
tennis court maintenance (£20,000), the latter being sufficient to deal with a particular
maintenance issue. Overall, the budget for the committee has increased by £12,780 to
£47,670.

6. Roads, Footpaths and Flatford Committee (General) – This budget shows an increase of
£7,300 from £18,750 to £26,050. Most budget heads have been retained at the previous
year’s level with just inflation uplifts and to take account of increased charges but there
have been two new budget heads added for Road Safety measures at the Gandish/Mill
Road junction (£6,000) and for posts on the Constable Trail (£500).

7. Roads, Footpaths and Flatford Committee (Car Park and Toilets) – As with the previous
RFF budget, increases for inflation and for increased charges, particularly those of Anglian
Water, have been added for 2026/27 together with an additional budget head for Toilet
refurbishment (£5,000) all of which produce an increase of £6,130 and a budget of £21,780.

8. Strategy Policy and Finance Committee (General) – The administration budget has
performed largely as expected in 2025/26 as it comprises regular anticipated expenditure.
For 2026/27 most of the budget heads have been increased somewhat to take account of
inflation and increased charges, an increase of £8040 across the committee budget as a
whole.

Bank/Building Society interest is offset against the budget expenditure and in 2024/25 a
sum of £7,500 was anticipated. With the addition of significant CIL receipts, the interest on
the deposit account and the Building Society accounts exceeded that figure and for 2026/27
a sum of £10,000 is considered attainable and is proposed.

New budget heads have been added to this committee. These are Community Sessions
(£500), Traffic Consultants (£16,500) re-allocated from the Neighbourhood Plan Committee
and a contribution to the provision of a Police Community Support Officer (£23,000). This is
an initiative being developed by Brantham PC with a view to this officer covering Brantham
and one or two adjacent parishes. If East Bergholt is the only partner, the budget provision
will accommodate half the cost. If two additional parish councils join in, East Bergholt’s
costs will reduce to a third of the total, roundabout £15,500.

In view of the foregoing, the budget is increased by £45,540 from £70,460 to £116,000.

9. Strategy, Policy and Finance (Grants) – Budget provision for 2026/27 remains the same
as for the previous year at £15,000.

10. Young People – Three of the four budget heads remain the same as for the previous year,
totalling £5,000. In the first full year of the Youth Club it has become evident that there
needs to be two sessions and not just one as the older and younger attendees do not
integrate and the project will be more successful with separate sessions for each age
range. Consequently the budget of £16,000 has been increased to £24,000 to
accommodate this.

The total budget has risen from £21,000 to £29,000.

11. All Committees – The total budget requested by all committees is £275,128.50, which is
an increase of £52,745 on the budget of 2024/25.
The largest increase is the SPF Committee (£45,540), followed by Playing Field Committee
(£12,780), Young People Committee (£8,000), RFF Committee (General) (£7300) and RFF
Committee (Car park and toilets) (£6130). The one significant saving is Neighbourhood
Plan Committee (£27,000) though part of that is the budget of £16,500 transferred to SPF
Committee.
Funding for the budget will come primarily from the precept (see below) and if the
recommendation of £180,000 is approved, there will be an increase in the council tax
requirement of 4.47% and for Band D council tax payers the sum required is £130.80, an
increase of £5.59.

The difference between the budget and the precept will be funded from income and
reserves at no additional cost to the council tax payer.

12. Recommendation

The Strategy, Policy and Finance Committee RECOMMENDS to the Council the committee
budgets set out in the attached spreadsheets and a total council budget for 2026/27 of
£275,128.50.

The Precept

13. The Local Government Finance Act 1992 provides that a precepting authority may issue a
precept to a billing authority which has been calculated pursuant to Section 49A of the Act.

14. Section 49A (2) provides that the authority must calculate the aggregate of –

(a) The expenditure the authority estimates it will incur in the year in performing its functions
and will charge to a revenue account for the year in accordance with proper practices.
£290,128.50

(b) Such allowance as the authority estimates will be appropriate for contingencies in
relation to amounts to be charged or credited to a revenue account for that year in
accordance with proper practices.
£5,000

(c) The financial reserves which the authority estimates it will be appropriate to raise in the
year for meeting its estimated future expenditure;
None

(d) Such financial reserves as are sufficient to meet so much of the amount estimated by
the authority to be a revenue deficit for any earlier financial year as has not already
been provided for.
None

15. Under Section 49A (3) the authority must calculate the aggregate of –

(a) The income which it estimates it will accrue to it in the year and which it will credit to a
revenue account for the year in accordance with proper practices other than income
which it estimates will accrue to it in respect of any precept issued to it, and
Cemetery fees £10,000; Bank Interest £10,000. Total £20,000

(b) The amount of the financial reserves which the authority estimates that it will use in
order to provide for the items mentioned in 2(a) and (b) above.
£95,128.50

16. Section 49A (4) provides that if the aggregate calculated under (2) exceeds that calculated
under (3), the authority must calculate the amount equal to the difference and the amount
so calculated is to be its council tax requirement for the year.

Aggregate under (2) £295,128.50
Aggregate under (3) £115,128.50
£180,000.00

17. The determination of the precept in accordance with the statutory formula provides a sum of
£180,000 as the council tax requirement for 2026/27. This amounts to an increase in the
council tax requirement, of 4.47% and for Band D council tax payers the sum required is
£130.80, an increase of £5.59.

Employees’ remuneration

18. The SALC payroll service will only add the national pay award and any incremental
advance to employees’ remuneration if there is a specific Council resolution to that effect.
The Council has determined that such resolution should be considered annually at the time
of the Budget and Precept determination.

Recommendation

19. It is RECOMMENDED that:

(i) The Budget for 2026/27 in the sum of £275,128.50 be approved.

(ii) The Precept for 2026/27 in the sum of £180,000.00 be approved.

(iii) Reserves in the sum of up to £95,128.50 be earmarked to support the budget once
the precept has been exhausted.

(iv) For 2026/27 the Council’s employees be awarded the national pay award and any
incremental advance which may be appropriate to their grading.

Graham White
Parish Clerk
2 January 2026