Council Meeting
9 April 2026
BUDGET MONITOR 202 6/27

1. All Committees
The Council’s budget for 2025/26 was £207,383.50 of which £160,000 was
funded by the Precept, the remainder to be taken from reserves as necessary.
At the end of the financial year the Council had spent £162,996.09 which
represents 101.9% of the precept and 77.1% of the budget. £2,996.09 was
taken from reserves to support the budget.

2. Burial Grounds
At the end of the financial year, the Burial Grounds Committee had spent
125.9% of its budget of £9,120.00, leaving an overspend of £2,362.74.

There are three reasons for this overspend. Firstly, the unforeseen need to
provide rabbit proof fencing around a substantial area of the cemetery
boundary, at a cost of £5,443. Secondly, cemetery fees did not realise the
income of £10,000 anticipated in the budget; only £8,435 was received
leaving the committee to stand the £1,565 shortfall and finally the cemetery
business rates for 2026/27, £850.85, were paid at the end of the financial year
rather than at the beginning of the new financial year in the knowledge that it
could be covered by other underspends in the overall budget.

Although 25.9% seems a high overspend, it only amounts to £2,362.74 which
can be accommodated in the overall council budget due to underspends in
other committees.

3. EBNP review
The Neighbourhood Plan Review has been progressing with the help of
consultants but the timetable has been affected substantially due to the
withdrawal of the Babergh Joint Local Plan and the uncertainty of local
government reorganisation. Consultancy work and printing for this has
amounted to £10,862.58.

Other consultants are also assisting with the Neighbourhood Plan traffic
proposals and with the conservation area extension proposal. Consultancy
fees have totalled £9,500. This budget has been transferred to the Strategy,
Policy and Finance Committee for 2026/27

Overall the committee has spent £20,362.58, 55% of the budget of £37,000
and an underspend of £16,637.42.

4. Playing Fields
The Playing Fields Committee has spent £19,868.47, 99.9% of its budget of
£19,890, an underspend of £21.53. During the course of the financial year
there has been unforeseen expenditure on the Pavilion, maintenance of
machinery and tree works though fortunately it has been possible to
accommodate these items within the budget. Maintenance budgets for the
Pavilion and tennis courts have been added to the budget for 2026/27.

There was insufficient money in the budget to cover the cost of an urgently
needed rabbit-proof fence and the Committee was required to seek a
supplementary estimate from Council from reserves of almost £15,000.

5. RFF (General)
The committee spent £11,127.86, 59.3% of its budget of £18,750. Expenditure
has been limited to litter picking (£7,901.74), footpath maintenance
(£1,187.50), emptying of dog and waste bins (£1,660), benches (£259.10) and
installation of new dog bins (£119.52 ). The underspend of £7,622.14 will
revert to reserves.

6. RFF (Car Park and Toilets)
Expenditure totalled £14,929.06, 95.4% of the budget of £16,650, leaving an
underspend of £720.94. Toilet cleaning, car park maintenance and tree
surgery were all within budget, each just a few hundred pounds underspent.
The utilities budget was mildly overspent in the sum of £145.46, due to
increased water charges. Electricity charges have reduced during the year
following upgrading works to the electric system in the toilets.

7. SPF (General)
The committee has spent £65,528.90, 93% of its budget of £70,460, leaving
an underspend of £4,931.10. However, a number of budget heads have been
exceeded largely due to increased prices or in the case of Events, increased
activities (In Our View). The budget heads exceeded were, Insurances,
Subscriptions, Audit fees (both internal and external), Miscellaneous
Stationery, Parish Office, Broadband/Phone/email and Events. Together these
overspends amounted to £8,756.21. The committee was able to stay within its
budget due to a substantial underspend on Salaries, tax and NI (£7,917.69,
though roughly half of that would have been paid to HMRC for Q4 had the
invoice been delivered before the end of the financial year) and bank interest
which at £11,339.67 exceeded the anticipated £7,500 by £3,839.67.

Whilst the budget for 2026/27 is substantially increased at £116,000 this is
largely due to additional responsibilities and close management of the general
expenditure will be necessary throughout the new financial year..

Payment for contractors on CIL projects generated VAT and whilst in 2024/25
the VAT reclaimed expenditure was £22,876, in 2025/26 the VAT paid out was
£73,894.61 which will be reclaimed in the new financial year and be a
substantial boost to Reserves.

8. SPF (Grants)
This financial year has seen the award of grants totalling £6,560, 43.7% of the
budget of £15,000 leaving an underspend of £8,440. All the grants applied for
were awarded by the committee, but the number of applications has reduced.
However, it is likely that the budget for 2026/27 will be fully utilised as a large
grant application is progressing through the system for consideration in Q1 of
the new financial year.
9. Young People Committee
The majority of the expenditure has been payment to the contractors for the
provision of the youth club, in the sum of £11,928. Small payments have been
made for Toddler Group support, Under 5 initiative and publicity, together
totalling £694.98. Total expenditure was £12,622.98, 60.1% of the budget of
£21,000.

10. Other income/expenditure
It has been an extraordinary financial year for income and expenditure which
is outside the budget with large sums both received and expended. This has
been due to the PC (Tennis Club), (Cricket Club) and (Solar Panel) Projects
where contractors were paid by the Council in full but where the expenditure
was claimed back from Babergh DC CIL awards covering 75% of the project
expenditure..

Expenditure amounted to £262,140.23 comprising Parish CIL awards of
£67,825.48 and Reserves of £194,314.75. The former was taken from the
ring-fenced Parish CIL fund in Reserves, the latter taken from Reserves which
were substantially reimbursed by subsequent CIL payments from Babergh
DC.

Income of £537,557.75 was received during the course of the financial year.
This comprised the Precept (£160,000); Neighbourhood CIL from Babergh,
£240,746.01 which included new CIL proceeds going into the CIL Fund and
CIL awards of £111,751.50 which went into Reserves as reimbursement for
expenditure; Cleansing Grant of £6349.20, the VAT refund for 2024/25 in the
sum of £22,876 and income for reserves £107,586.54 (for example the Tennis
and Cricket Club contributions to the CIL projects)
.

Graham White
Parish Clerk
11. 7 April 2026