‘The budget remains a real challenge’: Bracknell Forest Council budget plans meeting

Bracknell Forest borough council’s decision making cabinet will look at draft plans for the 2026 to 2027 budget at its meeting tonight (Tuesday, December 16).

A spokesperson said the proposed budget for 2026 to 2027 looks to protect vital services that residents need, as well as invest in a strong communities so they can evolve and provide additional support to people across Bracknell Forest.

“With a predicted funding gap of £10.1 million in 2026 to 2027, the council has taken extra care in planning its budget to make sure essential services such as social care, bin collections and road maintenance are protected.

The financial challenge also presents the opportunity to look at how to provide some services differently – services residents want and need but there is limited or no overall council budget to cover the cost.

“This would include supporting already strong communities to evolve, so they are able to offer additional services to people.

“This approach would make sure that council tax is spent in the best possible way, including on statutory services and things that can’t be carried out by the community.

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“It reduces pressure on budgets and the demand for services.”

The squeeze on the council’s budget has been caused by recent changes to government funding (Fairer Funding Review 2.0) and many years of central government underfunding.

Additionally, rising inflation and the extra demand for essential services, like social care and home to school transport, has also put pressure on the council’s finances. These pressures are likely to continue.

“The change to government grants means the council is faced with having to find cuts of around 10% just to fund inflationary cost increases. Extra demand for essential services adds even more pressure.”

“The council is used to rising to financial challenges, but difficult decisions will need to be made to make sure the budget balances and essential services that residents rely on can continue to be provided.”

Draft plans show a reduction in spending through things like:

reducing staffing (mainly through restructures).
reducing ICT licences, systems and some software budgets.
reducing the cleaning of street signs.
stopping some professional subscriptions.
reducing the street lighting repair budget.
recommissioning services, revising contracts and agreements and maximising the use of grants and alternative funding.
stopping the annual printed magazine for residents.

These reductions alone save more than £1.6 million in 2026 to 2027.

It also details a possible reduction, review or change to some services, subject to the necessary equality impact assessments, including:

saving £248,000 by stopping the 299, 598 and 151/151A bus services – these services cost a lot to run and are poorly used in terms of the number of passengers (some single trips cost the council more than £16 each).
saving £380,000 by rescheduling the kerbside glass collection scheme so it starts in March 2027 instead of autumn 2026.
looking to fund climate change projects through other ways like grants and commercial investment – this will save around £50,000 in 2026 to 2027.
saving £275,000 by reviewing the Better Care Fund Grant with partners in the NHS to prioritise intermediate care and reablement services.

The total amount of savings put forward in the draft plans for 2026 to 2027 is £3.3 million.

Additionally, draft plans propose essential investment in buildings and infrastructure, including:

continuing the planned investment of £2.7 million to maintain and improve highways (including roads, pavements, drainage, bridges and cycle lanes).
a possible £95,000 investment in play area upgrades.
investing more than £650,000 in local leisure facilities, including the running track at Bracknell Leisure Centre and essential maintenance at Coral Reef Waterworld and Downshire Golf Course.
a £50,000 investment in Bracknell Day Services to create extra space and support for adults with learning disabilities.

This investment is primarily through the council’s capital budget, which is made up of specific government grants and contributions from developers as well as some borrowing. It allows the council to maintain and update its buildings and infrastructure (like roads and pavements).

Unlike other years, the 2026 to 2027 budget plans also details themes for spending and saving for the following 2 years. This is because the council has received budget information from the government over a longer term, making it easier to plan for financial challenges and look at opportunities to provide services differently in a strategic way.

Cllr Paul Bidwell, cabinet member with responsibility for the budget, said: “We have consistently said that our budget remains a real challenge, especially considering the recent Fair Funding Review 2.0.

“We have a significant gap between the money available to spend on services and the costs we face due to this financial review and also due to years of underfunding by central government.

“Rising costs and extra demand for services mean we need much more funding that we will receive.

“We’re constantly trying to do more and more for less money. This draft budget looks at how we can make savings but also where we can start to do things a bit differently, so residents have a wide range of good quality services made available, by the people best placed to provide them.

“This approach makes sure that council tax is spent in the best possible way, including on statutory services and things that can’t be carried out by the community, for example social care assessments and bin collections.

“It reduces pressure on budgets and the demand for services.

“While this will not result in council tax reductions or give the council extra cash, it does mean that fewer services will need to be cut completely.

“It also means we can make sure that valued services are available – just managed or provided in a different way that could achieve better results for residents.

“Bracknell Forest is a nationally recognised excellent place to live with some of the best life chances and outcomes in the country.

“That said, we still have rising demand for services, which puts pressure on already tight council budgets. We are used to rising to financial challenges, but we must be clear that given rising demands and rising costs alongside less government money, we can’t keep providing the same level of service that we do in the same way.

“The draft budget papers outline how we plan to balance the budget, invest in our communities and improve our local infrastructure so that we continue to be a place where people live happy, healthy and productive lives.”

If agreed, the draft budget will be made available for public consultation from December 17 until January 27.

Four drop-in sessions will also be available for the public to give their thoughts or ask questions. Details will be made available after the cabinet decision.

The draft budget papers set out detailed spending and saving proposals for 2026 to 2027 for both the revenue and capital budgets. They also detail spending and saving themes for the 2027 to 2028 and 2028 to 2029 budgets.

The papers do not detail the proposed level of council tax. As usual, this will be a matter for councillors in February 2026.