Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s Cabinet considered a mid-year financial report on 10 November 2026 showing a net adverse variance of £121,554, driven by agency staff costs, falling garden waste income and rising software and legal bills.

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s Cabinet considered a report on 10 November 2026 showing the authority was running £121,554 over its proportional budget at the halfway point of the 2026/27 financial year, with several spending pressures identified across key services.

Where the overspend is coming from

The report, prepared by Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer Paul Worden, identified a salary overspend of £71,150, described as primarily reflecting agency staff costs incurred to cover sickness and vacancies within Planning and Legal Services, together with additional costs arising from the extension of two posts within Executive Services.

Income was £49,073 below the profiled budget, primarily due to lower garden waste income, partially offset by higher than anticipated income from planning applications and car parking. Officers said work was under way to assess further garden waste subscription levels following cancellations experienced in 2026/27.

Information technology costs were identified as a significant pressure, with software cost increases totalling £230,000 more than the original budget. After agreed reserve contributions, the net additional burden was said to be £176,000. Legal fees were forecast to overspend by around £32,000, primarily due to external specialist advice on planning, housing and property matters, with the possibility of further increases. Postage costs for Revenues and Benefits were forecast to overspend by around £50,000 if current spending continued, and Human Resources was forecast to be £11,600 overspent due to specialist employment legal advice.

A further pressure arose from the cessation of a £140,000 contribution from Kent County Council in respect of Council Tax Reduction adjustments, which had been included in the 2026/27 budget but would no longer be received.

Investment income and business rates provide some offset

The adverse variances were partially offset by stronger than expected investment and business rates income. Core investment funds of £36.0m generated income of £752,010 at an average return of 4.11%, delivering a favourable variance of £249,510 against the original estimate. Cashflow funds generated a further favourable variance of £129,680.

Business rates income also improved significantly following the final major valuation for Panattoni Park at Aylesford, backdated to 2025/26. The predicted net income after government levy rose to £4,353,526, a positive variation of £990,819 against the original estimate of £3,362,707.

Homelessness and planning appeals flagged as key risks

The report noted that homelessness and planning appeals currently presented the greatest challenges to approved budgets. Temporary accommodation client numbers stood at 101 households at the time of writing, below the budgeted level of 110 and down from 114 at the same point last year. Officers said a watching brief would be maintained given ongoing pressures within the homelessness service.

Budgetary pressures within Planning were described as emerging as a result of planning appeal costs, including potential awards of costs against the council in certain cases, which may require full council approval.

Medium-term outlook

The Medium Term Financial Strategy was updated to reflect September’s CPI figure of 3.5% and forecasts from the council’s treasury advisers that inflation could rise to around 4.1% before returning to the Bank of England’s 2% target by the end of 2027. Officers increased the assumed inflation rate for 2027/28 to 3.5% for pay and prices. The waste, recycling and street cleansing contract was projected to face an inflationary increase of 5.86% based on the latest published rates. The MTFS continued to project a balanced budget from 2034/35, with a General Revenue Reserve balance of £5.834m.

The council had not published the minutes of the meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.

Sources

Top image: illustrative, computer-generated. Illustrative AI-generated image. This is not a photograph of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council or any real building.