What is the capital programme?

Alongside its budget for services, the council also has a capital budget. The capital budget is used for building new assets and maintaining physical infrastructure like buildings and roads. Although this budget is not funded by Council Tax, it is funded by external grants, borrowing, and selling council assets (like council-owned land) and reinvesting this money in facilities. It does have an impact on the council’s service (revenue) budget as the interest paid on borrowing, and a provision to repay the amount borrowed is paid from the service (revenue) budget.

The council will continue to invest in building new facilities such as care homes, schools, and leisure centres. However, the council will spend less than previous years.

The draft full capital budget will be published on this website on 23 December 2024. Subject to the Executive meeting decision on 7 January 2025, the public consultation on the revenue and capital budget will be open from 7 January to 4 February 2025.