Annual budget briefing - creating a climate in which businesses can thrive

Leader of the Council, Cllr Joanne Sexton reaffirmed our commitment to the business community, outlining how the authority is working to support the interests of not only our residents, but also the businesses in the borough. Cllr Sexton spoke on the success of Sustain Spelthorne, in partnership with Place Support Partnership. An initiative funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Sustain Spelthorne offers tailored business advice and guidance on supporting businesses to become cost and carbon efficient and taking their first steps to a more sustainable future.

Local government reorganisation also featured, which involves restructuring local authorities in Surrey to form unitary councils. This means that the Surrey councils will be merged two or three new authorities and Spelthorne Borough Council as a sovereign authority will cease to exist within three years. Business leaders voiced concerns on the proposals and Cllr Joanne Sexton listened to their views on the reorganisation preferences, overwhelmingly the choice for Surrey to be divided into three Councils was seen as the best option for Spelthorne.

Terry Collier, Deputy Chief Executive, outlined the authority's balanced budget position for 2025-26 where he outlined the pressures the authority faced and the successful position of our Commercial Property Portfolio which continues to perform above sector standards, delivering £10m net revenue which directly supports much needed frontline services.

Daniel Mouawad, Chief Executive of Spelthorne Borough Council, shared highlights on how this authority is ensuring economic resilience and promoting business growth. This includes the support that the Spelthorne Jobs and Skills Hubs offers the community by securing over 900 residents' employment in 2024 and the potential impact of Heathrow expansion on the Borough.

Other topics discussed were:

• budget pressures, including the cost-of-living crisis and continuing housing pressures
• challenges the authority has faced from a recent external audit and the solutions that have been put in place
• Council tax increase (2.9%), how it is spent and how the gross £65m revenue budget is funded
• business rates and the impact of the retail, hospitality and leisure relief decreasing from 75% to 40% in April
• procurement opportunities for local businesses

Thank you to the team at Sytner Jaguar Land Rover South West London for their hospitality and support in hosting our event and we look forward to continued collaboration with the business community: "We're a business that's in the business of supporting our businesses and residents".