AM 742/26 – Budget Update 2026/27

Summary:

The Authority’s original 2026/27 Budget was approved by Members in March 2026 (AM 735/26); this paper gives Members an update on the Authority’s Budget for 2026/27 following confirmation of our core capital grant and a one-off revenue uplift. A draft of this report was taken to the June Resources, Audit and Performance Committee and they have recommended approval of its content by the full Authority today.

Recommendation:

Members are requested to:

Approve the suggested additions to the 2026/27 Budget.

1. Budget Update 2026/27

1.1. Following the 2026/27 Budget being approved by members at the Authority meeting in March, both the core capital grant (£1.4m) and one-off revenue uplift (£1.7m) for the financial year have since been confirmed by Defra; below are the exact amounts and corresponding expenditure proposals for each from Officers.

1.2. Officers are still currently awaiting the formal grant agreement documentation from Defra, however due to the delays in that from a legal standpoint, they have recently paid over 50% of each of the grant amounts for the year to the Authority (with the final 50% due to be paid in early October).

1.3. All 2026/27 Defra funding must be spent during the financial year, not just be allocated, that is for goods or services to be fully and verifiably received on or before 31 March 2027. The Authority can however choose to prioritise the use of the Defra grants over use of its own earned income as set out in the plans below.

2. Protected Landscapes Capital Investment Fund 2026/27

2.1. The 2026/27 capital core grant has been confirmed as £1,406,722 – an equal split of funds amongst the ten English National Parks. The same amount has been set indicatively for the following two financial years. As previously, the funds must be spent on capital assets and for the purposes of either furthering 30x30 and/or income generation / invest-to-save.

2.2. The 2026/27 funding will be utilised in line with the Authority’s Capital Strategy approved by Members in July 2025 and is overseen by a Capital Projects Group of senior officers from across the teams. As with all capital programmes, project details, dates and amounts are prone to change far more frequently than with revenue expenditure, plus are often subject to confidential elements/negotiations, and therefore an element of flexibility and manoeuvrability is required by officers within the overall approved budget parameters.

2.3. For 2026/27 it is proposed that our capital grant is used to fund (all figures estimated at this stage):

2.4. These budgets will be closely monitored through the year by the Resources, Audit and Performance Committee.

3. One-off Revenue Uplift 2026/27

3.1. The 2026/27 one-off revenue uplift has been confirmed as £1,720,000 – an equal split of funds amongst the ten English National Parks. Funds are to be utilised to further the financial stability and/or strategic goals of the Authority.

3.2. It is proposed that this is used to fund:

3.3. These budgets will be closely monitored through the year by the Resources, Audit and Performance Committee.

Recommendation:

Members are requested to:

Approve the suggested additions to the 2026/27 Budget.