How we manage our money

Budgets and finance strategy

We have two clear strategic priorities, stronger economies and stronger communities. In order to achieve those priorities the council must have a clear and robust financial strategy which focuses on our long term financial sustainability.

A financial strategy refers to the practice adopted by an organisation or business in order to pursue its economic goals and objectives. A financial strategy is especially important when it comes to setting the short-term operating framework needed to achieve long-term results.

Read the Finance Strategy

The council must set an annual budget, considering the funds it can generate, the essential services it needs to provide, and how it can respond to financial challenges.

All councils operate the same way. They receive separate funding for revenue and capital activity.

Revenue activity is day to day expenditure, including salaries and wages, running costs for buildings such as energy and service contracts. This activity is funded by local taxation (Council Tax and Business Rates, grants and charging users for some services (such as the garden waste service).

Capital funding is spent on things that will improve the area for local people, for example, purchasing land to provide business opportunities, refurbishing and improving buildings, or making spaces and assets better for local people. This is funded through bidding for money and grants. Any work done under this stream is subject to business case consideration.

The council’s day-to-day funding is spent on local services. We find out how much we available to spend annually when the Government releases its Local Government Financial Settlement. The settlement provides details of the Council’s income for the 12 months from next April. A large amount of this income is used to fund the council’s statutory services, which include, for example, Adult Social Care and Children’s Services

In addition to Government grants, public money comes from a number of other areas, such as Council Tax and Business Rates.

The council is committed to long-term investment to improve opportunity for all. Grants are applied for, and they are ringfenced for all sorts of schemes. These will often involve working with partners (some in the private sector) to do things like improving infrastructure (highways), creating more opportunities for education and employment, creating better town centres and urban spaces, investing in Cleethorpes as a seaside resort, and improving housing. Councils are also able to borrow money to enable such activity.

The council currently has a net budget of approximately £178 million in 2024-5 to provide services – day to day funding and specific grants.

Supporting people in North East Lincolnshire is by far the major spend (approximately 66% of the total budget) and that has accelerated following the pandemic and more general economic challenges within some of our most vulnerable communities.

Adult Services £61.7M
Children and Family Services: £57.5M
Economy and Growth: £30.8M
Environment: £18.7M
Resource & Governance: £8.92M
Public Health: £1.13

The remaining budget is used for things like support services, borrowing costs and levies.

All councils need to keep some money in ‘reserves’. This is a statutory requirement. Like a household’s savings account, reserves can be used in emergency situations that have not been planned for in the normal budget.

By law, every council has to sign off a balanced budget every year. This must be supported by a majority of council members at its meetings in February. Like households, we must make sure that we are spending within our means. When we add up the amount of money received through the Settlement and other income, this may mean that there are some difficult choices to make about services – including changing the way some services operate, in order to meet the budget.

September

Update financial planning assumptions
Review financial & capital investment strategy
Consider in year performance (Q1)

October

Identify pressures and opportunities
Begin to develop and update business plans
Refresh the Medium Term Financial Plan (the 5 year plan looking forward)

November

Provisional Local Government Financial settlement announced – we can now update our funding assumptions
Consider any efficiency and savings options
Start budget engagement – current and past consultations

December

Prepare the budget reports based on the actual Local Government Financial Settlement
Engage with members who can scrutinise the budget in detail and provide input
Approve the council tax base and support scheme

February and March

Full council debate and approval of the balanced budget
Council tax decision.

April onwards

Council tax billing
Monitor plans throughout the year (monthly)
Performance reports
Plans and work are scrutinised by elected members

The council maintains a rolling 3 year budget used for assessing its income and expenditure requirements.

Read our Budget Summary 2025/26 (PDF, 1MB) .

Annual accounts

A Statement of Accounts is produced at the end of each financial year in accordance with proper practices as set out in the CIPFA/LASAAC Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting. The Statement of Accounts is comprised of:

The Narrative Statement
A Statement of Responsibilities
The Core Accounting Statements
Notes to the Accounts
Supplementary Accounting Statements – Collection Fund

From the 2016/17 financial year, the Annual Governance Statement is now presented alongside the Statement of Accounts and not as part of the main document.

For an accessible version of these documents, please contact the Accountancy Service desk.

Our auditors are Mazars. Each year they produce a management letter which summarises the main points of their audit of our accounts and comments on the financial standing of the council.

Annual Audit report 2024 – 2025 (PDF, 2MB) – Not accessible. If you require an accessible version please contact the Accountancy service desk.

Our auditors are Mazars. Each year they produce a management letter which summarises the main points of their audit of our accounts and comments on the financial standing of the council.

Annual Audit report 2024 – 2025 (PDF, 2MB) – Not accessible. If you require an accessible version please contact the Accountancy service desk.

Annual governance statement

The Annual Governance Statement summarises the findings from the annual audit of the council’s finances and is published on our website alongside our Annual accounts.

The statement sets out our governance framework and the results of the annual review of our governance arrangements, including issues requiring further development.

Contact the Assurance People at: Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN31 1HU, email [email protected] or telephone 01724 296050

Treasury management

Effective treasury management will provide support towards the achievement of Council vision and aims. Treasury management is an integral part of the Council’s finances providing for cash flow management and financing of capital schemes.

The Treasury Management Strategy is informed by guidance and advice provided by the council’s treasury advisors.

Our high level policies for borrowing and investments are:

Borrowing will be affordable, sustainable and prudent and consideration will be given to the management of interest rate risk and refinancing risk. The source from which the borrowing is taken and the type of borrowing should allow the council transparency and control over its debt.
Our primary objective in relation to investments remains the security of capital. The liquidity or accessibility of the council’s investments followed by the yield earned on investments remain important but are secondary considerations.

Read the Treasury Management Strategy

Levies

North East Lincolnshire and its neighbouring authorities make a charge on each local authority based on its Council Tax Base.

This charge (called a Levy) forms part of the calculation North East Lincolnshire Council makes when arriving at its Council Tax figure each year.

The organisations which make these Levies are:

For more information about each organisations levy please visit their websites.

Organisation	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
North East Lindsey Drainage Board	413,692	425,788	452,212	526,687	615,469	640,394
Environment Agency	126,173	127,551	128,821	131,178	135,981	139,185
Lindsey Marsh Drainage Borad	9,395	9,677	9,965	12,715	12,811	12,811
North Eastern Sea Fisheries	142,823	144,251	148,579	153,036	170,635	190,258
Total Levies Charged	692,083	707,268	739,577	823,616	934,895	982,648

Section 251 statements

Section 251 Budget Statements

Local Authorities are required (under Section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009) to prepare and submit an Education and Children’s Social Services budget statement. These statements are intended to provide schools and the general public with information about the funding plans of the authority.

Section 251 Outturn Statements

Local Authorities are required to prepare and submit an Education and Children’s Social Services outturn statement after the end of the financial year. These statements are intended to provide schools and the general public with information about actual schools and Local Authority funding and expenditure for the year.

Contact details

01472 325995
[email protected]
Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN31 1HU