Rushcliffe Borough Council ended the 2025/26 financial year with a £2.682m revenue efficiency and a £4.011m capital programme efficiency, according to a report due to be considered by councillors next week.
The figures are set out in a Financial and Performance Management report to the council’s Corporate Overview Group on Tuesday, 16 June. The report, prepared by the Director of Finance and Corporate Services, says the year-end position is linked to the closure of accounts process and previous budget monitoring updates.
The council says the £2.682m revenue efficiency will be allocated to significant risks from 2026/27 onwards, including Local Government Reorganisation, the Government’s Simpler Recycling requirements and concerns over inflation.
The report says the positive revenue position has been helped by additional Treasury Management income, as interest rates have not fallen as quickly as expected, as well as a better-than-expected cashflow position, in-year service efficiencies, improvements at Rushcliffe Oaks Crematorium and additional grant income in areas including planning.
However, the report also says the position is offset by reduced planning income caused by lower demand and increased costs linked to planning appeals.
The capital underspend is largely expected to be carried forward for the completion of existing projects. Of the £4.011m capital efficiency, £3.145m is requested to be carried forward into 2026/27 for schemes that have been rephased but which the council says it remains committed to delivering.
These include £1.2m for support for registered housing providers, £279,000 for photovoltaic works at the crematorium, £237,000 for highways verge improvements, £240,000 for Edwalton Golf Course enhancements and £200,000 for Toothill Sports Complex improvements.
The council also reports £959,000 of project efficiencies, including £458,000 linked to land for carbon offsetting, £107,000 from Bingham Leisure and Enterprise Centre, and £194,000 from the recycling bins rollout.
Councillors are being asked to scrutinise the 2025/26 revenue position, changes to earmarked reserves, the re-profiled capital position and the Special Expenses outturn. They are also being asked to consider whether further scrutiny is required on performance indicators that have not met target.
The report says the council has continued to identify service efficiencies during the year and has overachieved against its Transformation and Efficiency Plan target. The target for 2025/26 was £824,000, but the council achieved £1m in efficiencies, £177,000 above target. The biggest contributors included leisure contract renegotiations, increased garden waste charges and increased car parking charges.
Rushcliffe Oaks Crematorium also performed above target, with income rising from £664,832 in 2024/25 to £842,223 in 2025/26. The report says this was mainly due to an increase in cremations from 617 to 770.
The council says its favourable outturn means it has not needed to draw on reserves or borrow externally. However, the report warns that inflation, Local Government Reorganisation, local government funding reforms and Simpler Recycling remain ongoing challenges to the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy.
New unitary councils are expected to become operational from 1 April 2028, with the council awaiting a decision on the preferred option, expected in July. Rushcliffe has already created a reserve to support the transition, with £661,000 allocated from 2024/25 underspends. Costs incurred by the end of March 2026 totalled £220,000, of which £123,000 was funded by Government grant. A further £635,000 from 2025/26 underspends has already been approved, taking the revised Local Government Reorganisation reserve balance to £1.199m.
The report says the financial implications of reorganisation, together with the impact on staff attraction and retention during the transition period, remain largely unknown but are expected to be significant.
Simpler Recycling is also identified as a major financial pressure. The council says Government new burdens funding is expected to be insufficient to cover the costs of implementing the scheme. The 2026/27 budget report showed a £1.171m funding shortfall across the Medium Term Financial Strategy period, and this could worsen if Extended Producer Responsibility grant funding is lower than expected.
The report also says budgeted annual income of £200,000 from recycling credits will not continue, creating an additional £1m budget pressure over five years. A further £500,000 is proposed to be added to the Simpler Recycling reserve to help manage known financial risks.
Residents have already seen some of the changes, including the rollout of kerbside glass collection, which began in December 2025. The council says work is continuing on a weekly food waste collection service, due by October 2027, and on options for collecting soft plastics from households.
The Special Expenses budget ended the year with a surplus of £6,400. The report says £3,000 came from underspends at Keyworth and Cotgrave cemeteries. The remaining £3,400 relates to the West Bridgford special expense.
In West Bridgford, an overspend of £14,500 on community halls was linked to an income shortfall at Gamston, where usage has not returned to pre-Covid levels, and responsive works at Lutterell Hall. This was offset by £6,000 in efficiencies from West Bridgford town centre events and £17,000 of additional football and tennis income.
The council says the previously reported notional deficit for West Bridgford stood at £89,000 on 31 March 2026. This was down from an opening deficit of £184,000 after adjustments including the in-year surplus, a repayment from revenue, transfer of a capital surplus and a lower annuity charge.
The report also gives an update on performance against the council’s Corporate Strategy, which was approved in December 2023. Seven performance indicators did not meet their targets at the end of 2025/26.
Under the environment theme, the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting was below target. The report says dry weather led to a significant fall in green waste collected during the first quarter of the year, with more than 1,000 fewer tonnes collected, affecting the overall recycling and composting rate.
The number of recorded fly-tipping cases was also above target, although the council says this is considered to be largely due to a change in the way fly-tips are reported by WISE rather than an increase in fly-tipping.
Under quality of life, the number of successful homelessness prevention outcomes was below target, with 58 recorded against a target of 70. The report says lower figures are mainly due to fewer registered provider properties being advertised on Homesearch and a higher number of applicants, meaning homeless cases are being rehoused later in the process.
Under efficient services, the number of missed bins was an exception. The council says it emptied around 3.6m bins during the year, including grey, blue, garden waste and glass bins, and missed 3,684. This equates to 0.1% of bins being missed, or a 99.9% success rate.
Income from community buildings also missed target, despite rising from £100,000 in 2024/25 to £106,050.75 in 2025/26. The report says planned refurbishment closures at Sir Julien Cahn, The Arena and Gamston Community Hall reduced capacity during part of the year. Those buildings are now fully open and available for hire.
The council’s draft Statement of Accounts is being prepared to meet the 30 June 2026 statutory deadline. The year-end financial statements are subject to audit by Forvis Mazars and are expected to be considered by the Governance Scrutiny Group in September 2026.