Corporate plan

The financial challenge

The medium-term outlook for Buckinghamshire Council finances remains extremely challenging. Our 2025-26 to 2027-28 Budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan delivers a three-year balanced budget and demonstrates the financial sustainability of the Council at a time when a number of other local authorities are facing significant financial stress.

We will ensure that Buckinghamshire Council remains financially sound, efficient, and responsive to change. We will maintain robust financial planning, scrutinise budgets closely and be prudent in managing risks. We have already achieved significant savings over the last three years and will strive to achieve more but like all local authorities, we face challenging financial circumstances as more people turn to the Council for support, whilst the resources available to help them have not increased to match the demand.

We must be realistic and focus on greater efficiency and value for money and have developed an ambitious programme of savings planned for the forthcoming year.

Despite the financial challenges, we remain committed to investing in our communities and sustaining the vital services on which our most vulnerable residents rely. We will manage our assets to create long term benefits and additional income, reducing our dependency on the taxpayer and protecting front line services.

How we will spend the 2025 to 2026 budget

2025 to 2025 budget (gross): £1.309 billion

Budget by service
Service Amount Details
Adult social care £297 million Includes additional investment
to address continued increases
in demand, cost, and complexity
of social care services
Children’s social care £123 million Includes additional investment for care services and children in care, plus preventative services
Highways and transport £92 million Includes roads, footpaths, street lighting, repairing potholes, parking and transportation
Accessible housing and resources £173 million Includes customer services, ICT, finance, property, housing benefit payments, HR, legal and democratic services
Planning and regeneration £16 million Includes development management, strategic planning and local planning, economic growth and regeneration, and enforcement
Climate change and environment £48 million Includes climate change, waste collection and disposals, recycling, flood prevention and street cleansing
Schools £407 million Funded by specific grants
Education £18 million Includes Special Educational Needs, school improvement and early years services
Culture and leisure £9 million Includes leisure centres, libraries, museums, parks and play areas.
Homelessness and regulatory services £29 million Includes Trading Standards, Registrars, Environmental Health, Licensing, Cemeteries and Crematoria
Leader £6 million -
Public health £24 million Includes health visiting, school
nursing, drugs & alcohol, sexual
health, NHS health check and
healthy lifestyle services, plus
other preventative services to
improve physical and mental
health. Funded by specific grant
Communities £8 million Includes community boards, community safety, community grants and localities and strategic partnerships
Corporate £59 million Borrowing costs and other
corporate costs

£612.5 million spending on providing or improving buildings, roads and other infrastructure.

Spend by service
Service Spend
Planning and regeneration £22.7 million
Education and children's services £188.8 million
Transport £176.6 million
Strategic transport and infrastructure £130.1 million
Culture and leisure £8.1 million
Accessible housing and resources £21 million
Homelessness and regulatory services £26.4 million
Climate change and environment £41.1 million
Corporate -£3.4 million
Communities £0.5 million
Health and wellbeing £0.6 million
Total £612.5 million