Executive summary

Staff Costs and FTE Budget

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Current year outturn, the year ahead, and the three-year plan, on one page.

2025/26 outturn
£4.49m
-4.1% underspend
2026/27 budget
£4.87m
+8.5% on outturn
Three-year total
£15.32m
2026/27 to 2028/29
Establishment
82
posts · 80 FTE

This year

The year is coming in at £4,489,137 against a budget of £4,679,896, an underspend of -£190,759 (-4.1%). An underspend on staff is not automatically good news: it usually means posts sat empty or take-up ran below plan, rather than genuine saving. The largest single driver is DC Pension at -£74,623, pension take-up running below the budgeted rate, then Basic (-£55,410) and Bonus (-£39,790).

The year ahead

Next year's budget is £4,870,487, £381,350 above outturn. That movement splits cleanly into what is committed and what is a choice:

Committed
+£243k
Running the same establishment into next year: annualising part-year starters, returns from leave, filling budgeted vacancies. Not a decision.
Pay award (the lever)
+£139k
The 3% award, about £46k per point. This is the one rate you control in-year.

Three years

The plan runs £4.87m to £5.34m, at +4.9% then +4.6%. Growth is driven by the pay award and the employer-NI step in 2027/28, not by headcount, the establishment is broadly flat. The grade shape is management-heavy: A and B grades are 55.9% of cost on 23 FTE, a rebalancing opportunity to model before it is committed.

Decisions and watch items

Two things are on the table: the pay award (£139k at 3%), and 13 candidate roles across 3 scenarios, none of which sit in the committed baseline, so all are deferrable. The items to keep an eye on: