The Leader welcomed the Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer to her first Cabinet meeting. The Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer then provided Cabinet with an update on the Council’s financial position as at 31^st December 2017. 

The budget monitoring report provided an overview of the current financial position and projected outturn for the year against the budget approved by Council in March 2017.

On 1^st March 2017, Council approved a net revenue budget of £258.093 million for 2017-18, along with a capital programme for the year of £63.854 million, which had since been updated to £49.893 million taking into account new approvals and slippage of schemes into 2018-19.

The overall projected position at 31^st December 2017 was a net underspend of £1.245 million, comprising £947,000 net over spend on directorates and £5.336 million net under spend on Council wide budgets. This was a reasonable position to be in with no significant virements between budgets since those reported to Cabinet at the end of quarter 2 in October 2017.

She explained that potential in-year budget pressures in respect of energy increases for both gas and electricity were still unknown and any adjustments would be processed as figures became more certain.

Where proposals for current year budget reduction requirements had been delayed or were not achievable, directorates were working diligently to identify mitigating actions to meet the balance of the shortfalls in this financial year.

The Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer provided an update on the Council’s capital programme and movement within earmarked reserves during quarter 3.

The Leader welcomed the overall projected underspend. He requested further information on the pressures behind the overspends on services for people with learning disabilities and the proposals brought forward to manage cost pressures.

The Corporate Leader – Social Services and Wellbeing explained that the directorate was currently undertaking a full financial review and formulating a financial plan to identify alternative cost reduction opportunities. In the Learning Disabilities Residential Care service, there was a projected over spend of £127,000 as a result of an increase in the complexity of needs together with the demand for residential respite services. They were trying to avoid expensive out of county placements but a significant part of the over spend was down to the complexity of the people they were supporting.

The Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Help explained that the pressures on the directorate were detailed in the report. There were more people with complex needs and learning disabilities and numbers were increasing. He added that he would like to see a review of the budget in addition to the financial plan.  

The Deputy Leader thanked the finance officer for keeping finances on track and requested more information on movement between reserves. The Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer explained that the reserves were kept under close scrutiny because of the possibility of unforeseen circumstances. A new contingency reserve had been created to cover pay awards the impact of which could be difficult to fund. She added that if reserves were not utilised they would be reviewed.

The Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Future generations asked what impact the under spend had had on the workforce and the provision of street services. The Corporate Director-Communities explained that there had been a problem recruiting temporary seasonal staff. Options were being considered to make the service more resilient and preparations were being made for cuts the following year. The vast majority of staff had responded well to new ways of working.

RESOLVED:              Cabinet noted the projected revenue and capital outturn position for 2017-18.