Decision details

To receive a report on the budget monitor for the third quarter of 2023/24

That Cabinet approved the following:

·  that the fully-funded capital scheme proposed to make efficient use of the DfT grant to a projected value of £1.943m as set out in paragraph 9.5 of this report be added to the capital programme

·  the virements as set out in Appendix E.

That Cabinet noted the following:

·  that the 2022/23 forecast year-end position for the General Fund, taking account of use of all capitalisation direction amendments, is a fully balanced position.  However, within this, there is an overspend of £4.256m across service areas, comprising a further anticipated ask from SCF for contract funding support of £2.760m, shortfalls on savings initiatives within Council directorates of £2.1m and a range of other broadly offsetting under and overspends. This position is then balanced through an improvement in the collection fund position, underspends in Treasury and corporate budgets and the use of capitalisation;

·  that the General Fund Capital Programme is forecasting an underspend of £2.633m at a spend of £26.022m;

·  that the HRA is forecasting a surplus and contribution towards capital funding and HRA reserves of £2.604m, a £0.073m adverse variance against budget;

·  that the HRA Capital Programme is forecasting to underspend against budget by £3.761m;

·  that the DSG balance is forecast to be a cumulative deficit of £27.108m by the end of this financial year, reflecting an in-year deficit of £1.638m, with plans to reduce the in-year movement to a balanced position by 2025/26;

·  that maintained schools are projecting a reduction in balances by 31 March 2023 from £9.555m to £6.478m, with 4 out of 16 schools expecting to be in deficit with an aggregate deficit of £0.741m.