Decision details

Budget Management Report Quarter 1

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

To receive the revenue and capital budget monitor for quarter 1 (April to June 2024).

Decision:

To approve the following:

 

  1. General Fund (Revenue) – A projected outturn of £171.568m, being £11.817m overspend (7%) on an approved budget of £160.202m.

 

  1. A virement of £1.000m from the Contingency budget to the Corporate Resources budget in respect of a savings target for Business Rates Income that will not be realised until 2025/26  . 

 

  1. Subject to appropriate due diligence, develop the suite of Recovery Actions to deliver mitigations of up to £11.423m as outlined in Appendix 9 .

 

  1. Approve the following actions:

 

 

£m

Adult Social Care reserve – Defer recruitment for an additional Financial Assessment and Benefits Officer

0.150

Better Care Fund reserve – utilise carry forward

2.667

Public Health reserve – Uncommitted reserve to meet eligible public health overspend within the General Fund

0.081

TOTAL

2.898

 

 

 

That Cabinet note the following based on the above approvals:

 

 

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  1. General Fund (GF) (Capital) – The revised capital budget (approved at July cabinet) is £35.428m with a projected outturn of £33.560m resulting in underspend of £1.868m.

 

  1. Housing Revenue Account (HRA Revenue) – A surplus of £3.734m is forecast against a budgeted surplus of £3.477m, a favourable variance of £0.257m.

 

  1. Housing Revenue Account (HRA Capital) – The revised capital budget (approved at July cabinet) is £25.003m with a projected outturn of £16.941m resulting in an underspend of £8.062m.

 

  1. Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) – There is an overspend of £0.155m in the Schools Block due to higher than anticipated costs for growth in 2024/25. Further details are set out in para. 7 of this report including the risks

 

  1. Council Tax and Business Rates collection – As at 30 June 2024, actual council tax collected was 28.05% (target 29.10%) and actual business rate collected was 29.75% (target 30.5%).

 

  1. Sundry Debt – Total outstanding sundry debt including adult social care debt as at 30 June 2024 was £13.848m. Based on the age profile of the debt, £5.342m is the calculated bad debt provision (39%).

 

  1. Financial Resilience – The Council remains committed to improving financial resilience, moving towards financial sustainability and improvement in governance and process as laid out in the Directions issued by Government and a capitalisation direction for exceptional finance support in 2024/25.

 

  1. Once the Council has concluded the outstanding financial accounts, a formal financial resilience statement will be prepared.

 

Publication date: 06/09/2024

Date of decision: 16/09/2024

Decided at meeting: 16/09/2024 - Cabinet

Effective from: 25/09/2024

Accompanying Documents: