Agenda item

(a)  That the reported provisional financial position of the Council for the year end 2020/21 of a £6.6m overspend be noted;

(b)  That the financial risks of £49.8m in Section 7 of the report that could impact the final outturn position, that together with the £6.6m overspend is the £56.4m reported in the s114 Notice on 2 July 2021 be noted;

(c)  That the provisional capital outturn for the General Fund of a £4.8m underspend, a £14.3m underspend for the HRA and the overspends on two large projects be noted.

The Section 151 Officer introduced a report that provided Cabinet with the provisional financial outturn of the Council’s General Fund Revenue, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Capital Programme for the 2020/21 financial year.

It was noted that the information in the report reflected the forecast position at the current time and would change as further work was undertaken on preparing the accounts for the year, which had yet to commence.  The provisional revenue outturn for 2020/21 was a £6.6m overspend and the report set out the key financial risks of £49.8m would could impact on the final position.  Taken together these two figures were the £56.4m reported in the s.114 notice issued by the Section 151 Officer on 2^nd July 2021.  In relation to capital, the provisional outturn for the General Fund was a £4.8m underspend and a £14.3m underspend for the HRA.  Section 5.11 to 5.20 of the report set out overspends on the approved budgets for two large projects – the hotel scheme and Herschel Street car park.

The Cabinet recognised the scale of the challenge in addressing the Council’s financial issues and emphasised its commitment to address the in-year position for 2021/22 and close the gap in future years through the Medium Term Financial Strategy.  Lead Members expressed concerns about a number of financial matters exposed by the new finance team and questions were asked about the previous incorrect treatment of capital and the robustness of the savings plans agreed by Council in March 2021.  The Section 151 Officer responded to the points raised and explained that detailed work was ongoing to identify the issues, many of which had been highlighted at Council on 22^nd July 2021 at which the s.114 notice had been presented to Members and the action plan agreed unanimously.  The Leader highlighted that Lead Members and Directors were meeting on a weekly basis to review the financial position and savings plans for each directorate in detail and the outcomes of this work would seek to demonstrate the commitment to addressing the challenges faced.

At the conclusion of the discussion the provisional outturn for 2020/21 was noted.

Resolved –

(a)  That the reported provisional financial position of the Council for the year end 2020/21 of a £6.6m overspend be noted;

(b)  That the financial risks of £49.8m in Section 7 of the report that could impact the final outturn position, that together with the £6.6m overspend is the £56.4m reported in the s114 Notice on 2 July 2021 be noted;

(c)  That the provisional capital outturn for the General Fund of a £4.8m underspend, a £14.3m underspend for the HRA and the overspends on two large projects be noted.