Issue - meetings

That the Committee approves the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2016/17 (Month 10) report and confirms that there are no specific issues to be brought to the attention of the Cabinet.

The Corporate Finance Manager introduced a report on the revenue budget monitoring position for 2016/17 as at Month 10 for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) prior to consideration by Cabinet.

On the Council Fund, the net in-year position comprised of an operating deficit of £0.705m which was a decrease from the Month 9 position.  As reported previously, the change in Minimum Revenue Provision accounting policy had eliminated the in-year operating deficit, leaving projected net spend £2.181m lower than budget.

Significant budget changes made since the last report were explained and included the transfer of efficiency savings between portfolios and central and corporate, and also the virement previously approved for Social Services.

A slight improvement was reported on the programme of efficiencies with 90% of planned efficiencies expected to be achieved by year end.

An update was also given on the income strategy and included recommendations for the implementation of new sources of income which would contribute to the efficiency target included in the budget.

The projected level of contingency reserve available as at the end of March 2017 was confirmed as £5.333m with a recommendation in the report to allocate £0.050m to support initial setup costs and technical support for the Community Asset Transfer in Holywell which would help ensure the delivery of the following year’s budget saving.

On the HRA, in-year spend was projected to be £0.037m higher than budget, leaving a year end balance of £1.061m which was above the recommended minimum level of 3%.

The Chief Executive reported that disposal of the orphaned industrial site in Sandycroft was currently underway which would end this liability for the Council.  He thanked the Committee and the Chief Officer (Organisational Change) for their input on this complex project.

In response to a question from Councillor Richard Jones on the transfer of rollover amounts to external companies, the Chief Executive said that this was not the practice and he explained the arrangements for reserves and balances.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee approves the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2016/17 (Month 10) report and confirms that there are no specific issues to be brought to the attention of the Cabinet.