Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendations.

Councillor Banks introduced the report which provided the first detailed revenue budget monitoring position for 2019/20 for the Council Fund and the Housing Revenue Account for the new financial year and presented the position, based on actual income and expenditure, as at Month 4.  The report projected how the budget would stand at the close of the financial year if all things remained unchanged.

            The projected year end position, without new actions to reduce cost pressures and/or improve the financial return on efficiency planning and cost control was:

Council Fund

·         An operating deficit of £2.983m – a reduction of £0.118m from the deficit figure of £3.101m – reported in the Interim Revenue Budget Monitoring report in July 2019; and

·         A projected contingency reserve balance as at 31^st March 2020 of £1.886m.

Housing Revenue Account

·         Net in-year revenue expenditure forecast to be £0.081m higher than budget; and

·         A projected closing balance as at 31^st March 2020 of £1.242m.

Both the Council and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) continued to campaign and lobby Welsh Government (WG) for specific additional national funding for high demand –high cost services.  The increasing demands of Out of County/Children’s Services care continued to provide significant challenges.

The Corporate Finance Manager provided details of the major variances; tracking of in-year risks and emerging issues; achievement of planned in-year efficiencies; other in-year issues; MTFS impact and risks; reserves and balances; and earmarked reserves.

The Chief Executive added that this was the first year to see such large overspends and work was being undertaken with portfolios to determine if non-essential expenditure could be halted in year, but he emphasised that this would be a one off.  The impact on the following year would be significant.  On Out of County Placements, the situation was unpredictable and there was a further call from WG to meet the budget requirement for the Council.  He appealed to WG that any in-year underspends should be targeted to Out of County Placements across Wales.

The report had been submitted to Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, alongside two exception reports on the overspend in Out of County Placements and Streetscene and Transportation and Councillor Banks thanked the Committee for receiving the information with realism.

            RESOLVED:

(a)       That the overall report and the projected Council Fund contingency sum as at 31^st March 2020 be noted;

(b)       That the projected final level of balances on the Housing Revenue Account be noted; and

(c)        That a budget virement within Social Services to realign the budget to meet current service needs be agreed.