Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendations.

                         Councillor Banks introduced the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2019/20 (Month 8) report which provided the latest detailed revenue budget monitoring position for 2019/20 for the Council Fund and the Housing Revenue Account for the financial year and presented the position, based on actual income and expenditure, as at Month 8.  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 £1.892m which was a favourable movement of £0.301M from the deficit figure of £2.193M reported at Month 7; and
• A projected contingency reserve balance as at 31^st March 2020 of £2.977M.

Housing Revenue Account

• Net in-year revenue expenditure forecast to be £0.131M higher than budget which was a negative movement of £0.109M from the deficit figure of £0.022M reported at Month 7; and
• A projected closing balance as at 31^st March 2020 of £1.192M.

As previously reported, and to assist with mitigating the overall projected overspend, the following measures were introduced from Month 6:

1.    All non-essential spend be reviewed and challenged with a view to ceasing/delaying where able; and

2.    Further portfolio management team challenge of recruitment to vacancies i.e. ceasing/delaying.

At Month 6, this had resulted in identifying a one-off delay in spend of £0.530M which helped to significantly reduce the overall overspend position.  Further reductions in the overspend at both Month 7 and Month 8 had been achieved predominantly from the continuation of those measures.  Work would continue into Month 9 and beyond with the same rigour and challenge in an attempt to further improve the overall position.

The Chief Officer Team had set a target of reducing the overspend position to within a range of £1.500M - £1.750M by the end of the financial year, although that would still be in excess of the performance indicator target set within the MTFS of £1.350M, being 0.5% of the Net Revenue Budget.

The Corporate Finance Manager also provided details on the projected position by portfolio; tracking of in-year risks and emerging issues; achievement of planned in-year efficiencies; other in-year issues; MTFS impact and risks; and reserves and balances.

The Chief Executive said a discussion had taken place at Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the tactical options to reduce the deficit and a report would be presented the following month.

            RESOLVED:

            (a)       That the overall report and the projected Council Fund contingency sum as at

31^st March 2020 be noted; and

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