Issue - meetings

Revenue Budget Monitoring 2020/21 (Month 9)

Meeting: 16/02/2021 - Cabinet (Item 97)

97 Revenue Budget Monitoring 2020/21 (Month 9) pdf icon PDF 169 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

As detailed in the recommendations.

Minutes:

Councillor Banks introduced the report which provided the latest detailed revenue budget monitoring position for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account for the financial year, and presented the position based on actual income and expenditure, as at Month 9.  The report projected how the budget would stand at the close of the financial year if all things remained largely unchanged.  It also took into account the latest positon on Welsh Government (WG) Emergency Grant Funding announcements.

 

            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 surplus of £0.372m (excluding the impact of the pay award which would be met by reserves), which was a favourable movement of £0.102m from the surplus figure of £0.270m reported at Month 8.

·         A projected contingency reserve balance as at 31st March 2021 of £1.787m.

 

Housing Revenue Account

·         Net in-year revenue expenditure forecast to be £1.641m lower than budget.

·         A projected closing balance as at 31st March 2021 of £3.814m.

 

The Corporate Finance Manager provided details on the projected position, the projected position by portfolio, significant movements from Month 8, open risks, new emerging risks, achievements of planned in-year efficiencies, carry forward requests and reserves and balances.

 

The level of Council Fund Contingency Reserve brought forward into 2020/21 was £2.370m as detailed in the 2019/20 outturn report.  This was the amount available for general purposed following the set-aside of £3m for Emergency Funding.  Taking this into account, and the current projected underspend at this stage, and previously agreed allocations, the balance on the Contingency Reserve at 31st March 2021 was projected to be £1.787m as detailed in Appendix 4 to the report.  This assumed that the projected underspend of £0.372m increased the overall Reserve. 

 

The £3m emergency ring-fenced fund would have an amount of £2.377m remaining after allowing for currently known ineligible items.  However, there were a number of holding items and Income Loss claims still being considered by the Grants Panel.  Therefore, it was estimated that the final amount remaining would be in the range of £1.5m to £2m.

 

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)       That the overall report and the projected Council Fund contingency sum as at 31st March 2021 be noted;

 

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

 

(c)        That the carry forward requests be approved.