Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendations.

Councillor Johnson introduced the report which provided Members with the first detailed overview of the budget monitoring position for the 2023/24 financial year.

The projected year end position was as follows:

Council Fund

·         An operating deficit of £2.644m (excluding the impact of the pay award which would need to be met by reserves – currently estimated as £2.727m)

·         A projected contingency reserve available balance as at 31st March 2024 of £4.043m (after the estimated impact of pay awards)

Housing Revenue Account

·         Net in-year revenue expenditure was forecast to be £0.065m lower than budget

·         A projected closing balance as at 31st March, 2024 of £3.262m

The economic outlook remained challenging due to inflation levels remaining high.  The impacts of that, together with continued increases in service demand was

becoming increasingly hard to deal with as the Councils funding failed to keep up with the scale of those pressures.  To assist with managing those risks and mitigating the overall projected overspend, a moratorium through the review of non-essential spend and a vacancy management process continued.

There was a significant and growing demand within the Homelessness Service. The Council had a statutory duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation for Homeless persons and families who meet the Welsh Government eligibility criteria which were less stringent than in England. The growth in demand commenced in the second half of 2022/23 and had accelerated markedly since the start of 2023.  An in-depth discussion took place at a recent Community and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the pressures being faced in homelessness.  A meeting would take place on 4^th October with Cabinet Members to discuss how the risks could be faced and a further report would be submitted to Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report and the estimated financial impact on the 2023/24 budget be noted;

(b)       That a budget virement of £0.400m from Localities within Older People’s Services to the Residential Placements budget within Adults of Working Age be approved; and

(c)        That a separate report from the Housing and Communities Portfolio on the reasons for the significant projected overspend within the Homelessness Service and the mitigations being put in place be requested.