Issue - meetings

(a)       That having considered the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2023/24 (month 6) report, the Committee confirms that there are no specific matters to be raised with Cabinet; and

(b)       That having considered the Capital Programme Monitoring 2023/24 (month 6) report, the Committee confirms that there are no specific matters to be raised with Cabinet.

The Strategic Finance Managers (Corporate Finance) presented the 2023/24 month 6 position for the revenue budget monitoring for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and the Capital Programme, prior to consideration by Cabinet.

Revenue Budget Monitoring

On the Council Fund, the projected year-end position was an operating deficit of £3.559m (excluding the impact of the pay award to be met from reserves), leaving a year-end contingency reserve balance of £3.776m after taking account of the estimated impact of pay awards together with balances released to reserves at month 5.  A summary was given of significant variances across portfolios during the period and attention was drawn to Appendix 2 which included an additional column identifying savings from the moratorium on non-contractually committed spend.  The tracking of in-year risks included the latest position on the waste recycling infraction charge where a report was due to be considered by Cabinet.  It was projected that 99% of planned in-year efficiencies were expected to be achieved in 2023/24.

On unearmarked reserves, officers would ensure that future reports revert back to using the name Covid Emergency Fund for consistency, as requested.

On the HRA, projected in-year expenditure of £0.069m lower than budget would leave a closing un-earmarked balance of £3.266m, which was above the recommended guidelines on spend.

Whilst acknowledging fluctuations in service demand, Councillor Bernie Attridge felt that more accurate projections could have been made in some areas.  He sought further information from Social Services on the £0.307m overspend in the Physically Disabled and Sensory Impaired budget, the increased demand for Family Group meetings and the £0.821m variance for professional support (Children’s Services) including the overspend in the Leaving Care budget which he felt should have been forecasted.

The Corporate Finance Manager would refer the queries to Social Services for a response.  On other questions, he spoke about the five new out of county placements and the process for considering those arrangements.  On the temporary change of use of earmarked reserve to fund work within the Carelink Service, he said that cross-subsidy arrangements permitted this overspend to be met from the Council Fund without the need to impact on reserves.

In response to comments on increased legal costs, the Chief Officer (Governance) provided explanation on the approach to managing ongoing vacant posts including use of a specialist locum in Children’s Services to deal with the increase in child protection orders.  He said that increases in demand could not be predicted due to the nature of the services and that costs for more complex cases referred to external Barristers were within the budget for Social Services.

In highlighting the safety of children as a priority for the Council, Councillor Christine Jones referred to the challenges in predicting service demand and recruiting qualified social workers.

Councillor Bill Crease welcomed the work undertaken by Social Services to protect children.  In response to comments on more accurate forecasting, the Corporate Finance Manager spoke about the difficulty in some services and assured Members that there was detailed monitoring  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45