Agenda item

(a)       That the reports be noted; and

(b)       That a written response be provided on car parks. 

Revenue Budget Monitoring 2011/12 (Outturn)

The Corporate Finance Manager introduced the report to inform Members of the Council Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) outturn for 2011/12 (subject to audit) and the impact on the respective level of reserves at 31 March 2012.  The report would also be submitted to Cabinet on 10 July 2012. 

The final outturn position subject to audit was a net underspend of £2.835m on the Council Fund (underspend of £2.266m at month 11) and a net underspend of £0.737m on the HRA (underspend of £0.497m at month 11).  The draft accounts had been submitted to the Wales Audit Office.  The significant changes for the Council Fund from Month 11 were detailed in appendix 1 and the significant in-year variances at final outturn were detailed in appendices 2 to 6 for the Council Fund and appendix 8 for the HRA.  The underspend represented 1.2% of the Council’s net budget and showed that the Council had kept expenditure within its means whilst still meeting priorities and performance standards.  A query raised by the Chairman resulted in an error being identified in the table on page 15 and the Corporate Finance Manager explained that the efficiencies achieved in full or in part totalled £7.5m which was 84.4% of the total efficiencies included in the 2011/12 budget, not 88.5% as reported. 

Paragraphs 3.08 to 3.12 gave a brief overview of the year and non standard inflation and central contingencies were detailed on page 16.  The remaining Contingency Reserve of £0.992m was £0.578m more than the £0.414m estimated when the 2012/13 Council Fund revenue budget was approved by County Council at the meeting on 1 March 2012.  Service balances were made up of those balances held by departments which had previously been agreed could be carried forward.  The final balances were summarised in the table in paragraph 5.04. 

On the HRA the final outturn for 2011/12 showed an underspend of £0.737m which represented an increase of £0.240m on the projected position reported at Month 11.  The HRA showed a final closing balance of £1.857m which at 7.35% of the total expenditure more than satisfied the prudent approach of ensuring a minimum level of 3%.  The final year end balance (subject to audit) was £0.753m greater than the £1.104m that was projected when the 2012/13 HRA budget was approved at the Council meeting on 21 February 2012.  Appendix 8 detailed the reasons for significant variances to budget for the year. 

Councillor H. Isherwood referred to page 26 and the entry for Management & Support (Development & Resources) and the identified overspend.  The Corporate Finance Manager explained that it was mostly due to staff pay exceeding budget and included a request for a carry forward of balances into 2012/13 to fund the continuing work of the Transforming Social Services for Adults Project Manager (£0.051m). 

Councillor P. Curtis queried the entry for car parks reported on page 30 and was advised by the Chief Executive that the car park review was ongoing and that a report would be submitted to a future committee.  In response to a query from Councillor M. Bateman, the Leader of the Council suggested that a written response be provided to Members giving further details on car parks including the amount of income received and the costs of providing them. 

The Chairman commented on the Repairs and Maintenance Service reported on page 55 and in response the Corporate Finance Manager said that write offs on obsolete stores materials of £0.080m was a one off accounting adjustment in relation to the recent outsourcing of stores.    

The Leader of the Council welcomed the underspend but reminded Members that this did not mean that there was extra money available to spend in their individual wards.  He referred to the £1.500m to support Organisational Change costs in 2012/13 (approved in the Month 11 monitoring report) and said that it was important to prepare for forthcoming challenges such as the Welfare Reform Bill. 

The Chairman welcomed the continuing reduction in spend on Out of County Placements over the last 12 months.  Following a comment from Councillor P. Shotton on the £0.550m variance in Managed Weekly Collections and Recycling, the Chief Executive said that there had been two rounds of negotiation with the Trade Unions as part of the Streetscene Review with a delay in achieving the planned efficiency as a result. He saw this as a good example of working closely with the Unions.   

Revenue Budget Monitoring 2012/13 (Month 2)

The Corporate Finance Manager introduced a report to provide Members with an update on revenue budget monitoring for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which would be submitted to Cabinet on 10 July 2012. 

He highlighted that at this early stage in the financial year, projecting the outturn position on a number of budgets was challenging, particularly where they were demand led.  Pressures that had been identified to date were reported and the Corporate Finance Manager explained that a detailed report for Month 3 would be submitted to this Committee and Cabinet in September 2012.

In response to a question from Councillor H. Isherwood, the Corporate Finance Manager said that pressures identified during 2011/12 within the budgets for Free School Meals and School Remissions were likely to continue due to the economic climate.    

Capital Programme 2011/12 (Outturn)

The Corporate Finance Manager introduced a report to provide Members with the Capital Programme Outturn information for 2011/12 which would be submitted to Cabinet on 10 July 2012. 

            The report set out how the programme had changed during 2011/12 with the revised figures of final spend being £27.593m for Council Fund and £10.398m for Housing Revenue Account (HRA).  Detailed cumulative information relating to each programme area was provided. The outturn across the whole programme amounted to £37.991m, representing 90.99% of the revised budget total of £41.753m (56.65% as at the previous quarter and 69.59% at outturn 2010/11).  A summary of the cumulative expenditure against cumulative budget outturn was shown.  The value of 2011/12 rollover (Council Fund and HRA) at £7.762m represented a significant reduction of £5.267m on the equivalent 2010/11 figure of £13.029m.  

            In response to earlier questions from the Chairman, the Corporate Finance Manager referred the entry for Engineering (ZTE) and said that the underspend variance had been as a result of the timing of the scheme and had been rolled forward to early 2012/13.  On the underspend for Industrial Units (ZTU) reported on page 92, he explained that the work had now taken place.  Following a question from Councillor G.H. Bateman on the capital receipts (cumulative) actual against estimate detailed on page 77, the Corporate Finance Manager said that the figures had reduced significantly due to a number of factors which included rescheduling of the timing of anticipated receipts, revised values and some movement of potential disposals to/from the list.   

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the reports be noted; and

(b)       That a written response be provided on car parks.