Agenda item

(a)       That the report be noted;  

(b)       That the Head of Finance provide a response to the queries raised by Councillor C.A. Thomas on the School Improvement Service and the Agricultural Estates Service and to the concerns raised by the Chairman on the narrative on the variances; and

(c)        That Finance Officers meet with the Chair and the Vice Chair to review how the presentation of information could be improved for future reports to aid ease of understanding of the information being reported and that feedback be provided to the Committee. 

The Corporate Finance Manager introduced a report to provide Members with the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2012/13 (Month 5) which was being submitted to Cabinet on 20 November 2012. 

The projected in-year overspend of £0.983m on the Council Fund was mainly due to an increase in the overspend in Corporate Services from £0.090m in month 4 to £0.397m in month 5, offset by a reduction in the overspend in the Lifelong Learning Directorate; overall there was a slight reduction in the projected overspend from month 4.  The significant in-year projected variances to date were detailed in appendices 1 to 5 for Council Fund and appendix 7 for Housing Revenue Account (HRA). 

                        The Corporate Finance Manager also highlighted the risks/assumptions and non standard inflation in respect of Energy for Street Lighting, Energy, Fuel and Food.  The budgets were monitored closely and would be releasedwhen a full assessment of the need had been completed; the current projected outturn assumed that these amounts would be required in full.  Appendix 7 detailed the movements to date on unearmarked reserves and the level of contingency sum remaining.  As a result of the movements, the current projected level of the contingency reserve at the end of March 2013 was an overdrawn amount of £0.352m.  It was the intention of Management to contain the currently projected variation within the overall agreed Council budget for the year which will also have a positive effect on the contingency reserve.

                        The HRA reported an overall projected underspend of £0.258m and a projected closing balance at Month 5 of £1.327m, which at 4.8% of total expenditure satisfied the prudent approach of ensuring a minimum level of 3%. 

The Head of Finance provided Members with further information on the increased overspend in Corporate Services which was largely due to projection  for the Finance Division associated  with the transitionionary period for the implementation of the Finance Review and the work required in preparation for the Welfare Reform changes  As the new Council Tax Support Scheme and Welfare Reform changes were being introduced, it was important to ensure continuity of the service.  An increase in resources to respond to a

significant temporary increase in workload had been required to ensure the Authority did not incur a penalty of up to £0.200m in Subsidy loss for not completing changes of circumstances in accordance with DWP timeframes.  A budget of £0.065m was needed for changes to the Benefits software package to support the new Council Tax Support Scheme. In response to a question from Councillor W.P. Shotton, the Head of Finance said that the Authority had not been notified of any additional funding for set up costs.  The Leader of the Council added that the issue of whether further help would be provided was under discussion by the Welsh Government.  The Chief Executive said that the introduction of the Council Tax Support Scheme was complex and was a challenge for the Authority.

                        Councillor A.I. Dunbar asked for an update on the issues raised at the Member briefing sessions in Welfare Reform,  such as the numbers of people who would be affected by the changes.  The Chairman said that he had spoken with Sian Peters, the Interim Benefits Manager, about identifying ways to help those affected as he felt that there was a need for the Authority and Members to be proactive to raise awareness of the forthcoming changes.  The Chief Executive said that all 22 Councils in Wales needed to adopt the new Council Tax Support scheme and added that there was a significant amount of uncertainty of how it would be finalised.  Officers were concerned about the risks and collectively felt that the transition period was too short for the system to cope well. 

            Councillor C.A. Thomas queried the underspend figure of £0.130m reported in appendix 1 for the School Improvement Service and also the cause of the variance under Agricultural Estates Service in appendix 3.  The Head of Finance responded that she would make enquiries and would report back to Councillor Thomas on these specific issues. 

            The Cabinet Member for Corporate Management said that a significant amount of work had been undertaken but that a large amount of work was still required to ensure the correct information was provided to those affected by the Welfare Reform changes. 

            In referring to the appendices to the report, the Chairman said that he felt that the narrative on the variances could be made clearer to read and that the overspend or underspends should be more easily identifiable.  He highlighted a number of variances which he felt were difficult to understand and the Head of Finance responded that, prior to the Committee she had agreed with the Chair and the Vice Chair that Finance officers would meet with the Chair and the Vice Chair to review how the presentation of information could be improved for future reports to aid ease of understanding of the information being reported. Feedback would be provided to the Committee. 

            Councillor G.H. Bateman commented on the reduction in the income for the ice rink at Deeside Leisure Centre and the Chief Executive responded that scrutiny was being undertaken on income targets as agreed.  The Leader of the Council suggested that a detailed discussion be undertaken in a Lifelong Learning Overview & Scrutiny Committee. 

The Leader also reminded Members that the projected outturn reflected a second additional allocation of £0.250m from balances to fund additional Capital Expenditure from the Revenue Account (CERA) contribution towards funding of the HRA Capital Programme, bringing the total to £0.500m. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted;  

(b)       That the Head of Finance provide a response to the queries raised by Councillor C.A. Thomas on the School Improvement Service and the Agricultural Estates Service and to the concerns raised by the Chairman on the narrative on the variances; and

(c)        That Finance Officers meet with the Chair and the Vice Chair to review how the presentation of information could be improved for future reports to aid ease of understanding of the information being reported and that feedback be provided to the Committee.