Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee notes the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2017/18 (Month 6) report and confirms on this occasion that the issues which it wishes to have brought to the Cabinet’s attention are:

·         the need for clarity of language on under and overspending so that such issues are readily understood;

·         the underspend on the Council Tax Reduction scheme be investigated and budget allocation be remodelled if necessary.

(b)       That the Committee notes the Capital Programme Monitoring 2017/18 Month 6 report and confirms on this occasion that there are no issues which it wishes to have brought to the Cabinet’s attention.

The Finance Manager introduced a report on the revenue budget monitoring position for 2017/18 as at Month 6 for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Capital Programme, prior to consideration by Cabinet.

Revenue Budget Monitoring

On the Council Fund, the net in-year position was forecast to be £1.147m higher than budget, which was an increase of £0.201m from Month 5.  On projected variances for Social Services, there was positive movement due to increased client contributions for residential placements and increased Continuing Health Care funding.  An increase in costs for Out of County placements had arisen mainly due to two specific cases.  It was estimated that 93% of planned efficiencies would be achieved by year end which was slightly below the Medium Term Financial Strategy target.  On the monitoring of risks, some of the emerging in-year risks would need to be assessed for recurring impacts on the 2018/19 budget.

On the HRA, in-year spend was projected to be £0.035m lower than budget, leaving a year end balance of £1.081m which was above the recommended minimum level.

In response to queries raised by Councillor Jones, officers advised that the closure of the public convenience in Mold had been discussed by the town council and the cost would not continue beyond this year.  On school delegated budgets, the Corporate Finance Manager explained that there were no variances as these were fixed amounts passported to schools through the formula.  He noted the request for more clarity on under and overspend in the explanations for projected variances and said that analysis on movements was detailed in the appendices.  He added that any specific queries on these figures be referred for officers to look into.  Clarification was also given on variances for the Council’s share of social care funding from Welsh Government and the Household Recycling Centres.  The projected underspend for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme was referred to and was due to reduced client demand.  It was agreed that this would be subject to further discussion including the forthcoming Member workshop.

On the format of the report, Councillor Jones requested that officers look into whether the orientation of appendices could be displayed to be consistent with the reports.

Capital Programme

A table showing changes to the programme during 2017/18 indicated a revised budget of £58.674m.  Changes during the period were summarised, the most significant being the commencement of the street lighting programme funded through an interest-free Salix loan.  A total of £0.497m recommended for carry forward into 2018/19 was summarised in Table 4.

Paragraph 1.20 reported the overall position on the availability of funding including the level of capital receipts and impact of the Provisional Settlement.  Taking all areas into account, there was a £0.567m shortfall in the total programme although the 2017/18 budget was fully funded.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2017/18 (Month 6) report and confirms on this occasion that the issues which it wishes to have brought to the Cabinet’s attention are:

·         the need for clarity of language on under and overspending so that such issues are readily understood;

·         the underspend on the Council Tax Reduction scheme be investigated and budget allocation be remodelled if necessary.

(b)       That the Committee notes the Capital Programme Monitoring 2017/18 Month 6 report and confirms on this occasion that there are no issues which it wishes to have brought to the Cabinet’s attention.