Agenda item

Revenue Budget Monitoring 2012/13 Month 10

Decision:

(a) That the report be noted;

(b) That the establishment of a Task and Finish Group to consider Leisure Service Finances be considered during the item on the Forward Work Programme;

(c) That an update report about the shortfall of industrial unit rental income due to Gaz de France decommissioning the Shotton Power Station site be provided;

(d) That a breakdown of the amount of £1.500m approved in 2011/12 which was ringfenced for Investment in Change (as shown in appendix 7 on Unearmarked Reserves) be provided;

(e) That a written response be provided by the Environment Directorate about the anticipated back pay for car park attendances; and

(f) That a breakdown of the pressure of £0.383m in Facility Services be provided.

Minutes:

The Corporate Finance Manager introduced a report to provide Members with the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2012/13 (Month 10) information for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which was being submitted to Cabinet on 23 April 2013.

For Council Fund there was a projected year end underspend of £1.305m, which was an increase of £0.449m on the position reported at Month 9. Appendix 1 showed a summary of the movements from Month 9 with the main change being in relation to Community Services (a positive movement of £0.431m).

The Corporate Finance Manager reminded Members that the projection did not take into account any additional costs associated with the extreme weather conditions at the end of March and that the impact of this would be reported in future monitoring reports.

The risks and assumptions associated with the projection were identified in paragraph 3.06 and an update on non standard inflation was shown in section 4. A request for carry forward for ICT & Customer Services was detailed in paragraph 3.07 and was being recommended to Cabinet.

Appendix 7 provided details on the movements on unearmarked reserves, which, after taking into account the current projection and previously committed amounts left a projected level of Contingency Reserves at 31 March 2013 of £0.894m.

The Corporate Finance Manager also advised of a projected underspend of £0.491m on the Housing Revenue Account which was an increase of £0.020m in the underspend reported at Month 9 and details of the variances were provided in appendix 8.

The Leader of the Council referred to the costs of the extreme weather conditions which were not reflected in this report but would impact on Month 11 Budget Monitoring and the Cabinet Member for Corporate Management spoke of the tremendous work undertaken by the employees from Streetscene during the bad weather.

The Head of Culture and Leisure commented on the overspend of £0.179m in Leisure Services which included increased employee costs, asset management/operating costs and reduction in income; details of how the overspend had occurred were provided in appendix 1. He explained that there was a need to stabilise employee costs and that a change in staff structure was being considered. On the issue of asset management he said that costs were being incurred to address the issues of keeping facilities open and 62% of the operating costs had to be met from income; this was a challenge as customers had less disposal income available to them to spend in the Leisure facilities. Work was ongoing to overcome these challenges but a solution had not yet been identified.

In response to a question from Councillor G.H. Bateman, the Head of Culture and Leisure said that the Purchase to Pay (P2P) system had not been implemented in Leisure Services but that it was hoped it would be available in the next few months. Councillor Bateman also asked about the anticipated back pay for car park attendances and was advised that the question would be submitted to the Environment Directorate for a written response to be provided.

Councillor P.G. Heesom raised concern about the pressure of £0.383m for Facility Services (which included catering and cleaning services) and requested that a detailed report needed to be considered on the issue of catering in schools. He also queried the suspension of the Youth Service Review and raised concern, and requested an update report, about the shortfall of industrial unit rental income due to Gaz de France decommissioning the Shotton Power Station site. Councillor Heesom also asked for a breakdown of the amount of £1.500m approved in 2011/12 which was ringfenced for Investment in Change.

The Leader of the Council agreed that the issue of catering in schools needed addressing and assured Councillor Heesom that the Youth Service Review had not been suspended but that the report to Cabinet had been deferred. The Leisure budget was a concern and a risk and he queried whether the Alliance Business Plan had been challenged enough.

Councillor M. Bateman spoke of the all-weather pitch in Sychdyn and queried whether any funding was available to repair it. The Director of Lifelong Learning said that repair of the pitch was a pressure on the repairs and maintenance budget within Leisure and that external funding was being sought as Council funding was limited.

Councillor C.S. Carver requested a breakdown of the pressure of £0.383m in Facility Services. The Director of Lifelong Learning confirmed that this could be provided and explained that an allocation of £0.300m was included for 2013/14 to stabilise the position. The issue was also the focus of Lifelong Learning Overview & Scrutiny Committee and a meeting was to take place at one of the schools where some of the meals would be sampled. He confirmed that the Youth Service Review was ongoing. The Director also said that Flintshire had an exceptionally high level of sporting provision and the lowest level of funding in Wales; there was a high level of dependency on income and for many leisure was seen as a luxury. The Chairman said that increases in costs and reductions in income were not sustainable. The Leader of the Council spoke of the excellent work which was being undertaken to increase footfalls at Deeside Leisure Centre and the Jade Jones Pavilion at Flint. He queried what attempts had been made to market the facilities in a better way and asked whether a corporate approach was being taken about a call centre for Leisure Services. In response to a question from Councillor Carver about Leisure Centres being closed on bank holidays, the Leader of the Council spoke of ongoing Part 3 negotiations.

The Chairman suggested that a working group be established to consider the position of Leisure Services, in particular the income and costs element.

Councillor P.J. Curtis queried whether regular inspections were carried out at play areas as a slide had to be removed from the swimming baths in Holywell as it was beyond repair. The Director of Lifelong Learning said that proactive inspections did take place but added that appropriate capital funding was needed to carry out any necessary repairs.

In response to earlier comments, the Head of Culture and Leisure said that it was envisaged that a customer contact centre would be introduced for Leisure Services. He added that marketing for leisure centres was undertaken by the Alliance Partnership and the Chairman indicated that a presentation from Alliance Leisure was to be made at the 11 July 2013 meeting of Lifelong Learning Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor R.G. Hampson raised concern at the lack of parking at Buckley Leisure Centre and said that the introduction of CCTV on the site would allow additional parking to be made available. The Head of Leisure and Culture explained that clarification was required on the School Modernisation Programme to ensure that any funding for CCTV at the Elfed High School was appropriate. The Director of Lifelong Learning confirmed that discussions on the issue of parking at the Leisure Centre were ongoing.

RESOLVED: