Lead Member – Councillor David Minnery – Portfolio Holder for Finance

Report of the Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance [Section 151 Officer]

Contact: James Walton      Tel: 01743 255001

RESOLVED:

i)             That it be noted that at the end of Quarter 1 (30 September 2017), the full year revenue forecast is a potential overspend of £5.061m;

ii)            That the instigation of management action be approved, including a spending freeze to bring the variance within what would be considered a “reasonable tolerance” to a potential overspend of £0.428m.

iii)           That the impact of this on the Council’s General Fund balance be considered.

iv)           That net budget variations of £8.812m to the 2017/18 capital programme be approved, detailed in Appendix 3/Table 6, and the re-profiled 2017/18 capital budget of £68.349m.  Variations include new allocations of capital receipts of £0.500m for a grant allocation towards the Marches Centre of Manufacturing and Technology and £0.150m towards a Gypsy Transit Site project.

v)            That re-profiled capital budgets of £34.917m for 2018/19, £7.487m for 2019/20 and £0.667m for 2020/21, be approved as detailed in Appendix 3/Table 9.

vi)           That the capital expenditure to date of £23.861m be approved, representing 35% of the revised capital budget for 2017/18, with 50% of the year having elapsed.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance presented the report from the Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance [S151 Officer] setting out the projected revenue expenditure for the whole of 2017/18 as at Quarter 2 and, also an alternative position, based on management action, including imposing a spending freeze, details of which were included in Appendix 1 to the report.  Recognising that the position was slightly worse than anticipated, the Leader commented that necessary action was being taken and a balanced budget would be presented in this financial year.

A Member commented on the low level of reserves and stressed the need for them to be built up to a more acceptable level.  He added that reliance on one off grants was not advisable and he considered the Council to be on the edge of financial crisis.  He commented that the impact of the spending freeze was already being felt in local communities. He reiterated his plea for the introduction of LED street lighting and stated that this represented a step to make the necessary savings.

Referring to the £1.1M variance in the Adult Social Care budget, the Portfolio Holder for Health and Adult Social Care explained that this related to increased draw down from the Improved Better Care Fund [IBCF] that had been used to introduce innovation to delayed transfers of care from hospital.  He stated that all staff working in this area needed to be congratulated as the authority was now in the top half of the country regarding delayed transfers of care.  The Leader stated that he would arrange for the re-issue of this good news statement to the press.

RESOLVED:

i)             That it be noted that at the end of Quarter 1 (30 September 2017), the full year revenue forecast is a potential overspend of £5.061m;

ii)            That the instigation of management action be approved, including a spending freeze to bring the variance within what would be considered a “reasonable tolerance” to a potential overspend of £0.428m.

iii)           That the impact of this on the Council’s General Fund balance be considered.

iv)           That net budget variations of £8.812m to the 2017/18 capital programme be approved, detailed in Appendix 3/Table 6, and the re-profiled 2017/18 capital budget of £68.349m.  Variations include new allocations of capital receipts of £0.500m for a grant allocation towards the Marches Centre of Manufacturing and Technology and £0.150m towards a Gypsy Transit Site project.

v)            That re-profiled capital budgets of £34.917m for 2018/19, £7.487m for 2019/20 and £0.667m for 2020/21, be approved as detailed in Appendix 3/Table 9.

vi)           That the capital expenditure to date of £23.861m be approved, representing 35% of the revised capital budget for 2017/18, with 50% of the year having elapsed.