Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities

Report of James Walton – Executive Director of Resources

RESOLVED:

1.      That Cabinet noted the following:

a)              That at the end of Quarter 3 (31 December 2023), the current expected level of savings delivery is £39.798m. That savings not yet confirmed amount to £11.593m.

b)              That demand-led services are forecasting significant overall budget pressures of £28.495m in the year, which are likely to continue into the coming year. These are pressures are included within the budget for next year. After planned application of £20.5m of reserves set out in the reports for Q1 and Q2, the net budget pressure in People directorate is reduced to £7.995m.

c)              Net service pressures across all areas amount to £14.632m (see table1).

d)              The result of A-C above with no further actions and including changes to corporate budget forecasts and anticipated grant income is a forecast overall overspend of £14.533m.

2.      That Cabinet approved the following, in line with the Q1 and Q2 monitoring reports:

•            The reallocation of £9.7m of earmarked reserves to the General Fund Balance

•            The application of £20.5m of funds from the General Fund Balance to mitigate pressures in social care

3.      That Cabinet approved that Shropshire Council acts as accountable body for the Innovation Regions Programme.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities presented the report which included a synopsis and an executive summary of the report on finance monitoring for 2023/24; highlighting key issues, recommendations, and risks related to the council's financial position and performance.

Members noted that savings to 31 December of £39.8m had been achieved, which is 77.4% of the £51.4m target. However, there are spending pressures of £28m in demand-led areas, which have been reduced to £8m in the year through the application of £20.5m of reserves.

The Portfolio Holder advised that the overall forecast for the year represents a £14.5m budget pressure, and any remaining overspend at year-end will be charged to the General Fund Balance.

Members were reminded that this report had been discussed at length at the Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Concern was expressed regarding the remaining general fund at the end of Q3, however the Portfolio Holder was confident that as of 1 April 2024, reserves would be repopulated to £30m.

It was felt that the Council needed to understand where the pressures are coming from before agreeing how the demand should be managed. This could be due to an increase in the number of people accessing services, an increase in the complexity of needs or an increase in the unit cost.

It was noted that the council was not alone and that this was a sector wide issue.

RESOLVED:

1.      That Cabinet noted the following:

a)              That at the end of Quarter 3 (31 December 2023), the current expected level of savings delivery is £39.798m. That savings not yet confirmed amount to £11.593m.

b)              That demand-led services are forecasting significant overall budget pressures of £28.495m in the year, which are likely to continue into the coming year. These are pressures are included within the budget for next year. After planned application of £20.5m of reserves set out in the reports for Q1 and Q2, the net budget pressure in People directorate is reduced to £7.995m.

c)              Net service pressures across all areas amount to £14.632m (see table1).

d)              The result of A-C above with no further actions and including changes to corporate budget forecasts and anticipated grant income is a forecast overall overspend of £14.533m.

2.      That Cabinet approved the following, in line with the Q1 and Q2 monitoring reports:

•            The reallocation of £9.7m of earmarked reserves to the General Fund Balance

•            The application of £20.5m of funds from the General Fund Balance to mitigate pressures in social care

3.      That Cabinet approved that Shropshire Council acts as accountable body for the Innovation Regions Programme.