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

Lead officer -  Ben Jay

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet Members:

In respect of the revenue budget:

a.     Noted that the outturn for overall variance in the year is £7.877m above budget

b.     Noted the consequent level of the General Fund balance is £8.237m.

c.     Noted the service-related use of £19.424m of Earmarked Reserves & Provisions and the resulting level of earmarked reserves of £35.407m (£26.551m if the balances held by schools are excluded).

d.     Noted the level of savings delivery achieved over the year

e.     Noted that the combination of earmarked and un-earmarked (General) reserves of £43.644m is below a level that would be regarded as safe, taking into account local circumstances. The MTFS sets out an agreed plan to restore these balances to safer levels.

Relating to ringfenced funding:

f.      Noted the performance of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) – £0.623m (3%) deficit outturn for 2023/24 on £20.532m turnover, and the resulting level of the HRA reserve of £11.737m.

g.     Noted the outturn for the DSG and the consequent level of the DSG reserve.

h.     Noted that the level of school balances has decreased by £0.451m, from £7.791m in 2022/23 to £7.340m, in the financial year.

In respect of the capital programme:

i.       Approved net budget variations of £16.156m to the 2023/24 capital programme (in Appendix 10) and the re-profiled 2023/24 capital budget of £100.012m.

j.       Approved the re-profiled capital budgets of £117.776m for 2024/25, including slippage of £7.673m from 2023/24, £92.339m for 2025/26 and £48.873m for 2026/27 as detailed in Appendix 13.

k.     Accepted the outturn expenditure set out in Appendices 11 and 12 of £92.339m, representing 92.3% of the revised capital budget for 2023/24.

l.       Approved retaining a balance of capital receipts set aside of £15.175m as at 31st March 2024 to generate a one-off Minimum Revenue Provision saving of £0.420m in 2024/25.

To scrutinise the Financial Outturn and identify issues that may require further investigation by an overview and scrutiny committee.

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