Agenda item

Report of Chief Finance Officer. 

It was reported that Cabinet had received a report that provided summary information regarding the provisional outturn for 2023/24, including treasury management. It also set out information regarding the carry forward of capital slippage and other matters for Members’ consideration.

Councillor Tim Hamilton-Cox, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Finance and Resources, presented the report, both he and the Chief Finance Officer then answered questions from Members of the Panel.  

The Cabinet report provided options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

The report informed that Council has a legal requirement to ensure that its expenditure is fully funded and to produce accounts in accordance with proper accounting practice. In addition, the Prudential Indicators are a statutory requirement linked to the budgetary framework. For these aspects, therefore, there are no alternative options for Cabinet to consider. Members are being asked to endorse certain actions taken by the Chief Finance Officer, and Cabinet should consider whether it has sufficient information to do so or whether it requires any further justification.

The report had requested Cabinet to consider a number of revenue overspending, capital slippage and other budget adjustment matters. The framework for considering these is set out in the report but basically Cabinet may:

·        Endorse any number of the items / requests, in full or part

·        Refuse various requests and if commitments have already been incurred, require alternative funding options to be identified. Cabinet should note, however, that this may impact on other areas of service delivery

·        Request further information regarding them, if appropriate.

The Officer preferred options were as set out in the recommendations, on the assumption that Members continue to support their previously approved spending plans.

Although both the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account were able to respond to the financial challenges in 2023/24 and maintain balanced budget positions by utilising its reserves, this does not mean that the financial issues for the Council are resolved, it simply means that the in-year budget pressures were addressed. To put into context, a budget gap of £1.4M is still forecast for 2025/26 and this rises annually to £4.6M in 2028/29 for which the cumulative effect is not sustainable.

The Council has embarked on a programme called Outcomes-Based Resourcing (OBR)/Fit for the Future (FftF) that will see it examine every area of its budget and match resources more closely with its priorities. The OBR/FftF programme includes looking at ways the council can do things differently by utilising technology and being more efficient, as well as considering areas in which it can generate more income.

Given the size of the ongoing financial issues the Council faces this fundamental reshaping of the Council’s services and realigning against its priorities through the OBR/FftF process will be key to shrinking the estimated budget gap and securing the financial sustainability of the Council going forward. It is imperative that the work, or similar principles continues. The application of OBR/FftF across the Council will be a significant piece of work and to fully achieve its stated aims will take an estimated further 12 to 24 months.

Cabinet and Senior Leadership Team have agreed on principles and common goals as they continue to work through the OBR/FftF process.

· We need to continue tackle the structural deficit over the short medium and long term · We need to use reserves carefully to transition

· We want to continue to deliver services that residents/ businesses need and rely on · We want to achieve positive outcomes for our district

However, if these are not successful and the deficit is not closed, then balances will be required to make up the difference.

It was moved by Councillor Sally Maddocks, seconded by Councillor Ross Hunter and resolved as follows:-

That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the items contained within the agenda that were considered to be exempt, on the grounds that they could involve the possible disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of that Act. 

Members of the Panel asked a number of questions including procurement issues, savings on staffing costs, costs of agency staff, recruitment issues, impacts on performance and service delivery, providing more information on services and SALC. 

It was suggested that Chief Officers be invited to attend future meetings of the Panel around budget time to inform of budget and financial issues impacting on the services they are responsible to allow the Panel to be a critical friend to offer and make recommendations on any assistance that can be provided.  Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to be invited to attend.  One area discussed was the pressure on the HRA and the new regulatory regime. 

Members then considered paragraph 7.3 of the report with regard to overspend.

It was moved by Councillor Sally Maddocks, seconded by Councillor Susan Penney and resolved as follows:-

“That, for large overspends, exception reports be provided to future meetings of the Panel as appendices to the report for the Panel’s consideration.” 

Resolved:-

(1)        That the report be noted. 

(2)        That, for large overspends, exception reports be provided to future meetings of the Panel as appendices to the report for the Panel’s consideration.