Decision details

The Council takes a multiyear approach to its budget planning and monitoring, recognising the two are inextricably linked. This report presents the Council’s year-end financial outturn position for 2016/17 and the impact of carry forward requests on the 2017/18 financial year.

RESOLVED:

To note that:   

1.    The Council achieved £1.3m overall revenue underspend for 2017/18 (Annex 1, paragraph 1 of the submitted report). This is the eighth successive year the Council has achieved a small underspend or balanced outturn. The £1.3m underspend is less than 0.08% of the Council’s £1,672m gross expenditure budget for 2017/18.

2.    Services achieved £80m total savings against £95m agreed savings plans and £104m target (Annex 1, paragraph 52 of the submitted report).

3.    The Council planned to transfer £11.8m from reserves to balance 2017/18. After transferring the net underspend for 2017/18 and other movements in the year, the closing balance for earmarked reserves as at 31 March 2018 is £81.4m. After deducting planned use of £20.9m earmarked reserves to balance 2018/19, this leaves £60.5m earmarked reserves and £21.3m general balances, which the Director of Finance considers to be the minimum safe levels.

4.    The underspend does not include £1.0m revenue carry forward requests for spending on planned service commitments that continue beyond 2017/18 (Annex 1, paragraphs 49 to 51 and Annex 3 of the submitted report). If Cabinet agrees to fund all carry forward requests, earmarked reserves brought forward as at 1 April 2018 will fall to £59.5m.

5.    The Council invested £212m through its capital programme in 2017/18, comprising £109m service capital programme (59% of the original service capital programme) and £103m long term investments (Annex 1, paragraph 65 of the submitted report). Services have requested to carry forward and reprofile £35m capital expenditure.

6.    The Council’s year end earmarked reserves and balances, debt analysis and treasury management report (Annex 1, paragraphs App 7 to App 23 of the submitted report).

7.    All services must continue to take all appropriate action to keep costs down and optimise income (e.g. minimising spending, managing vacancies wherever possible).

8.    The Section 151 Officer’s commentary and the Monitoring Officer’s Legal Implications commentary in paragraphs 16 to 19 of the main budget monitoring report to Cabinet state that the Council has a duty to ensure its expenditure does not exceed resources available and move towards a sustainable budget for future years.

That the following be approved:

9.    £1.3m transfer of net 2017/18 underspend to the Budget Equalisation Reserve.

10.  £1.0m revenue carry forward requests to be funded from the Budget Equalisation Reserve (Annex 1, paragraph 50 and Annex 3 of the submitted report).

11.  £2.1m capital virement requests within Highways & Transport (Annex 1, paragraph 67 of the submitted report).

12.  As in 2017/18, that Cabinet approves services’ draw down of amounts carried forward, as and when they are needed, as part of the monthly budget monitoring process (Annex 1 of the submitted report, paragraph 51 for revenue and paragraph 69 for capital).

13.  £3.9m transfer of Revolving Infrastructure & Investment Fund net income to the Budget Equalisation Reserve (Annex 1, paragraph 71 of the submitted report).

14.  That the £34.9m capital programme reprofiling and carry forward requests as in (Annex 1, paragraphs 68 to 70 and Annex 3 of the submitted report) be subject to further discussions involving the Leader, Chief Executive and Director of Finance before coming back to the next meeting of Cabinet for a decision.

Reasons for decisions:

This report was presented to comply with the agreed policy of providing a monthly budget monitoring report to Cabinet for approval and action as necessary.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Overview and Budget Scrutiny Committee]