Issue - meetings

(1)     That the forecast revenue budget for 2013/14 to underspend by £6.4m, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 1 of the submitted report be noted.

(2)     That the forecast ongoing efficiencies and service reductions achieved by year end is £62.1m, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 85, be noted.

(3)     That the forecast capital expenditure and investment of £226.7m against a budget of £225.0m, as set out in Annex 1, paragraphs 90 to 96, be noted.

(4)     That a virement of£0.9m from Schools & Learning’s central risk budget to Services for Young People to meet the cost of learning difficulty and disability (LLDD) placements in 2013/14, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 22 be approved.

Reasons for Decisions:

To comply with the agreed strategy of providing a monthly budget monitoring report to Cabinet for approval and action as necessary.

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

The Leader of the Council presented the Council’s financial position at the end of period 11(February) of the 2013/14 financial year, and referred to the Council’s financial strategy of four key drivers which ensured sound governance in managing the finances and providing value for money.

(1) Keep any additional call on the council taxpayer to a minimum

·      That there had been a £4.3m improvement on the revenue forecast since January. The forecast was for a £6.4m underspend.  The improvement would have been greater but for the additional costs faced in tackling the flooding.

·      This was the fourth consecutive year that the Council had a small underspend or a balanced budget, demonstrating the tight financial management by budget holders across the Council.

·      In keeping with the Council’s multi-year approach to financial management, services would submit requests to a future Cabinet meeting to carry forward underspent funds to complete projects in 2014/15 that are not finished by 31 March 2014.

(2) Continuously drive the efficiency agenda

·      At the end of February, services were making good progress in delivering efficiencies and forecast achieving over £62m on-going savings for the full year against a stretch target of £68m identified savings.

·      Services had identified and delivered other underspends to cover the shortfall.

(3) Develop a funding strategy to reduce the Council’s reliance on council tax and government grant income

·      That reducing reliance on government grants and council tax was key to balancing the budgets over the longer term and the Revolving Infrastructure and Investment Fund had a significant part to play in this. By year end it was forecast that over £40m would have been invested in the Fund this year and a net income of £700,000 generated by year end.

(4) Continue to maximise our investment in Surrey       

·      The council’s capital programme not only improved and maintained service delivery and it was also a way of investing in Surrey and generating income for the council. This year the forecast was to invest £226.7m against the budget of £225m.

·      Finally, he said that, in addition to the council’s £61m capital investment in assets, £166m would be invested in front line service delivery from improving roads to the creation of more school places. However, with any large capital project there will be some delays with planning issues and archaeological finds.

Other Cabinet Members were invited to highlight the key points and issues from their portfolios, as set out in the Annex to the report.

RESOLVED:

(1)     That the forecast revenue budget for 2013/14 to underspend by £6.4m, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 1 of the submitted report be noted.

(2)     That the forecast ongoing efficiencies and service reductions achieved by year end is £62.1m, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 85, be noted.

(3)     That the forecast capital expenditure and investment of £226.7m against a budget of £225.0m, as set out in Annex 1, paragraphs 90 to 96, be noted.

(4)     That a virement of£0.9m from Schools & Learning’s central risk budget  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60