Agenda item

The report be noted, including the following:

1.      That thee council achieved £13.0m underspend for 2014/15, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 3 of the submitted report. This includes £8.0m of carry forward requests for spending on planned service commitments that continue beyond 2014/15. Excluding the carry forward requests, the underspend was £5.0m (less than 1% of the council’s total expenditure budget of £1,675m).

2.      That services achieved £74.1m efficiencies and savings, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 85 of the submitted report, up from £73.9m forecast at 28 February 2015 and the planned target of £72.3m.

3.      That the council invested £199.3m through its capital programme in 2014/15, as set out in Annex 1, paragraphs 88 and 89 of the submitted report.

4.      The council’s year end: balance sheet, reserves and balances and debt analysis, as detailed in Annex 1, Appendix 1, paragraphs App17 to App 21 of the submitted report.

5.      That £1.8m school virement requests, reflecting grant adjustments, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 12 of the submitted report, be approved.

6.      That £8.0m revenue carry forward requests and transfer funding to the Budget Equalisation Reserve, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 4 and Annex 2 of the submitted report, be approved.

7.      That £5.0m transfer of the remaining revenue underspend to the Budget Equalisation Reserve, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 4 of the submitted report, be approved.

8.      That a £30,000 allocation from the Central Income & Expenditure budget to Surrey Arts, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 60 of the submitted report, be approved.

9.      That a £0.4m transfer of Revolving Infrastructure and Investment Fund net income back into the fund, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 76 of the submitted report, be approved.

10.  That £17.8m of capital programme adjustments, comprising £17.5m net effect of schemes brought forward and carried forward and £0.3m of extended schemes, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 88 and Annex 2 of the submitted report, be approved.

Reasons for Decisions:

This report is presented:

·                to review and manage the budget outturn for the 2014/15 financial year in the context of a multi-year approach to financial management; and

·                to approve final carry forwards to enable on-going projects to continue.

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

The Leader of the Council presented the Year End Financial Budget Outturn 2014/15 report, and said it wasa month earlier than for 2013/14 and two months earlier than in 2010. He congratulated the finance service on this achievement.

He made the following points in relation to the Outturn Summary (revenue, efficiencies and capital):

·           Revenue underspend:  £13.0m, mainly due to services keeping expenditure to budget, achieving some 2015/16 savings early and generating new income.

·           Efficiencies achieved:  £74.1m against a target of £72.3m. This was the fifth consecutive year the Council had delivered over £60m of savings for Surrey’s residents.  

·           Revenue carry forward requests totalling £8.0m, for spending on planned service commitments that continue beyond 2014/15.

·           Excluding carry forwards, the underspend is £5.0m, which was less than 0.5% of the council’s total expenditure.

·           Capital investment:  £199.3m invested, including £7.8m in long term investment assets.

·           Capital adjustment requests totalling £17.5m, including: (i) prioritising nearly £9m schools schemes by bringing them forward; and (ii) ensuring nearly £6m is available to complete ongoing highways schemes and programmes.

He said the County Council had Earmarked Reserves totalling £107.1m at 31 March 2015 (down from £128.6m at 1 April 2014) mainly from drawing on the Budget Equalisation Reserve, to smooth funding fluctuations between years and also General Balances totalling £21.3m at 31 March 2015 (the same as at 1 April 2014).

As said at previous Cabinet meetings, he said that the Council continued to face demand growth and funding reductions and had four key drivers in place to ensure sound governance to manage the finances and provide Value for Money.

These were:

Keep any additional call on the council taxpayer to a minimum

The 2014/15 revenue outturn was an underspend of £13.0m, (£5.0m after carry forwards) and he believed that this Cabinet’s commitment to tight financial management and the actions of managers had made 2014/15 the fifth consecutive year that the Council had a small underspend or a balanced budget.

Continuously drive the efficiency agenda

That, in 2014/15 services had achieved efficiencies of £74.1m against a target of £72.3m.

Develop a funding strategy to reduce the council’s reliance on council tax and government grant income.

That reducing longer term reliance on government grants and council tax was key to balancing the Council’s budget - the Revolving Infrastructure and Investment Fund had invested £7.8m and delivered £0.4m of net income.

Continue to maximise our investment in Surrey

Finally, he said that the County Council’s capital investment not only improved and maintained services in Surrey, it generated income and in 2014/15, £199.3m had been invested.

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

RESOLVED:

The report be noted, including the following:

1.      That the council achieved £13.0m underspend for 2014/15, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 3 of the submitted report. This includes £8.0m of carry forward requests for spending on planned service commitments that continue beyond 2014/15. Excluding the carry forward requests, the underspend was £5.0m (less than 1% of the council’s total expenditure budget of £1,675m).

2.      That services achieved £74.1m efficiencies and savings, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 85 of the submitted report, up from £73.9m forecast at 28 February 2015 and the planned target of £72.3m.

3.      That the council invested £199.3m through its capital programme in 2014/15, as set out in Annex 1, paragraphs 88 and 89 of the submitted report.

4.      The council’s year end: balance sheet, reserves and balances and debt analysis, as detailed in Annex 1, Appendix 1, paragraphs App17 to App 21 of the submitted report.

5.      That £1.8m school virement requests, reflecting grant adjustments, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 12 of the submitted report, be approved.

6.      That £8.0m revenue carry forward requests and transfer funding to the Budget Equalisation Reserve, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 4 and Annex 2 of the submitted report, be approved.

7.      That £5.0m transfer of the remaining revenue underspend to the Budget Equalisation Reserve, as set out in Annex 1, paragraph 4 of the submitted report, be approved.

8.      That a £30,000 allocation from the Central Income & Expenditure budget to Surrey Arts, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 60 of the submitted report, be approved.

9.      That a £0.4m transfer of Revolving Infrastructure and Investment Fund net income back into the fund, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 76 of the submitted report, be approved.

10.  That £17.8m of capital programme adjustments, comprising £17.5m net effect of schemes brought forward and carried forward and £0.3m of extended schemes, as detailed in Annex 1, paragraph 88 and Annex 2 of the submitted report, be approved.

Reasons for Decisions:

This report is presented:

·                to review and manage the budget outturn for the 2014/15 financial year in the context of a multi-year approach to financial management; and

·                to approve final carry forwards to enable on-going projects to continue.