Agenda item

That the report be noted, including the following:

1.         That the Council forecasts an improved revenue position for 2014/15 of £13.4m underspend, up from £7.9m at 31 January 2015. This position includes the need to fund £6.2m spending on planned service commitments that will continue beyond 2014/15, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 3 of the submitted report.

2.         That Services forecast achieving an improved position on efficiencies and service reductions by year end of £73.8m up from £72.7m at 31 January 2015 and £1.5m above the year’s planned target of £72.3m, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 80 of the submitted report.

3.         That the Council forecasts investing £198.3m through its capital programme in 2014/15, as set out in Annex1, paragraphs 84 and 85 of the submitted report.

4.         That Services’ management actions to mitigate overspends, as set out throughout Annex1 of the submitted report, be noted.

5.         That the use of the uncommitted Member allocations, totalling £22,362, to make a grant to the Surrey Save Credit Union, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 36 of the submitted report, be approved.

6.         That a virement of the Surrey Growth Fund (£0.8m) from Environment & Infrastructure to the Chief Executive’s Office, to align with managerial responsibility for the Economy function, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 46 of the submitted report, be approved.

7.       That £2.5m from Central Income and Expenditure budget to fund a new reserve: “Economic Prosperity Reserve”, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 70 of the submitted report, be approved

Reasons for Decisions:

This report is 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 Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee]

The Leader of the Council presented the budget monitoring report for month eleven of 2014/15, the period up to 28 February and said that the forecast revenue position was an underspend of £13.4m at year end.  This was an improvement on January’s forecast outturn of £7.9m underspend and included £6.2m of spending on planned service commitments that would continue beyond 2014/15. 

He also said that the efficiencies forecast was £73.8m, up from £72.7m at 31 January.  This was the fifth consecutive year that the Council had delivered over £60m of savings for Surrey residents and he thanked the Chief Executive, Strategic Directors and the S151 officer for their outstanding efforts which had resulted in achieving these savings.

He drew Cabinet’s attention to the three items for their approval - the first being to use £22,362 of uncommitted Member allocations to make a grant to the Surrey Save Credit Union. 

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

These were:

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

Currently, the end of year revenue forecast was for services to underspend by £13.4m and he believed that Cabinet’s commitment to tight financial management and the actions of managers would make 2014/15 the fifth consecutive year that there would be a small underspend or a balanced budget.

2.   Continuously drive the efficiency agenda

That, at the end of February, services forecast delivering efficiencies of £73.8m against a target of £72.3m and of these forecast efficiencies, over 94% were already achieved or on track.

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 Council’s budgets over the longer term and the Revolving Infrastructure and Investment Fund had invested £6.7m so far this year and forecast delivering £0.4m net income.

4.   Continue to maximise our investment in Surrey        

Finally, he said that the Council’s capital programme not only improved and maintained the Council’s services, it was also a way of investing in Surrey and generating income for the Council and he stressed the importance of the Council doing everything it could to support Surrey businesses.

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 Council forecasts an improved revenue position for 2014/15 of £13.4m underspend, up from £7.9m at 31 January 2015. This position includes the need to fund £6.2m spending on planned service commitments that will continue beyond 2014/15, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 3 of the submitted report.

2.         That Services forecast achieving an improved position on efficiencies and service reductions by year end of £73.8m up from £72.7m at 31 January 2015 and £1.5m above the year’s planned target of £72.3m, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 80 of the submitted report.

3.         That the Council forecasts investing £198.3m through its capital programme in 2014/15, as set out in Annex1, paragraphs 84 and 85 of the submitted report.

4.         That Services’ management actions to mitigate overspends, as set out throughout Annex1 of the submitted report, be noted.

5.         That the use of the uncommitted Member allocations, totalling £22,362, to make a grant to the Surrey Save Credit Union, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 36 of the submitted report, be approved.

6.         That a virement of the Surrey Growth Fund (£0.8m) from Environment & Infrastructure to the Chief Executive’s Office, to align with managerial responsibility for the Economy function, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 46 of the submitted report, be approved.

7.       That £2.5m from Central Income and Expenditure budget to fund a new reserve: “Economic Prosperity Reserve”, as set out in Annex1, paragraph 70 of the submitted report, be approved

Reasons for Decisions:

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