Issue - meetings

The report provides information about the Council’s financial performance against its revenue and capital budgets in 2024-25.

Cllr Mark Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the report, moved the officer recommendation and made the following points:

·  The report presents the final financial figures for the council for the year ending April 2025.

·  It distinguishes between:

·  Revenue Budget – for ongoing costs and income.

·  Capital Budget – for one-off income and spending on assets.

Revenue Budget:

·  There was an adverse outturn of just over £200k, this is considered nearly balanced for a budget of over £400m.

·  This represents an improvement of £770k from the Quarter 3 position.

·  The £210k deficit will be covered by the Revenue Budget Contingency Reserve.

Children’s Services:

·  There was a notable £6.18m overspend due to high demand and cost pressures.

·  Despite this, the council maintained high standards of care for vulnerable children.

·  Cllr Elliott commended officers for their efforts to increase income and reduce costs.

Savings and Income Generation:

·  The target was £16.42m

·  £12.66m was fully delivered.

·  £2.78m was mitigated through contingency or other income.

·  Only 6% (under £1m) was not delivered in year.

·  This is a strong performance, boosting confidence for future targets.

Direct School Grant:

·  There was a significant overspend.

·  The Government extended the statutory override, so the deficit is not included in council accounts.

·  The Council is working with the DfE to balance this and is awaiting funding for the two new schools on the Culverhay site.

Tax and Rates Accuracy:

·  Council tax and business rate income predictions were highly accurate:

·  There was a 0.04% variance for council tax.

·  There was a 0.3% variance for business rates.

Capital Budget:

·  £53m was spent out of a £70m budget (75% delivery).

·  £16m was requested to be carried forward to 2025/26 for re-phased projects.

·  There was a £1.25m net underspend which was removed from the capital programme.

·  The narrowing gap between budget and spend shows improved capital planning.

·  The council has balanced its budget under challenging conditions and the hard work and diligence of council officers is acknowledged.

Cllr Sarah Warren seconded the motion.  She congratulated the team for achieving a near balanced revenue budget position at year end.  She acknowledged the challenges this entailed at a time when funding provided by government for children’s services, an entirely demand-led service, continues to fall short.  She noted the importance, both in terms of welfare of some of the most vulnerable children and the additional control it will give the council over its budget, of ensuring that many children will no longer have to travel out of county to attend school.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

(1)  To note the revenue budget outturn on budget position for 2024/25, after allowing for carry forwards and transfers to reserves.

(2)  To approve the revenue carry forward proposals listed in the tables in paragraph 3.6 of the report.

(3)  To approve that all other over budgets are written off as an exception to the Budget Management Rules for 2024/25.

(4)  To approve the transfer of £0.21m from corporate earmarked reserves.

(5)  To note the revenue virements for 2024/25 reported for information in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13

Councillor Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the report. He stated that there has been an improvement since Q3. He congratulated officers on the corporate effort to deliver a balanced revenue budget. He stated that the biggest overspend is in Children’s Services - £6.18 m due to increased residential placements and foster care pressures.

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Leach asked if the demand led pressure in Children’s Services could be offset by under budget areas. The Executive Director stated that the demand led pressure often results from the move from independent foster care into residential care. There have been more children in residential care this year. The Executive Director reported that there had been some commissioning improvements and recruitment of a senior commercial lead. Also, local provision development (e.g. Charlton House), high-cost placement review panels and SEND strategy alignment.

Councillor Simon asked why the overspend on high needs did not show in the negative reserves balance table. The officer explained that the negative reserve is not included in this report and will be shown in the statutory accounts. The Cabinet Member reported that plans for the Culverhay School site are held up at the treasury at the moment. Councillor Moss stated that all Capital Programmes were suspended when the Government came in but there this should be moved forward soon.

Councillor Blackburn stated that Highways is under budget, parking has generated high income and highways maintenance is small. The overall picture looks like we are not spending the money. The Cabinet Member stated that it is difficult to report local government balance sheets in a meaningful way and stated that Panel advice on this would be gratefully received.

In response to a questions from Councillor Blackburn regarding Cleveland Pools, the Cabinet Member stated that he was not aware that more had been invested in this but would report back. He mentioned a presentation on highways to the last Cabinet meeting which sets everything out.

Councillor David asked for an update on the play area refurbishment. The Executive Director stated that we could move at pace with the programme as a result of mixed areas of funding.

Councillor Moss asked if departments are having to make cuts to make up for the shortfall regarding Children’s Services. The Cabinet Member stated that there is pressure on the rest of the Council but that pressure was mainly on income rather than savings. He gave credit to Council staff for efforts to meet the budget. He stated that staff morale had been good at the recent ‘Values Week’ events.

The Chair thanked the staff for high quality services in tough financial times.