Agenda item

This report presents the financial monitoring information for the Authority as a whole for the financial year 2015/16 to the end of December 2015.

Councillor Andrew Furse congratulated officers on bringing the budget within 0.03% of spent though he expressed his concerns that some areas were showing overspend.

Councillor Charles Gerrish said that the Budget Management Scheme had required that the Cabinet consider the revenue and capital monitoring position four times per year. For revenue budgets which were forecast to be overspent, the service Directors were normally expected to seek compensating savings to try and bring budgets back to balance.  The report has highlighted significant areas of forecast over and under spends in revenue budgets and outlined the Council’s current revenue financial position for the 2015/16 financial year to the end of December 2015 by Cabinet Portfolio. The current forecast outturn position was for an underspend of £128,000 which equates to 0.03% of gross budgeted spend (excluding Schools).  In addition, as previously reported, uncommitted New Care Act burdens funding would be transferred to a specific Council Care Act Reserve at year end, currently estimated to be £750,000.

Councillor Charles Gerrish moved the recommendations.

Councillor Vic Pritchard seconded the motion by saying that the Council’s financial position, along with its financial management arrangements and controls, were fundamental to continuing to plan and provide services in a managed way, particularly in light of the medium term financial challenge.  The revenue budget for 2015/16 had included delivery of £9.7m of savings and in addition to this, a further £1.695m of in-year rebasing had been actioned resulting in there no longer being a requirement to use reserves to balance the 2015/16 budget.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed that:

1)  Strategic Directors should continue to work towards managing within budget in the current year for their respective service areas, and to manage below budget where possible by not committing unnecessary expenditure, through tight budgetary control.

2)  This year’s revenue budget position as shown in the report is noted.

3)  The capital expenditure position for the Council in the financial year to the end of December and the year-end projections detailed in the report are noted.

4)  The revenue virements listed for approval in the report are agreed.

5)  The changes in the capital programme listed in the report are noted.