Agenda item

The report is to be considered by the Cabinet at their July 2019 meeting. It presents the revenue and capital outturn for 2018/19.

The Head of Management Accounts introduced this item to the Panel. He explained that the report presents the revenue and capital outturn for 2018/19, highlighting a net revenue over budget position of £0.92m. He said that the position had vastly improved through actions including a recruitment freeze that had been implemented during the financial year.

He added that the improvement has continued since the last report, which forecast an over budget position of £3.21m based on monitoring for the year to December 2018, mainly due to improvements in income generation within Heritage Services, and a reduction in capital financing costs arising from the review of the capital programme and rephasing of capital projects.

He stated that the 2018/19 approved budget included the requirement for the delivery of £16.99m of savings. He explained that the final outturn position included achievement of £13.58m or 80% of the savings target compared to 82% delivered in 2017/18. He added that savings items that are no longer deliverable in 2018/19 have been reviewed alongside other recurring budget pressures and have been incorporated into the financial planning assumptions for the 2019/20 budget. He said that it is expected that delayed savings totalling £3.4m will be delivered in 2019/20.

He informed the Panel that the Overall Dedicated Schools Grant for 2018/19 was £135.60m, however of this sum £84.63m was returned to the DFE to be allocated to academies, £20.75m was allocated to schools through funding formula, with the remaining £30.23m retained by the LA to support Special Educational Needs, central expenditure and Early Years.

He stated that the final outturn position on the Council Tax Collection Fund was a surplus of £0.691m for the Council’s share, this represents a 0.8% variance against target income. He explained the reason for the surplus was mainly due to the number of chargeable dwellings being slightly higher than forecast. He said that the collection rate for Council Tax was 98.22% (98.12% 2017/18).

He said that the capital spend in 2018/19 was £88.043m (75%) against a budget of £117.185m giving a variance of £29.142m, primarily reflecting the delivery time to complete projects moving into future financial periods. He added that of this variance, £29.042m is requested for carry forward to 2019/20 to cover re-phased costs of capital projects.

Councillor Karen Warrington asked if the 20% of savings not achieved was mainly attributable to Children’s Services.

The Head of Management Accounts replied that the Home to School Transport budget was overspent in 2018-19 mainly due to the increasing demands of SEND pupils.

Councillor Richard Samuel, Cabinet Member for Resources commented that he recognised that it will be increasingly difficult for the Council to make savings. He added that in terms of the budget for next year, a longer timescale could be set with regard to savings. He said that more rigour was required in terms of savings and would appreciate Panel involvement in the process.

He stated that the Children’s Services budget had recently been rebased, but was currently showing a £1.6m overspend.

Councillor Shaun Hughes asked if it were able to predict whether the overspend would continue for a further year.

Councillor Richard Samuel replied that he would look to start immediate conversations with service areas if problems reoccur and said that some solutions were not a quick fix.

Councillor Hal MacFie asked how any budget underspend is managed.

The Head of Management Accounts replied that a similar process is carried out and added that it was not good practise to ring fence any underspend. He said that if appropriate underspend can be put into reserves.

Councillor Hal MacFie asked if following cuts to staffing figures were there enough left to do the projects / work.

The Head of Management Accounts replied that staff reductions were well considered prior to implementation with managers asked to consider how there services could work differently.

The Chair asked if KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) were in effect in Customer Services.

Councillor Richard Samuel replied that they were, but not to the extent that he would like. He added that he would like to see more public facing measures to be judged upon.

The Head of Strategy Engagement & Marketing added that this was an opportunity to build in new ones linked to the Council’s own priorities.

Councillor Hal MacFie asked if the Panel could see any proposed new indicators.

Councillor Richard Samuel replied that the Panel should have a role in shaping them.

Councillor Mark Elliott said that the development of the metrics used will be vital.

Councillor Richard Samuel said that he will look for the indicators to drive improvement.

The Chair commented that the current narrative regarding the Council’s resources must be shared with the public to manage the expectation of supply -v- demand. He asked whether any Unitary Authority had visibility of their future funding.

Councillor Richard Samuel replied that there is uncertainty over the levels the Council will receive from the Better Care Fund and income from Business Rates and added that the current instability of national Government was not helpful.

The Head of Management Accounts gave the Panel a presentation on the Budget Monitoring Process, a summary is set out below.

·  We report on our Revenue and Capital budgets quarterly to Cabinet, this looks at the financial forecast to year end against approved budget and delivery of savings.

·  Our quarterly reports cover revenue monitoring against all of the Councils budget headings, the Capital Programme and detailed Savings monitoring

·  The finance team also produces monthly Dashboard reporting that focusses on the high risk budgets across the Council, delivery of savings and emerging financial opportunities and risks for budget planning

·  2019/20 Savings Delivery and Assurance: Regular Directors Group Plus slots provide Director led updates on the implementation of plans and delivery of savings. The Current Budget has approved savings of £8.85m in 2019/20

·  Slot 1: Delivery plan overview, covering: progress to date, resourcing requirements inc. finance and HR requirements / other support, implementation timescale, critical success factors, how will implementation impact ongoing service provision, assessment of savings deliverable in 2019/20, inc. impact on budget if phased implementation, risks / issues and requests to SMT / Directors Group Plus

·  Slot 2: Savings delivery update: achievement against implementation timescale, what are the key achievements / success factors, savings delivered / savings to be delivered, risks / issues that need raising and support required from SMT / Directors Group Plus

Councillor Hal MacFie asked how timely the information will be that the Panel receives.

Councillor Richard Samuel replied that the Council calendar does not always match up with the financial reporting timescales which was why he was looking to introduce a new format from 2020.

Councillor Karen Warrington asked if the Panel could have input into these timetable changes.

Councillor Richard Samuel replied that he would share a draft of the calendar as soon as was possible.

The Panel RESOLVED to;

(i) Acknowledge the Revenue & Capital Outturn Cabinet Report 2018/19.

(ii) Note the presentation on the Councils financial monitoring process.