Issue - meetings

Meeting: 11/09/2024 - Cabinet (Item 608)

608 Budget Monitoring - Month 4 (2024/2025) pdf icon PDF 156 KB

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/24/90) outlining the budget monitoring position at month 4 (2024/2025), attached.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED

 

(a) that the Month 4 budget monitoring forecast position be noted;

 

(b) that the Safety Valve Intervention programme update also be noted;

 

(c) that the budgets movements to date be noted; and

 

(d) that the forecast reserves position also be noted.

Minutes:

(Councillors Biederman, Brazil, Leaver and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item raising questions on safety valve, sufficiency in places for children (and historical data), earmarked reserves, manager numbers across the Council, legal disbursements and achievement of savings).

 

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/24/90) outlining the budget monitoring position at month 4 (2024/2025), circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

 

At Month 4, it was estimated that budgets would overspend by just under £6 million. However, it was important to note that this excluded the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit (at paragraph 3.18 in the Report).

 

Financial risks within Integrated Adult Social Care and Children and Young People’s Futures were still being experienced, but the work underway across the whole authority to support these pressures continued to ensure the whole organisation was focused on achieving a break-even position for the end of the year.

 

Before any contributions from the Department of Education (DFE) or the Authority the DSG was forecasting a £38.5 million pressure compared to the DFE Safety Valve planned position of £31.2 million, a difference of £7.4 million. Work was therefore underway to ensure the outturn was as per the Safety Valve agreement, the details being set out within section 3 of the Report.

 

The table at paragraph 3.1 summarised the Month 4 forecast position by directorate, excluding the Dedicated Schools Grant forecast. However, the process of realigning staffing and associated budgets being impacted as part of organisational and staffing changes were still being worked through, therefore the values referenced should not yet be considered final.

 

The Adjusted Budget (b) reflected budget movements between service directorates and non-service lines which had taken place up to the end of July 2024. Appendix 1 detailed the in-year budget movements in full. 

 

The delivery of budgeted savings, alternative funding and additional income (Savings) was reviewed throughout the year as part of the budget monitoring process. The table at paragraph 3.4 summarised delivery across the authority and applied a RAGB (Red, Amber, Green, Blue) colour rating to the level of confidence in delivery progress. 

 

Budgeted savings of £49.6 million had been identified as part of the budget setting process. At month 4 Directorates were forecasting delivery of £46.5 million.

 

Integrated Adult Social Care services were forecast to overspend by £1.1 million and Children and Young People’s Futures services an overspend of £6.6 million.  The Cabinet noted that paragraph 3.9 of the report was a typographical error and should not form part of the Report. The Report also outlined the SEND forecast accumulated deficit reflecting the position at month 4, the expected DfE contribution, and the contribution the authority had committed to making for the year.  A second progress update to the DfE had been submitted on 28th August 2024 detailing this position as well as progress made on delivering the transformation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 608