Issue - meetings

Report of the County Treasurer (CT/17/58) on the outturn for 2016/17, attached.

(Councillors Atkinson, Connett, Greenslade and Hannaford attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of County Treasurer (CT/17/58) on the revenue and capital budget outturn for 2016/17.

Members acknowledged that rigorous, effective financial and budgetary management had again enabled expenditure to be contained within the overall target budget, whilst also allowing for the carrying forward of unspent grants and budgets.  Overall, an underspend had been achieved in spite of the significant financial challenges that the Council had continued to face during the financial year in question particularly in relation to People’s Services while also enabling a small contribution to reserves. 

The Report contained a detailed breakdown of the position within specific service areas and other funding items showing all over- and under-spendings and the reasons therefor. Members acknowledged, in summary, that People’s Services had ended the year with a net overspend of £9,737,000 with Place and Corporate Services each having registered underspendings of £1,707,000 and £1,011,000 respectively and the Public Health budget had been on target.   

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Asset Management again paid tribute to the County Treasurer and all staff of the Council who had been instrumental in bringing expenditure in under budget for the 26^th year in succession; the resulting outturn was highly satisfactory given the continuing significant pressures on services and economic difficulties faced by the Council during the year. The Cabinet Member further acknowledged that the Council had not only dealt with the overspending referred to above but had been able to increase earmarked reserves by £15,300,000 including the proceeds of the settlement in relation to the claim for re-building Dartington Primary School - to offset the ‘internal borrowing’ set aside for that purpose.  This outcome had been achieved through a combination of factors including effective monitoring and management action, good housekeeping in other service areas, income received towards the end of the year and the continuing benefit of changes made to the calculation of the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy in 2015/16.

Members noted that the Council’s general working balances at 31st March 2016 was £14,636,000 recognising that the 2016/17 Budget financial risk assessment had indicated that the Council should hold a working balance of about £14,000,000: the outturn would enable £43,000 to be added to the current working balance.

The Cabinet noted the views expressed by Members including those attending under Standing Order 25 – that while recognising the difficulties of delivering services and budgets  of the magnitude required in the current climate - on the possible relaxation by Government of public sector funding targets, the merits of increasing earmarked reserves rather than using surpluses to invests in infrastructure or provide services and, more generally,  the adequacy of existing budgets.

The matter having been debated and the options and other relevant factors set out in the County Treasurer’s Report and/or referred to above having been considered:

It was MOVED by Councillor Clatworthy, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

RESOLVED

(a) that this Cabinet note  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18