Agenda item

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DF/23/39) on the budget monitoring position at month 10, attached.

RESOLVED

(a) that the month 10 budget monitoring forecast be noted;

(b) that the action being taken to safeguard the financial sustainability of the authority be supported; and

(c) that the savings and additional income resulting from the Financial Sustainability Programme further be noted.

(Councillors Atkinson, Brazil, Dewhirst, Whitton and Wrigley attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DF/23/39), 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 on the budget monitoring position at month 10.

The Report highlighted that the forecasted position was an overspend by £3.6 million, which was an improvement of £3.4 million from month 8. The position comprised an underlying outturn forecast of an overspend of £30.1 million but this was reduced by £26.5 million as a result of the of the Financial Sustainability Programme (FSP) savings and additional income.

An inflationary pressure risk continued to be present but this was not expected to have a significant impact on the in-year position. The Dedicated Schools Grant forecast had not been included in these figures. Work continued to implement in-year cost containment measures and at month 10 £26.5 million of in-year savings and additional income was expected to be delivered.

The forecasted deficit on the Dedicated Schools Grant this year of £41.1 million relating to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) was an increase in the overspend of £564,000 compared to the month 8 position and the outcome of the discussions with the Department for Education, as part of the Safety Valve Intervention, was awaited.

The table at paragraph 2.1 of the Report detailed the forecast outturn position by service area at month 10. The underlying outturn forecasts, column (d), detailed the forecast outturn position before the impact of the Financial Sustainability Programme (FSP) had been taken into account. The impact of the proposed FSP savings was shown in column (e) and the final month 10 forecast outturn overspend or underspend in column (f).

In summary, Integrated Adult Social Care was forecasting an overspend of £4.1 million, Children and Young People’s Futures was forecasting an overspend of £19.5 million and an overspend of £41.1 million on Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The remaining Service areas were forecasting an underspend of £8.9 million at month 10, comprising an underlying forecast position of £1.9 million underspend and additional savings identified in the FSP totalling £7 million. Non-Service items, which included capital financing charges and business rates pooling gain were forecasting an underspend of £11.1 million. The underlying position was a forecast pressure of £1.1 million and £12.2 million of savings identified by the FSP (although most were of a non-recurrent nature).

The organisation wide Financial Sustainability Programme had been examining options for service transformation, modernisation, remodelling of delivery, and ceasing or postponement of activity where possible. The month 10 position reflected £26.5 million of savings identified through the FSP and a high-level summary by type of saving was included at section 3.3 of the Report.

The latest approved 2022/23 capital programme totalled £227.0 million and the total year end forecast for capital expenditure was £159.6 million of which £137.1 million was externally funded. Total slippage was forecast to be £67.4 million. The main areas of net slippage could be attributed to scheme variations and programme delays reflecting the complexity of some of the major schemes.

The latest corporate aged debt position had risen to £5.0 million, 2.02% of the rolling 12-month value of all invoices, against the annual target of 1.9%. Work was underway to reduce the level of debts where possible.

Whilst the month 10 forecast had improved from month 8 due to further savings, containment of expenditure, and utilisation of one-off grant funding, the forecast across Integrated Adult Social Care and Children and Young People’s Futures had continued to deteriorate. In the final months of the financial year there was a need to continue to identify savings, additional income and cost containment measures to ensure that the revenue outturn was as close to a balanced position as possible.

The matter having been debated and other relevant factors set out in the Director’s Report having been considered:

it was MOVED by Councillor Twiss, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the month 10 budget monitoring forecast be noted;

(b) that the action being taken to safeguard the financial sustainability of the authority be supported; and

(c) that the savings and additional income resulting from the Financial Sustainability Programme further be noted.