Agenda item

Report of the County Treasurer(CT/16/46) on the Revenue and Capital Outturn for 2015/16, attached.

(Councillors Biederman, Connett, Dewhirst, Greenslade, Julian, Owen and Westlake attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/16/46) on the revenue and capital budget outturn for 2015/16.

Members acknowledged that strong, effective, financial and budgetary management had again enabled spending to be contained within budgets, whilst also allowing for the carrying forward of unspent grants and budgets.  An overall underspend had been achieved on the revenue budget in spite of the significant financial challenges that the Council had continued to face during the financial year in question, particularly in relation to children’s social work and child protection enabling a contribution to reserves to be made. 

The Cabinet had received regular budget monitoring reports throughout 2015/16 in which budget pressures and risks had been identified and Members now noted that,  at year-end, there was a small revenue underspending of £35,000 after transfers to Reserves.  Members acknowledged the impact of the change to the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy that would apply to both 2015/16 and 2016/17 where, as anticipated in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, £11,900,000 had been transferred to the Budget Management Reserve for application in 2017/18 to help to protect services.  Capital expenditure had also been closely maintained to minimise slippage during the course of the year, while continuing to improve the Council’s infrastructure and property portfolio.

The Report contained a detailed breakdown of the position within specific service areas and other funding items outlining any over- and under-spendings and the reasons therefor:  in summary, People’s Services had ended the year with a net overspend of £9,816,000, Place  and Corporate Services showed net underspending of £2,464,000 and £2,416,000 respectively while Public Health was net break even.  

Members paid tribute once again to the County Treasurer and staff across all services who had been instrumental in bringing expenditure in under budget for the twenty fifth year in succession;  the resulting outturn was highly satisfactory given the continuing significant pressures on services and economic difficulties faced by Council’s during the year.

Further, and while acknowledging that in 2016/17 the budget for People’s Services had been increased by nearly £16,200,000 in recognition of the increase in demand faced by the caring services, the Cabinet Member for Resources & Asset Management reiterated the need for that service to stay within the increased budget and that there was no repeat in 2016/17 of the overspending in children’s services or in any other service area.

The Cabinet noted comments expressed by Members, including those attending under Standing Order 25 on the detail of the outturn and while there was a general consensus that the Council and its Officers deserved the plaudits for again bringing in the budget under  target some concerns were also expressed at the apparent failure to achieve budget targets for the former library service and the opportunity presented through underspendings potentially to invest more resources in highway management and parking enforcement. The impact of in-year reductions on public health services and in future years was also acknowledged as was the continuing impact upon school transport of additional housing development in Devon.

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 the Cabinet note that the draft outturn for 2015/16, after carry forwards and contributions to balances, reserves and provisions, showed an underspend of £35,000 against the approved revenue budget;

(b) that the 2015/16 revenue outturn be approved, including transactions on earmarked reserves and provisions, spending against budget, the treatment of over/under-spendings and the implications for balances, as set out in the Tables to ReportCT/16/46;

(c) that the 2015/16 capital outturn be approved including spending against budget and proposed carry forwards, in accordance with the Tables to Report CT/16/46;

(d) that the use of capital finance as set out in the Statement of Determination of Capital Finance at page 27 of the Capital Outturn Report be approved;

(e) that a total of £18,128,000 be set aside from revenue resources as provision for credit liabilities, to repay debt;

(f) that the Prudential Indicators set out at section 11 of the Capital Outturn Report be noted;

(g) that the total monies owing to the Council as at 31 March 2016 be noted and debts be written-off as referred to at section 13 of Report CT/16/46.