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Issue - meetings

Meeting: 12/09/2018 - Cabinet (Item 222)

222 Budget Monitoring: Month 4 pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Report of the County Treasurer (CT/18/09) on the Budget Monitoring position at Month 4 for 2018/2019, attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

 

The Cabinet considered the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/18/09) on the Budget Monitoring position at Month 4 for 2018/2019, 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.

 

The Cabinet Member for Resources Management highlighted that the total overspend at month 4 was forecast at £8.1 millions.

 

Adult Care and Health services were forecast to breakeven and this position took into account £855,000 of management action yet to be achieved, but assessed as achievable.

 

Children’s Services were showing a forecast overspend of £8.7 millions, with, in the main, overspending on children’s social care of £5.1 millions. The total overspending in children’s placements forecast was to be £4.1 millions and the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) currently forecast to overspend by £3.4 millions, with the High Needs Block of the DSG currently forecast to overspend by £4.9 millions.

 

Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste were also forecasting a break-even position at Month 4.

 

Communities, Public Health, Environment and Prosperity (COPHEP) are showing a forecast overspend of £207,000, the result of the countywide research and intelligence review project.

 

Corporate Services were forecasting a breakeven position, but this was dependent upon services still delivering management action totalling £517,000, but this was also assessed as achievable.

 

Non-service items were forecast to underspend by £744,000, mainly due to additional investment income and a one-off underspend associated with a estimate for remedial works being undertaken at Dartington School not fully materialising in the year.

 

The capital programme for the Council was £149.111 millions, with a year end forecast of £138.75 millions, so slippage of £10.356 millions, in the main, due to scheme variations and programme delays in Highways.

 

Whilst it was relatively early in the financial year to project with a high level of certainty what the final year end position would be, it seemed that like many other Local Authorities across the Country, the Council was now dealing with with high levels of demand for Children Services with Residential Placements proving particularly difficult to contain within budget and High Needs requirements within Education had also seen a significant increase in the number of places needed. 

 

The Report highlighted there was time to identify management action in other budgets to try and pull back the projected overspending.

 

The matter having been debated and the options and/or alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability, carbon impact, risk management, equality and legal considerations and Public Health impact) set out in the County Treasurer’s Report and/or referred to above having been considered:

 

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

 

RESOLVED that the Cabinetnotes the forecast overspending of £8.1 millions and acknowledges the need to take action to contain and reduce the projection.



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