Agenda item

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/24/40) on the budget monitoring position at Month 10 and an update on performance progress, attached.

RESOLVED

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

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

(c) that the update on progress of the corporate performance management framework also be noted; and

(d) that the new requirement for Local Authorities to develop and publish productivity plans be noted.

(Councillors Brazil, Dewhirst, Leaver and Whitton 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 (DFP/24/40) on the budget monitoring position at Month 10 and an update on performance progress, 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 noted that the at Month 10 it was estimated that budgets would effectively break-even by year end, with a small overspend by £291,000 currently forecast. This was an improvement of £4.3 million compared to the Month 8 forecast, but it was important to note that this excludes the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit. Cabinet had previously agreed to reduce all Directorate budgets by an apportioned share of £10 million and create a corresponding Safety Valve Support Reserve.

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.

The Dedicated Schools Grant projected deficit, relating to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), was forecast to be £42.2 million, an increase of £2.5 million from Month 8.  A second round of discussions with the Department for Education (DfE) was underway as part of the Safety Valve Intervention programme. The Authority was now awaiting the outcome of a Ministerial decision.

The table at section 3 of the Report summarises the Month 10 forecast position by directorate, excluding the Dedicated Schools Grant forecast overspend.

In summary, Integrated Adult Social Care services were forecast to overspend by £2.9 million, a reduction of £158,000 from Month 8. Children and Young People’s Futures services were forecasting an overspend of £8.4 million, a decrease of £431,000 from Month 8 (excluding the SEND projected deficit of £43.2 million). The Climate Change, Environment and Transport directorate was forecasting an underspend of just over £2 million, increasing by just over £1 million from Month 8, mainly the result of further underspends in Highways Network Management and Waste contract profit sharing arrangements.

Public Health, Communities and Prosperity were forecasting an underspend of £520,000 and Corporate Services was forecasting an underspend of £1.4 million; an improvement of £816,000 from Month 8.

Non-service items (which included capital financing costs, interest earned and business rates pooling gain income) were now forecast to underspend by £6.9 million, an improvement of £1.7 million from Month 8.

The approved capital programme for the Council was £260.2 million and the year-end forecast was £194 million of which £171.7 million was externally funded. Slippage was forecast at £66.2 million. Spend at month 10 was only 55% of the forecast outturn therefore significant spend needed to occur in the next 2 months.  

The Council had, at its meeting on 15 February 2024, agreed the development and introduction of a corporate performance management framework. The Strategic Leadership Team was establishing a performance board in order that Cabinet could be kept informed about, and respond appropriately to, performance issues and questions. An annual performance report would also be made to Council on 23 May 2024.

Cabinet further noted that the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities had recently announced that local authorities would be asked to develop and publish productivity plans by July 2024. Plans had to be agreed by Council Leaders and Members and published on local authority websites, together with updates on progress. The Report outlined the four main areas that Government expected the Productivity Plans to cover.

In summary, the forecast outturn position had improved significantly since Month 8, with the forecast break-even position including the additional £10 million of savings agreed in September to enable a contribution to the Safety Valve Reserve of that amount. 

The matter having been debated and the 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 position be noted;

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

(c) that the update on progress of the corporate performance management framework also be noted; and

(d) that the new requirement for Local Authorities to develop and publish productivity plans be noted.