Issue details

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance submitted a report for Executive’s consideration. This purpose of the report was to discharge the responsibilities of the Executive to manage and control of the revenue budget, capital programme and overall reserves position of the Council.

The Council’s Scheme of Delegation gave the Executive collective responsibility for corporate strategic performance and financial management / monitoring, together with associated actions. Standing Orders and Financial Procedures required the Executive’s approval for major virements between revenue budgets, and in-year changes to the Council’s Capital Programme within approved Council resources.

The report enabled the Executive to discharge its financial management

responsibilities by setting out the:

·         General Fund Revenue Budget forecast outturn at Quarter One;

·         Statement of the Council’s projected reserves and provisions at Quarter One

·         Capital Programme forecast outturn at Quarter One;

·         Statement of the Council’s borrowing and prudential indicators;

·         Statement to monitor the level of debt owed to and to be recovered by the

·         Council;

·         Actions that the Council has taken and plans to take in order address the issues

·         Identified.

Financial Procedure Rule 1.37 required Executive’s approval of the proposed revenue budget virements as set out in Appendix 3 of the report.

Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 required the Chief Finance officer to report on the robustness of the budget estimates and the adequacy of the financial reserves to Council in agreeing its annual budget and precept for the forthcoming financial year. The Chief Finance Officer was as defined in S151 of the Local Government Act 1972 and was fulfilled by the Director of Finance.

The Director of Finance (S151 Officer) presented her Section 25 Report to the Executive as part of the 2024/25 Revenue Budget, Medium Term Financial Plan, and Council Tax setting report to Executive on 28 February 2024 which was then approved by Council on 8 March 2024. The report set out the basis upon which the revenue budget was considered to be robust and the basis upon which reserves were considered adequate, being dependent upon the approval of Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) (formerly DLUHC) as summarised in the report:

The Council’s financial position remained critical and its ability to control expenditure within the approved 2024/25 budget, whilst developing further savings and income generating opportunities through the Recover, Reset, Deliver Transformation Portfolio in order to balance the MTFP, would be crucial to stabilising the Council’s financial position and rebuilding its financial resilience. This required the delivery of all approved £13.9m of 2024/25 savings plans in full.

The Council had achieved significant improvement in its financial position from that which existed at the start of the 2023/24 financial year. However, it continued to spend above its available income sources as reflected by the forecast year end overspend of £3.742m for 2024/25, after using £4.7m of EFS to balance the budget. The further challenges of delivering a balanced budget in 2025/26 to 2028/29 were set out in the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) report, with a projected budget gap currently of £7.864m in 2025/26 rising to £8.749m in 2028/29. It was advised both the MTFP report, and this report, should be read together to fully understand the context within which the Council is operating and the challenges it faces.

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance advised Executive that a slight amendment to Appendix 3 had been made concerning proposed Revenue Virements over £250,000. The virement of £0.732m for the Integrated Transport Unit should read from Education and Partnerships to Central Budgets rather than Environment & Community Services to Central Budgets