14 2023/24 Revenue and Capital Outturn report PDF 661 KB
To receive a report from the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) on the 2023/24 Revenue and Capital Outturn report.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Cabinet had before it a report * from the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) Officer on 2023/24 Revenue and Capital Outturn report.
The Cabinet Member for Finance outlined the contents of the report with particular reference to the following:
· In February 2023, a budget was set that required £400k of staffing savings to be identified and £625k to be taken from reserves to balance the budget. Over 1m was required to be saved in-year to avoid reducing reserves below the recommended minimum level.
· As part of the 2023 budget decision, 3Rivers were left without an approved business plan, restricted from undertaking new projects in significant financial losses; this was unaddressed in the budget this administration inherited.
· The subsequent decision to soft close the business, all assets had been sold and the final losses of £3.384m had been crystallised, with a further £1.483m impairment required. Combined, these challenges sum to over £2.5m.
· The Outturn position for the General Fund presented was an over spend of £635k which was directly attributable to the exceptional cost of closing 3 Rivers and the final impairment.
· Nearly £1.9m had been saved in year to avoid significantly depleting the Councils reserves, savings delivered since this Liberal Democrat administration.
· Significantly reduced staffing costs capitalising on staff turnover and sickness to review staffing levels, reduce reliance on agency staff and deliver the staff saving target.
· The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) (in full) underspend of £393k similarly reflected underspends on salaries, lower maintenance spend, increased income across rent and investments led to a reduction in bad debt provision.
RESOLVED that:
1. Cabinet NOTED the General Fund Outturn achieved in 2023/24 which requires no draw from the General Fund balance, but requires a transfer of £635k (4.05% on the Net Cost of Services Budget) from the New Homes Bonus reserve and the Housing Revenue Account which shows an under spend of £393k (3.28% on the Total Direct Expenditure Budget).
2. Cabinet NOTED the overarching General Fund budgetary savings delivered of £1,873k in order to mitigate the £2,508k exceptional cost pressures shown in paragraphs 1.3 and 1.4.
3. Cabinet APPROVED the transfer of the £393k Housing Revenue Account surplus to the ring-fenced HRA Earmarked Reserves as detailed in the HRA Budget Variance Report shown in Appendix 2 and summarised in Appendix 3.
4. Cabinet APPROVED the Net Transfers from Earmarked Reserves of £1,532k detailed in the General Fund Service Budget Variance Reports shown in Appendix 1a and 1b and summarised in Appendix 3.
5. Cabinet APPROVED the slippage of £28,441k from the 2023/24 Capital Programme to be delivered in 2024/25 or later years.
6. Cabinet NOTED the procurement waivers used in Quarter 4 of 2023/24, as outlined in Section 7.
(Proposed by Cllr J Buczkowski and seconded by Cllr L Taylor)
Note: * Report previously circulated
Reason for Decision:
Good financial management and administration underpinned the entire document. A surplus or deficit on the Revenue Budget would impact on the Council’s General Fund balances. The Council’s financial position was constantly reviewed to ... view the full minutes text for item 14