Agenda item

To receive a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) presenting a financial update in respect of the income and expenditure so far in the year.

The Cabinet had before it a * financial update in respect of the income and expenditure so far in the year.

The Cabinet Member for Finance outlined the contents of the report stating that this presented the second Budget Monitoring for the year 2021 / 22 covering the period to end September 2021.  The projected Outturn position for the General Fund was forecast to be £234k overspent.  Income continued to be behind budget, notably in leisure and car parking, although service income on planning and waste service had exceeded expectations.  On the cost front, staffing expenditure was down, reflecting difficulty in filling vacancies but savings were more than offset by higher agency costs within waste and planning service improvements.  The predicted pay award uplift was now recognised in the figures.  The forecast overspend remained manageable ultimately to achieve a balanced outcome but continued to be monitored closely.

He explained that in other areas the HRA was forecast to be £39k underspent, the projected Capital Programme outturn position was for an under spend of £2.13m and £22.6m slippage of costs into future years.  This was primarily due to a reduction in deliverable development schemes as well as lending to 3RDL, now moved into later years.

In addition to the financial figures, Cabinet was also being asked to note the use of waivers for the procurement of goods and services as set out in Section 8 of the report and to note the feedback from the PDG review of the Medium Term Financial Plan.

Consideration was given to:

·         The need to fund net zero issues and funding sources that could be made available

·         The underspend on staff and the over spend on agency workers

·         The need to continue to find savings and for all Members to take part in this exercise.

It was AGREED that following be NOTED:

1.    The financial monitoring information for the income and expenditure for the six months to 30 September 2021 and the projected outturn position;

2.    The use of Waivers for the Procurement of goods and services as included in Section 8;

3.    The feedback and outcomes from the Policy Development Groups in respect of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) options (Section 9).

Note:  *report previously circulated, copy attached to minutes.