Agenda item

To receive the latest 2016-17 budget monitoring position.

(Item 4 – report of Mr John Simmonds, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement and Andy Wood, Corporate Director of Finance & Procurement)

Cabinet received a report which provided the budget monitoring position up to 31 January 2016-17 for both revenue and capital budgets, including an update on key activity data for our highest risk budgets.

Mr J Simmonds, MBE, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement, introduced the report.  In particular he referred to the following information:

• Congratulating members and officers for controlling budgets during a difficult set of circumstances
• Proposals to deal with potential rolled over budgets so as to limit the impact of future overspends
• Welcoming the additional allocation from the Government of £26m for social care, although the terms and conditions remained unknown
• Three areas of financial difficulty in the current year would continue into 2017-18: SEN transport, for which £2,000,000 had been allocated; Children’s Services for which £5.4m had been allocated; asylum seeking children which the Government continued to work with local authorities to identify a satisfactory solution.
• Any residual overspend would have to be funded from reserves which had already been used to a significant extent, and he therefore hoped that the final expenditure would be brought into line with the budget.
• On capital monitoring, there was a variation of £54m in the budget, £53m of which related to delays and rephrasing of projects.

The Leader, Mr P Carter CBE, advised the Cabinet that the Council was minded to accept the Government’s offer in respect of asylum seeking children for the current year on the proviso that Government would finance the full cost in future years.  This was important as the number of young people reaching 18, for which grant support was significantly inadequate.

Mr Andy Wood, Corporate Director for Finance and Procurement, spoke to the item.  In particular he referred to the following:

• Based on up to date data he was confident that there would be an underspend in the current year’s revenue budget, for which he thanked the whole organisation.
• The additional funding for social care would be paid through the Better Care Fund which would entail close negotiations with health service partners including the seven Clinical Commissioning Groups.  A report would be submitted in May 2017 on how the money would be allocated.

Cabinet and Corporate Directors discussed the report and the following comments were made:

• The letter dealing with additional allocations for the Better Care Fund was jointly signed by the Departments of Health and Communities and Local Government, but the apportionment of spend to ensure local government received appropriate amounts to strengthen care markets would require close negotiations with health partners.

• It was hoped that the track record of achieving underspends in annual budgets for 17 consecutive years would be confirmed thanks to the hard work of members and officers.

It was RESOLVED