Agenda item

To present to the Committee a forecast of the outturn position against the General Fund revenue budget, Housing Revenue Account and capital programme for 2022/23, in order to give an expectation of possible variances against budget.

The Accountancy Manager introduced the report and provided a summary:

·         General Fund projected net overspend of £87k.

·         Figures are expected to change throughout the year due to a number of uncertainties that could not be costed including the salary uplift, utility costs and the cost of labour and materials.

·         Key areas of variance included Housing Benefit, Waste and Recycling, Covid-19, Housing Advice and Facilities Management.

·         A projected net overspend for Strategy and Resources Committee Revenue budget of £40k.

·         Pressure identified on the Fit for the Future project which would largely be covered by earmarked reserve funding.

·         Additional spend for a new HR and Payroll system which would drive savings.

·         The overall position for the service areas for Strategy and Resources Committee was an overspend of £40k.

·         Pressures had been identified on Fit for the Future however it would be largely covered by earmarked reserve funding.

·         Additional spend for a new HR payroll system however this would drive savings over the medium term to help offset the cost.

·         The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was forecast an overspend of £269k which was expected to rise further.

·         The void rate had decreased significantly and continued to decrease.

·         An expected overspend of £218k for repairs and maintenance.

·         The General Fund Capital spend was predicted to have a £1.9m underspend and includes some areas of slippage for the Canal Phase 1B and the Walking and Cycling Plan.

·         The HRA Major Works programme was showing additional spend of £2.7m which related solely to the Wave 1 Decarbonisation works. The schemes will need to be reviewed and the budget for this area would be revised.

·         There have been additional costs for the New Build Programme in particular at Ringfield Close which was likely to have an impact on the programme going forward.

Councillor Turner questions the uplift for Brimscombe Port and asked for further information regarding how this would be covered including the income from Brimscombe Port Mill. The Accountancy Manager advised that she would be able to find further information regarding the income of Brimscombe Port Mill and clarified that it was showing as overspend it wasn’t an overspend for the total cost of the project just against this years budget which was due to a timing difference. Councillor Turner advised that she would be interested in receiving more detail as the project progressed.

Councillor Pearson asked whether section 7.3 should be titled Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Points instead of EV Acquisition. The Accountancy Manager confirmed that the original budget was for EV Vehicles and Charging Points however the vehicles had now been purchased.

In response to a question from Councillor Hurst the Accountancy Manager confirmed that they would be looking at costing the income effect of the Water Source Heat Pumps at Ebley Mill. The Strategic Director of Resources also confirmed that they were speaking with Managers regarding the occupancy of Ebley Mill and may move stop heating certain floors to ensure the building was used as efficiently as possible.

Proposed by Councillor Turner and Seconded by Councillor Cornell.

Councillor Cornell confirmed that she was happy to the support the report and was glad to see the void property numbers continuing to decrease and congratulated the Voids Team for the work they had done to reduce the number of void properties.

Councillor Braun stated the report showed a good snapshot of where the council was at this point in time however advised that there was a horrible picture ahead which could change dramatically and that they would need to be reactive if and when the occasion occurred. 

On being put to the vote, the Motion was carried unanimously.