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 drew Members attention to the following key points:

• The General Fund was expected to have an overspend of £304k at end of year, highlighted in Table 1 on Page 18.
• Key variances had been listed in the report and were in line with previous budget reports.
• Revenue and Benefits expected an overspend of £415k largely due to Housing Benefit payments for higher cost supported housing. Additional budget had been allocated in 2023/24 to help address the issue.
• There were various pressures on the sports centres including the increase in cost of utilities.
• DCC income budget for next financial year has been reduced by £100k to reflect the reduction in planning income.
• The waste and recycling budget had been revised due to various pressures including the cost of bins and recycling receptacles.
• The Ubico contract was expecting an overspend.
• Adjustments had been made to the Planning Strategy and Housing Advice budgets for the next financial year.
• Budgets had been amended in 2023/24 to reflect the reduction in car parking revenue.
• The New Build area at Ebley Mill had been let, it would therefore not be a pressure on next year’s budget.
• The budget for utilities had been adjusted in future to reflect the higher costs that the Council was experiencing.
• Corporate Expenditure and Income was showing a variance which was expected due to the difficulties in predicting spend.
• An estimated £500k of vacancy savings by the end of the year. Reasons for vacancies varied and included natural turnover, difficulty recruiting to positions and delaying recruitment in order to attract the right candidate or to make changes to the position.
• The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) showed an expected overspend of £46k which was an improvement on the predictions highlighted at Q2.
• Rents and service charges and the reduction in void properties had helped to reduce the overspend.
• Some savings had been made due to vacancies.
• They were still seeing a high cost of labour and materials which would impact the budget.
• The increase in utilities had impacted independent living schemes and shared spaces such as in blocks of flats. This had been addressed in the budget for 2023/24.

In response to Councillor Turner, the Accountancy Manager confirmed that she would respond outside the meeting to provide further information regarding the slippage on the Stratford Park Lido.

Councillor Stephen Davies asked if there was anything more that could be done to reduce the number of vacancies, in particular for key posts such as the Neighbourhood Wardens. The Accountancy Manager confirmed that the HR team were working on recruitment and that some of the vacancies were due to natural turnover. The Strategic Director of Resources confirmed that they would be looking at the length of notice periods for certain posts and that a new member of the HR team was helping specifically with the council’s recruitment. He confirmed that they would continue to look at ways to make sure that vacancy savings didn’t turn into service impacts.

The Chair, Councillor Braun, asked for additional information regarding the budget for temporary accommodation. The Accountancy Manager confirmed that they had received additional grant income and were now expecting an underspend. She advised that the budget had been significantly increased a few years ago with the intention of lowering it over coming years. She also advised that some of the Councils housing stock had been used as temporary accommodation which had helped to reduce costs and meant nicer living conditions for residents who required temporary accommodation.

Proposed by Councillor Turner and seconded by Councillor Ross.

Councillor Pearson raised concerns regarding the timing of the quarterly budget reports and questioned how Members would be informed quickly enough should there be any major problems. Councillor Braun stated that there was a difference between Members oversight and the day-to-day management, which was carried out by Officers, she also confirmed that the administration had regular meetings with Officers and would be able to alert members to any serious issues.

Councillor Ross and Turner commended the Accountancy Manager for the report.

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