Agenda item

Financial Monitoring Report

To receive an update on the year-end forecast for the 2019/20 County Council’s Revenue and Capital Budgets.

Decision:

Cllr Lynden Stowe, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, gave an update on the year end forecast for the 2019/20 County Council’s Revenue and Capital Budgets.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to

1. Note the forecast revenue year end position as at the end of August 2019 for the 2019/20 financial year of a net £4.490 million overspend against the revenue budget of £429.661 million.

2. Note the forecast capital year end position as at the end of August 2019 of £112.620 million against the budget of £126.048 million.

3. Approve the addition of £0.043 million to the Highways capital budget funded from a variety of sources as outlined in the body of the report.

4. Approve the allocation of £3.887 million from the approved carriageway resurfacing budget to schemes as outlined in the body of the report.

5. Approve the reduction of £0.191million to the Flood Alleviation capital budget as outlined in the body of the report.

Minutes:

Cllr Lynden Stowe, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, gave an update on the year end forecast for the 2019/20 County Council’s Revenue and Capital Budgets.

Reporting a forecast revenue year end position with an overspend of £4.490 million on a net budget of £429.661 million, (1.05% of the budget), Cllr Stowe referred to the explanation that had been given earlier in the meeting in response to pressures from delivering the council’s children’s services.

Cllr Stowe explained that the net budget position included a significant forecast overspend in the Children and Families Budget of £9.780 million. An efficiency plan had been put in place to reduce the forecast overspend but the target of below £5 million by the year end continued to be challenging due to the latest external placement forecast. The overall net overspend would be off set by a number of underspends, many of them one-off, identified in corporate budgets.

The Council’s Communities and Infrastructure Budgets were forecast to overspend by £0.571 million. This was largely due to Waste Budgets forecasting an overspend of £0.658 million.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service was forecasting an overspend of £0.120 million. This was mainly due to the changes to employers superannuation on Fire Pension schemes. A grant had been received but this only accounted for 90% of the costs.

The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) was forecast to overspend by £7.201 million, (including a deficit carry forward of £2.884 million). Recent funding announcements had identified (nationally) £700 million of additional funding for special needs in 2020/21. Cllr Stowe said it was unclear how this would be allocated and in what proportion would be allocated to the High Needs block where the highest cost pressures existed. He informed members that the council’s High Needs Strategy was essential to ensuring a balanced budget in future years.

Reporting on the Council’s Capital positon, Cllr Stowe reported a forecast year end position of £112.620 million. This was £13.428 million less than the current budgeted figure of £126.048 million. Cllr Stowe proposed a reduction of £0.148 million to the capital programme (detailed in the Cabinet decision report).