Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement introduced a report on the Council’s revenue budget monitoring position for the 2017/18 financial year as at 31 August 2017.

The General Fund showed a projected year-end overspend of £5.517m against the budget of £145.13m, which represented an increase of £0.15m on the position reported for the end of July 2017.  The Cabinet Member referred to the ongoing areas of overspend and the arrangements in place to monitor and mitigate the pressures. 

The report also set out the position in respect of the Housing Revenue Account, which showed a projected shortfall of £0.769m against the budgeted contribution of £39.642m to the HRA Capital Programme, and the proposed allocation of £250,000 revenue funding to Be First.  The purpose of the funding was to support essential feasibility works, site surveys, market valuations and legal and financial modelling costs in respect of five projects, in advance of Be First’s inaugural Business Plan which would be presented in due course.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the forecast outturn position for 2017/18 of the Council’s General Fund revenue budget as detailed in section 2 and Appendix A of the report;

(ii)  Note the ongoing and new financial pressures and the suggested mechanisms for resolving them, as detailed in sections 3 and 4 of the report; 

(iii)  Note the overview of the HRA for 2017/18, as detailed in section 5 and Appendix B of the report; and

(iv)  Approve the allocation of up to £250,000 for Be First to undertake essential feasibility works in advance of its full business plan, as detailed in section 6 of the report.