Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services presented a report on the Councils revenue budget monitoring position for the 2020/21 financial year at 31 October 2020 (period 7).

The Cabinet Member advised that there were historical pressures on the Council’s budget due to the legacy of an austerity agenda for over a decade.  There were further financial pressures which included increased costs, demographic and other demand growth, savings not yet delivered and other risks, which had meant there was an underlying budget variance of £5.743m, largely in Care and Support and My Place.

In addition, as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, the lockdown, and subsequent economic impacts, the Council had experienced a high level of additional costs and pressures including loss of service income from fees and charges. This would mean an overall expenditure variance of £27.913m which was an increased estimate since last month as it incorporated some of the COVID-19 associated losses incurred by one of the Council’s subsidiary companies, BDPT.

The Cabinet Member highlighted that financial planning was becoming incredibly difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, in response to a question, advised that by using reserves prudently the Council was in a better position than many others. 

The Cabinet Member thanked colleagues and staff for their hard work in helping the Council to balance the budget as much as possible.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the projected revenue outturn forecast for the 2020/21 financial year as set out in sections 2 to 4 and Appendix A of the report and the potential impact on the reserves position as set out in section 7 of the report;

(ii)  Note the update on key savings programmes, as set out in section 5 of the report;

(iii)  Note the update on the impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown, as set out in section 6 of the report;

(iv)  Note the update on the Capital Programme, as set out in section 9 and Appendix B of the report;

(v)  Agree the following Section106 allocations, as detailed in section 10 of the report;

a)  £1.8m towards the affordable housing development at Padnall Lake

b)  £0.373m towards facilities for accommodating additional pupils at Robert Clack school (Lymington Fields)

(vi)   Approve funding of £420,000 for phase one of the Dispersed Working Programme in the current financial year, as detailed in section 11 of the report; and

(vii)  Approve the minor amendments, corrections and addenda to the Fees and Charges as set out in section 12 and Appendix C of the report.