The Cabinet Member for Finance presented a report on the Council’s revenue and capital budget position for the 2012/13 financial year as at 31 December 2012.
The General Fund position had continued to improve and was now projected to achieve an end of year under spend of £1.7m, which would result in the General Fund balance increasing to £16m. The Cabinet Member advised that while that represented a significant improvement on the Council’s reserve position of only a couple of years ago it was important to maintain such a level in view of the uncertain future for local authority finances, particularly in view of the risks associated with the Government’s benefit reforms.
The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) showed an improvement on the previous month’s position, with a projected year-end surplus of £200,000, although it was noted that there continued to be a number of pressure areas within the overall budget.
The Cabinet Member further advised that the Capital Programme forecast reflected further slippage on the position reported at the last meeting, with a projected variance of £48.7m against the total budget of £148.274m.
Cabinet agreed:
(i) To note the projected outturn position for 2012/13 of the Council’s revenue budget at 31 December 2012, as detailed in paragraphs 2.3 to 2.11 and Appendix A of the report;
(ii) To note the progress against the 2012/13 savings targets at 31 December 2012, as detailed in paragraph 2.12 and Appendix B of the report;
(iii) To note the position for the HRA at 31 December 2012, as detailed in paragraph 2.13 and Appendix C of the report; and
(iv) To note the projected outturn position for 2012/13 of the Council’s capital budget at 31 December 2012, as detailed in paragraph 2.14 and Appendices D and E of the report.