Agenda item

Mid-Year Review 2018/19 and Medium Term Financial Plan Update 2019/20 onwards (incorporating the Revenue and Capital Budget Update 2018/19)

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources that provided information on:-

 

(a)

the current forecast revenue outturn position for the Council for 2018/19 following the Mid-Year Review;

 

(b)

the current forecast budget gap for 2019/20 following the Mid-Year Review and the actions required to ensure a balanced budget can be set early in 2019;

 

(c)

an initial view on the potential budget gap for 2020/21 and factors that might have a significant impact on this budget gap;

 

(d)

the current forecast on Council Tax and Business Rates collection for 2018/19; and

 

(e)

the current position of the Capital Programme.

 

The report advised that In March 2017, the Council approved a three-year budget plan to March 2020. The final two years of this plan were revised in March 2018 as part of the process of setting the 2018/19 budget. As the Council was nearly half way through the second year of this budget plan it remained confident that its continued strategic approach to budget planning, alongside good financial management and extensive community engagement, meant that the plan continued to develop on solid foundations, remained flexible and would secure the future sustainability to 2020 and beyond. However, in-year demand for social care services was currently resulting in the costs for these services exceeding the budget. Corrective action would be required to bring the overall budget into balance.

 

The recommendations in the report started to provide the basis on which the budget plan would be balanced for the financial year 2019/20 and would ensure that the Council’s statutory obligations were met; and ensured that the Committee was informed of the forecast outturn position for the 2018/19 revenue and capital budgets as at the end of July 2018 and to provide an updated forecast of the outturn position with regard to the collection of Council Tax and Business Rates.

 

Members of the Committee asked questions/commented on the following issues:-

 

·         The management of risk within the budget and the rigorous monitoring of the 2018/19 budget

·         Vacancy management issues across the Council and the use of agency staff

·         The risk management structure approved by the Audit and Governance Committee and the adoption by each service area of their own risk register and the Corporate Risk Register

·         The net overspend of £6 million contained within the budget and the remedial measures required to bridge the gap

·         The potential scenario whereby the Council could not balance its budget

·         The Fair Funding Review currently being undertaken by the Government to determine the means of allocating funding across local authorities  

 

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)

the forecast deficit revenue outturn position for 2018/19 following the Mid-Year Review (including the achievement of approved Public Sector Reform savings) and the proposed actions to mitigate this deficit, be noted;

 

(2)

the forecast budget gap for 2019/20 following the Mid-Year Review and the proposed approach to identifying proposals to meet this budget gap, be noted;

 

(3)

the potential budget gap for 2020/21 and the factors that could have a significant impact on this budget gap, be noted;

 

(4)

the forecast position on the collection of Council Tax and Business Rates for 2018/19, be noted; and

 

(5)

the current progress in the delivery of the 2018/19 Capital Programme, be noted.

 

 

 

Supporting documents: