Decision details

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)     notes the Council’s in-year financial position at the end of December 2023 along with the latest financial update / forecast;

(b)     approves the proposed adjustments to the 2023/24 budget, as set out in Section 1 and 2 of Appendix H;

(c)     approves the proposed adjustments to the 2024/25 budget, as set out in Section 3 of Appendix H;

(d)     subject to b) and c) above, requests Officers to review any potential longer term / on-going impact of the items set out in Appendix H, as part of developing the forecast for further consideration by Cabinet later in the year;

(e)     requests an update on the two carry forward items set out in this report, that were previously requested by Cabinet at its 10 November 2023 meeting, for inclusion in the Outturn Report for 2023/24;

(f)      subject to (b) above, agrees an exemption from the Council’s Procurement Rules in order to enable BDO to be engaged to undertake the necessary audit work relating to the Housing Benefit Subsidy Certification process for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 and approves their appointment;

(g)     notes the funding made available via the second round of Sport England’s Swimming Pool Support Fund and:-

(i)   accepts the funding of £0.136m awarded to the Council along with noting the terms of the associated grant agreement that requests the Council to operate the facility for a period of three years from the date of the agreement unless otherwise agreed by Sport England;

(ii)   agrees that the approval of the necessary governance arrangements be delegated to the Corporate Director (Place and Economy), in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Council’s Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer, and that such arrangements aim to protect the Council as far as reasonably possible within the context of the responsibilities the Council may have in administering the grant funding along with any transfers of money to the independently operated Brightlingsea Lido;

(h)     subject to (c) above, agrees a delegation to the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for the Environment to utilise the additional proposed budget of £0.100m to support the work associated with the options appraisal / tender activities for the Waste and Street Cleansing Contract;  

(i)      agrees a delegation to the Corporate Director (Place and Economy), in consultation with the Council’s Section 151 Officer, to determine the mix of funding (from the Council’s own approved contribution and the money made available by the Government) to support both the LUF Scheme in Clacton and the CRP Scheme in Dovercourt, within financial parameters previously agreed and until the next significant project milestones are reported to Cabinet; and  

(j)      invites the views of the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the information set out in this report along with the Council’s wider financial position as part of its work programme for the year.