Issue - meetings

To seek approval of the allocation of the overall 2023/24 General Fund revenue variance along with a number of proposed budget adjustments in 2024/25.

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)    notes the high level Financial Outturn Position, as set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.9) and the initial favourable General Fund Revenue variance of £1.829m for the year, which is currently held within the Revenue Commitments Reserve;

(b)    agrees the use of the General Fund Outturn for the Year of £1.829m, as set out in Appendix A (Section 1a);

(c)    endorses the use of existing budget of £0.144m to provide financial support to Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) in 2024/25, as set out within Appendix A (Section 1b);

(d)    in respect of the additional £0.259m set aside for reinvestment in the Parking Service, agrees a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm to utilise this funding during the year;

(e)    in respect of the additional £0.100m made available to support the Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Contract, 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 to support the work associated with the options appraisal / tender activities for the Waste and Street Cleansing Contract;

(f)     in respect of the additional £0.100m made available to support the Seasonal Grounds Maintenance and Cleansing Costs, agrees a delegation to the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for the Environment and the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm to utilise the additional proposed budget to support any associated work; 

(g)    in respect of the £0.150m made available to support the Walton-on-the-Naze Lifestyles Facility projects associated with the Swimming Pool Grant Funded Capital Projects, agrees a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm to determine the business case and associated allocation of this funding;

(h)    in respect of the contribution of £0.144m to CAT, agrees a delegation to the Leader of the Council, in consultation with the Assistant Director (Partnerships) and the Monitoring Officer, to extend the current Subsidy Scheme for 2024/25 (along the same principles of the decisions of Cabinet in July 2023) before any payment is made along with other associated governance arrangements ahead of 2025/26 as required;    

(i)     agrees the budget adjustments for 2024/25, as set out in Appendix A (Section 2);

(j)     agrees the establishment of a Corporate Investment Fund (CIF) along with the associated budget adjustments for 2024/25, as set out in Appendix A (Section 3), which includes the three initial allocations from this fund; 

(k)    after the further review of Carry Forwards from 2023/24 that for any items subsequently not approved the associated amount shall be transferred to the CIF;

(l)     notes the updates previously requested by Cabinet that relate to the two carry forwards from 2022/23, as set out within this report;

(m)  agrees a delegation to the Council’s Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder, to adjust the outturn position for 2023/24 along with any corresponding adjustment to earmarked reserves as a direct result of any  ...  view the full decision text for item 17.