Agenda item

To provide an overview of the Council’s financial position against the budget, as at the end of December 2022, and to update the long term forecast.

Decision:

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

 

(a)    notes the Council’s in-year financial position at the end of December 2022 along with the updated financial forecast;

 

(b)    approves the proposed in-year adjustments to the budget, as set out in Appendix H to the Portfolio Holder’s report;

 

(c)    accepts the £19.960m awarded to the Council following a successful bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Grant Fund Scheme, and authorises the Section 151 Officer to sign the associated Memorandum of Understanding, in consultation with the Corporate Director (Place & Economy) and the Portfolio Holder for Business and Economic Growth;

 

(d)    subject to c) above, agrees the use of up to £0.250m from the existing Levelling Up Fund Budget of £2.291m to support the development of the scheme for Clacton and authorises the Corporate Director (Place & Economy), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Business and Economic Growth to agree any associated expenditure;

 

(e)    requests Officers to seek on-going assurances from the North Essex Parking Partnership Lead Authority on how they are managing the emerging financial risks of the partnership, with updates to be provided to Management Team and Members accordingly, along with their inclusion within quarterly financial performance reports during 2023/24;

 

(f)     notes the revised arrangements relating to the £0.750m of grant funding from the Council’s Local Health Partners, as set out within the Portfolio Holder’s report with the schemes now being delivered as part of wider joint partnership arrangements rather than directly by the Council;

 

(g)    agrees to the acceptance of grant funding from the Council’s Local Health Partners of £0.200m and that the authorisation of associated expenditure from that funding is delegated to the Assistant Director (Partnerships), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships; 

 

(h)    agrees to the establishment of a King’s Coronation Members’ Small Grant Scheme with £200 being made available to each Member and requests the Section 151 Officer to undertake the necessary steps to implement the scheme including the provision of the necessary information / guidance to enable Members to access this funding as soon as possible; and

 

(i)     requests that the Resources and Service Overview and Scrutiny Committee be consulted on the latest financial position of the Council.

 

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder (A.3), which provided it with an overview of the Council’s financial position against the budget, as at the end of December 2022, and which also updated the long term forecast. The report was therefore split over two distinct sections namely:-

 

·      The Council’s in-year financial position against the budget at the end of December 2022; and the

·      Development of the long term financial forecast.

 

In respect of the in-year financial position at the end of December 2022:

 

It was reported that the position to the end of December 2022, as set out in more detail within the appendices, showed that, overall, the General Fund Net Revenue expenditure was marginally ahead of the budget by £0.010m. It was acknowledged that expenditure or income trends could still develop / emerge over the last quarter of the year.

 

In respect of other areas of the budget such as the Housing Revenue Account, capital programme, collection performance and treasury activity, apart from additional details set out within the report, there were no other major issues that had been identified to date.

 

Members were reassured that any emerging issues would be monitored and updates provided as part of the financial outturn report for the year that was planned to be presented to Cabinet in July 2023.

 

Cabinet was informed that, although the budget had been adjusted as part of earlier financial performance reports, a number of necessary and additional changes had been identified which were set out in Appendix H,with an associated recommendation also included within the Portfolio Holder’s report.

Members were advised that the net impact of the budget adjustments would be moved to, or from, the Forecast Risk Fund. At the end of the third quarter, it had been possible to make a contribution to the fund of £0.309m,which supported the requirement set out in the long term forecast of identifying in-year savings each year, where possible.

 

Cabinet was made aware that the report also highlighted further emerging issues such as the financial risks associated with being a member of the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) and the development of the Levelling Up Grant Fund Scheme, with appropriate recommendations included within the Portfolio Holder’s report.

 

Cabinet noted that the aforesaid recommendations also reflected the establishment of the Members’ Small Grant Scheme associated with His Majesty the King’s Coronation and changes to external funding receivable from the Council’s Health Partners.

 

In respect of the updated long term financial forecast:

 

As set out in the report to Full Council on 14 February 2023 when the Budget for 2023/24 had been set, although it had been possible to reduce the deficit when compared with the position reported to Cabinet on 27 January 2023, that deficit remained significant against the context of the Council’s overall net budget. However, along with the forecast risk fund, the forecast / budget agreed by Full Council on 14 February 2023 did provide flexibility in terms of developing the required framework in which to identify the necessary savings to support an on-going financially sustainable position over the next few years.

 

Therefore, the identification of on-going savings remained as an important element of the long-term financial plan looking ahead to 2024/25 and beyond.

 

Cabinet was reminded that it was important to continue to deliver against the longer-term approach to the budget as it continued to provide a credible alternative to the more traditional short-term approach, which would require significant additional savings to be identified much earlier in the financial cycle.

 

In order to set out the latest financial position for the Council and in order to respond to emerging issues in 2022/23 whilst providing an update to the long term forecast:-

 

It was moved by Councillor G V Guglielmi, seconded by Councillor Stock OBE and:-

 

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

 

(a)    notes the Council’s in-year financial position at the end of December 2022 along with the updated financial forecast;

 

(b)    approves the proposed in-year adjustments to the budget, as set out in Appendix H to the Portfolio Holder’s report;

 

(c)    accepts the £19.960m awarded to the Council following a successful bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Grant Fund Scheme, and authorises the Section 151 Officer to sign the associated Memorandum of Understanding, in consultation with the Corporate Director (Place & Economy) and the Portfolio Holder for Business and Economic Growth;

 

(d)    subject to c) above, agrees the use of up to £0.250m from the existing Levelling Up Fund Budget of £2.291m to support the development of the scheme for Clacton and authorises the Corporate Director (Place & Economy), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Business and Economic Growth to agree any associated expenditure;

 

(e)    requests Officers to seek on-going assurances from the North Essex Parking Partnership Lead Authority on how they are managing the emerging financial risks of the partnership, with updates to be provided to Management Team and Members accordingly, along with their inclusion within quarterly financial performance reports during 2023/24;

 

(f)     notes the revised arrangements relating to the £0.750m of grant funding from the Council’s Local Health Partners, as set out within the Portfolio Holder’s report with the schemes now being delivered as part of wider joint partnership arrangements rather than directly by the Council;

 

(g)    agrees to the acceptance of grant funding from the Council’s Local Health Partners of £0.200m and that the authorisation of associated expenditure from that funding is delegated to the Assistant Director (Partnerships), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships; 

 

(h)    agrees to the establishment of a King’s Coronation Members’ Small Grant Scheme with £200 being made available to each Member and requests the Section 151 Officer to undertake the necessary steps to implement the scheme including the provision of the necessary information / guidance to enable Members to access this funding as soon as possible; and

 

(i)     requests that the Resources and Service Overview and Scrutiny Committee be consulted on the latest financial position of the Council.

 

Supporting documents: