Issue - meetings
Financial Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter One
Meeting: 05/09/2024 - Cabinet (Item 33)
33 Financial Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter One 
PDF 390 KB
Purpose
This report sets of the initial budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year.
Recommendations
That Cabinet resolves to:
1. Review and notes the financial position set out in this report.
2. Agree to the recommendation in paragraph 8.3 that Cabinet continue to review in-year opportunities with Publica and Ubico to mitigate the forecast financial position.
Additional documents:
- Financial Performance Report - Q1 2024-25, item 33
PDF 194 KB
- Webcast for Financial Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter One
Decision:
The purpose of the report was to set out the initial budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year.
The Chair as Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Evemy introduced the report.
The Deputy Chief Executive and S.151 Officer also addressed the details of the report.
The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy.and seconded by Councillor Paul Hodgkinson.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Review and NOTED the financial position set out in this report.
2. AGREED to the recommendation in paragraph 8.3 that Cabinet continue to review in-year opportunities with Publica and Ubico to mitigate the forecast financial position.
Voting Record
5 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 3 Absent/Did not vote
Minutes:
The purpose of the report was to set out the initial budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year.
The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Mike Evemy, introduced the report:
· Table ES2 in Para 2.3 showed the current variances to the budget where areas like garden waste and bulky waste income were up against the budget and cemeteries and land charges were below the expected budget.
· There were some additional adverse variances for Elections which included the cost of tablets trialled in polling stations.
· The waste rezoning was noted as having some additional costs around communications and providing an extra Saturday collection.
· A provision of £148,000 was to be used for any additional costs arising from the Publica Review.
· The Capital Programme outturn forecast showed a forecasted spend of £8.7m.
· Whilst inflation had fallen, the economic environment was still quite fragile.
· The Pay Award for 2024/25 had still not been settled with the trade unions following an offer through Local Government Employers of 2.5%. However there was provision for an award up to 5% for Council and Publica staff and 6% for Ubico staff.
· Car park fee income was ahead of budget other than one week in June 2024.
The Deputy Chief Executive and S.151 Officer also addressed the details of the report:
· There was a drafting error in 8.1 which referenced a £73,000 overspend rather than £145,000 overspend which was the actual amount.
· Publica was reporting to its board a £69,000 underspend for the Council specifically which was not factored into the Council’s budget.
· On the Capital Programme, the overspend forecast for Disabled Facilities Grants would be updated through the drawdown of money from the Better Care Fund provided by Gloucestershire County Council.
Cabinet noted that the position was positive despite the many challenges that existed with local government funding especially when upper tier authorities required further funding for areas like special needs education.
The Deputy Leader referred to the commitment for a multi-year settlement for Local Government in the future which would provide stability for the sector.
The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy and seconded by Councillor Paul Hodgkinson.
Meeting: 02/09/2024 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 103)
103 Financial Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter One PDF 388 KB
Purpose
This report sets of the initial budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year.
Recommendation(s)
That Overview and Scrutiny Committee:
1. Reviews and notes the financial position set out in this report.
2. Consider and recommendations it wishes Cabinet to consider for the Cabinet meeting on 5 September 2024.
Invited
Councillor Mike Evemy, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance
David Stanley, Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report.
The purpose of the item was to set out the initial budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year.
The following material variations were set out within this as follows;
- Underachievement: Land Charges (£24k), Cemeteries (£35k)
- Additional income: Bulky Waste (£38k), Green Waste (£15k)
- Commercial Property rental income (£23k adverse variation)
- Car Park Expenditure – underspend on business rates £58k
- Elections – Overspend of £54k forecast due to expenditure with Civica on the trial of Tablets that could not be claimed through the Parliamentary Election expenses scheme.
- Bank Charges – Additional cost arising from increased volume of card and bank charges of £26k. A revised contract for debit and credit card fee processing charges would be in place later in the financial year.
- £72k additional expenditure for Communications and Customer service support for the rollout of the Waste and Recycling rezoning.
- Treasury Management and interest receivable performance (£0.125m positive variation)
- Publica Review impact (part-year) of £0.148m included as a provision.
Members discussed the report, raising the following points;
- Questions were raised regarding the £72,000 overspend for communications and customer service support for the roll-out of waste changes. The Deputy Leader explained that this was £50,000 to communicate the changes to households, £15,000 for the costs associated with an extra collection date on Saturday and £7,000 for in-cab technology. The Cabinet Member explained that the changes hadn’t been reflected in the savings, hence being an overspend.
- Costs of agency staff were discussed by the Committee, particularly as it pertained to the Publica transition. The Deputy Chief Executive stated that there was an ongoing piece of work to reconcile this position for Development Management, but that in other areas the cost was lower. The cost would be presented to the Committee once the position was known.
- The Committee asked for details on the reserve fund positions. The Deputy Chief Executive explained that this was outlined in the February Budget Council report and was in the Statement of Accounts.
- £54,000 more than was budgeted for was spent on elections activities. The Chief Executive explained that some of this had been associated with trialling new technology including introducing tablets at some polling stations to improve efficiencies, as well as needing to buy more ballot boxes due to the additional parliamentary seat in the district. He explained that the election budget had not been revised for a number of years, and while there was ongoing work to evaluate this, the figure was partially due to assumptions based on historic costs.
RESOLVED: To NOTE the update.