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Financial Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter Three

 

 

Meeting: 03/04/2025 - Cabinet (Item 89)

89 Financial Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter Three pdf icon PDF 825 KB

Purpose

This report sets out the third 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.     Approve the transfer of the improved surplus (£0.435m) to the Financial Resilience Reserves, as set out in Paragraph 4.7 of the report.

3.     Approve the revised Capital Programme of £7.550m including additional expenditure of £0.238m on Disabled Facilities following the allocation of additional Disabled Facilities Grant funding provided by Gloucestershire County Council. (para 2.10).

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to update Cabinet on the third budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year and to seek approval for the principle of the transfer of the improved surplus (£0.435m) to the Financial Resilience Reserves, as set out in Paragraph 4.7 of the report. Approval was also sought for the revised Capital Programme of £7.550m including additional expenditure of £0.238m on Disabled Facilities Grants following the allocation of additional Disabled Facilities Grant funding provided by Gloucestershire County Council.

 

Councillor Mick Evemy, Deputy Leader of the Council and Member for Finance and Transformation, introduced the item.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy and seconded by Councillor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council.

 

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

  1. Noted the financial position set out in the Q3 Financial performance report 2024/25.
  2. Approved the principle to transfer of the improved surplus (£0.435m) to the Financial Resilience Reserves, as set out in Paragraph 4.7 of the report.
  3. Approved the revised Capital Programme of £7.550m including additional expenditure of £0.238m on Disabled Facilities Grants following the allocation of additional Disabled Facilities Grant funding provided by Gloucestershire County Council.

 

Voting record: For 5, Against 0, Abstain 0.

 

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to update Cabinet on the third quarterly budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year and to seek approval for the principle of the transfer of the improved surplus (£0.435m) to the Financial Resilience Reserves, as set out in Paragraph 4.7 of the report to help address ongoing budgetary pressures.

Approval was also sought for the revised Capital Programme of £7.550m including additional expenditure of £0.238m on Disabled Facilities Grants following the allocation of additional Disabled Facilities Grant funding provided by Gloucestershire County Council.

Councillor Mike Evemy, Deputy Leader of the Council and Member for Finance and Transformation, introduced the item.

The Quarter Three report covered the period from October to December 2024, and highlighted a positive improvement in the financial outturn forecast. The Executive Summary in Section 2 drew attention to a projected year-end surplus of £435,000, which was an increase from previous forecasts. 

The second part of the report addressed the capital outturn. The forecasted outturn was shown to be closely aligned with the latest approved figures, indicating strong budgetary control.

A notable positive variance was the increase of £238,000 for Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs). This increase followed an additional allocation from Gloucestershire County Council.

David Stanley, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, was invited to speak and noted that Section 3 of the report was slightly outdated due to recent inflation figures showing a 0.2% improvement over projections.  However, this would not affect the 2024/25 financial year. Potential external risks, such as new US tariffs, were also referenced.

It was noted that the report had already been reviewed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, where a number of questions had been raised and discussed.

The recent tariffs announced by President Trump were considered as was the possibility that they would lead to higher-than-expected inflation and interest rates.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer responded with the following key points:

  • The Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) rates had been reviewed as part of the preparation for Overview and Scrutiny, noting that borrowing costs remained high:
    • A 50-year annuity loan stood at 5.96%.
    • A 10-year loan was just over 5%, both higher than the Bank of England base rate of 4.75%.
  • The Council’s Treasury advisors, Arlingclose, forecast further 0.25% reductions in the base rate, with an expected low of 3.75% by the end of 2025.
  • Regarding inflation:
    • CPI had risen to 3%, then slightly decreased to 2.8%.
    • With April’s utility and energy cost increases, inflation was expected to rise again, possibly peaking just under 4%.
    • The US tariffs were too recent to be included in forecasts but presented additional inflationary risk for the new financial year.
  • The Council had budgeted prudently, assuming 3% pay inflation, with extra funds in contingency to manage inflation risk.
  • Due to interest rates remaining "sticky" (slow to fall), the Council had seen an improved position in Q3 Treasury Management.
  • The pay award was lower than expected, resulting in an underspend, which was adjusted in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89

Meeting: 31/03/2025 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 174)

174 Financial Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter Three pdf icon PDF 824 KB

Purpose

This report sets of the third budget monitoring position for the 2024/25 financial year.

REPORT TO FOLLOW.

 

Recommendation

That the Committee scrutinises the report and agrees any recommendations it wishes to submit to Cabinet.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation introduced the Financial Performance Report for 2024/25 Quarter Three. They raised the following points:

  • The budget tracking had shown progress since the second quarter and the shortfall had reduced to £81 000
  • The forecasted surplus for the year was £435 000.
  • Cabinet was asked to allocate the forecasted surplus to financial resilience reserves.
  • Cabinet to approve a revised Capital programme of £7.5m, including an additional £238 000 for disabled facilities grants.

The Deputy Chief Executive added the following points:

  • The overall service variations showed a change of about £91 000 from Q2. Most of this change was in non-service areas, particularly in Treasury management, which had improved due to higher-than-expected interest rates.
  • The Treasury management income was still projected prudently, with potential upside risk for an improved position towards the budgeted forecast.
  • There were no significant changes in revenue variations, income shortfalls or agency staff spend between Q3 and Q4.

Members discussed the report, raising the following points:

  • Members asked how the reduced footfall in the District’s Public Conveniences was measured, what was the evidence for this and whether it reflect reduced footfall in the locality. The Deputy Chief Executive explained that devices installed at each of the Public Conveniences supplied the data for the number of visits and not an indication of the footfall in the localities. The Deputy Chief Executive described a change in the contract that was provided for the cleaning of those facilities. Whilst there had been a reduction in the income shortfall, it was still short of the income target of around about £100k per annum.
  • Members asked if there had been any charge to the Town Council for the Chesterton by-election. The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance informed that the Chesterton had been a by-election for the Cotswold District Council and there had been no costs to Cirencester Town Council.
  • Members highlighted the £100 000 profit from the green waste collection service. Clarification was requested on whether this surplus would be banked or used in the next year, especially since the service was supposed to be cost neutral. The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation explained that the garden waste service was intended to be revenue neutral, with charges set before knowing how many people will use it. They explained that the revenue collected balanced out over time rather than accumulating a specific profit or loss fund. The Deputy Chief Executive added that there had been lower costs for garden waste collections due to the waste collection rezoning. There had also been a higher-than-expected number of subscribers to the garden waste collection service.
  • The Publica Transition had cost £1.495 million this financial year, with £726,000 being an additional annually recurring impact. Concerns were raised that this figure excluded internal costs (e.g. officer time, HR, legal costs), which could significantly increase the true cost. The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation noted the importance of distinguishing between  ...  view the full minutes text for item 174

 

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