Issue - meetings

Financial Performance Report 2025-26 Quarter 1

Purpose

To set out the first budget monitoring position for the 2025/26 financial year.

Recommendation(s)

That Cabinet resolves to:

Review and notes the financial position set out in this report.
Endorse the approach to financial management for 2025/26 as set out in paragraph 4.8 of the report.
Endorse the principle to transfer any additional year-end surplus to the Transformation and Capacity Building earmarked reserves, as set out in paragraphs 4.10 to 4.11 of the report.
Endorse the principle to transfer 50% of any year-end Planning Fee income (over and above the budgeted level) to the Planning Appeals earmarked reserve, as set out in paragraph 4.22 of the report.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to present the first 2025/26 budget monitoring position to Cabinet and seek Cabinet’s endorsement of the proposed financial management approach and related reserve transfers.

Councillor Patrick Coleman, Cabinet Member for Finance, introduced the report.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Patrick Coleman and seconded by Councillor Mike Evemy.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

Reviewed and noted the financial position set out in the report.
Endorsed the approach to financial management for 2025/26 as set out in paragraph 4.8 of the report.
Endorsed the principle to transfer any additional year-end surplus to the Transformation and Capacity Building earmarked reserves, as set out in paragraphs 4.10 to 4.11 of the report.
Endorsed the principle of the transfer of 50% of any year-end Planning Fee income (over and above the budgeted level) to the Planning Appeals earmarked reserve, as set out in paragraph 4.22 of the report.

Voting Record:

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstentions.

Minutes:

Councillor Patrick Coleman, Cabinet Member for Finance, introduced the report and highlighted the early agreement of the July pay award, which provided certainty for staff and finance teams, the implementation of a vacancy management process, the creation of earmarked reserves for transformation and capacity building, and the establishment of a planning appeals reserve to manage financial risks from increased housing targets and speculative development applications.

Members raised the following points:

Vacancy management was recognised as an efficient process to ensure the right staff were in the right roles, while allowing for the appropriate use of agency staff where necessary, and to balance staffing requirements with budgetary savings.
A shortfall in cemetery income was noted and was under review to understand its causes.
Interest rates for funds were requested in percentage terms to improve clarity on financial performance and support effective budget management.
Income from public conveniences, following the introduction of charging at all but one site, was expected to reach the annual target of £100,000 in quarter two, with members noting previous underachievement of approximately £40,000 per year.
Surpluses above budget were to be held in earmarked reserves to support transformation initiatives, capacity building, and strategic planning.
Planning fee income and the anticipated increase in planning appeals were highlighted as requiring careful monitoring to ensure appropriate financial provision.
Replacement and upgrade of car park payment machines was noted, with installation expected in the next financial year; members highlighted the importance of modernising payment systems to improve efficiency.
Expanding parking payment options to include multiple apps was suggested to enhance visitor convenience.

The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny, Gina Blomefield, welcomed the vacancy management process, emphasising its potential to improve efficiency and ensure the right staff were deployed. She also highlighted the need for clarification of cemetery income shortfalls and requested that interest rates be reported in percentages to aid understanding.

Action Deputy Chief Executive to ensure that percentage interest rates were made available.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Patrick Coleman and seconded by Councillor Mike Evemy.

The proposal was put to the vote and agreed by Cabinet

Voting Record:

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstentions.

Meeting: 01/09/2025 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 222)

Webcast for 01/09/2025 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee

222 Financial Performance Report 2025-26 Quarter 1 PDF 925 KB

Purpose

A report setting out the first budget monitoring position for the 2025/26 financial year.

Recommendation

That the Committee scrutinises the report and agrees any recommendations it wishes to submit to Cabinet on 4 September 2025.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to set out the first budget monitoring position for the 2025/26 financial year.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Patrick Coleman, and the Deputy Chief Executive, David Stanley introduced the report. They raised the following points:

· Cabinet would consider four recommendations, including reviewing and noting Q1 financial performance, which forecasted a £734,000 surplus. Key variations included delayed commercial property rental income (£61,000 adverse), higher development management fees (£249,000 positive), and Treasury management income.

· Risks flagged included the street services review savings and potential variability in development management fees; 50% of additional planning fee income would be set aside to mitigate appeal risks.

· Recommendations 2–4 sought Cabinet endorsement of the budget management approach, strengthened vacancy oversight, and preparing for future financial challenges including local government reorganisation.

· A correction to paragraph 4.36 noted one further interest rate cut was expected in 2025 (to 3.75%), with some risk of delay due to inflation and the energy price cap.

In questioning and discussion, the following points were noted:

· Treasury management income was higher than the budget forecast due to a cautious approach when setting the budget, anticipating interest rate reductions and limited investable cash; first-quarter performance reflected this prudence, with some short-term investments performing differently than expected, and a detailed review of individual funds would be provided.

· Interest rates on investments varied: Bank of England 5%, money market funds slightly lower, and pooled funds 3.5–4%. Prudential borrowing costs currently ranged from 4.5–6.3% depending on term, and borrowing strategies were tailored to the asset’s lifespan, costs, and the capital programme, which included provision for the waste and recycling fleet.

· Heads of service were expected to take action on identified budget variations, with performance management in place to monitor this. Where change was not possible, directors were expected to identify alternative ways to manage the variation.

· The cemeteries service was underperforming last year due to lower demand and historical under-recovery of costs. Fees were reviewed and increased to align with neighbouring authorities. The bereavement manager was reviewing service costs, while comparative data for local crematoria would be provided to the Committee.

· The contract lawyer post remained vacant and was not expected to be filled. The reason and the impact on shared services across the three councils would be shared at a future meeting.

· The financial modelling of public conveniences considered contract, maintenance, and utility costs, but did not assign a value to individual usage. Closing facilities was not expected to significantly reduce usage.

· Town and parish councils were consulted on taking over public conveniences. One council had expressed interest in taking on a facility, while others had been notified that charging has been implemented across facilities. Discussions with interested councils were ongoing.

· The APSE street cleaning review had identified ways to deliver the service more efficiently. Savings may not be fully realised this year, but changes would focus on optimising service delivery rather than reducing quality. Cabinet would consider recommendations and service specifications before taking decisions.

· The APSES review highlighted ... view the full minutes text for item 222

Issue - meetings

Financial Performance Report 2025-26 Quarter 1

Meeting: 04/09/2025 - Cabinet (Item 131)

Meeting: 01/09/2025 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 222)

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