Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

To receive any declarations of interest.

To receive the notes of the last meeting.

Documents:

·         Notes of the last meeting – 8 October 2021

Outcome:

·         The notes were received

To consider the report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance.

Documents:

·         Report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance

Discussion:

·         The year end forecast is currently predicted to be £30K overspend

·         The appendices detail the position within each service with Heads of Service providing a narrative to explain the position within their areas

·         Although the overall position is almost balanced, some services are projecting overspends and the Head of Finance has stressed the need for virements to be requested to address individual service positions

·         Of £13.3M cost reductions approved in the budget, 45% have been delivered and a further 33% are assured of delivery.  This leaves 22%, or £2.9M at risk and was of considerable concern to the Panel.

·         The Panel were of the opinion that there was too much reliance on grants and other funding being awarded late in the year.  This should be justified against the original budgets for clarity.

·         The Welsh Government Hardship Fund will be in place until the end of the financial year but will not be continuing after that date.  Any additional pressures will need to be considered within the usual budget planning process.

·         £3.7M has been accessed through the fund which includes £1.5M for top up for adult care providers.

·         Lost income of £500K has also been recouped with Q2 claim being submitted imminently

·         Some further funding has been received through the furlough scheme, but the Authority must now review the position for those staff who are unable to return to work

·         The Head of Finance was asked to reconcile the figures for reserves which differed between the report and the final statement of accounts recently approved by Governance and Audit Committee.  This could be due to different recording methods between the formal statement and management accounts.  The Head of Service agreed to provide more detail after the meeting.

·         Grants are received throughout the year with some having specific terms and conditions which may incur additional expenditure

·         It was noted that both Adults and Children’s Services were projecting year end overspends and the Panel sought clarity on whether this included grants.  The Head of Finance indicated that this would depend on the grant.  The Panel asked that there was greater clarity regarding the original budget and performance against it.

·         21 Century Schools funding would be reported through Capital rather than the revenue budget

·         Grants had been received late in the previous financial year which had improved the outturn position.  This highlights the issue of base budgeting and the Panel believed further narrative should be included to emphasise that these funds would not be available going forward. The Head of Finance reported that this detail was included in the outturn report and would be too lengthy for the current report.

·         The Authority remains in an under-borrowed position

·         The Chair of the Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee questioned whether the next phase of 21 Century Schools had been included within the MTFS modelling and whether proposals that have been considered by Cabinet for significant new builds have been included.  The capital budget was being considered alongside  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider the report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance

Documents:

·         Report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance

Discussion:

·         Some reprofiling is taking place

·         Actual spend is £25.48M which is 24% of the budget

·         Committed expenditure was significant, and this figure will increase.  There is no longer a need to complete projects within a financial year unless there are specific grant funding conditions

·         Revenue expenditure covering borrowing is £18.16M or 4.4%

·         There is over provision on the MRP of £2.7M enabling earlier repayment of debt

·         Capital receipts – sales agreed and forecast to be on track.  Some will be retained in case of slippage

·         Integrated Business Plans will identify the capital requirement and this is being worked on.

·         The Panel questioned whether there was risk to capital costings with the increase in material costs.  Some contracts are in place and prices are fixed but there is inevitably a risk to those contractors and their suppliers.

Outcomes:

·         The report was noted