Purpose

To present Cabinet with the latest detailed
financial outturn report and identify any additional financial
approvals that are required.

Content

That Cabinet noted:

·      
The General Fund forecast £6.9m adverse outturn variance
against the approved budget for 2023/24 (see Appendices A1, A2 and
A4).

·      
The performance on delivery of savings (as summarised in Appendix
A1 Section 3).

·      
The General Fund additional net risk of £0.4m against which
Executive Directors plan to mitigate in full (as summarised in
Appendix A1 Section 4).

·      
A forecast overspend of £3.2m within the HRA and that over-
or under-spends that materialise on the HRA will be funded by a
transfer from or to the HRA general reserve at the end of the
financial year.

·      
A forecast in-year deficit of £16.4m accumulating to a total
£56.1m carried forward deficit in the DSG for 2023/24.

·      
A breakeven position on Public Health services.

·      
A forecast £25.4m underspend against the revised GF and HRA
Capital Programme’s Budget (Appendix A1 Section 6).

·      
The urgent key decision taken by the council’s S151 Officer
(in consultation with the Cabinet Member for City Economy, Finance
and Performance) to accept and spend £825,416 grant funding
from the DfE to deliver Befriending to Care Leavers and Family
Finding to children in care and to procure and award contracts for
expenditure of that funding.