Purpose

This report provides the
Council’s financial performance as at Period 5 (August 2025)
for the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and the Capital
Programme. The report forms part of the Council’s financial
management process for publicly reporting financial performance and
supports the Executive Mayor’s Business Plan 2022-2026
objective one “The council balances its books, listens to
residents and delivers good sustainable services”.

Content

For the reasons set out in the
report, the Executive Mayor and Cabinet AGREED:
 
2.1 to note the General Fund
revenue budget outturn is forecast at Period 5 to underspend at
financial year end by £22.6m, contributing to the target as
required by the Stabilisation Plan. This would reduce the necessary
level of capitalisation directions from £136m to
£113.4m.
 
2.2 to note that service
directorates have been asked to reduce their net expenditure below
their budgets so that the annual budget can be balanced with
reduced use of capitalisation directions, including achievement of
the £27.3m Stabilisation Plan target as set out from
paragraph 5.15. It should not be underestimated what a challenge
this will be against the background of increased demand pressures
which are continuing to build across local government as well as
increased market prices.
 
2.3 to note the unfunded local
government cost pressures that exist nationally, regionally and
locally relating to increases in demand and market prices which
need to be addressed by Government changes to policy and/or funding
levels.
 
2.4 to note the progress in
Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) savings achievement of
£21.7m (86.2%) against the total savings target of
£25.1m as set out in paragraph 5.106.
 
2.5 to note the Housing Revenue
Account (HRA) revenue budget forecast outturn is a breakeven
position.
 
2.6 to note the General Fund
capital programme 2025-26 forecast underspend of £36.8m
(13.4%) against the revised budget of £275.9m. The expected
decrease in capitalisation direction usage owing to the
Stabilisation Plan accounts for £27.3m of the forecast
underspend, however, only £23.2m of this has been evidenced
to date at Period 5.
 
2.7 to note the HRA capital
programme 2025-26 forecast underspend of £22.5m (18.6%)
against the capital budget of £120.5m.
 
2.8 to note the Council’s
historic borrowing and subsequent debt burden and national,
regional and local service pressures continue to be critical to the
non sustainability of the
Council’s revenue budget as set out from para
5.127.
 
2.9 to note that the Council
continues to operate Spend Control Panels, and tightened the
criteria from July 2024, to ensure that stringent financial control
and assurance oversight are maintained.
 
2.10 to note that current
forecasts are based on the best available information at the time
and will be subject to review and change during the financial
year.