Content

Cabinet RESOLVED
to:
 
2.1     to note the
General Fund revenue budget provisional outturn breakeven position,
after the budgeted utilisation of £63m capitalisation
directions requested from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and
Local Government (MHCLG).  The risk
contingency budget of £5m was not required to be utilised for
the Council’s overall financial position and has, therefore,
been used together with the service and corporate underspends to
increase the Council’s Business Risk Reserve by £10.1m
given the financial challenges currently facing local
government.
 
2.2     to note that
the provisional outturn is the position prior to final accounting
adjustments (e.g. capital accounting/revaluation/receipts and any
impact from potential changes in prior years’ accounts which
are still to be audited (e.g. debt calculations) and the external
audit of the 2023-24 accounts.
 
2.3     to note that
the significant level of 2024-25 savings (£23.731m), agreed
by Full Council in March 2024, include reduction in budgets that
are delivering underspends in 2023-24 and will, therefore, not be
recurrent underspends in 2024-25.
 
2.4     to note the
provisional outturn Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) savings
achievement of £33.2m (91.9%) against the total savings
target of £36.1m as set out in paragraph 4.93.
 
2.5     to note the
provisional outturn expenditure on the Council’s
Transformation Programme as set out from paragraph 4.89.
 
2.6     to note the
Housing Revenue Account (HRA) revenue budget provisional outturn
overspend of £9.9m.
 
2.7     to note the
General Fund capital programme 2023-24 provisional outturn
underspend of £29.0m against the capital budget of
£124.0m.
 
2.8     to note the
HRA capital programme 2023-24 provisional outturn underspend of
£3.5m against the capital budget of £39.2m.
 
2.9     to note the
Council’s historic borrowing and subsequent debt burden
continues to be critical to the non-sustainability of the
Council’s revenue budget. 
Dialogue with MHCLG continues.  The
Council submitted a Financial Sustainability Plan on 22 May 2024
providing options of further financial support from Government
in regard to its level of structural
indebtedness to ensure it can deliver sustainable Local Government
services.
 
2.10   to note that the Council
continues to operate Spend Control Panels to ensure that tight
financial control and assurance oversight are
maintained.