Purpose

 
Reason for the decision
 
Given the
Council’s financial position, Cabinet now receives a monthly
monitoring report setting out the latest forecast and actions being
taken to balance the budget by the end of the financial
year.  Adjustments to the capital
budgets require approval from Cabinet.
 
Background – Provide brief additional context
 
The report on the
Council’s financial position as at the end of December 2023
will be reported to Cabinet on 21 March 2024 which shows a forecast
overspend of £30.0m before management action.  The forecast overspend presents a significant risk
to the Council’s financial sustainability.  The report identifies management action to help
reduce the budget gap for 2024-25 and the MTFP.
 
Options (other options considered but discarded)

 
The finance monitoring
report could continue to be provided quarterly but it is critical
that the financial position is considered more regularly to ensure
the decisions needing Cabinet approval to balance the budget can be
taken as quickly as possible.
 
How the proposed decision supports the

Framing Kent's Future - Our
Council Strategy 2022-2026
 
Framing Kent’s
Future (FKF), the KCC Strategic Statement, was approved at County
Council in May 2022 and sets out the council’s ambition and
strategic priorities until 2026. FKF acknowledged the significant
financial and demand pressures the council would be facing over the
coming four years, whilst concurrently delivering an ambitious
agenda for Kent residents, businesses, and local communities. The
Securing Kent's Future plans and this related Finance Monitoring
report 2023-24 reflects the need to confirm a re-prioritisation of
Council business within the framework of Framing Kent's Future -
further details are set out within the “Securing Kent's
Future” Cabinet report.
 
How
the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s
Future
Securing Kent’s
Future (SKF) acknowledges that given the significance of adults and
children’s social care within the council’s budget, and
that spending growth pressures on the council’s budget
overwhelming (but not exclusively) come from social care, that the
priority of delivering New Models of Care and Support must take
precedence over the other priorities in Framing Kent’s
Future.  This creates an expectation
that council services across all directorates must collectively
prioritise delivering the new models of care and support objective
as a collective enterprise.
The Finance Monitoring
report for 2023-24 provides the detail of the latest financial
position and the relevant information on the progress being made in
terms of the savings and management actions to reduce the budget
gap for 2024-25 and the MTFP.
 

Decision

The Cabinet agree
to:
 

a)   
note the capital and revenue budget position; and

b)   
approve required budget adjustments (Capital budget adjustments as
per Section 14)