Purpose

This report estimates the Council’s year end position based on information over the period 1st April 2023 to 30th September 2023.

Decision

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet note the following:

a.     That at the end of Quarter 2 (30 September 2023), the current expected level of savings delivery is £38.0m

b.     That savings not yet confirmed, and so under further review to assess deliverability, amount to £13.4m.

c.     That demand-led services are forecasting significant budget pressures of £22.2m in the year, which are likely to continue into the coming year.

d.     The result of A-C above with no further actions is a forecast overall overspend of £32.393m.

e.     That it is assumed for planning purposes that

•  90% of the total savings will be delivered (so £8.2m further delivery expected) and

•  short-term funding will be identified to enable sustainable demand management approaches to be implemented in social care services (total: £20.5m), with necessary plans prepared to enable this.

f.      The resulting forecast at quarter 2 is therefore a likely overall overspend of £3.6m once key management actions, set out above, are implemented. This will leave the General Fund balance at £23.4m, within the target range of £15m- £30m.