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RESOLVED that Cabinet -
 

(a)     notes the Council’s
in-year financial position at the end of December 2023 along with
the latest financial update / forecast;

 

(b)     approves the proposed
adjustments to the 2023/24 budget, as set out in Section 1 and 2 of
Appendix H;

 

(c)     approves the proposed
adjustments to the 2024/25 budget, as set out in Section 3 of
Appendix H;

 

(d)     subject to b) and
c) above, requests Officers to review any potential longer term /
on-going impact of the items set out in Appendix H, as part of
developing the forecast for further consideration by Cabinet later
in the year;

 

(e)     requests an
update on the two carry forward items set out in this report, that
were previously requested by Cabinet at its 10 November 2023
meeting, for inclusion in the Outturn Report for 2023/24;

 

(f)      subject to
(b) above, agrees an exemption from the Council’s Procurement
Rules in order to enable BDO to be engaged to undertake the
necessary audit work relating to the Housing Benefit Subsidy
Certification process for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 and approves
their appointment;

 

(g)     notes the funding
made available via the second round of Sport England’s
Swimming Pool Support Fund and:-
 

(i)   accepts the funding of
£0.136m awarded to the Council along with noting the terms of
the associated grant agreement that requests the Council to operate
the facility for a period of three years from the date of the
agreement unless otherwise agreed by Sport England;

 

(ii)   agrees that the approval of
the necessary governance arrangements be delegated to the Corporate
Director (Place and Economy), in consultation with the Leader of
the Council and the Council’s Monitoring Officer and Section
151 Officer, and that such arrangements aim to protect the Council
as far as reasonably possible within the context of the
responsibilities the Council may have in administering the grant
funding along with any transfers of money to the independently
operated Brightlingsea Lido;
 

(h)     subject to (c)
above, agrees a delegation to the Corporate Director (Operations
and Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for the
Environment to utilise the additional proposed budget of
£0.100m to support the work associated with the options
appraisal / tender activities for the Waste and Street Cleansing
Contract;  

 

(i)      agrees a
delegation to the Corporate Director (Place and Economy), in
consultation with the Council’s Section 151 Officer, to
determine the mix of funding (from the Council’s own approved
contribution and the money made available by the Government) to
support both the LUF Scheme in Clacton and the CRP Scheme in
Dovercourt, within financial parameters
previously agreed and until the next significant project milestones
are reported to Cabinet; and  

 

(j)     
invites the views of the Resources and
Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the information set out
in this report along with the Council’s wider financial
position as part of its work programme for the year.