The Finance and Procurement Select Committee of Wiltshire Council met on Wednesday 30 July 2025. The meeting was scheduled to discuss the committee's priorities and outline approach, review the financial outturn positions for revenue, capital, and treasury management for the 2024/25 financial year, and consider a member question regarding the council's debt levels.

Priorities and Outline Approach for the Committee

The committee was scheduled to consider its initial work priorities and approach, as referred to it by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee. This included reviewing the responsibilities suggested for the new committee, such as the annual budget, Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), revenue and capital budget monitoring, treasury management strategy, major contract finances, procurement and commissioning, and key budget savings and risks. The report pack outlined how these topics were scrutinised under the previous system and provided considerations for the new committee's approach. An indicative work programme for the committee's initial meetings was also presented.

The committee was also expected to consider recommendations from the Financial Year 2024-25 Budget Outturns Rapid Scrutiny Exercise. These recommendations included the continued monitoring of the Adult Social Care overspend, a more careful consideration of the capital programme process to ensure alignment with the council's corporate business plan, and the ongoing scrutiny of reserve levels.

Additionally, a member question from Cllr Kym-Marie Cleasby regarding the council's levels of debt, which had been referred by Full Council and discussed by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, was scheduled for further consideration.

The committee was asked to consider its training needs to ensure effective delivery of its remit, with a training programme to be agreed in consultation with officers.

Financial Year 2024/25 - Revenue Outturn Position

The committee was scheduled to review the Financial Year 2024/25 revenue outturn position, which had been considered by Cabinet on 24 June 2025. The report detailed the final financial performance for services, including variances against budgets. It highlighted a net overspend of £4.853 million for the financial year, a worsening of £3.104 million from the quarter three forecast. The main movements contributing to this were in Adult Services, Family & Children Services, Housing Benefits, and the funding received from the Business Rates mechanism, partially offset by increased income from Treasury Management activity. The report also detailed proposals for funding the overspend through earmarked reserves, including the Pay Award reserve, Waste reserve, Transformation reserve, and Insurance reserve.

The report provided a breakdown of the outturn position by Corporate Directorates, including significant variances in Adult Services (£12.970m overspend), Families & Children Services (£2.447m overspend), and Highways & Transport (£0.865m underspend). It also detailed the savings delivery for 2024/25, indicating that £15.631m (79.45%) of the £19.673m savings target had been fully delivered, leaving £4.042m (20.55%) not achieved.

Financial Year 2024/25 - Capital Programme Outturn

The committee was scheduled to review the Financial Year 2024/25 capital programme outturn position, also considered by Cabinet on 24 June 2025. The report detailed the year-end position of the capital programme, including movements from the original budget, scheme slippage, and how the programme was funded. The final outturn spend for the year was £177.261 million against a revised budget of £209.510 million, resulting in an underspend of £32.249 million. This underspend was largely due to changes in profiling and project progression, with £31.992 million of the budget being moved into future years.

The report provided a detailed breakdown of capital expenditure and funding sources, including grants, other contributions, S106 contributions, CIL contributions, HRA, General Fund Receipts, Right to Buy Housing Receipts, Shared Ownership Income, Contributions from Revenue, Stone Circle Capital Loan, and Borrowing. Significant capital expenditure was noted in the People Directorate (£30.741m), Resources Directorate (£22.627m), Place Directorate (£89.468m), and Housing Revenue Account (£34.425m). The report also detailed numerous budget adjustments and reprofiling of schemes between years, actioned under Chief Finance Officer delegated powers.

Treasury Management Outturn Position 2024/25

The committee was scheduled to review the Treasury Management Outturn Position for 2024/25, which had also been considered by Cabinet on 24 June 2025. The report confirmed that the Council had complied with its legislative and regulatory requirements during the year. Key prudential and treasury indicators were presented, showing the impact of capital expenditure activities. The Capital Financing Requirement (CFR), representing the Council's underlying borrowing need, was £720.277 million at the end of the year. The Council maintained an under-borrowed position, meaning its gross borrowing (£420.664m) was less than its CFR.

The report detailed the borrowing and investment activities during the year. New general fund borrowing of £24.000m was undertaken for the HRA, and two naturally maturing PWLB loans were repaid. No debt rescheduling was undertaken due to unviable repayment rates. The investment portfolio at 31 March 2025 totalled £55.682m in treasury investments and £60.525m in non-treasury investments. The report noted that the Council held £20m in the CCLA property fund, which was valued below its initial investment due to property price falls, but this unrealised loss was not charged to the revenue account due to a statutory override. The report also provided an economic background and interest rate forecast, indicating expected gradual reductions in Bank Rate.

The committee was asked to note that the contents of the report were in line with the Treasury Management Strategy 2024/25 and to recommend the report for consideration by Full Council.