This report sets out the projected Revenue and Capital outturn positions for 2023/24 for the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Accounts as at the end of Quarter 3 as well as the performance against the measures of success set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan.

The Committee received a report setting out the projected revenue and capital outturn positions for 2023/24 for both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account as at the end of Quarter 3 (December 2023), as well as performance against the measures of success published in the Council’s Corporate Plan.  The following documents were attached to the report:

·         Appendix 1 - Recovery Plan Quarter 3 (2023/24)

·         Appendix 2 - Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) Budget Monitoring Report Quarter 3 (2023/24)

·         Appendix 3 - Savings Tracker Quarter 3 (2023/24)

·         Appendix 4a - Capital Programme Quarter 3 (2023/24)

·         Appendix 4b - Capital Programme Quarter 3 (2023/24 to 2025/26)

·         Appendix 5 - Corporate Plan Performance Measures (Monthly & Quarterly) Quarter 3 (2023/24)

·         Appendix 6 - Corporate Plan Projects and Initiatives Quarter 3 (2023/24)

The report explained that the General Fund Revenue Budget was forecasting an overall adverse net variance of £5.117m as at the end of Quarter 3, consisting of £12.741m of net pressures within service expenditure budgets which was partially offset by a positive net variance of £7.624m across Corporate Budgets. The overall forecast variance was an adverse net movement of £1.432m from Quarter 2.  This included £1.889m of additional recovery plan mitigations that had been identified or delivered since Quarter 2. £1.889m of newly identified recovery plan mitigations were set out individually in Appendix 1.

The report noted that Children’s Services delivered by Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) was now forecasting an overall adverse net variance of £8.869m; an increase of £1.850m from Quarter 2. The majority of the movement from Quarter 2 related to increased pressures within children’s social care placements, which included a net increase of 22 in the number of Looked After Children. Detail was set out in Appendix 2.

Non-delivery of savings continued to be a concern with only 46% of savings currently showing as on track or delivered.  The impact of the 2024/25 budget proposals had removed, reduced or re-profiled £2.792m of the £3.067m of red rated savings. The Savings Tracker which listed progress against each individual saving was attached as Appendix 3.

The report explained that the provisional General Fund Capital Programme outturn was forecasting a positive net variance of £1.407m against a proposed revised budget of £50.129m in 2023/24. This variance entirely related to the Delivery Fund. The Capital Programme was set out in more detail in Appendices 4a and 4b.  The report sought approval for a total of £1.460m of additional budgets across five schemes, that were fully funded by grants and contributions, to be formally added into the Capital Programme: £0.866m for the Electric Vehicle Charging Points scheme following the award of Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) capital funding, £0.350m for playground works in Emmer Green as part of the Playground equipment and Refreshment: Boroughwide scheme, £0.178m for capital expenditure directly incurred by schools and funded by devolved formula capital grant funding, £0.040m for additional works to improve the boundary security as part of the Victoria Rec scheme, and £0.026m for the final works for the New Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funded schools – Phoenix College replacement scheme.  In addition a net total of £18.421m of budgets were proposed to be reprogrammed between 2023/24 and future years of the Capital Programme

The approved Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget assumed a drawdown from HRA reserves of £2.499m.  At Quarter 3, the forecast revenue outturn position for the HRA was a positive net variance of £0.030m. Therefore, a drawdown from HRA Reserves was forecast of £2.469m rather than the originally budgeted £2.499m.  The HRA Capital Programme was forecasting to spend to budget against the approved budget of £33.564m in 2023/24. The HRA Capital Programme was set out in detail in Appendices 4a and 4b.  The HRA Capital Programme budgets for 2024/25 and 2025/26 had been updated to align them with the budgets approved by Council and approval was sought for the amended budgets.

The report also set out performance against the measures of success published in the Council’s Corporate Plan.  Of the 26 Corporate Plan Performance Measures monitored monthly or quarterly, 38% were currently “green”, 31% “amber” and 31% “red”. 54% had improved since Quarter 2 of 2023/24, whilst 38% had worsened.  Of the 47 Corporate Plan Projects, 66% were currently “green” and 34% “amber”.

Resolved –

(1)             That it be noted that:

a)    the forecast General Fund revenue outturn position for Quarter 3 was an adverse net variance of £5.117m which was an adverse net movement of £1.432m from Quarter 2;

b)   £1.392m (17%) of savings had been delivered (blue) to date in the current financial year, with a further £2.368m (29%) of savings on track to be delivered (green) by March 2024; £3.067m (38%) of savings were currently categorised as non-deliverable (red) and £1.291m (16%) categorised as at risk of delivery (amber);

c)    the General Fund Capital Programme was forecasting a positive net variance of £1.407m against the proposed revised budget of £50.129m;

d)   there was a total £4.790m Delivery Fund available for 2023/24 (inclusive of 2022/23 approved carry forwards) of which £0.195m had been brought forward from 2024/25; at Quarter 3, all of this funding had been allocated out to approved schemes;

e)    the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was projecting a positive net variance of £0.030m as at the end of Quarter 3, which resulted in a forecast drawdown from HRA Reserves of £2.469m;

f)     the HRA Capital Programme was forecasting to spend to budget against the approved budget of £33.564m;

g)   performance achieved against the Corporate Plan success measures was as set out in Section 12 of this report and Appendices 5 and 6;

(2)       That the proposed amendments to the General Fund Capital Programme (as set out in Section 8 of the report and Appendices 4a and 4b), which would result in a revised Capital Programme budget of £50.129m for 2023/24, £108.809m for 2024/25 and £53.576 for 2025/26, be approved;

(3)       That the proposed amendments to the HRA Capital Programme (as set out in the report and Appendices 4a and 4b), which would result in a revised Capital Programme budget of £33.564m for 2023/24, £47.985m for 2024/25 and £54.370 for 2025/26, be approved.