Agenda item

Consider report by Chief Financial Officer. (Copy attached).

With reference to paragraph 7 of the Minute of 5 September, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Chief Financial Officer providing budgetary control statements for the Council’s General Fund based on actual expenditure and income to 30 September 2017 and explanations of the major variances between projected outturn expenditure/income and the current approved budget.  The report explained that after the second quarter of 2017/18 the Council’s budget overall was projecting a balanced position at 31 March 2018 with all known pressures being managed within the Council’s overall 2017/18 revenue budget.  The Council was managing a significant number of risks and pressures in the current year including delays in the delivery of a number of savings required in the 2017/18 budget.  For this reason Corporate Management Team had agreed restrictions on discretionary budgets and the Chief Executive had written to managers regarding restrictions on discretionary spend for the remainder of 2017/18. This budgetary action aimed to mitigate any further budget pressures which might arise during the remainder of 2017/18 and maximised year end underspend opportunities to support transformational change going forward.  The approach adopted around restricting discretionary spend towards the end of the financial year had been very beneficial to the Council in previous financial years.

11.2     In the last revenue monitoring revenue report it was highlighted to Members that work was ongoing to stabilise the new Business World ERP system.  Work to enhance Business World functionality was progressing with CGI.  Since the date of the last monitoring report good progress had been made with regard to the development of the Council’s online reporting capability and budget monitoring reports were now in the process of being rolled out to budget managers.  As at 30 September 2017, 78% of the savings had been delivered within the current year.  The remaining 22% was profiled to be delivered during the remainder of 2017/18.  Emphasis during the remaining six months of 2017/18 needed to be placed on delivering as many savings as possible permanently as per the Financial Plan.  Full details of pressures, risk and challenges were detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.  Appendix 2 reflected virements required to realign budgets in line with current forecasts.  Appendix 3 reflected earmarking of £1m which had been transferred to Allocated Balances to support the 2018/19 Financial Plan. 

11.3     In response to a question regarding the classification of discretionary spend; Mrs Douglas advised that this was spend which was not essential for managers to run their service.   With regard to the anticipated savings relating to Digital Transformation, Mrs Douglas explained that savings related to Business World would take longer to achieve than originally anticipated but would be delivered.   Mr Dickson confirmed that CGI outcomes were being carefully monitored.  

DECISION

(a)        NOTED:-

(i)         the corporate monitoring position projected at 30September 2017, the underlying cost drivers and the identified areas of financial risk as reflected in Appendix 1 to the report;

(ii)        progress made in achieving Financial Plan savings in Appendix 4 to the report; and

(iii)       the action taken by Corporate Management team to deliver a balanced budget in the current year.

(b)       AGREED:-

(i)         the virements attached as Appendix 2 in order to realign budgets in 2017/18 in line with current forecasts; and

(ii)        the earmarking of budget from 2017/18 attached as Appendix 3 to the report.