Issue - meetings

Consider report by Executive Director of Finance and Regulatory Services.  (Copy attached).

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Executive Director Finance and Regulatory providing an update on the progress of the 2019/20 Capital Financial Plan and seeking approval for virements and the reallocation of funds.  The monitoring tables in Appendix 1 to the report detailed actual expenditure to 31 December 2019.  Key issues identified in the tables were summarised within the main report.  The tables identified a projected net budget variance of £13.138m, which was made up of timing movements £13.883m to future years. The most significant of which were movements into 2020/21 for Early Learning and Childcare £4.053m, Extra Care Housing £1.45m, Borders Innovation Park £2.424m and Energy Efficiency works £0.9m.  Appendix 2 contained a list of the block allocations approved for this year and the various approved and proposed projects to be allocated from them within the 2010/20 Capital Plan.  Appendix 3 contained a list of estimated whole project capital costs for single projects which would not be completed in the current financial year.  The Executive Director Finance and Regulatory, Mr Robertson advised that a review of the Capital Programme was being undertaken as part of the 2020/21 Financial Planning process and the Capital Plan had subsequently been updated to reflect budget adjustments, associated timing movements and other approvals.  This would allow the Council to better profile spend within the blocks, which in turn would optimise available funding for specific projects within the Capital Financial Plan.  He further advised that the emergency and unplanned schemes projected balance was now zero with an analysis of the financial summary, block allocations, slippage and proposed actions outlined in the Appendices to the report.  In response to a question Mr Robertson advised that details of capital receipts could be provided and these were not ringfenced for particular projects.  Members welcomed the review to improve the accuracy of the Capital Planning process.

DECISION

(a)     AGREED the projected outturns in Appendix 1 to the report as the revised capital budget and approved the virements required.

(b)    NOTED:-

          (i)      the budget virements previously approved by the Executive Director Finance & Regulatory and the Service Director Assets and Infrastructure detailed in Appendix 2 under delegated authority;

          (ii)     the list of block allocations detailed in Appendix 2 to the report; and

          (iii)    the list of whole project costs detailed in Appendix 3 of the report