Agenda item

Consider 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 2015.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Chief Financial Officer providing budgetarycontrol statements for the Council’s General Fund based on actual expenditure and income to 30 September 2015 and explanations of the major variances between projected outturn expenditure/income and the current approved budget.  The report explained that the revenue monitoring position set out in the report was based on actual income and expenditure to 30 September 2015.   All departments were projecting a balanced outturn position with management teams confident that pressures highlighted in the remainder of this report would be managed within existing departmental budgets.  The management team was progressing with the programme to modernise and transform the Council.   Corrective action had been identified where budgets were diverting from plan and the management team had confidence that pressures would be managed and that a balanced out turn would be delivered.  Pressures evident at month 6 continued to be within out of area children’s placements, higher than anticipated cost of care for Older People in Residential Care and people with Physical Disabilities and also within Neighbourhood Services for Materials, Sub-contract and Hire in the Roads service.  Action was being taken by the People and Place departments to contain these pressures.   At 30 September, 70% (£5.482m) of planned efficiency savings had been delivered as per the Financial Plan, with a further 12% (£0.927m) profiled to be delivered over the remainder of the financial year.  Of the remaining 18%, 4% (£283k) had been achieved by alternative, permanent measures and 14% (£1,084k) temporarily.  A further £29k remained profiled to be achieved by alternative means.  The previous Executive Committee reported position as at 30 June showed 50% (£3.829k) of planned efficiency savings having been delivered and 44% (£3.406) profiled to be delivered over the remainder of the financial year.   Full details of pressures, risks and challenges and the significant majority of areas of the Council’s operation where budget plans remained on track was detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.  Regarding people with physical disabilities and in noting that that there was continued pressure arising from demand for community based services based on current clients’ complex needs and that there was no agreement to 50/50 fund a particular high-cost package had been reached with NHS Borders, Councillor Bhatia pointed out that any risks should be fed through to the Integrated Joint Board from April 2017. The Chief Financial Officer confirmed there were a number of challenges but once the budgets were joined this should assist. In response to questions raised the Chief Financial Officer undertook to highlight in the Council’s risk register the unbudgeted costs associated with Planning Public Enquiries.   The Chief Financial Officer would report back on (a) why there was a revised budget of £13,000 for Fairer Scotland; and (b) the base budget for the European Fisheries Fund.

DECISION

AGREED:-

(a)             to note  the projected corporate monitoring position reported at 30 September 2015, the underlying cost drivers of this position, the significant pressures highlighted and the identified areas of financial risk;

(b)             that the Depute Chief Executives for People and Place and their Service Directors would continue to work with their management teams to ensure a balanced budget position was delivered in 2015/16;                     

(c)             to approve the budget virements set out in appendices 2 & 3 to the report;         

(d)             to note the progress made in achieving Financial Plan savings in appendix 4 to the report;

(e)             to note that the Corporate Management team would develop proposals to permanently address budget pressures as part of the 2016/17 Financial Planning process; and

(f)              to approve the draw down of reserves to address a phasing issue between the budgeted 1% pay award and the agreed 1.5% pay award for all staff in 2015/16/

MEMBER

Councillor Aitchison joined the meeting during discussion of the above item.