Agenda item

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

3.1       There had been circulated copies of a report by the Acting Chief Financial Officer which provided budgetary control statements for the Council’s General Fund based on actual expenditure and income to 30 September 2022 along with explanations of the major variances identified between projected outturn expenditure/ income and the approved budget.  The report explained that the Council continued to be impacted by the current operating environment.  Those impacts included continuing impacts from the Covid-19 recovery period and unprecedented inflation levels in the wider economy, which had caused internal Council pressures and pressures on critical service delivery partners.  Due to the very challenging operating environment it remained essential that the Council continued to operate as efficiently as possible to ensure that any financial implications not yet clear could be managed as the financial year progressed.  Forecasts had been completed at the second quarter of 2022/23, as at 30 September, which projected the Council to be in a balanced position at the financial year rend.  That forecasted position included the deployment of £4.022m of the Recovery Fund in order to balance the 2022/23 budget, which resulted in a balance of £3.626m which remained to address future pressures. 

3.2       The Recovery Fund would be drawn down as required to meet identified financial pressures.  Confirmed funding was in place for 2022/23 and was categorised as follows: funding provided by Scottish Government, £0.156m; funding carried forward from 2021/22 through Covid-19 reserve, £9.465m; funding included in the 2022/23 Financial Plan for Covid-19 response, £0.069m; and Assumed Local Mobilisation Plan (LMP) funding, £2.237m. Recovery funding was split between funding which had been ring-fenced to be used for a specific purpose (£3.845m), for example education recovery, LMP  and admin funding, and that which could be used more generally by the Council to address Covid-19 pressures (£8.082m).  All residual Covid-19 funding carried forward rom 2021/22 and full details of funding available was shown in Appendix 2 to the report.  Financial plan savings of £12.027m required to be delivered in 2022/23.  An analysis of deliverability was shown in Appendix 3 to the report.  Following the September month end £7.433m savings had been delivered permanently, £2.215m were profiled to be delivered by 31 March 2023 and £2.379m had been delivered on a temporary basis through alternative savings.  The Acting Chief Financial Officer presented the report and responded to Members questions.  Regarding the £0.722m saving identified under reablement of homecare, achieved by alternatives on a temporary basis, the Acting Chief Executive explained that a paper would be brought to Elected Members in the future regarding the scheme.  In response to a question regarding whether the Council could assist its partners manage volatility in the energy markets via its energy procurement contracts, the Director, Infrastructure and Environment undertook to consult with the Finance Department and respond to Members directly.  The Acting Chief Financial Officer confirmed that the rules regarding which organisations could benefit from the Council’s energy procurement contract restricted those who could be assisted, and undertook to ensure that all of the suitable organisations were included.  Regarding the reporting process for savings, the Acting Chief Financial Officer confirmed that the reports were brought to the Committee on a Quarterly basis. 

            DECISION

            AGREED to:-

(a)        note the projected corporate monitoring position reported at 30 September 2022, the remaining pressures identified, the underlying cost drivers of that position and the identified areas of financial risk as reflected in Appendix 1 to the report;

(b)       note the pressures of £4.022m as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report being funded from the Recovery Fund in 2022/23 in order to balance the budget;

(c)        note the Recovery Fund resources detailed in Appendix 2 to the report;

(d)       note the progress made in achieving Financial Plan savings in Appendix 3 the report; and

(e)        approve the virements attached as Appendices 4 and 5 to the report.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Rowley declared an interest in the following item of business in terms of Section 5 of the Councillors Code of Conduct and left the meeting during the discussion.