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Communities, Housing & Environment Committee

19 June 2018

 

4th Quarter Budget Monitoring 2017/18

 

Final Decision-Maker

Communities, Housing & Environment Committee

Lead Head of Service/Lead Director

Mark Green, Director of Finance & Business Improvement

Lead Officer and Report Author

Ellie Dunnet, Head of Finance

Classification

Public

Wards affected

All

 

Executive Summary

 

This report sets out the financial position for this Committee at the end of 2017/18 against the revenue and capital budgets.  The figures included within the report are still subject to external audit so should be considered provisional at this stage.

 

This Committee has ended 2017/18 with an overall positive variance of £0.27m.  The individual variances which make up this total are detailed by service area in Appendix 1.

 

The position for the Council as a whole at the end of 2017/18 was an underspend of £0.2m, after deducting resources to be carried forward.

 

This report also details spending against the planned capital programme during 2017/18.  Unspent resources required in subsequent years will be carried forward.

 

 

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:

1.   That the Committee notes the financial performance of the services within its remit for 2017/18.

2.   That the Committee notes the revenue resources to be carried forward into the current financial year, detailed at Appendix 2.

3.   That the Committee notes the slippage within the capital programme in 2018/19, detailed in Appendix 3.

 

 

Timetable

Meeting

Date

Communities, Housing & Environment Committee

19 June 2018



4th Quarter Budget Monitoring 2017/18

 

 

1.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

1.1     The Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2017/18 onwards was agreed by full Council on 1 March 2017.  This report advises and updates the Committee on how each service has performed in regards to revenue and capital expenditure against the approved budgets within its remit.

 

1.2     The Director of Finance & Business Improvement is the Responsible Financial Officer, and has overall responsibility for budgetary control and financial management.  However in practice, day to day budgetary control is delegated to service managers, with assistance and advice from their director and the finance section.

 

Revenue Budget

1.3     Attached at Appendix 1 is a table detailing the budget and

expenditure position for this Committee’s services in relation to

2017/18. The appendix details the net budget per cost centre for this Committee. Actual expenditure is shown to the end of March 2018 and includes accruals for goods and services received but not yet paid for. 

 

1.4     The columns of the table in the Appendix show the following detail:

 

a)   The cost centre description;

b)   The value of the total budget for the year;

c)   Amounts to be carried forward from 2017/18 to 2018/19, and amounts which are ring fenced to certain services under legislation;

d)   Adjusted budget for the year (original budget less amounts carried forward);

e)   Actual expenditure and income for the year; and

f)    The variance between the total spend and the adjusted budget.

 

1.5     Appendix 1 shows that of a net annual expenditure budget of £7,851,540, £7,587,774 has been spent, representing an under spend of £263,766, after deducting resources to be carried forward.

 

1.6     Appendix 2 details the resources which have not been utilised during 2017/18, but which are required to fund expenditure in subsequent years and are therefore being carried forward into 2018/19.  This includes grants and a small number of specific carry forwards which have been agreed by the Director of Finance and Business Improvement in line with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

 

1.7     Explanations for variances within individual cost centres which exceed £30,000 have been provided in accordance with the Council’s constitution.

 

 

 

Positive

Variance

Q4

£000

Adverse

Variance

Q4

£000

CCTV – the overspend has arisen from a combination of factors including an income budget of £21,000 that was not met, a savings target of £73,300 that wasn’t met and approximately £29,000 unexpected expenditure during the year.

 

-117

Public Conveniences – the overspend has arisen from the transition between direct and contracted out services. The contract is fully funded for 18/19.

 

-35

Street Cleansing - This overspend  relates to  overtime and additional contractor costs  due to staff sickness and there has been additional spend on fly-tipping and materials.

 

-64

Commercial Waste – The favourable variance is due to income exceeding the budget, particularly internal trade waste collection.

35

 

Recycling Collection – The favourable variance is due to a mixture of income exceeding the budget and an underspend on running cost budgets.

46

 

Homelessness – There is an overall underspend on homelessness, following an increase of £235,000 in the budget in 2017/18.  The underspend comprises a £22,000 underspend on deposit bond schemes, £123,000 underspend on the Homefinder scheme, £28,000 underspend on professional services and a £15,000 underspend on marketing.  This is offset by a £28,000 overspend on overnight accommodation, a £57,000 shortfall on income, and £43,000 provision and write-offs in relation to irrecoverable rent. 

63

 

Community Partnerships & Resilience – The underspend is largely due to vacant posts and maternity leave.

63

 

Fleet Workshop & Management – The favourable variance has been caused by an unspent operating lease budget.

30

 

Grounds Maintenance – Commercial - The commercial side of Grounds Maintenance is performing well in delivering external projects and the income budget has exceeded the target this year.

80

 

 

Capital Budget

 

1.8     The capital programme was approved by Council on 1 March 2017.  Funding for the programme remains consistent with previous decisions of Council in that the majority of capital resources come from New Homes Bonus along with a small grants budget.

 

1.9     The 2017/18 capital programme for this Committee is set out in Appendix 3 and shows that the budget includes resources brought forward from 2016/17.

 

1.10 During the year, there has been expenditure of £5.8m against the revised budget of £6.4m.  The most significant areas of spending are housing investments, which include the purchase of 15 additional properties to be used for temporary accommodation, and the Brunswick Street Housing Development including the acquisition of properties adjoining the existing car park.

 

1.11 Slippage of £0.6m has been identified for projects where the unspent budget is required during 2018/19 or later.  The budget for these projects has therefore been carried forward into next year.

 

 

2.        AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

2.1     There are no matters for decision in this report.  The Committee is asked to note the contents but may choose to take further action depending on the matters reported here.

 

 

3.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

3.1     In considering the current position on the revenue budget and the capital programme at the end of 2017/18 the Committee can choose to note this information or it could choose to take further action.

 

3.2     The committee is requested to note the content of the report and agree on any necessary action to be taken in relation to the budget position. 

 

 

4.       RISK

4.1    This report is presented for information only and has no risk management implications.

4.2     The Council has produced a balanced budget for both capital and revenue expenditure and income for 2018/19. This budget is set against a backdrop of limited resources and a difficult economic climate. Regular and comprehensive monitoring of the type included in this report ensures early warning of significant issues that may place the Council at financial risk. This gives this committee the best opportunity to take actions to mitigate such risks.

 

 

5.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

5.1     No consultation has been undertaken in relation to this report.

 

 

6.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

6.1     The fourth quarter budget monitoring reports are being considered by the relevant Service Committees throughout June, including a full report to Policy & Resources Committee on 27 June 2018.

 

6.2     Details of the discussions which take place at service committees regarding budget management will be reported to Policy and Resources Committee where appropriate.

 

 

7.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

 

Issue

Implications

Sign-off

Impact on Corporate Priorities

This report monitors actual activity against the revenue budget and other financial matters set by Council for the financial year.  The budget is set in accordance

with the Council’s Medium Term

Financial Strategy which is linked to the strategic plan and corporate priorities.

Director of Finance & Business Improvement

Risk Management

This has been addressed in section 4 of the report.

Director of Finance & Business Improvement

Financial

Financial implications are the focus of this report through high level budget monitoring. The process of budget monitoring ensures that

services can react quickly to potential resource problems. The process ensures that the Council is not faced by corporate financial problems that may prejudice the delivery of strategic priorities.

 

Director of Finance & Business Improvement

Staffing

The budget for staffing represents a significant proportion of the direct spend of the council and is carefully

monitored. Any issues in relation to employee costs will be raised in this and future monitoring reports.

Director of Finance & Business Improvement

Legal

The Council has a statutory obligation to maintain a balanced budget and this monitoring process enables the committee to remain aware of issues and the process to be taken to maintain a balanced budget for the year.

 

 Mid Kent Legal

Privacy and Data Protection

No specific issues arise.

 

 

Director of Finance & Business Improvement

Equalities

The budget ensures the focus of resources into areas of need as identified in the Council’s strategic priorities. This monitoring report ensures that the budget is delivering services to meet those needs.

Director of Finance & Business Improvement

Crime and Disorder

No specific issues arise.

Director of Finance & Business Improvement

Procurement

No specific issues arise.

Director of Finance & Business Improvement

 

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

·         Appendix 1: Fourth Quarter 2017/18  Revenue Monitoring – Communities, Housing & Environment

·         Appendix 2: Carry Forward of Revenue Resources 2017/18 – Communities, Housing & Environment

·         Appendix 3: Capital Programme 2017/18 – Communities, Housing & Environment

 

 

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

None