Miss Ellie Dunnet, the Head of Finance presented a report on the First Quarter Budget Monitoring 2018/19. 

The Committee noted:-

·  That there was an underspend against the revenue budget during the first quarter but this was expected to change to an overspend of £37,000 by the end of the year.  However, this would be partially offset by the underspend at the Crematorium.

·  Capital expenditure was £0.848m as at the end of June against a total budget of £4.527m.  It was anticipated that there would be a slippage of £1.953m at the end of the year.

In response to a question from Members, Officers responded as follows:-

·  Miss Dunnet advised that the Council does have a contingency budget but the issues relating to the flooding incident at the Mote Park Adventure Zone were subject to a ongoing insurance claim.  The Officer undertook to advise the Committee by email once the insurance claim had been sorted out.

·  Ms Hudd advised that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman receive fortnightly updates on the Mote Park Adventure Zone.

·  Ms Hudd also advised that the budget for festivals and events had not been profiled to reflect the higher volume of events during the Summer months and this would be rectified for 2019/20.

The Committee expressed concern that savings had already been put forward for the Adventure Zone but there was no guarantee that works would be completed on time.

Councillor Fort arrived at 6.45 p.m. as this item was being discussed.

RESOLVED: 

1)  That the revenue position at the end of the first quarter and the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position, where significant variances have been identified, be noted.

2)  That the capital position at the end of the first quarter be noted.