Issue - meetings

The Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement introduced his report highlighting the risks faced by the Council in delivering the budget. The Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement advised the Committee that:

·  With the final outturn for the 2023/24 financial year expected shortly, it was anticipated that there would a small overspend.  This was the net effect of an overspend on temporary accommodation offset by some underspends, including a reduced level of borrowing costs owing to slippage in the Capital Programme and a higher level of interest income from holding cash.  Although the purchase of property by the Council for temporary accommodation through the Capital Programme would bring down spending, there was a risk of continued overspends in 2024/25.

·  The Council had set a balanced budget for 2024/25, but there would be a challenge in delivering savings to offset the budget gap projected for subsequent years.

·  There were risks associated with delivery of the Capital Programme.  In particular, providing the subsidy necessary to deliver affordable housing depended on the Council continuing to receive central government support.

During the discussion, it was suggested that consideration be given to:

(a)  Splitting out the issues around homelessness and temporary accommodation as a separate major budgetary risk from Risk A (Failure to contain expenditure within agreed budgets); and

(b)  Splitting Risk J (Capital programme cannot be delivered given available budgets and funding) into two risks, one covering the affordable housing programme and one covering the other capital projects.

The Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement advised the Committee that he would make the presentational changes suggested, but wished to point out that the budget risk register was not the only way that these issues were addressed as there was also a corporate risk register which looked at all the service and other risks faced by the Council, including housing.

RESOLVED:  That the risk assessment of the Budget Strategy, attached as Appendix A to the report of the Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement, be noted and that the Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement be requested to:

(a)  Split out the issues around homelessness and temporary accommodation as a separate major budgetary risk from Risk A (Failure to contain expenditure within agreed budgets); and

(b)  Split Risk J (Capital programme cannot be delivered given available budgets and funding) into two risks, one covering the affordable housing programme and one covering the other capital projects.