Issue - meetings

Budget Monitoring 2021-22: Report No.1

Meeting: 29/07/2021 - Cabinet (Item 748)

748 Budget Monitoring 2021-22: Report No.1 pdf icon PDF 164 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received the first budget monitoring report for 2021/22. The General Fund revenue forecast to have a £2.1million overspend. Some of this would be directly related to Covid; for example, the need to hold Council meetings at Ramsgate Sports Centre, rather than the Council Chamber. Other overspends were not related to Covid; for example, income losses in property, building control and clinical waste. These areas had under-achieved against budget before Covid, and would need to be addressed in the 2022-23 budget. Finally, some overspends would be due to a mix of Covid and non-Covid factors, such as Homelessness.

 

This report was an early forecast for the year, and it was hoped that the picture would improve as the year progressed. If there was no improvement the council could fall back on the just enough Covid grants that could cover the overspend. On General Fund capital, there was some slippage, or underspend, that was being forecast. Two areas Members noted were in respect of toilets and office accommodation. Both of these projects were dependent on capital receipts from the sale of toilets and the council’s main offices. Until a plan had been developed which would generates enough income from sales to cover the cost of any capital expenditure, these projects would not go ahead.

 

With regards to the Housing Revenue Account, Cabinet noted that the main overspend was to fund the waking watch service in tower blocks, as recommended by the Fire Service. On the HRA capital programme, the substantial slippage on last year’s programme had been comprehensively re-profiled over the next few years, to create more realistic phasing of projects. The re-profiling prioritised the essential health and safety works to the tower blocks.

 

Councillor Saunders proposed, Councillor Bob Bayford seconded and Cabinet agreed the following:

 

1.  To note the following:

 

a.  The General Fund revenue budget 2021-22 forecast position;

 

b.  The General Fund Capital Programme 2021-22 forecast position;

 

c.  The Housing Revenue Account position;

 

2.  To fund the budget gap as at para 5.2 to the Cabinet report;

 

3.  To the change in HRA funding as set out in para 7.2 of the Cabinet report;

 

4.  To the updated General Fund capital programme as set out in Section 6 and Annex 1 to the Cabinet report.