Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance and Community Development

RESOLVED that

1. the contents of this report including the key projected variances to the original 2011/12 budget identified at this stage and the potential projected overspend of £476,400 for the financial year 2011/12 be noted.

2. the current freeze on spending against supplies and service expenditure budgets, where possible, is continued until further notice. This will be factored into the revised 2011/12 budget.

3. If, following the more detailed monitoring process currently being undertaken as part of the budget setting process for 2012/13, the potential overspend is confirmed, corrective action be taken to ensure that the Council delivers services within the overall net budget for the year.

The Cabinet Member Finance and Community Development introduced the report and explained that there was a projected overspend of £476k this year. To address this there was a freeze on Supplies and Services spending and a freeze on staff recruitment subject to various criteria.

The following key issues had been identified :

• not yet being able to save the £80k on salaries budgeted for as resources had been cut to the minimum already.
• there was a shortfall in parking income of a projected £104k (para2.4.6) which was being experienced nationally as a direct result of the recession.
• there was a shortfall of £110k in refuse collection – mainly in Trade Waste and attributable to the recession although a projected increase in recycling income of £100k should partly offset this.
• there was a projected shortfall of £306k against budget for the Green Waste collection system and this was being addressed.

The Cabinet Member reported that whilst the recession clearly had an impact on the generation of income, collection rates of both business rates and Council tax was currently ahead of target.

The Cabinet Member was optimistic that the gap could be addressed without having to fall back on reserves but there were structural implications on next year’s budget of a couple of these figures which would have to be paid particular attention to.

The Leader of the Council paid tribute to the continued hard work undertaken by officers to address these issues. Cabinet wished to thank the officers for this work and praised the way that efficiency savings had been found in an inventive way.

RESOLVED that

1. the contents of this report including the key projected variances to the original 2011/12 budget identified at this stage and the potential projected overspend of £476,400 for the financial year 2011/12 be noted.

2. the current freeze on spending against supplies and service expenditure budgets, where possible, is continued until further notice. This will be factored into the revised 2011/12 budget.

3. If, following the more detailed monitoring process currently being undertaken as part of the budget setting process for 2012/13, the potential overspend is confirmed, corrective action be taken to ensure that the Council delivers services within the overall net budget for the year.