Agenda item

Context:

We received a report from the CYP Finance Manager in order to consider the guidance for Scrutiny The purpose of this report is to provide Members with information on the forecast revenue outturn position of the Authority at the end of reporting period 4 which represents the financial outturn position for the 2015/16 financial year.

Key Issues:

This report is also to be considered by all Select Committees as part of their responsibility to,

 assess whether effective budget monitoring is taking place,

 monitor the extent to which budgets are spent in accordance with agreed budget and policy framework.

 Challenge the reasonableness of projected over or underspends, and

 monitor the achievement of predicted efficiency gains or progress in relation to savings proposals.

The Commissioner recognises that challenging financial times will present difficult decisions for Councils as to how to provide quality locally accessible services to communities and has produced guidance for local government scrutineers to assist them in their consideration of key decisions and policy affecting older people. The guidance advocates the need for careful consideration of the implications of decisions in order to protect society’s most vulnerable people.

The guidance provides a useful outline for scrutineers in terms of how to apply the principles of the ‘Equalities and Human Rights Impact Assessments’ to decisions and policy affecting older people, given the increasing ageing population.

Scrutiny Members may wish to consider how they can embed such principles into their scrutiny approach; possibly through developing a questioning strategy to be applied to scrutiny of relevant subjects, or through considering the robustness of ‘Equalities and Human Rights Impact Assessments’ together with the validity of evidence provided in such assessments to support decision-making.

Member Scrutiny:

A Member asked what is the commitment against the redundancy reserve for this year and are we paying statutory or enhanced redundancy payments. The finance Manager did not have the information to hand but assured the Committee that he would return with answers.

It was also asked regarding children’s legal costs and exploring fixed rates with Counsel, the Chair acknowledged this had been asked previously and stressed the importance of following this up. The Finance Manager confirmed that he would also look into to this suggestion and return to Committee with an update.

Recommendations proposed to Cabinet:

That Members consider a net revenue outturn underspend of £676,000, an improvement of £878,000 on quarter 3 outturn predictions.

Members consider a capital outturn spend of £18.3m against a revised budget of £18.8million, after proposed slippage of £43.7 million, resulting in a net underspend of £508k, of which circa £433k is available for recycling onto other projects/priorities which it is recommended will be held pending review of the additional pressures.

Consider and approve the £43.7m capital slippage recommended, paying attention to those schemes included in paragraph 3.5.4 where slippage has been requested by the service manager but is not being recommended to slip (£170k), and notes the significant level of slippage required at outturn not manifest earlier in the year highlighting a concern in managers capital forecasting going forward.

Considers the use of reserves proposed and notes the significant decline on earmarked reserve levels at end of 2015-16 and the likely indication at end of 2016-17.

Approves the reallocation of reserve balances, following the actuarial review of the insurance reserve and review of other small reserve balances, in order to address reserve pressures and the apportionment of general underspend in supplementing reserve levels as follows:

 £1,037 million to Redundancy and Pensions reserve

 £419k to IT reserves

 £350k to Invest to Redesign reserve

Approves the use of the Invest to Redesign reserve during 2016-17 totalling £30,835 as MCC’s additional contribution to enable the work on the City Deal initiative to continue.