Agenda item

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

a)    Note the forecast underspend of £0.2m for the year.

b)    Agree to draw £0.025m from the Hurlestone Bothy Earmarked Reserve for the Coastal Revival Fund. (£0.017m to Property Services under Strategic Asset Management, and £0.008m to Communities Services under Regulatory & Operational Services.)

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited the Lead Member for Finance, Procurement and Performance, Cllr Liz Leyshon, to introduce the report. Cllr Leyshon highlighted that not every underspend is a positive, such as underspends in fostering and permanent placement, and the hard work of the CEO, the team and the previous Section 151 Officer.

Nicola Hix, Service Director Finance and Procurement, detailed the feedback from Scrutiny Committees, the inclusion of Spend Board information and the changes to spending thresholds, the improvement in the number of retrospective orders, and the variance shown in each appendix.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Bill Revans, invited comments from Committee Members and other Members present. Questions and points raised included: the changes to the spending threshold between departments; how the Purchase Order requirement had impacted suppliers; the need for forecasting and modelling in demand-led services such as Children’s Social Care; mitigations in place where there are forecast overspends; the importance of Homes and Horizons and 16+ supported accommodation; the potential for impact on the Council Tax collection fund following the recent Government decision on Winter Fuel Payments; interdependency between different budgets with Adult Social Care; debt recovery and enforcement; concerns around capital depletions within Adult Social Care; the status of the household support fund; the context of the Hurlestone Bothy Earmarked Reserve.

The Leader of the Council concluded the discussion and proceeded to a vote on the recommendations, which were agreed unanimously.

Following consideration of the officer report, appendices and discussion, the Executive resolved to:

a)    Note the forecast underspend of £0.2m for the year.

b)    Agree to draw £0.025m from the Hurlestone Bothy Earmarked Reserve for the Coastal Revival Fund. (£0.017m to Property Services under Strategic Asset Management, and £0.008m to Communities Services under Regulatory & Operational Services.)