Agenda item

(Director of Resources) to consider the attached report.

Mr Maddock introduced the report on the draft for the general fund CSB, DDF and ITS lists and the Savings Update. The report provided the first draft of the Continuing Services Budget (CSB), District Development Fund (DDF) and Invest to Save (ITS) Schedules for 2017/18.

The meeting noted that the Financial Issues Paper was considered by this Committee at its meeting in October. The report highlighted a number of financial uncertainties and risks facing the Authority including the reductions in Central government funding, Retention of Business Rates, Welfare reform and the Leisure Management Contract Renewal.

The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), which forms part of the Financial Issues Paper, identified that savings of around £500,000 were required over the forecast period. The savings required in 2017/18 were identified at £250,000 after savings of £464,000 already identified had been taken into account. It was noted though that there was more uncertainty than usual and little had changed since then.

Since July the Council has accepted the Governments 4 year funding agreement as set out last December. There was still a further, more detailed consultation outstanding regarding Business rates retention and the Leisure Management Contract process was progressing with a report to Cabinet due in December. The lists currently showed net CSB savings of £730,000 in 2017/18, this though still assumed a saving of £250,000 from the new leisure management contract which was somewhat prudent as the final savings were expected to be higher. However there were two other items, the Local Plan and the Waste Management Contract that were expected to require additional resources, albeit these would be a mixture of DDF and CSB.

The total CSB expenditure in 2015/16 was £2.9 million higher than the Original budget, but this was entirely down to the decision to fund Capital Expenditure of £3 million from the General Fund balance. This decision was made because of the significant General Fund balance held by the Council and the comments made by Central Government around ‘excessive’ balances held by local authorities. There were as ever salary savings due to vacancies and this trend had continued into 2016/17.

Of the one off items the biggest was the Local Plan to be completed in 2018, and this would be at a cost of £1.2 million over the original budget.

There were a number of areas where further work was required before figures to be included within the budget could be finalised. Clearly the emphasis in this budget cycle will again need to be on CSB savings rather than growth but there were some areas where growth was inevitable. The figures generally need to be viewed in the context of this being quite early in the budget preparation process and will clearly need to be revisited over the next two months or so as the budget came together.

This report will be updated and will go to the next Finance and Performance Management Cabinet Committee in January 2017.

Councillor Sartin asked about the take up of the Rental Loans Scheme. Mr Maddock said that they had struggled to get people for this scheme.  A report on this would be going to the next Communities Select Committee meeting on ways to make this scheme better and to suggest some amendments.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee noted the first draft of the Continuing Services Budget (CSB), District Development Fund (DDF) and Invest to Save (ITS) schedules.