Agenda item

Recommendations: To

a.    Note the latest position for the County Council’s 2022/23 Revenue Budget, as summarised in paragraph 2.1.2 of the report;

b.    Note the position on the GWB (paragraphs 2.4.1 to 2.4.3 of the report);

c.    Note the position on the ‘Strategic Capacity – Unallocated’ reserve (paragraphs 2.4.4 to 2.4.6 of the report);

d.    Note the latest position regarding the Local Government Review transition fund (paragraphs 2.5.1 of the report);

e.    Approve the £1.6m PSVAR contingency be repurposed and used to support the Home to School Transport budget (paragraph 2.1.12 of the report);

f.     Endorse the exceptional increase in fostering weekly rates from October 2021 outlined in section 2.6 of the report;

g.    Endorse the one-off increase to adult social care providers as detailed in section 2.6 of the report;

h.    Note the position on the County Council’s Treasury Management activities during the first quarter of 2022/23

i.     Refer the report to the Audit Committee for their consideration as part of the overall monitoring arrangements for Treasury Management.

j.     Approve the refreshed Capital Plan summarised at paragraph 4.2.3 of the report;

k.    Approve the provision of £7.2m of Brexit Reserve funding to meet the shortfall in relation to the A59 Kex Gill diversion scheme (paragraph 4.3.9 of the report);

l.     Approve the provision of a further £424.7k Strategic Capacity Reserve in match funding towards the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 bid (paragraph 4.3.11 of the report);

m.   Agree that no action be taken at this stage to allocate any additional capital resources (paragraph 4.5.8 of the report);

n.    Recommend to the County Council that it approves the revised Prudential Indicators for the period 2022/23 to 2024/25 as set out in Appendix A.

Considered – A  joint  report  of  the  Chief  Executive  and  Corporate  Director  -  Strategic  Resources, bringing together key aspects of the County Council’s performance on a quarterly basis.

 

County Councillor Carl Les introduced the Quarter 1 budget report, and County Councillor Gareth Dadd went on to introduce each section of the report.

 

In regard to the Revenue budget, he drew attention to the current £1.92m underspend but confirmed a lot of the contingencies were already earmarked for use during 2022/23 and it was underpinned by £7.7m from reserves.  He drew specific attention to:

·          The £13m used in contingencies in Health & Adult Services, with the effects from fairer funding cost of care and the new approved provider list still to be seen;

·          The £612K overspend on the Business & Environmental Services budget masked by a highways maintenance overspend of £1.772m and offset by an increase in fixed penalty notices and concessionary fares;

·          Inflationary pressures in Children & Young People’s Services – a £4.5m overspend with a proposal to offset the overspend on the Home to School Transport budget through use of the £1.6m PSVAR contingency;

·          An overspend in Central Services, attributed to the rise in energy costs of £1.1m

 

In regard to the Authority’s reserves, he drew attention to the table at paragraph 2.4.5 of the report, and confirmed that based on the MTFS, all the usable reserves would be used by mid 2026.   He also highlighted the proposals to increase fostering care payments with the aim of stabilising the market, and to provide a one-off increase to adult social care providers.

 

Gary Fielding Corporate Director Strategic Resources reiterated that the contingencies put aside to address inflationary pressures had already be eroded, and there were still other areas of concern in Adult Social Care to be taken into account.  

 

Finally, County Councillor Gareth Dadd confirmed that as a result of the increase in the cost of energy, the business case for the investment in LED street lighting had improved.

 

County Councillor Michael Harrison left the meeting room at this point due to his declared interest associated with the Treasure Management section of the report.

 

In regard to Treasury Management County Councillor Gareth Dadd confirmed that the Authority was on the right track but it would depend on the assets and liabilities inherited on vestment day for the new Authority.  In regard to the alternative property investments, he noted they were still performing reasonable well given Covid and the economic climate.  Finally, he highlighted the additional £1.8m as a result of the rise in bank rate.

 

County Councillor Michael Harrison returned to the meeting room at this point.

 

In regard to the Capital Plan, County Councillor Gareth Dadd drew attention to the additional £7.2m for extra costs associated with the Kex Gill project and the levelling up contributions of £420K.

 

Gary Fielding drew attention to ongoing risks associated with the Capital Plan, which included a reduction in government funding across the board in the forthcoming period and in parallel, the increasing inflation rates, which going forward would result in a much reduced spending power and a higher profile of risk based upon major schemes.

 

Finally, in regard to the Prudential Indicators, Gary Fielding gave assurance that there was no change to the spirit of what had previously been agreed i.e. to continue the agreed approach to keeping a lid on debt.

 

Having considered the report in full and the information provided at the meeting, it was

 

Resolved – That the Executive would note:

a.    The latest position for the County Council’s 2022/23 Revenue Budget, as summarised in paragraph 2.1.2 of the report;

b.    The position on the GWB (paragraphs 2.4.1 to 2.4.3 of the report);

c.    The position on the ‘Strategic Capacity – Unallocated’ reserve (paragraphs 2.4.4 to 2.4.6 of the report);

d.    The latest position regarding the Local Government Review transition fund (paragraphs 2.5.1 of the report);

e)    The position on the County Council’s Treasury Management activities during the first quarter of 2022/23

 

The Executive also approved:

f)     The £1.6m PSVAR contingency be repurposed and used to support the Home to School Transport budget (paragraph 2.1.12 of the report);

g)    The refreshed Capital Plan summarised at paragraph 4.2.3 of the report;

h)    The provision of £7.2m of Brexit Reserve funding to meet the shortfall in relation to the A59 Kex Gill diversion scheme (paragraph 4.3.9 of the report);

i)     The provision of a further £424.7k Strategic Capacity Reserve in match funding towards the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 bid (paragraph 4.3.11 of the report);

 

Finally, Executive Members agreed to:

j)     Endorse the exceptional increase in fostering weekly rates from October 2021 outlined in section 2.6 of the report;

k)    Endorse the one-off increase to adult social care providers as detailed in section 2.6 of the report;

l)     Refer the report to the Audit Committee for their consideration as part of the overall monitoring arrangements for Treasury Management.

m)   Agree that no action be taken at this stage to allocate any additional capital resources (paragraph 4.5.8 of the report);

n)    Recommend to the County Council that it approves the revised Prudential Indicators for the period 2022/23 to 2024/25 as set out in Appendix A.