Issue - items at meetings - Targeted Budget Management (TBM 5)

Report of the Executive Director for Finance & Resources (copy attached).

1.                  That the forecast outturn position for the General Fund, which is an overspend of £2.413m be noted;

2.                  That the forecast outturn for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), which is an underspend of £0.150m be noted;

3.                  That the forecast outturn position for the Dedicated Schools Grant which is an underspend of £0.309m be noted;

4.                  That the forecast outturn position on the capital programme be noted; and

5.                  That the following changes to the capital programme be approved:

·         The variations and reprofiles in Appendix 3 and the new schemes as set out in Appendix 4.

56.1         The Executive Director for Finance & Resources introduced the report and noted that the report provided an update on the position previously reported to the Committee in June.  There was a current projected overspend on the General Fund of £2.4m which had come down from £3.3m and officers were continuing to take action to reduce the deficit.  She was pleased to report that there was a projected surplus for the Collection Fund but noted that it remained closely monitored by officers.

56.2         Councillor Littman welcomed the report and the direction of travel in regard to the overall reduction in the projected deficit at this point and wished to thank officers for their work across the various budget areas.

56.3         Councillor A. Norman welcomed the report and queried what the variance of £28k was listed on page 39 for Children’s Services and whether the vacant post referred to on page 40 was likely to be filled in the near future.  She also queried whether the ICT overspend on age 57 could be managed and how the £1m risk associated with prescription costs had arisen.

56.4         The Assistant Director of Children’s Services stated that it was hoped to address the variance of £28k which had resulted from difficulties in appointing social workers.  However, twelve newly qualified social workers had been appointed from the 1^st September and others were being short-listed with a view to appointments being made in the near future.

56.5         The Executive Director for Finance & Resources stated that the £1m risk identified in relation to Public Health was a result of contractual arrangements with GPs following the transfer of the public health budgets to the local authority.  This was a situation that affected other local authorities and was due to be raised with Public Health England; however it was felt prudent to identify the risk at this stage.  In regard to the ICT budget, she noted that it was hoped to achieve greater efficiencies as part of the value for money programme.  However there were issues relating to security of applications etc and the implementation of the Workstyles programme which meant that the savings target may not be achieved in the current financial year.

56.6         Councillor Hamilton noted the report and welcomed the reduction on the projected overspend.  He was concerned about the Public Health risk and the likelihood that the adult care budget was likely to remain overspent with more older people requiring care.  In regard to the short-break provision for disabled children on page 69 he queried whether consideration had been given to using the facility at Hurstpierpoint.

56.7         The Assistant Director of Children’s Services stated that he would look into the provision available at Hurstpierpoint and provide members of the committee with a briefing note on the situation and feasibility of using the facility.

56.8         Councillor G. Theobald asked for an update on where the funding achieved from the sale of the mayoral car’s number plates was going and noted that income from off-street parking was under-achieving.  He also queried whether the proposed temporary office at Horsdean Traveller site required planning permission and expressed his concern in relation to the future of the Volks Railway if a solution could not be found for the sheds.

56.9         The Executive Director for Environment, Development & Housing stated that off-street parking was being monitored and he was happy to meet with Councillor Theobald to discuss matters.  In relation to the proposed temporary building at Horsdean, he would ensure that further information on the proposals was provided to Members as the situation was likely to change.

56.10    The Executive Director for Finance & Resources stated that officers were looking at funding options for the Volks Railway sheds and a Heritage Lottery Fund application had been submitted.  Should the application fail there would then be a need to review the situation.

56.11    Councillor Morgan suggested that the shortfall in income targets for off-street parking could be partly down to the cost of parking.  He noted that Regency Square car park was half empty during the day and that machines in Trafalgar Street had not been working for sometime, enabling people to park for free.  He also noted the underspend of £0.668m for Discretionary Social Fund and asked if the take up from this could be promoted.

56.12    The Executive Director for Finance & Resources stated that take up from the various social funds was being tracked and there was a good profile of spend to date.  However, officers were looking at how this could be promoted and a more pro-active approach taken.  She also noted that additional funds had been put into the budget area because of the uncertainty around take up and therefore an underspend was anticipated, especially as people should be accessing funding through the DWP.

56.13    The Chair noted the comments and put the recommendations to the vote.

56.14    RESOLVED:

(1)               That the forecast outturn position for the General Fund, which is an overspend of £2.413m be noted;

(2)               That the forecast outturn for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), which is an underspend of £0.150m be noted;

(3)               That the forecast outturn position for the Dedicated Schools Grant which is an underspend of £0.309m be noted;

(4)               That the forecast outturn position on the capital programme be noted; and

(5)               That the following changes to the capital programme be approved:

·         The variations and reprofiles in Appendix 3 and the new schemes as set out in Appendix 4.