The Director of Finance will submit a report (Document “H”) which examines the latest spend against revenue and capital budgets and the forecast year-end financial position based on information at Qtr 1. It states the Council’s current balances and reserves and school balances.
As the District emerges from national restrictions and looks to build recovery from the impact of the COVID pandemic a series of priority investments are proposed in order to kick start recovery with a particular emphasis on sustainable and economic growth, visible services and support to our children and young people. These investments will be made through the deployment of any remaining COVID Emergency Grant or through existing Council reserves.
Recommended –
That the Executive
(1) Note the
contents of this report and the actions taken to manage
the issues highlighted in the report.
(2) The priority investments recommended at paras 4.3-4.5 to Document “H”.
(3) Agrees the formation of a new Joint Committee to oversee the new 2021/22 Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool.
Approves the Leader’s position on the Joint Committee to oversee the new LCR Business Rates Pool.
(4) Accept the recommendation in section 15.2 to Document “H” in relation to the Early Years Block Nursery Supplement for 2021-22.
(5) Approve the following capital expenditure schemes as outlined in section 16.8 & 16.9 to Document “H”:
· £0.931m for the additional cost of purchasing electric vehicles and ensuring that the appropriate charging infrastructure is in place.
· £0.072m for the replacement of two franking machines and two finishers at the centralised Council mailing centre. This will be funded by the General Contingency Budget.
· £3.1m for the relocation of a current Children’s Residential Home to a new refurbished property subject to final PAG appraisal. This will be funded by invest to save borrowing.
· £0.4m for the Council’s capital costs linked to the former Odeon scheme.
(6) Note the following has been approved under Section 1.7 of the Financial Regulations:
Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Corporate
(Andrew Cross - 07870 386523)
Minutes:
The Director of Finance submitted a report (Document “H”) which
examined the latest spend against revenue and capital budgets and
the forecast the year-end financial position based on information at Qtr 1. It
stated the Council’s current balances and reserves and school
balances.
As the District emerges from national restrictions and looks to build
recovery from the impact of the COVID pandemic a series of priority
investments were proposed in order to kick start recovery with a
particular emphasis on sustainable and economic growth, visible
services and support to our children and young people. These
investments would be made through the deployment of any remaining
COVID Emergency Grant or through existing Council reserves.
Based on a
projection at 31st May 2021, the Council was forecast
to
overspend the £385.4m net revenue budget by £9.0m by
March 31st 2022.
This is after taking account of the c£27m of Covid related
funding that has
been carried forward from 2020-21, and c£26m of additional
Covid related
funding that is expected to be received in 2021-22.
The forecast
overspend contained significant variances in a number of
service
areas, most notably agency staffing costs and increased Child
Looked After
Placements in Children’s Services, both of which have
increased significantly
in recent years. The forecast overspend is after the £7.1m
increase in budget
that was approved at budget Council in February 2021.
Covid had also had a
significant effect on Adult Social Care in the Health &
Wellbeing department, and was delaying the implementation of
planned
Learning Disability demand management savings leading to the
forecast
overspend.
The Department of
Place also has a number of forecast pressures, with the
main ones being in Waste Services due in part to higher tonnages
and
recycling income losses, and also in Housing Services.
As a result of prudent financial management, the Council entered
into the
COVID pandemic in relatively good financial health, particularly in
relation
to the reserves available to draw on and this provided the
flexibility to take
decisions in advance of announcements about additional
Government
spending, and therefore move at pace to address the immediate
challenges
presented by the virus.
The pandemic’s
financial impact had, however, been vast. By the end of the
2020-21 financial year, the additional COVID related gross costs
and losses
associated with Council service provision totalled c£92m
(excluding
Collection Fund losses), and will be c£160m by the middle of
this financial
year. Additionally, the Council also administered a further
c£190m of
Business Grants, and hardship grants in 2020-21, with £ms
more to be
administered in 2021-22.
The costs and income
losses to the Council have so far been covered by
very welcome additional funding from the Government, however, it
should
be noted that there remains significant uncertainty about how long
Covid
will continue to impact for, and hence how long the additional
funding lasts.
The Leader acknowledged the challenges facing the Council at the start of this Financial Year and the pressures being addressed by many service areas. To this end a bid had been made to Government for additional funding to enable economic recovery, however, this funding had not materialised and funding received during the pandemic was being utilised to meet the Council’s objectives, particularly in the area of economic recovery.
The impact Covid had had on the lives of young people was alluded to by the Education and Skills Portfolio Holder, and therefore investment was being made into mental health support and improving leisure opportunities.
In the area of Regeneration, the Portfolio Holder stressed that supporting enterprise was crucial in creating jobs and enabling new business start-ups. To this end, a £2m investment was proposed, which together with the Towns Fund allocations, would go some way to developing the principal towns in the District as well as looking at growth opportunities for the smaller towns.
In the Environmental arena, the Portfolio Holder stressed that fly tipping and street cleansing were priorities, and enforcement activity was a key area of focus, as well as encouraging and enabling communities to take a pride in their localities.
Resolved –
(1) That the contents of the report and the actions taken to
manage the issues highlighted in Document “H” be noted.
(2) The priority investments recommended at paras 4.3-4.5 to
Document “H” be noted.
(3) That the formation of a new Joint Committee to oversee
the new 2021/22 Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool be agreed.
(4) That the Leader’s position on the Joint Committee to
oversee the new LCR Business Rates Pool be approved.
(4) That the recommendation in section 15.2 to Document
“H” in relation to the Early Years Block Nursery
Supplement for 2021-22 be approved.
(5) That the following capital expenditure schemes as
outlined in section 16.8 & 16.9 to Document “H” be approved:
(i) £0.931m for the additional cost of purchasing electric
vehicles and ensuring that the appropriate charging
infrastructure is in place.
(ii) £0.072m for the replacement of two franking machines and
two finishers at the centralised Council mailing centre. This
will be funded by the General Contingency Budget.
(iii) £3.1m for the relocation of a current Children’s Residential
Home to a new refurbished property subject to final PAG
appraisal. This will be funded by invest to save borrowing.
(iv) £0.4m for the Council’s capital costs linked to the former
Odeon scheme.
(6) That it be noted that the following has been approved under Section 1.7 of the Financial Regulations:
£0.05m for the completion of health and safety works on the
footbridge at Ilkley riverside. To be funded from the general
contingency budget.
ACTION: Director of Finance
Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Corporate
Supporting documents:
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