Item 16 - General Fund Revenue Report
West Dunbartonshire Council · 21 August 2024
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 21 August 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer – Resources Housing and Communities Committee: 21 August 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: General Fund Housing and Communities Financial Report 2024/25 as at Period 3 (30 June 2024) 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of the report is to provide the Committee with an update on the financial performance to 30 June 2024 (Period 3) of General Fund Revenue services under the auspices of the Housing and Communities Committee. 2. Recommendations 2.1.1 Members are asked to: i) note the contents of this report which shows the revenue budget forecast to overspend against budget by £0.159m (4.4 %) at the year-end. ii) note the progress on efficiencies incorporated into budgets for 2024/25. 3. Background 3.1 Revenue Budget At the meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council on 01 March 2024, Members agreed the revenue estimates for 2024/25. A total net budget of £3.615m was approved for services under the remit for Housing and Communities services at that time. The budget has been reduced to reflect the decrease in Strathclyde pension fund contributions in the year. This budget has been vired to a central reserve to be used to balance the budget over the next four years as agreed at the Council meeting on 6 March 2024. All adjustments are shown below: - Service £m £m Agreed budget 6 March 2024 3.615 Additional Funding: Additional RRTP funding Homeless 0.010 Base Budget Adjustment: Remove excess Superannuation budget All (0.469) Revised budget as at Period 3 3.156 ITEM 16
Page 2
4. Main Issues Revenue Budget 4.2 Appendix 1 shows the probable outturn for the services at £3.676m. As the revised annual budget is £3.156m there is a projected overspend on budget of £0.520m. However, £0.361m of this relates to approved additional spend to be financed by specific reserves which leaves a net variance of £0.159m. details of these reserves are below. Reserve Service £m Cost Of Living: - Additional investment to the energy fund to cover winter. W4U 0.125 Transitional Funding Support to Y-Sort-It over 4 years. £39,000 per year for 4 years. W4U 0.039 Cost of Living 3: Additional Support for Apprenticeships. £50,000 per year for 4 years. W4U 0.050 Total Cost of Living Reserve Used 0.214 Earmarked reserves: - CCTV Network Upgrade ASB 0.021 Modern Apprentice 23/24 underspend W4U 0.126 Total Earmarked Reserves used 0.147 Total Reserves Used 0.361 A more detailed analysis by service is given in Appendix 2. Comments are shown in Appendix 3 when there are projected net annual variances greater than £0.050m and also where the net variance is below £0.050m but there are offsetting variances of over £0.050m within the service. Appendix 4 shows progress on the achievement of saving options adopted as part of the 2024/2025 budget. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no people implications. 6. Financial Implications 6.1 Other than the financial position noted above, there are no financial implications of the budgetary control report.
Page 3
6.2 Agreed efficiencies for 2024/2025 are monitored with current indications being that £0.202m of the savings budgeted of £0.222m will be achieved (see Appendix 4). As noted in 4.2 above, the smoothing fund will be used to offset this £0.020m shortfall. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 The present variances should be viewed in the knowledge that there are a number of variable factors which could arise between now and 31 March and which could affect the year end results for both the revenue and capital budgets. 7.2 Assumptions around service demand and timing of nationally agreed changes through the phasing out of lockdown change regularly and therefore there is a significant risk that the projected year end budgetary position will change from that reported. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 The report is for noting and therefore no Equalities Impact Assessment was completed for this report. 9. Consultation 9.1 The views of both Finance and Legal services have been requested on this report and both have advised there are neither any issues nor concerns with the proposal. As the report is for noting no further consultation is envisaged. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 Proper budgetary control and sound financial practice are cornerstones of good governance and support Council and officers to pursue the five strategic priorities of the Council’s Strategic Plan. This report forms part of the financial governance of the Council. This report is for noting and, therefore, does not directly affect any of the strategic priorities. Laurence Slavin Chief Officer, Resources Date: 30 July 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Janice Rainey - Business Unit Finance Partner, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton, G82 1QL, telephone: 01389 737707, e-mail janice.rainey@ west-dunbarton.gov.uk
Page 4
Appendices: Appendix 1 - Summary Budgetary Position (Revenue) Appendix 2 - Detailed Budgetary Position (Revenue) Appendix 3 - Variance Analysis (Revenue) Appendix 4 - Monitoring of Efficiencies/Savings Options (Revenue) Background Papers: None Wards Affected: All