Item 15 - General Services Revenue Budgetary Control Report to 31 October 2025 (Period 7)
West Dunbartonshire Council · 17 December 2025
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer – Resources Council –17 December 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: General Services Revenue Budgetary Control Report to 31st October 2025 (Period 7) 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to advise Council of the 2025/26 Revenue Budget position at 31 October 2025 and the forecast position of the General Fund Reserve as at 31 March 2026. 2. Recommendations 2.1 Council is asked to: I. note the overall favourable variance (underspend) on the General Fund Revenue Budget of £3.055m, an improvement in forecast of £0.267m since last reported. II. note a projected adverse variance (overspend) on the General Services Delivery Budget of £0.435m (0.15% of total budget), an improvement in forecast of £0.267m since last reported III. note a projected use of earmarked reserves of £2.754m, offset by the release of £0.078m and the forecast earmarked balance of £12.905m. 3. Background 3.1 The revised 2025/26 revenue budget presented to Council in October was £312.263m. Since then, the Council has recognised the additional use of resources primarily relating to additional Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funding which revises the 2025/26 budget as follows: Service £m £m Revised budget as at P5 312.263 Additional Resources: Additional cost of the pay award All 0.03 Additional Extended Producer Responsibility funding RNT 0.186 Total Additional Resources 0.189 Revised Budget as at Period 7 312.452 ITEM 15
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4. Main Issues Service Delivery Position 4.1 The summary report at Appendix 1 highlights a projected adverse variance (overspend) against General Services Delivery of £0.435m (0.15% of the total budget) but an overall favourable variance of £3.055m. This represents a £0.267m improvement on the position reported at P5. This is detailed in the table below. Appendix 2 provides more detailed service reports by Chief Officer, with explanations for the overspend provided in Appendix 3. £m £m Variance at Period 5 (2.788) Movement in Variance Resources: Further reduction in rental income Other adverse variances across the service 0.050 0.027 0.077 Regulatory & Regeneration: Favourable variance due to vacancies (0.066) (0.066) Citizens, Culture and Facilities Use of agency staff to cover vacancies across facilities management Increased food costs (catering) Reduced Clydebank Townhall income Other adverse variances across the service 0.127 0.057 0.029 0.028 0.241 Roads & Neighbourhood Services: Favourable variance due to vacancies within Roads offset by increased contractor payment Favourable variance due to vacancies in Grounds Maintenance Decrease in waste collection costs Under recovery of crematorium income Other adverse variances across the service (0.136) (0.182) (0.068) 0.037 0.016 (0.333) Housing & Employability: Favourable variance within the resettlement service. Government grant funding is forecast to exceed service delivery costs. Other adverse variances across the service (0.262) 0.020 (0.242) Miscellaneous Services Increase in unfunded pension costs 0.100 0.100 Other service movements less than £0.050m (0.044) (0.044) Total Movement in Service Delivery variance (0.267) General Fund variance at Period 7 (3.055) 4.2 Information on any projected annual variances in excess of £0.050m after the use of earmarked reserves, are highlighted and noted within Appendix 3, with additional information on action being taken to minimise or mitigate overspends where possible.
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Earmarked Reserve Position 4.3 Services are anticipating the use of £2.754m (Period 5: £2.304m) of earmarked reserves offset by £0.078m release in year. In addition, as a result of the reduction in contribution to Strathclyde Pension Fund a forecast £4.294m will be transferred to the pension smoothing reserve. It was agreed as part of the October finance update that £2.273m of suspense balances would be transferred to various earmarked reserves and an additional £0.220m transferred from unearmarked balances to rebuild the VR/VS earmarked reserve. Therefore, a total of £2.493m has been transferred into earmarked reserves for future use. Information on the earmarked reserve spend and transfers in are shown in Appendix 4. 4.4 The Council’s General Fund contingency (Prudential Target) is set at 3% of net expenditure for 2025/26 and amounts to £6.119m. After taking into consideration the forecast favourable position of £3.055m, the Council is currently forecast to be £0.066m above the current Prudential Target as at 31 March 2026. 4.5 Appendix 5 shows the latest position in respect of Unallocated and Earmarked Reserves and shows the projected balance as at 31 March 2026: Unearmarked Balance (£m) Earmarked Balance (£m) Total General Fund Reserves (£m) As at 31 March 2025 3.272 8.950 12.222 Projected in year use of reserves by General Services (0.435) (2.754) (3.189) Release of EMR 0.078 (0.078) 0 Discount on Loans 3.490 0 3.490 Transfer to Earmarked reserve (0.220) 2.493 2.273 Forecast in-year movement – Pension Saving 0.000 4.294 4.294 Projected Balance as at 31 March 2026 6.185 12.905 19.090 Monitoring of Efficiencies 4.6 A list of agreed efficiencies and management adjustments totalling £6.017m is shown within Appendix 6. Current indications show that £5.489m is on target to be achieved. However, Appendix 6 also shows that it is anticipated that £0.528m will not be achieved and will be funded by the smoothing fund. 5. Option Appraisal 5.1 No option appraisal was required for this report. 6. People Implications
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6.1 There are no people implications. 7. Financial and Procurement Implications 7.1 The report notes the projected in-year financial position for both General Services revenue and capital budgets. 8. Risk Analysis 8.1 The main risks are as follows: (a) 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 which could affect the year end; (b) As a consequence of current market conditions, capital receipts may either not be received or they may be less than anticipated. The budget assumption is that all capital receipts achieved in 2025/26 will be used for principal and premium repayments within the loan charges budget. Any shortfall in capital receipts below that budgeted amount will adversely affect the revenue budget position. This is being closely monitored and any issues will be reported to Council; (c) As a consequence of current market conditions, inflation remains volatile and interest rates are reducing more gradually than initially anticipated. To forecast for the full year costs budget assumptions have been required (particularly around energy costs and interest rates). These assumptions continue to change regularly and therefore it is likely that the projected year end budgetary position will change from that reported. 9. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 9.1 No equalities impact assessment was required in relation to this report. 10. Environmental Sustainability 10.1 No assessment of environmental sustainability was required in relation to this report. 11. Consultation 11.1 All services involved in delivering the revenue and capital budgets have been consulted in the compilation of this report. 12. Strategic Assessment 12.1 Proper budgetary control and sound financial practice are cornerstones of good governance and support Council and officers to pursue the strategic priorities of the Council’s current Strategic Plan. This report forms part of the financial governance of the Council.
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__________________ Laurence Slavin Chief Officer – Resources Date: 17 December 2025 __________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Carol Alderson. Finance Manager Council Offices, Church Street, Dumbarton E-mail: carol.alderson@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Appendix 1 - Revenue Budgetary Control 2025/26 – Corporate Summary; Appendix 2 - Revenue Budgetary Control 2025/26 – Chief Officer Summaries; Appendix 3 - Analysis of Revenue Variances over £50,000; Appendix 4 - Monitoring of Earmarked Balances Appendix 5 - Reconciliation of General Fund Reserves Appendix 6 - Monitoring of Efficiencies Background Papers: Ledger output – Period 7; General Services Revenue Estimates 2025/26 Wards Affected All Wards