Item 12 - General Services Revenue Budgetary Control Report to 30 June 2026 (Period 3)
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 August 2026
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer – Resources Council – 26th August 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: General Services Revenue Budgetary Control Report to 30th June 2026 (Period 3) 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to advise Council of the 2026/27 Revenue Budget position at 30 June 2026 and the forecast position of the General Fund Reserve as at 31 March 2027. 2. Recommendations 2.1 Council is asked to: i) note the overall adverse variance (overspend) on the General Fund Revenue Budget of £1.788m (0.55% of the total budget). £1.665m (0.51%) of this relates to General Services Delivery Budget and £0.123m (0.04%) relates to non-service budgets. ii) note the current projected use of earmarked reserves of £8.788m. 3. Background 3.1 At the meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council (the Council) on 4 March 2026, members agreed the revenue estimates for 2026/2027. A total net budget of £325.673m was approved for General Services. 3.2 Since the budget was agreed, additional funding has been provided by the Scottish Government of £0.593m, resulting in a revised total net budget of £326.266m. Service £m £m Agreed budget 6 March 2025 325.673 Additional Resources: Additional ELC funding for sustainable rates Education 0.248 Council Tax Revaluation Mansion Tax VJB requisition 0.345 Total Additional Resources 0.593 Revised Budget as at Period 3 326.266 ITEM 12
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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 £1.665m (0.51% of the total budget), £0.123m on non-service budgets making an overall projected adverse variance of £1.788m. Appendix 2 provides more detailed service reports by Chief Officer. The main reason for this overspend is detailed in the table below with explanations provided in Appendix 3. Service Variances £m £m Resources: • Adverse variance within Finance due to turnover saving not achieved in year • Other variances across the service 0.080 (0.009) 0.071 Regulatory & Regeneration: • Favourable variance due to vacancies • Adverse variances due to an overspend on supplies & services, partially offset by additional income. • Under recovery in income mainly due to a reduction in pest control and sequestration income. (0.019) 0.065 0.054 0.100 People & Technology: • Adverse variance within ICT due to turnover saving not achieved in year • Adverse variance within Central Admin Support due to turnover saving not being achieved (£74k) and increased cost of postage (£45k) • Other variances across the service 0.065 0.119 0.052 0.236 Citizens, Culture and Facilities: • Adverse variance anticipated within Events due to the costs associated with the Pipe Band Championship • Other variances across the service 0.035 0.022 0.057 Education: • Adverse variance on the cost of long-term absence teaching cover • Increase in SPT Bus Contracts • Other variances across the service 0.852 0.178 (0.036) 0.994 Roads & Neighbourhood Services: • Favourable variance within Roads due to vacancies and an underspend on street lighting; offset by an overspend on rates and transport costs. • Adverse variance within Waste Services mainly due to turnover saving not achieved in year, partially offset by an underspend on waste (0.107) 0.161
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disposals costs and additional income from brown bin permits • Adverse variance within Grounds Maintenance & Street Cleaning due to an under recovery in income due to a reduction in the level of works undertaken in 2026/27. There are also overspends on staff costs due to turnover not being achieved and increased property costs. • Adverse variance within Burial Grounds due to the turnover saving not being achieved and a reduction in sales income from Burials • Adverse variance within Crematorium due to the turnover saving not being achieved and a reduction in sales income from Cremations • Other variances across the service 0.167 0.068 0.051 0.014 0.354 Housing & Employability: • Favourable variance within Homelessness • Services due to employee vacancies • Adverse variance in relation to Resettlement Services due to the uncertainty of future grant income • Other variances across the service (0.295) 0.201 (0.023) (0.117) Miscellaneous Services: • Small underspends across the service (0.030) (0.030) Adverse variance in Service Delivery at Period 3 1.665 Non-Service Budgets: • Loan Charges • Adjustment to non-GAE allocation following review of CSA model. 0.600 (0.477) 0.123 Adverse variance in Non-Service Budget 0.123 General Fund variance as at Period 3 1.788 4.2 Information on any projected annual variances in excess of £0.050m are highlighted and noted within Appendix 3, with additional information on action being taken to minimise or mitigate overspends where possible. Earmarked Reserve Position 4.3 As part of the 2026/27 budget, it was agreed to use £6.243m of strategic reserves to balance the budget. 4.4 Services are forecasting the use of £1.890m of operational earmarked reserves in 2026/27. In addition, there is a further use of £0.654m forecast from strategic reserves making the total use of strategic reserves £6.897m. Full details are provided in Appendix 4. 4.5 The Council’s General Fund contingency (Prudential Target) is set at 2.5% of net expenditure for 2026/27 as agreed 4 March 2026 and amounts to £5.510m. After taking into consideration the forecast adverse position of
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£1.788m, the Council is currently forecast to be £1.221m below the current Prudential Target as at 31 March 2027. Finance will continue to work with the services to try to mitigate the projected overspends. 4.6 Appendix 5 shows the latest position in respect of Unallocated and Earmarked Reserves and shows the projected balance as at 31 March 2027: Unearmarked Balance (£m) Earmarked Balance (£m) Total General Fund Reserves (£m) As at 31 March 2026 6.077 18.847 24.924 Projected in year use of reserves (1.788) (2.545) (4.333) Budgeted use of reserves 0.000 (6.243) (6.243) Projected Balance as at 31 March 2027 4.289 10.059 14.348 Monitoring of Efficiencies 4.7 A list of agreed efficiencies and management adjustments totalling £4.105m is shown within Appendix 6. Current indications show that £3.746m (91%) is on target to be achieved. 5. Option Appraisal 5.1 No option appraisal was required for this report. 6. People Implications 6.1 There are no people implications. 7. Financial and Procurement Implications 7.1 The report notes the projected in-year financial position for the General Services revenue budget. 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 2026/27 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;
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(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 budget 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. __________________ Laurence Slavin Chief Officer – Resources Date: 26 August 2026 __________________________________________________________________ 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 2026/27 – Corporate Summary; Appendix 2 - Revenue Budgetary Control 2026/27 – 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
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Background Papers: • Ledger output – Period 3; • General Services Revenue Estimates 2026/27 Wards Affected All Wards