Earmarked Reserves - 2022-23 Year End
Argyll and Bute Council · 29 June 2023
Back to Argyll and Bute Council — 29 June 2023 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL FINANCIAL SERVICES 29 JUNE 2023 EARMARKED RESERVES – 2022-23 YEAR-END 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide information on progress with balances already earmarked within the General Fund and new balances earmarked at the end of 2022- 23 that qualify for automatic carry forward or have been previously agreed. It also presents proposals to earmark 9 new areas of unspent budget which require approval. 1.2 The earmarked balance in the General Fund as at 31 March 2022 was £88.990m. Of this £33.893m has been spent during 2022-23 and £1.124m will be transferred back to the General Fund. The remainder is planned to be utilised in future years. 1.3 There are 9 new unspent budget earmarking proposals from services totalling £4.610m with business cases for approval. These are noted in Appendix 2.1 and the associated business cases are in Appendices 2.1a to 2.1i. Department Description Appendix £000 Executive Director Douglas Hendry Five unspent budget proposals 2.1a to 2.1e 3,060 Executive Director Kirsty Flanagan Two unspent budget proposals 2.1f to 2.1g 95 Non Departmental Two unspent budget proposals 2.1h to 2.1i 1,455 Total 4,610 1.4 There are a further four unspent budget carry forwards totalling £2.094m that have previously been agreed: • As part of the 2023-24 budget setting, it was agreed by Council on 23 February 2023 that a saving of £0.340m be made from Planning (reference MGT5). This was to be funded from an expected underspend from the 2022-23 outturn. • At the Council meeting on 27 February 2020, an allocation of £1.406m for the Campbeltown Flood Prevention scheme was agreed from the Loans Fund Review. This amount is being released to reserves to be utilised in 2023-24. • As part of the 2023-24 budget setting, it was agreed by Council on 23 February 2023 that a saving of £0.685m be made from the Loans Fund (reference MGT3). This was to be funded from an earmarked reserve already in place of £0.385m with a further £0.300m being added from the 2022-23 outturn. • Earmarking of £0.048m for investment income relating to the Asset Management Fund. When the Fund was set up, it was agreed that the income should be added to it annually and this amount relates to the income for 2022-23. 1.5 There are new balances totalling £11.708m that qualify for automatic carry forward at the end of 2022-23. These include £4.358m of unspent grants including £1.261m
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from Crown Estates; £2.231m relating to the Strategic Housing Fund; £1.178m of Scottish Government Initiatives, including 100 day promise and expansion of free school meals; £1.147m for the Piers and Harbours Investment Fund and £1.130m of carry forwards for the schools as part of their Devolved Management of Resources (DMR). 1.6 The new earmarked balance as at 31 March 2023 amounts to £79.466m. The most significant elements of this balance relate to Capital Projects £16.059m, Unspent Budget £13.566m, Unspent Grant £13.179m, Strategic Housing Fund £7.247m and COVID-19 £5.512m. 1.7 There are historic earmarked reserves in relation to Social Work of £0.054m contained within this report (£0.040m against Unspent Third Party Contributions and £0.014m against Scottish Government Initiatives). For any new reserves, CIPFA LASAAC Guidance dictates that any reserves relating to the HSCP should be held as a creditor on the Balance Sheet as money owed to the HSCP from the Council. It should be noted that as at 31 March 2023, the balance being held on behalf of the HSCP in this manner is £5.006m.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL FINANCIAL SERVICES 29 JUNE 2023 EARMARKED RESERVES - 2022-23 YEAR-END 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 The purpose of this report is to provide information on progress with balances already earmarked within the General Fund and new balances earmarked at the end of 2022- 23 that qualify for automatic carry forward or have been previously agreed. It also presents proposals to earmark 9 new areas of unspent budget which require approval. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 The Council is asked to: a) review and approve the revised Policy on Year End Flexibility included as Appendix 1, including the approval of one new category for automatic carry forward of unspent income for the installation and maintenance of Electric Vehicle Charging points. b) approve the 9 new unspent budget earmarked reserve proposals totalling £4.610m as supported by submitted business cases and note that there are a further 4 unspent budget earmarkings amounting to £2.094m that have been previously approved, as outlined in Appendices 2.1 and 2.2. c) note the new balances of £11.708m at the end of 2022-23 that qualify for automatic carry-forward as outlined in Appendix 3. d) note the previously approved earmarked reserves of £61.054m and the justification for continuing to earmark these as outlined in Appendix 4. e) note that £1.124m of no longer required earmarked balances will be released back into the General Fund. f) note that £5.006m relating to Social Work reserves is recognised on the Balance Sheet and is outwith the scope of this report.
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4. DETAIL 4.1 Background 4.1.1 The Council has previously agreed automatic earmarking of the General Fund in respect of the following situations: • The balances in relation to the Strategic Housing Fund, CHORD and unspent budget within the Devolved Management of Resources (DMR) Scheme of Delegation for schools. • Any unspent grants and unspent contributions from external bodies are earmarked on the basis that the monies would have to be returned/repaid if not used for the purpose intended. • Any unspent budget that relates to existing policy commitments arising from a previous Council decision or is required to meet an existing legal commitment is earmarked. • Any unspent funding provided by the Scottish Government to implement new legislation or government initiatives is earmarked. The funding carried forward is used solely for its intended purpose to fund the implementation of new government directions. • Any savings generated from energy efficiency measures are carried forward in an Energy Efficiency Fund for reinvestment to further reduce the Council’s energy costs and carbon emission levels. • The Piers and Harbours Investment Fund – for additional fees and charges income generated from Piers and Harbours operation the funds will be used to meet the costs of the prudential borrowing required to develop and maintain the Council’s harbour assets and infrastructure. • Hermitage Park - to meet the costs of the 10 year Management and Maintenance Plan which is a condition of the Heritage Lottery Funding investment into the Park. • One Council Property – to invest in the Council’s property portfolio to ensure it remains fit for purpose. • Fleet Timing Delay – will be used where an order has been committed to be spent from revenue budget but supplier issues prevent delivery within the financial year. 4.1.2 One new automatic carry forward category, referred to as Electric Vehicle Charging is proposed. This will allow earmarking of any surplus from charges to be used for the installation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging points throughout Argyll. A revised earmarking policy, including the new category, is attached as Appendix 1 for approval. 4.1.3 Outwith the situations noted above there will be no automatic carry forward of unspent budget. Earmarking of funds in relation to unspent budget and not covered by the criteria above are reported to Members for approval and supported by a business case. 4.2 New Earmarked Reserves 4.2.1 Appendix 2.1 provides detail of the new unspent budget proposals from services at the end of the 2022-23 financial year. These total £4.610m. Members are asked to
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review these new proposed earmarked balances together with the business cases developed by services which are included as Appendices 2.1a to 2.1i. 4.2.2 Appendix 2.2 provides detail of the new unspent budget proposals that have previously been agreed by Council in relation to commitments to specific areas of spend. These include a planning saving to be funded from an in-year underspend, the Capital Programme pressure ‘Campbeltown Flood Prevention’ to be funded from the Loans Fund, a Loans Fund savings target to be funded from an in-year underspend and the interest for this year on the Asset Management fund. These amount to £2.094m. 4.2.3 There are new earmarked balances for the 2022-23 financial year which qualify for automatic carry forward in line with the conditions outlined in paragraphs 4.1.1. The new automatic carry forwards amount to £11.708m and are outlined in Appendix 3. These include £4.358m of unspent grants including £1.261m from Crown Estates; £2.231m relating to the Strategic Housing Fund; £1.178m of Scottish Government Initiatives, including 100 day promise and expansion of free school meals; £1.147m for the Piers and Harbours Investment Fund and £1.130m of carry forwards for the schools as part of their Devolved Management of Resources (DMR). Note that COVID funding (amounting to £0.517m) is being carried forward under ‘Scottish Government Initiatives’ but has been allocated its own category of COVID-19 to allow easier reporting. 4.3 Previously Approved Balances 4.3.1 Appendix 4 outlines the previously agreed earmarked balances of £61.054m with a note on the plans for use and, in some instances, further justification for why the amounts remain earmarked. These balances have been scrutinised by SMT to ensure there are clear spending plans in place and that the purpose of the earmarking is in line with Council priorities. 4.3.3 The new earmarking agreed at the Council Budget Meeting on 25 February 2023 is summarised below: • Roads Reconstruction 2023-24 - £3.797m • Roads Reconstruction 2024-25 - £1.042m • Footpath improvements - £0.750m • Capital Plan Gap - £0.725m • ICT computer replacement - £0.531m • Engagement with Hub North - £0.100m • CHARTS - £0.075m • Mid Argyll Community Pool - £0.030m • MacTaggart Leisure Islay - £0.030m 4.4 Balances released back to the General Fund 4.4.1 The funds totalling £1.124m that will be un-earmarked and released back into the General Fund are detailed in the paragraphs that follow. 4.4.2 The balance in the Investment in HubCo of £0.492 is being released to the general fund as on further review, it is being dealt with as an investment through the Treasury cash position.
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4.4.3 In 2020-21 and 2021-22, the Council received allocations for the administration of Business Support Grants held within the COVID-19 earmarked reserves. The balance remaining of £0.411m is no longer required for this purpose and is being released to the General Fund. 4.4.4 A £0.137m from Investment in Affordable Housing. This earmarked reserve provides cash backed reserves for the loans to registered social landlords and the revised balance of £3.163m reflects the balance on those loans at 31 March 2023. 4.4.5 The remaining balance of £0.044m on the COVID cost pressures is being released as it was not required. 4.4.6 Due to there being no planned expenditure, an earmarking for capital expenditure on a leased property of £0.025m has been released back to the general fund. 4.4.7 The last of the redundancy payments in relation to the Kintyre Recycling unspent budget earmarking have been drawn down so remaining balance of £0.015m can be released back to the general fund. 4.5 General Fund Balance 4.5.1 The General Fund balance at 31 March 2022 was £96.081m. Of this £88.990m was approved by Council to be earmarked for specific purposes. The table at paragraph 4.6 summarises the movement in the earmarked balance to 31 March 2023. 4.5.2 A total of £79.466m is earmarked to be carried forward into 2023-24. The most significant elements of this balance relate to Capital Projects £16.059m, Unspent Budget £13.566m,Unspent Grant £13.179m, Strategic Housing Fund £7.247m and COVID-19 £5.512m. 4.5.3 The earmarked balances will be monitored throughout the financial year and reported to the Policy and Resources Committee.
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4.6 Movement in Earmarked Balances 4.7 Health and Social Care Partnership 4.7.1 There are historic earmarked reserves in relation to Social Work of £0.054m contained within this report (£0.040m against Unspent Third Party Contributions and £0.014m against Scottish Government Initiatives) and can be found in Appendix 4, references 146 and 147. Earmarking Category Balance at 31 March 2022 £000 Transfers Between Categories £000 New Earmarking from 2022-23 Outturn £000 New Earmarking Agreed by Council during 2022-23 £000 Actual Spend 2022-23 £000 Released back to General Fund £000 Balance Carried Forward to 2023-24 £000 Strategic Housing Fund 6,590 0 2,231 0 1,574 0 7,247 Investment in Affordable Housing 3,300 0 0 0 0 137 3,163 Capital Projects 24,722 0 1,406 6,845 16,914 0 16,059 Lochgilphead and Tarbert Regeneration 2,271 0 0 0 811 0 1,460 Support for Rural Growth Deal 1,058 0 0 0 302 0 756 Asset Management Investment 2,607 0 48 0 65 492 2,098 Piers and Harbours Investment Fund 1,643 0 1,146 0 0 0 2,789 Scottish Government Initiatives 3,141 0 1,178 0 1,485 0 2,834 CHORD 349 0 29 0 0 0 378 DMR Schools 1,982 0 1,129 0 1,717 0 1,394 Energy Efficiency Fund 218 0 0 0 0 0 218 Existing Legal Commitments 475 16 0 0 15 0 476 Unspent Grant 12,834 18 4,358 0 4,031 0 13,179 Unspent Third Party Contribution 166 0 99 0 0 0 265 Previous Council Decision - Other 4,343 (124) 46 0 432 25 3,808 Redundancy Provision 1,732 0 0 0 154 0 1,578 Supporting Organisational Change 1,588 0 0 0 162 0 1,426 One Council Property Team 0 369 197 0 0 0 566 Fleet - Timing Delay 499 0 159 0 0 0 658 Hermitage Park 4 0 15 0 0 0 19 Electric Vehicle Chargers 0 0 17 0 0 0 17 COVID-19 8,964 (15) 517 0 3,499 455 5,512 Unspent Budget 10,504 (264) 5,838 235 2,732 15 13,566 Totals 88,990 0 18,413 7,080 33,893 1,124 79,466
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4.7.2 For any new reserves, CIPFA LASAAC Guidance dictates that any reserves relating to the HSCP should be held as a creditor on the Balance Sheet as money owed to the HSCP from the Council. It should be noted that the balance being held on behalf of the HSCP in this manner is £5.006m. 5. CONCLUSION 5.1 A total of £1.124m of earmarked balances will be released back into the General Fund. 5.2 Services have submitted their new proposed unspent budget earmarked reserves balances for the 2022-23 year-end for consideration by Members together with business cases to support the requests, these proposals total £4.610m. In addition there is a further £2.094m unspent budget earmarking previously approved. 5.3 There are a number of previously approved unspent budget earmarked reserves balances where there are plans to spend in future years and these have been scrutinised by SMT to confirm there is clear justification for these to continue to be earmarked. 5.4 There are new balances totalling £11.708m that qualify for automatic carry forward for the Council at the end of 2022-23. 6. IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy Outlines the new proposed unspent budget earmarking to be carried forward as per the updated policy. Also outlines the new balances to be earmarked which qualify for automatic carry forward 6.2 Financial Outlines all earmarked balances held within the General Fund 6.3 Legal None 6.4 HR None 6.5 Fairer Scotland Duty None 6.5.1 Equalities None 6.5.2 Socio-Economic Duty None 6.5.3 6.6 Islands Duty Climate Change None None 6.7 Risk None 6.8 Customer Service None Kirsty Flanagan Executive Director/Section 95 Officer Councillor Gary Mulvaney – Policy Lead for Finance and Commercial Services 2 June 2023 APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Policy on End of Year Flexibility Appendix 2.1 – New Unspent Budget Proposals 2022-23 (New Business Cases)
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Appendix 2.1a – Business Case – Proposed Clearance and Demolition of Former Rothesay Academy Appendix 2.1b – Business Case – Capital Costs for Implementation of ASN Review Appendix 2.1c – Business Case – Reduction in Teacher Staffing Spend – Strike Action Appendix 2.1d – Business Case – MCR Pathways Pilot for Secondary Schools Appendix 2.1e – Business Case – Principal Teacher for Languages (Gaelic Focus) Appendix 2.1f – Business Case – Microsoft 365 – Future Licensing Appendix 2.1g – Business Case – Planning Income Appendix 2.1h – Business Case – Digital Projects Appendix 2.1i – Business Case – Contract Inflation Adjustments Appendix 2.2 – New Unspent Budget Proposals 2022-23 (Previously Agreed) Appendix 3 – New Automatic Carry Forward Earmarkings 2022-23 Appendix 4 – Previously Agreed Earmarked Balances For further information contact Anne Blue, Head of Financial Services anne.blue@argyll-bute.gov.uk
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APPENDIX 1 FINANCIAL SERVICES POLICY ON END OF YEAR FLEXIBILITY 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Local Authority Accounting Panel (LAAP) Bulletin 99 provides guidance to local authorities on the establishment and maintenance of local authority reserves and balances. 1.2 When reviewing their medium term financial plans and preparing annual budgets, local authorities should consider the establishment and maintenance of reserves which can be held for three main purposes: • A working balance to help cushion the impact of uneven cash flows and avoid unnecessary temporary borrowing – this forms part of general reserves; • A contingency to cushion the impact of unexpected events or emergencies – this also forms part of general reserves; • A means of building up funds, often referred to as earmarked reserves, to meet known or predicted requirements; earmarked reserves are accounted for separately but remain legally part of the general fund. 1.3 Given the tightening financial situation it is essential that the Council gives proper scrutiny to any proposal to earmark balances or carry forward funds. In particular the Council should seek to ensure funding that is carried forward is directed to and supports Council priorities in terms of corporate and service plans. 1.4 This note outlines the policy adopted by the Council for the earmarking and carry forward of surplus funds to future years. 2. POLICY 2.1 SMT agreed the twelve situations where earmarking of the general fund reserve is permitted. 2.2 SMT agreed the protocol for use of reserves. 3. DETAIL 3.1 The Council hold a general fund reserve. It comprises the following elements: • A contingency for any unforeseen events or emergencies. The contingency is reviewed each year as part of the budget process. • The Strategic Housing Fund. • Balances held to support the following year’s budget. • Earmarked funds as noted below.
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APPENDIX 1 FINANCIAL SERVICES POLICY ON END OF YEAR FLEXIBILITY 3.2 At the end of each financial year any surplus for the year is added to the general fund reserve. At this time the Council have the opportunity to consider earmarking surplus funds. 3.3 There are twelve situations where earmarking of the general fund reserve is permitted. • Unspent grant. On some occasions a grant is received in one financial year and will not be spent/fully spent until the following financial year. If the grant is not spent on the purpose intended the Council would have to return the unspent grant, therefore, the unspent grant is required to be held in the general fund and earmarked for that purpose next year. • Unspent third party contribution. The council may receive a contribution from third parties towards a project/work stream but the project spans more than one financial year. As with grant payments the contribution would have to be repaid if not spent on the purpose it was intended for. In this instance, the unspent contribution is required to be held in the general fund and earmarked for that purpose next year. • Unspent budget within the Devolved Management of Resources (DMR) Scheme of Delegation for schools. This allows for the carry forward of unspent budget within schools, partly to give flexibility over the school year as opposed to the Council’s financial year. Unspent budget is required to be held in the general fund and earmarked for the school next year. This carry forward operates within the agreed scheme of delegation for school budgets. • CHORD funding. Any budget allocated to the CHORD programme will be ring fenced and any unspent balance at the year-end will be carried forward to support the overall CHORD programme. • Existing Legal Commitments. • Scottish Government Initiatives. The council may receive additional funding from the Scottish Government to implement new Government initiatives or legislation. Any unspent funding at year end will be held in the general fund and earmarked for that purpose next year. • Energy Efficiency Fund. Any savings generated from energy efficiency measures are to be pooled for reinvestment in additional projects which further reduce the Council’s energy costs and carbon emission levels.
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APPENDIX 1 FINANCIAL SERVICES POLICY ON END OF YEAR FLEXIBILITY • Piers and Harbours Investment Fund. Additional fees and charges income generated from Piers and Harbours operations are to be pooled and used to meet the costs of the prudential borrowing required to develop and maintain the Council’s harbour assets and infrastructure. • Hermitage Park. The Hermitage Park regeneration project has a significant investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) which has a requirement to have a 10 year Management and Maintenance Plan. This will be partly funded by existing Council revenue budgets but should also be supplemented by any additional income which can be generated from park activities. Part of the HLF conditions are that all income generated by the park should be retained to support the Management and Maintenance Plan and a result of this requirement, any unspent income generated by the park is retained for future years requirements. • One Council Property Team. The corporate approach to managing property has been in place since 2018 and historically any surplus above budget will have been absorbed by the Service and ultimately gone to the general fund. This ring-fenced fund for One Council Property will enable investment in the Council’s property portfolio to ensure it remains fit for purpose. • Fleet - Timing Delay. In 2020-21 year, there was a particular problem with orders not being delivered because of manufacturing issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This earmarking allows the value of fleet orders submitted but not delivered due to supplier issues to be automatically earmarked to offset the invoice when the order is received. • Electric Vehicle Charging Surplus – the fee was set in order to create a surplus in order to allow future investment in charging points. A new automatic earmarking category is proposed to allow future electronic vehicle charging points to be installed and maintained. 3.4 Outwith these twelve situations noted above there will be no automatic carry forward of unspent budget. Any surplus arising from unspent budget within departments/services will be pooled and transferred into the general fund reserve. 4. PROTOCOL FOR USE OF RESERVES 4.1 There are exceptional circumstances where a proposal to earmark unspent budget may be considered. There is no set timetable for this. • The Council’s level of general reserve contingency must be fully met.
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APPENDIX 1 FINANCIAL SERVICES POLICY ON END OF YEAR FLEXIBILITY • The purpose for the earmarking must be linked to the objectives, priorities and targets as set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan, Area Plans and Service Plans. • There needs to be a business case that justifies the required expenditure. • Consideration of the business case must take account of the future budgetary and financial outlook in order not to place undue financial pressure on the Council in the future. 4.2 Any requests to earmark unspent budget based on the criteria above must be submitted to the SMT in the first instance. SMT would assess the proposal and if it considers the proposal worthy of support would submit it to the Council with a recommendation. Proposals not supported by SMT will proceed no further. Kirsty Flanagan Executive Director /Section 95 Officer 1 June 2023
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Appendix 2.1 With Business Cases Ref Service Description New Earmarking Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (DOUGLAS HENDRY) 001 Commercial Services Rothesay Academy - Demolition and Waste Disposal 895,000 Unspent Budget Since Rothesay Academy was vacated over 15 years ago no site clearance has taken place and there are potential Health and Safety and insurance cover implications due to deterioration of the building. £55,000 earmarking will allow clearance of remaining materials and debris. Also £840,000 to fund estimated future costs of demolition (subject to removal of listed status) tobeadded toanexisting earmarking. Therearepotential Health and Safetyand insurance cover implications due to deterioration of the building. 55,000 840,000 0 002 Education ASN Review 1,255,000 Unspent Budget To fund capital costs of ASN adaptations as part of ASN Review to increase equity of provision across Argyll and Bute. This will be subject to a business case as part of the wider ASN review. 0 1,255,000 0 003 Education Reduced Teacher Staffing Costs - Strike Action 800,000 Unspent Budget To fund one off savings in 2024-25 from the underspend in staffing from strike action. 0 800,000 0 004 Education MCR Pathways Pilot 80,000 Unspent Budget Funding to support implementation of MCR Pathways mentoring programme within three secondary schools for 2023-24 academic year. Funding will allow the employment of a dedicated Co-ordinator within each setting to develop and implement the programme which is designed to benefit care experienced and other disadvantaged pupils through targeted mentoring support. 50,000 30,000 0 005 Education Gaelic Specific Grant 30,000 Unspent Budget Proposal to fund the continuation of the Principal Teacher Languages (Gaelic focus) post forthe2023-24 academicyeartopromote anddevelop GaelicMedium Educationacross Argyll and Bute. This earmarking refers to the Council contribution towards the Gaelic grant for 22-23. 13,000 17,000 0 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (KIRSTY FLANGAN) 006 Customer Support Services Microsoft365 35,000 Unspent Budget To be added to existing earmarked reserves to meet increasing MS365 licensing costs from 2023/24 onwards 0 0 35,000 007 Development & Economic Growth Planning Income 60,000 Unspent Budget To fund additional resources to support and develop the Council's planning service. 60,000 0 0 NON DEPARTMENTAL 008 Across Services Digital Projects 840,000 Unspent Budget To deliver a number of Digital Projects, specifically in Education, Legal and Regulatory Support and Customer Support Services. The specific projects are: the ITrent Project, School WiFi upgrades £0.200m, Replacement of Council Chambers online meeting equipment £0.130m, a Digital Project Officer £0.060m, Resilient Website Project £0.060m, Cashless Catering £0.030m and a Digital Engagement Services Developer £0.028m. 605,000 235,000 0 009 Across Services Contract Inflation Adjustments 614,523 Unspent Budget To fund inflation pressures affecting three areas of contracted spend within the Council: £350,000 for the NPDO and DBFM Schools Contract Unitary Charge, £255,000 for the Waste PPP contract and £0.010m for the MAKI and Islay Pools Service Level Agreement. 614,523 0 0 4,609,523 1,397,523 3,177,000 35,000 NEW Unspent Budget Proposals - 2022-23 Year End Spending profile
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Appendix 2.1a Tick One Box For Information Only For Decision Only For Discussion x ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVE PROPOSED CLEARANCE AND DEMOLITION OF FORMER ROTHESAY ACADEMY 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 It is proposed that an additional £840,000 be earmarked from the revenue budget underspend to fund the future demolition costs of the former Rothesay Academy (subject to the listing being removed). It is important to note that this allocation in no way prejudges the outcome of the process to remove the listing from the property but only makes provision in the event that this outcome is achieved. It is also proposed to earmark £55,000 to fund the removal of materials from the former Rothesay Academy site. 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4 Business Case – Demolition Costs In the 2020-21 budget £250,000 was earmarked for the demolition of Lochgilphead Primary School with any remaining funds to be used for early investigations into the proposed demolition of Rothesay Academy (subject to the listing being removed). Lochgilphead Primary has now been demolished and additional budget is required to move to stage 2 of the project. The former Rothesay Academy site was vacated over 15 years ago and has not been used productively since then. The property has understandably deteriorated over this period. Despite Estates marketing Rothesay Academy for sale over a number of years no viable proposals have been received due to the costs of demolition / conversion. Rothesay Academy has become a source of concern for the Property team, local Police and the council’s Insurers in terms of vandalism, anti-social behaviour, maintenance costs and ongoing repairs to keep the property secure. There is also a danger of youths gaining access and injuring themselves.
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Appendix 2.1a 2.2.5 2.2.6 The property is a listed building and therefore any proposals will be subject to consultation with Historic Environment Scotland to remove or vary the listing to allow the property, or part of, to be demolished. During 2021, Fyne Homes demolished the upper part of the former Academy which they own, but was not listed. Both the council and Fyne Homes are keen to see the overall site regenerated holistically which the demolition of the lower academy building will facilitate. Initial assessment of the costs of demolition for Rothesay Academy, based on the cost of demolishing the former Lochgilphead Primary School, are around £900k - £1m.The identified sum of £840,000 will be required to meet these obligations however there may also be opportunities to seek external funding to meet part of the costs. 2.3 Business Case – Disposal of Materials 2.3.1 The former Rothesay Academy was vacated over 15 years ago following the development of the new campus. The property has significantly deteriorated in the intervening period. 2.3.2 The buildings were not cleared of school materials when the property was vacated and as the property has deteriorated this has become a fire risk. This was also highlighted by the council’s Insurers and therefore requires to be addressed. 2.3.3 Contractors were instructed to provide a cost estimate for the removal of the materials and the lowest quote received was in the region of £53,500. The identified sum of £55,000 will be required to meet future obligations. 2.4 2.4.1 Expenditure Profile The sum of £895,000 will be spent from 2023-24 onwards subject to the removal of the listing on the property. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMMERCIAL SERVICES
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Appendix 2.1b Tick One Box For Information Only For Decision Only For Discussion x ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVE CAPITAL COSTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ASN REVIEW 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 It is proposed that £1,255,000 be earmarked from the revenue budget underspend to fund capital costs for adaptations required for the implementation of actions from the ASN review 2023. 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 Business Case The ASN review identified an inequality of provision of Learning Centre facilities across the geographical areas within Argyll and Bute. In order to address this inequality of provision four Learning Centres should be developed within local education establishments across Argyll and Bute. A secondary Learning Centre should be established in the Helensburgh and Lomond area. A primary Learning Centre should be established in the Kintyre area. In addition to this multi – sector Learning Centres should be established on the Isles of Mull and Islay. 2.3 2.3.1 Expenditure Profile The sum of £1,255,000 will be spent from 2023-24 onwards on adaptations required to establish four further Learning Centre provisions. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR EDUCATION
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Appendix 2.1c Tick One Box For Information Only For Decision Only For Discussion x ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL REPORT BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVE REDUCTION IN TEACHER STAFFING SPEND - STRIKE ACTION 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 It is proposed that £800,000 be earmarked from the revenue budget underspend within the Education Service in 2022-23 to fund one off budget savings in 2024-25. 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 Business Case In 2022-23 there was a reduction in staffing costs due to industrial action which impacted on the salary costs and related expenditure by the Education Service resulting in an underspend of £800,000. We propose to earmark this underspend to use as a one-off saving within the 2024- 25 budget. This would allow the service to make a significant saving without impacting on the quality of Education provision. 2.3 Expenditure Profile The sum of £800,000 will be utilised in 2024-25. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR EDUCATION
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Appendix 2.1d Tick One Box For Information Only For Decision Only For Discussion x ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVE MCR PATHWAYS PILOT FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 It is proposed that £80,000 be earmarked from the revenue budget underspend to support funding of the MCR Pathways Programme pilot in three secondary schools – Oban High School, Dunoon Grammar School and Hermitage Academy. 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4 Business Case MCR Pathways is a third-sector national mentoring programme currently operating in 19 Scottish local authorities. In introducing the mentoring programme in Argyll and Bute, MCR Pathways would work in partnership with the council to employ volunteer mentors from the local community to work closely with vulnerable pupils in S3-S6 at secondary school. The programme would principally target Care Experienced young people, as well as other young people who experience obstacles or challenges in attaining and achieving their potential. Through regular work with a trained mentor, each young person would be supported in building the confidence, life skills and contacts to support them in achieving and attaining to their full potential in school, and in entering a sustained positive destination post-school. Across the country, data demonstrates the extremely positive impact of MCR Pathways on the lives and prospects of those young people engaging with the programme. The programme also provides taster sessions of the world of work and training for mentees, and group support for identified pupils in S1 and S2, in preparation for mentoring in S3 and beyond.
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Appendix 2.1d 2.2.5 2.2.6 A key aspect of establishing the MCR Pathways programme in Argyll and Bute is the recruitment of a Pathways Co-ordinator for each school. The Pathways Co-ordinator plays a key role in the recruitment of mentors for each school, is central to appropriately matching mentors to individual pupils, organises and co-ordinates the taster sessions for mentees and group sessions for S1-S2 pupils, and is a key support for young people accessing the MCR Pathways programme. The annual cost to the local authority for each Pathways Co-ordinator, including on- costs, is around £34,000. Schools are being asked to contribute to the funding through their Pupil Equity Funding. The requested earmarked funds are intended to supplement schools’ contributions in order to ensure the viability of the project. 2.3 2.3.1 Expenditure Profile The funds would be profiled across August – March 23-24 and April – June 24-25, covering next academic session, to enable the recruitment of a Pathways Co- ordinator for each of the above-mentioned schools. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR EDUCATION
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Appendix 2.1e Tick One Box For Information Only For Decision Only For Discussion x ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL RESERVE PRINCIPAL TEACHER FOR LANGUAGES (GAELIC FOCUS) 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4 It is proposed that £30,000 is earmarked from the revenue budget underspend in order to support the extension of the Principal Teacher for Languages (Gaelic focus) post to enable continuing support around Gaelic language. Business Case Working with the BGE Team, the Principal Teacher has already led extensive work on 1+2 Languages. Her work has also included Gaelic support and we have recognised this as an area where there continues to be a level of need. The Principal Teacher’s current contract ends in August 2023. There are a number of pieces of work underway which will have to be paused if there is nobody fulfilling this post. At present, the Principal Teacher is responsible for organising and delivering CLPL opportunities for staff, working with the Education Officer to promote Gaelic usage across the authority and works with colleagues to promote the expansion of Gaelic across Argyll and Bute establishments. Retaining the current Principal Teacher in post would ensure that we continue to promote the consistency, availability and status of Gaelic throughout the authority by raising the profile of the language and ensuring that schools have the capacity to deliver consistently high quality experiences for Gaelic Learners and pupils in Gaelic Medium Education (GME).
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Appendix 2.1e 2.3 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4 2.4 2.4.1 Proposed Plan The continuation of this post would enable the Principal Teacher, who has developed significant skill and expertise in this area, to continue to support the promotion, development and expansion of GME through working with establishments to promote the high quality experiences on offer within our GME provision and to ensure that GLE is consistently engaging, meaningful and interesting for pupils. They will play a key role in ensuring continuous improvement of our existing GME and GLE provision with the ultimate aim of increasing numbers of pupils. The Principal Teacher will continue to promote Gaelic usage across the authority and build capacity across establishments to ensure that staff feel confident in delivering high quality Gaelic language and culture activities. The Principal Teacher will support schools to make connections within their community to promote Gaelic language and access links across the wider community. The Principal Teacher will continue to promote Gaelic across the authority in order to raise the profile of the language within our communities. They will support establishments to ensure consistency and equity of experience for all. The Principal Teacher will ensure that specific support is targeted towards schools in areas of higher deprivation in order to ensure that barriers to learning about Gaelic language and culture are removed The Principal Teacher will play a lead role in strengthening Gaelic skills across Argyll and Bute. They will be responsible for raising awareness of Gaelic and Gaelic opportunities in our communities for parents/carers and families. They will work with other Council colleagues including the Gaelic Development Officer to ensure a cohesive approach to Gaelic across our authority and to ensure that all opportunities are highlighted and maximised. Expenditure Profile The funds would be profiled across August – March 23-24 and April – June 24-25, covering next academic session, for the extension of the contract for the Principal Teacher currently in post (0.8fte). EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR EDUCATION
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Appendix 2.1f Tick One Box For Information Only For Decision Only For Discussion x ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL REPORT BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KIRSTY FLANAGAN 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVE MICROSOFT 365 – FUTURE LICENSING 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 It is proposed that £35,000 be earmarked from the revenue budget underspend within ICT in 2022-23 and added to existing earmarked reserves to meet increasing MS365 licensing costs from 2023-24 onwards. 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 Business Case The ICT Service first reported the need to set aside funds to pay increased costs for Microsoft licences in 2017/18. Since then, ICT have contributed to an earmarking reserve each year as the council prepared to move from an on-premise “owned outright” licence model to a subscription based model using MS365. The project to migrate to MS365 was originally scheduled to complete during the 2021/22 financial year, during which the council expected to pay the higher licensing costs. Delays to the project in 2021/22 resulted in higher costs not being experienced until 2022/23 onwards. This provided opportunities to add further to the earmarked reserves in 2021/22 and retain that balance in 2022/23, extending the expenditure profile to ensure the Microsoft cost pressure does not impact the council’s revenue budget until 2026/27 – 2 years later than originally predicted. 2.3 2.3.1 Expenditure Profile The sum of £35,000 will be spent from 2023-24 onwards. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KIRSTY FLANAGAN WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES
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Appendix 2.1g Tick One Box For Information Only For Decision Only For Discussion x ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL REPORT BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KIRSTY FLANAGAN 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVE PLANNING INCOME 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 It is proposed that £60,000 be earmarked from the revenue budget underspend within Planning Services in 2022-23 to fund resources to support the development and workload of the service. 2.2 2.2.1 Business Case Additional income has been received for Major Planning Applications during financial year 2022-23 which have been surplus to requirements. Additional income is expected again in 2023-24. Proposals have been drawn up to use this additional planning application income to fund additional resources to support and develop the service. This £60k earmarking would fund additional costs for the Team Leaders, Senior Planners and a new Technical Officer post. 2.3 2.3.1 Expenditure Profile The sum of £60,000 will be spent from 2023/24 onwards. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KIRSTY FLANGAN WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
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Appendix 2.1h ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL REPORT BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS DOUGLAS HENDRY AND KIRSTY FLANAGAN 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVE DIGITAL PROJECTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 It is proposed that £840,000 be earmarked from the revenue budget underspend to deliver a number of Digital Projects, specifically in Commercial Services, Education, Legal and Regulatory Support and Customer Support Services. 2.2 Business Case Digital improvements are an essential route to ensuring that the Council continues to improve service delivery in the face of ever increasing financial pressures. The ICT and Digital Strategy sets out the Council’s Digital ambitions and aspirations, but not all of these aspirations are funded. This Business Case identifies six specific Digital Projects, which support delivery of our digital ambitions and are set out below. 2.2.1 Improvements and Expansion of School WIFI coverage It is proposed that £200,000 be earmarked to fund improvements and the expansion of school Wi-Fi coverage for learning and teaching areas. All classrooms and many common areas such as multipurpose games halls are fully covered by Wi-Fi. However, ongoing feedback from some schools indicates that there are other areas in schools where additional Wi-Fi coverage may be beneficial to the learning experience. The earmarking will support an increased number of Wi-Fi access points, upgrades to networking equipment and structured cabling, necessary to support an increased number of wireless access points and improve the performance and reliability of the network. Schools are required to cover the initial cost of any additional Wi-Fi access points at a cost of £400 (each) to provide wireless internet access in areas where there is no existing coverage, or to enable the flexible use of other areas of the school for learning
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Appendix 2.1h and teaching such as dining halls, games halls, schoolhouses and some outdoor spaces. Expenditure Profile Market lead times for delivery of networking equipment have increased significantly due to supply constraints and other current global market factors, and long procurement lead times are expected. ICT Networks resource is committed to major projects for much of this calendar year. Consequently, the sum of £200,000 will be spent from 2023/24 onwards and will roll into 2024/2025. 2.2.2 Cashless Catering It is proposed that £30,000 be earmarked to provide additional funding for the ongoing Cashless Catering Online Payments in schools project. The project is introducing electronic payments for school meals and other items such as uniforms and trips for both primary and secondary schools Due to issues that have arisen during the testing process for the secondary school cashless catering system and interfaces with other systems, there has been some slippage in implementation timescales. Costs are still being incurred for the existing solution whilst the new solution is being rolled out on a school by school basis. The proposed earmarking will allow for the overlap of costs between new and existing solutions and additional reports/testing as required until the system is fully implemented. Expenditure Profile The sum of £30,000 will be spent during 2023-24. 2.2.3 Council Chambers Equipment It is proposed that £130,000 be earmarked to fund the replacement of the Council Chamber Online Meeting Equipment. The Council has fully adopted online and hybrid committee meetings as part of our move to digital. This requires effective and efficient ICT equipment. We are entering the final year of maintenance for the current Council Chamber Online Meeting Equipment and there have been ongoing issues with reliability. A condition assessment by the incumbent maintenance contractor has highlighted that the current equipment is now at end of life and unsupportable due to obsolescence. Discussions with ICT have taken place and estimated replacement costs could be in the region of £125,000 - £130,000. It is proposed that £130,000 be earmarked to meet
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Appendix 2.1h this cost as the equipment is vital to maintaining the ongoing availability of Hybrid Meetings. Expenditure Profile The sum of £130,000 will be spent from 2023/24 onwards. 2.2.4 iTrent Project It is proposed that £332,000 is earmarked to support the implementation of the new iTrent HR and Payroll system. The Council will shortly commence work to implement the new iTrent HR and Payroll System to replace ResourceLink which goes out of contract at the end of September 2024. This earmarking will ensure that sufficient backfill is in place to support the payroll and HR teams to continue to deliver the essential business as usual activities associated with recruiting, managing and paying employees in addition to supporting the development, testing and implementation of the new software. It will also ensure that sufficient resource is available to fund existing and new software contracts, the licencing costs of which will overlap, and running concurrent payrolls until the new system is fully tested and high assurance is in place that accurate and compliant payroll processing is in place. The iTrent system is planned to go live by the end of June 2024 and additional staffing resource is needed in the Payroll Team to undertake the implementation work involved. This will involve: process redesign, system configuration and testing, user training, parallel running of the old and new systems for 2 months to identify and resolve any issues and 3 months of support after the go live date to support system users across the Council. The payroll system is a critical line of business system which affects all of the Council’s departments. Errors within the system directly and adversely impact staff and members. It is therefore essential that the Payroll Team have the resources required to ensure that the new system is configured correctly and robustly tested so that it is fit for purpose when it goes live in 2024. Expenditure Profile The sum of £332,000 will be spent in 2023-24 and 2024-25 2.2.5 Digital Project Officer HROD It is proposed that £60,000 be earmarked to fund a temporary Digital Project Officer in HROD for 1 year to implement the improvements identified by the Digital Skills Survey, Data Maturity Assessment and MS365 skills improvements. HROD aim to maximise opportunities that technology offers in the services that they provide to employees and managers. To deliver this successfully, it will be essential
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Appendix 2.1h to develop and implement an action plan that takes forward the findings from the Digital Skills Survey, Data Maturity Assessment and maximise the impact of the MS365 implementation to Council business through the AB365 programme. The temporary Project Officer will develop and deliver an action plan to improve these agreed outcomes. Expenditure Profile The sum of £60,000 will be spent over 2023-24 and 2024-25. 2.2.6 Resilient Website Project It is proposed that £60,000 be earmarked to fund a resilient website project to move to a cloud based website platform. Our current website is based on our own Council IT servers. This means that there is no automatic way to manage any failure and in the event of an ‘on premise’ cyber- attack (an attack on our in-house servers) that takes the website down, we would not be able to continue with any payments or other interactions with customers. These digital transactions amount to in excess of £1m per annum and provide an important and convenient service for customers as well as being highly efficient. We would have to revert to manual payments. We would be able to use the MyCouncilWorks or Invest in Argyll websites, but only for posting information as these are cloud based sites and therefore resilient. A cloud based website would provide us with a secure, resilient way to ensure that all of our digital, web based customer activities and payments could be protected from a cyber-attack to our systems. The Resilient Website Project was highlighted as an area for action during a cybersecurity review following the cyber security exercise on business continuity in 2022. This project will facilitate a move to a cloud based, managed website platform with dual centre failover. Expenditure Profile The sum of £60,000 will be spent in 2023-24 and 2024-25. 2.2.7 Digital Engagement Service Developer It is proposed that £28,000 be earmarked to part fund a Digital Engagement Services Developer. The Customer Engagement Team has invested in software called CREATE/RPA which enables robotic processes to be built and applied to council business activities. To use this software, which has significant capacity to improve processing times and efficiencies, we need to have staff with the skills to programme it.
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Appendix 2.1h At the moment the software is being underused as it has more capacity than we have employees to programme it. This means that we are unable to progress with all of the service requests that we have received and our lack of capacity is limiting digital improvements. A Digital Engagement Services Developer post working in the Digital Service Team would increase our capacity to work through the Use Case List for the new CREATE/RPA system. Part of the post can be funded through a current vacancy. The post will be temporary for 18 months. Expenditure Profile The sum of £28,000 will be spent in 2023-24 and 2024/25. 3 Summary Service Description New Earmarking Education School WiFi Upgrades 200,000 Education Cashless Catering 30,000 Legal and Regulatory Support Replacement of Council Chambers Online Meeting Equipment 130,000 Customer Support Services iTrent Project 332,000 Customer Support Services Digital Project Officer 60,000 Customer Support Services Resilient Website Project 60,000 Customer Support Services Digital Engagement Services Developer 28,000 840,000 DOUGLAS HENDRY AND KIRSTY FLANAGAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
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Appendix 2.1i Tick One Box For Information Only For Decision Only For Discussion x ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL REPORT BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS DOUGLAS HENDRY AND KIRSTY FLANAGAN 29 JUNE 2023 PROPOSAL TO EARMARK FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVE CONTRACT INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request support in earmarking unspent budget for a specific purpose, in line with the Policy on End of Year Flexibility. 2. DETAIL 2.1 Initiative/Proposal 2.1.1 It is proposed that £614,523 be earmarked from the revenue budget underspend in 2022-23 to fund inflation cost pressures affecting three areas of contracted spend in the Council. 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 Business Case In setting the annual budget, an allowance for non-pay inflation is included based on estimates of the inflation rates which affect the costs of the Council’s external contracts. In setting the 2023/24 budget for the three contracts below, the inflation estimates included in the budget were lower than inflation turned out to be in February 2023, which is the inflation reporting month used to set the inflation uplift for the following financial year and which is not available until after the Council sets its budget. To align the budgets with the impact of the difference between the inflation estimates and the actual inflation rate, budget adjustments totalling £614,523 are proposed for the three contracts detailed below. NPDO & DBFM Schools Contract Unitary Charge The non-pay inflation element utilised for the 2023-24 budget was based on an anticipated RPI inflation increase of 8.18%. The actual RPI year on year inflation at February 2023 was 13.8% which has resulted in a shortfall of £480,215. It is proposed that £350,000 be earmarked to meet the shortfall with the balance being met from one-off efficiency monies.
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Appendix 2.1i 2.2.4 2.2.5 2.2.6 Waste PPP Contract The non-pay inflation element utilised for the 2023/24 budget was based on an anticipated RPIX inflation increase of 7.09%. The actual RPIX year on year inflation at February 2023 was 10.98% which has resulted in a shortfall of £255,000. It is proposed that £255,000 be earmarked to meet the shortfall. MAKI and Islay Pools Service Level Agreement The non-pay inflation element utilised for the 2023-24 budget for the Leisure SLA for MAKI/Islay Pools was based on an anticipated RPI inflation increase of 8.18%. The actual RPI year on year inflation at February 2023 was 13.8% which has resulted in a shortfall of £9,523. It is proposed that £9,523 be earmarked to meet the shortfall. Adjustments have been included in the draft budget for 2024/25 to align the base budget with the actual inflation rate increases detailed above and measures have been put in place to improve the accuracy of the inflation estimates for February 2024. 2.3 2.3.1 Expenditure Profile The sum of £614,523 will be spent during 2023/24. DOUGLAS HENDRY AND KIRSTY FLANAGAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
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Appendix 2.2 Previously agreed Ref Service Description New Earmarking £ Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KIRSTY FLANAGAN 001 Development & Economic Growth Planning Income 340,000 Unspent Budget To fund one off operational saving MGT5 agreed for the 2023/24 budget 340,000 0 0 NON DEPARTMENTAL 002 Non Departmental Campbeltown Flood Prevention 1,406,000 Unspent Budget Funding agreed as part of the Loans Fund Review for Campbeltown Flood Prevention. 1,406,000 0 0 003 Non Departmental Loans Fund 300,000 Unspent Budget To fund one off operational saving MGT3 agreed for the 2023/24 budget 300,000 0 0 004 Non Departmental Asset Management Fund 48,173 Unspent Budget Investment income relating to the Asset Management Fund. When the Fund was set up, it was agreed that the income should be added to it annually. The amount being earmarked relates to income from 2021-22 0 0 48,173 2,094,173 2,046,000 0 48,173 NEW Unspent Budget Proposals - 2022-23 Year End Spending profile
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Appendix 3.1 Ref Service Description New Earmarking £ Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards CHIEF EXECUTIVES UNIT 001 Community Planning NHS Highland Contribution Towards the CPP Running Costs 42,770 Unspent Third Party Contribution Will be deployed as required in the day-to-day running of the Community Planning Partnership's operations. 42,770 0 0 002 Community Planning Gaelic Development 11,519 Unspent Grant To fund Gaelic specific work and project work of the Community Planning Partnership including the development of the new 10 year Outcome Improvement Plan 11,519 0 0 003 Community Planning Recovered unspent third sector grant funding. 10,846 Previous Council Decision To be distributed through the Supporting Communities Fund for communities based projects across Argyll and Bute. 10,846 0 0 004 Community Planning Covid impacts – support to communities’ 5,100 COVID-19 Funding provided in relation to the Local Self-Isolation Assistance Service. 5,100 0 0 EXECTIVE DIRECTOR (DOUGLAS HENDRY) 005 Commercial One Council Property 197,338 One Council Property Team It was agreed in 2020/21 to retain revenue generated from commercial activity in One Council Property for future investment across the Council’s property portfolio to ensure it remains fit for purpose. 197,338 0 0 006 Education DSM - Devolved School Management Scheme 1,129,677 DMR Schools To be spent in accordance with DSM regulations. 1,129,677 0 0 007 Education 100 Day Promise - Increase Teacher and Pupil Support Assistant Numbers 713,292 Scottish Government Initiatives Scottish Government initiative to increase the number of teachers and support assistants in schools. 713,292 0 0 008 Education Pupil Equity Fund Carry Forward 565,097 Unspent Grant To provide targeted support for children and young people affected by poverty to achieve their full potential. Funding is used over the academic year. 565,097 0 0 009 Education Expansion of Universal Free School Meals 451,208 Scottish Government Initiatives To support the continued phased implementation of Universal Free School Meals for Primary children. 451,208 0 0 010 Education Early Learning and Childcare - 1140 Hours (2022/23) 471,340 Unspent Grant Continued provision of high quality early learning and childcare experiences to children eligible for 1140 hours, in accordance with Funding Follows the Child and the associated National Standard. 471,340 0 0 011 Education Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme (SMHSS) 43,470 Unspent Grant The Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme funds a daily portion of plain fresh cow’s milk (or specified alternative) and a healthy snack (fruit or vegetables) for pre-school children spending 2 hours or more in the care of a regulated day care provider and/or childminders that has registered for the Scheme. The unspent grant from 2022/23 will contribute towards the cost of the scheme in 2023/24. 43,470 0 0 012 Education Youth Music Initiative 39,618 Unspent Grant To fund YMI projects across the remainder of the academic year 2022/23. 39,618 0 0 013 Education Strategic Equity Fund 29,255 Unspent Grant Strategic Equity Funding must provide targeted support for children and young people (and their families if appropriate) affected by poverty to achieve their full potential, focusing on targeted improvement activity in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. The Strategic Equity Fund Spending Plan will enhance staffing, provide teacher cover and support to schools not in receipt of PEF funding, to be spent by the end of the 2022-23 academic year. 29,255 0 0 014 Education EDU - Music Instructors 13,354 Scottish Government Initiatives Scottish Government Initiative to support music tuitution. Unspent amount designated for expansion of the service 2022-23 academic year. 13,354 0 0 015 Education EDU - CAST Projects Budget 11,956 Unspent Grant Unspent grant from Creative Learning Networks Fund to support creative arts projects across the remainder of the academic year 2022-23. 11,956 0 0 016 Education Play on Pedals 9,953 Unspent Grant Unspent Play On Pedals grant to allow the procurement of a fleet of cycles and helmets to support delivery across up to 19 nurseries, as well as other equipment and maintenance. 9,953 0 0 NEW Automatic Carry Forward Earmarkings - 2022-23 Year-end Spending profile
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Ref Service Description New Earmarking £ Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards Spending profile 017 Education EDU - Armed Forces Covenant Fund - Colgrain Primary School 2,020 Unspent Grant Unspent grant to be spent on further resources as part of spending plan. Grant awarded for connecting families at Colgrain hub. Due to delays in getting resources ordered and being out of stock, the grant has been extended to the end of May 2023. 2,020 0 0 018 Education Transport for 'Smoke Free Me' Drama Production 2,000 Unspent Third Party Contribution NHS funding contribution towards the cost of school transport for pupils attending the Smoke Free Me drama production which was delivered across Argyll and Bute. 2,000 0 0 019 Education EDU - Support Fund for Service Children 165 Unspent Grant Unspent Grant from Naval Children's Charity to go towards providing art and craft materials for groups across Helensburgh and Lomond. 165 0 0 020 Education EDU - Armed Forces Covenant Fund - Rhu Primary School 47 Unspent Grant Unspent grant to be spent on further resources as part of agreed spending plan. Grant awarded for Community Café, art teacher, hire of church hall and resources. 47 0 0 EXECTIVE DIRECTOR (KIRSTY FLANAGAN) 021 Development & Economic Growth Coastal Communities Fund (Crown Estates) 1,261,200 Unspent grant 2022-23 grant funding for Coastal Communities Fund (Crown Estates). 1,261,200 0 0 022 Development & Economic Growth UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) 559,291 Unspent grant 2022-23 grant funding for UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). 559,291 0 0 023 Development & Economic Growth Place Based Investment Programme 299,000 Unspent grant 2022-23 grant funding for Place Based Investment Programme. 299,000 0 0 024 Development & Economic Growth Islands Infrastructure Fund 265,258 Unspent grant 2022-23 grant funding for Islands Infrastructure Fund. 265,258 0 0 025 Development & Economic Growth Scottish Govt Islands Programme 100,000 Unspent grant 2022-23 grant funding for Scottish Govt Islands Programme. 100,000 0 0 026 Development & Economic Growth LHEES (Local Heat & Energy Strategy) 75,000 Unspent Grant Scottish Government grant to deliver Local Heat & Energy Strategy which will fund consultany costs required to iplement the scheme going forward. 75,000 0 0 027 Development & Economic Growth Rapid Rehousing 65,335 Unspent grant Implementing the Rapid re-Housing Plan. This will include, but not exclusively, Rent arrears prevention fund; Decoration project; Flexible Emergency Fund; Mental Health /Addictions Practitioner; Housing First / RRTP training. 65,335 0 0 028 Development & Economic Growth UK Community Renewal Fund 59,812 Unspent grant 2022-23 grant funding for UK Community Renewal Fund. 59,812 0 0 029 Development & Economic Growth Shelter Scotland Housing Funding 54,000 Unspent third party contribution Year 1 contribution from Shelter Scotland to fund 50% of a 2 year temporary Empty Homes Officer. Post is not yet recruited to but should be in place during 23-24 and 50% of the costs will be drawndwon from this earmarked reserve when required. 40,500 13,500 0 030 Development & Economic Growth Rothesay Pavilion 28,267 CHORD funding Build up a provision towards future Council commitment to provide additional financial support up to £150,000 per annum towards Rothesay Pavilion running costs. 0 0 28,267 031 Financial Services Housing Benefits Private 91,089 COVID-19 Specific funding allocation for Housng Benefit including DHP. Funds will be used to continue to support vulnerable people initially financially affected by the COVID-19 outbreak but now facing the cost of living crisis to sustain their tenancies. T 91,089 0 0
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Ref Service Description New Earmarking £ Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards Spending profile 032 Financial Services Benefit Admin Grant 80,469 Unspent Grant Grant monies which would have to be repaid if not utilised for intended purpose. Benefit Administration activities in the build up to the migration of Housing Benefit to Universal Credit. These monies are committed to cover ongoing Benefit Administration activities in 22/23, 23/24 and 24/25 when it is now expected that the full migration of working age Housing Benefit caseload to Universal Credit will be complete. Monies will be used to implement the recommended changes from the recent Revs and Bens BPR (£50,000), build resilience including staff overtime, outsourcing of Housing Benefit processing during the transition and cover casual staff for the Universal Credit migration (£20,500). Monies also set aside for additional works to the value of £40,000 with the software suppliers around enhancing the Revs and Bens system, automating processes and transitioning customers to use digital gateways to contact the service. 80,469 0 0 033 Financial Services Cost of Living Payments - Admin funding 72,550 Unspent Grant Administration funding associated with Scottish Government schemes to issue monies to Low income Households for the Cost of Living Payments.To provide additional staffing to help with the backlog and and to support any further Scottish Government funding initiatives during 23/24 and 24/25 72,550 0 0 033 Financial Services Self Isolated Support Grant 2,933 COVID-19 Unspent admin funding for processing Self isolation Support Grants. 2,933 0 0 034 Roads & Infrastructure Services Piers and Harbours 1,146,500 Piers and Harbours Investment Fund Funding generated through increased harbour fees and charges in order to generate funds to meet the costs of the prudential borrowing required to develop and maintain the Council's harbour assets and infrastructure. Under the Harbours Act 1964, section 42, as a statutory harbour undertaker, the Council must prepare an annual statement of accounts relating to the harbour activities and any associated activities for each harbour for which it is the statutory harbour authority. This requirement cannot be satisfied by the preparation of a statement of accounts which relates to other Council activities in addition to harbour activities. In essence, any surplus in the Piers and Harbours budget must be reinvested in the marine asset and reflected in accounts. 0 0 1,146,500 035 Roads & Infrastructure Services Fleet - Vehicle Replacement 158,661 Fleet - Timing Delay Timing delay in fleet replacement causing one-off saving which will be used to purchase additional Fleet as required 158,661 0 0 036 Roads & Infrastructure Services Hermitage Park 14,611 Hermitage Park The Hermitage Park regeneration project has a significant investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) which has a requirement to have a 10 year Management and Maintenance Plan. This will be partly funded by existing Council revenue budgets but should also be supplemented by any additional income which can be generated from park activities. Part of the HLF conditions are that all income generated by the park should be retained to support the Management and Maintenance Plan and a result of this requirement, any unspent income generated by the park is retained for future years requirements. 14,611 0 0 037 Roads & Infrastructure Services Electric Vehicle Chargers 16,560 Electric Vehicle Charging Surplus To fund future installation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging points. 0 16,560 0 NON DEPARTMENTAL 038 Non Departmental Strategic Housing Fund 2,230,584 Strategic Housing Fund Strategic Housing Fund. Council tax collected during 2022-23 from the second homes discount on properties. Requires to be earmarked as part of the Strategic Housing Fund balance. 0 0 2,230,584 039 Non Departmental Oban TIF (Tax Incremental Financing - Excess NDR) 623,395 Previous Council Decision This is the surplus NDR after paying all Loans Charges in respect of TIF infrastructure projects. This fund will be used in the future as TIF projects are delivered. 0 0 623,395 040 Other Operating Income and Expenditure Educational Support to Ukrainian Children and Young People 335,671 Unspent Grant Balance of grant received in 2022-23 for provision of childcare and education support to Ukrainian children and young people. 335,671 0 0
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Ref Service Description New Earmarking £ Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards Spending profile 041 Other Operating Income and Expenditure COVID Funding 418,337 COVID-19 Net balance on COVID cost centres at year end 2022/23 with proposals on use to be developed. 0 0 418,337 11,708,548 7,231,405 30,060 4,447,083
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Previously Agreed Earmarked Balances Appendix 4 Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards Completed projects during 2022/23 18,595 18,595 0 0 0 Unspent Budget 0 0 0 Completed projects during 2022/23 4,404,625 4,404,625 0 0 0 Previous Council Decision Completed projects during 2022/23 1,873,000 1,873,000 0 Capital Projects 0 0 0 Completed projects during 2022/23 1,397,751 1,397,751 0 0 0 COVID-19 0 0 0 Completed projects during 2022/23 2,425,478 2,425,478 0 0 0 Previous Council Decision 0 0 0 Completed projects during 2022/23 962,278 962,278 0 0 0 Scottish Government Initiatives 0 0 0 Completed projects during 2022/23 1,400,685 1,400,685 0 0 0 Unspent Grant 0 0 0 CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S UNIT 001 Community Planning NHS Highland and other CPP Partners Contribution Towards the CPP Running and Project Costs 70,598 0 70,598 Unspent Third Party Contribution Will be deployed as required in the day-to-day running of the Community Planning Partnership's operations. 70,598 0 0 002 Community Planning Community Planning - temp post to support communities 55,000 0 55,000 COVID-19 As agreed at Policy & Resources committee on 9 December 2021, allocation of £0.055m to a post to support the economic and social recovery together with the building back stronger themes. 55,000 0 0 003 Community Planning Covid impacts – support to communities’ 44,047 0 44,047 COVID-19 Funding provided in relation to the Local Self-Isolation Assistance Service. The Community Planning and Development Team will work with community groups to support their community response and resiliency to Test and Protect and the longer term impacts of COVID-19 on local community organisations. 44,047 0 0 004 Community Planning Communities and Partnership Team 8,855 0 8,855 Unspent Budget The funds have originated from externally sourced income due to an employee being seconded to the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC). The funds will be used to support the team in relation to meeting its priorities of Building Back Better (Communities), Climate Change and the review of the Argyll and Bute Outcome Improvement Plan. 8,855 0 0 005 Community Planning Gaelic Development 8,235 0 8,235 Unspent Budget To fund Gaelic specific work and project work of the Community Planning Partnership including the development of the new 10 year Outcome Improvement Plan 8,235 0 0 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (DOUGLAS HENDRY) 006 Commercial Services Rothesay Pavilion Charity 750,000 0 750,000 Previous Council Decision Agreed at Council meeting February 2020, £750k additional revenue support subject to conditions which seek to minimise the risk to the Council as far as is reasonably practicable including requirement for adequate business and financial management and regular reporting by RPC. 0 750,000 0 Spending profile
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 007 Commercial Services Climate Change Programme 500,000 0 500,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 24 February 2022, the Council committed to additional investments with £0.500m for Climate Change, building on previous £1.1m investments, including projects within Argyll and Bute’s schools. Expenditure in 22/23, draw down in 23/24. 500,000 0 0 008 Commercial Services Contingent Liability - Capital Project 453,346 14,655 438,691 Existing Legal Commitments There is a contingent liability in respect of Helensburgh capital projects with future costs expected for fees relative to court proceedings and remedial works required to be carried out, the extent of which are still unknown. 438,691 0 0 009 Commercial Services One Council Property 368,633 0 368,633 Previous Council Decision - Other It was agreed in 2020/21 to retain revenue generated from commercial activity in One Council Property for future investment across the Council’s property portfolio to ensure it remains fit for purpose. 368,633 0 0 010 Commercial Services Rothesay Pavilion Essential repairs 306,400 0 306,400 Previous Council Decision Essential repairs to deal with potential health and safety risks and to avoid further deterioration. Budget provision was approved by the Policy and Resources Committee on 21 August 2014. 0 306,400 0 011 Commercial Services Energy Efficiency Fund 218,351 0 218,351 Energy Efficiency Fund The Central Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF) was launched by the Scottish Government in 2004 to support the delivery of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures to reduce carbon emissions in the Scottish Public Sector. The original Council allocation of funding was £286k and there were terms and conditions attached to the funding which included formally reporting to the SG on energy efficient measures implemented from the fund. Part of the stipulation of the funding was that any savings from energy efficiencies were reinvested into the fund in order that there was a revolving fund to continually reinvest in energy efficiency measures. The terms and conditions attached to the fund expired on 31 March 2016, however there is an expectation that local authorities will maintain a revolving energy efficiency fund to support future carbon reducing projects. Maintaining this fund also assists the Council to make progress towards reducing carbon emissions and therefore not only to secure savings in energy costs but also in the cost of Carbon Reduction Scheme Allowances. 218,351 0 0 012 Commercial Services Estates - NDR Revaluation Appeals 84,688 0 84,688 Unspent Budget The Council agreed to make provision to meet the cost of appealing Non Domestic Rates (NDR) revaluations which were imposed from April 2017. The remaining funds were carried forward to the 2023/24 revaluation cycle however a recent change in position by the Scottish Government may restrict the appeals which can be made. This is still under discussion and Gerald Eve Surveyors have been appointed as specialist advisers on this matter. In the event that appeals are limited there may be an opportunity to utilise Gerald Eve for more general valuation advice subject to Procurement approval. 84,688 0 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 013 Commercial Services Demolition of former Lochgilphead Primary and Rothesay Secondary School 320,000 261,125 58,875 Unspent Budget To fund the demolition of the former Lochgilphead Primary School and former Rothesay Academy (subject to the removal of the listing). Lochgilphead Primary complete and remainder of funds to be used to commence Rothesay Project. 58,875 0 0 014 Commercial Services Free Sanitary Provision Scheme 75,090 23,958 51,132 Scottish Government Initiatives To fund the continued implementation of the scheme through increased provision of reusable products, improved provision in rural communities by working in partnership with Education and improving the storage of products in toilets so that they are more readily available. A dedicated officer was appointed in November 2022 to develop the scheme and increase provision across Argyll and Bute including a postage facility. 51,132 0 0 015 Commercial Services Mid Argyll Community Pool 30,000 30,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 23 February 2023, the Council committed to a one-off investment of £0.030m to Mid Argyll Community Pool in response to an external funding request 30,000 0 0 016 Commercial Services MacTaggart Leisure Islay 30,000 30,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 23 February 2023, the Council committed to a one-off investment of £0.030m to MacTaggart Leisure, Islay in response to an external funding request 30,000 0 0 017 Commercial Services Site Investigation Works 21,013 0 21,013 Unspent Budget For Site Investigation works in relation to Tweeddale Street Car Park and Oban Airport Business Park, exploring commercial 21,013 0 0 018 Commercial Services Free School Meals Funding 12,650 0 12,650 Scottish Government Scottish Government funding for the provision of Free School Meals or meal alternative e.g direct cash payment or food 12,650 0 0 019 Education EDU - Early Learning & Childcare - 1140 Hours Expansion 7,431,942 1,900,564 5,531,378 Unspent Grant The funds will be utilised to improve and expand the Argyll and Bute Early Years Delivery Plan for 1140 hours which will 5,531,378 0 0 020 Education Provision for Learning Estate Investment Programme 1,000,000 0 1,000,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 24 February 2022, the Council committed to additional investments - £1m to help 1,000,000 0 0 021 Education Logistics Funding - Safe Opening of Schools 940,605 241,569 699,036 COVID-19 Scottish Government funding to ensure the safe opening and operation of schools. Includes transport, PPE, cleaning, 699,036 0 0 022 Education Additional Support Needs - Additional Support for Learning Project 544,169 34,027 510,142 Scottish Government Government initiative to support the provision of support staff in schools as part of 'Support for Additional Support for 510,142 0 0 023 Education Expansion of Universal Free School Meals 468,626 43,626 425,000 Scottish Government To support the continued phased implementation of Universal Free School Meals for Primary children. 425,000 0 0 024 Education Additional Teaching/Support in Schools/Digital Devices/Family Home 488,310 67,112 421,198 COVID-19 Continuation of funding for additional staffing, teachers, support staff, additional devices for pupils and additional 421,198 0 0 025 Education Access to Counsellors in Schools 364,699 25,217 339,482 Scottish Government Government initiative to support delivery of the access to school counselling service, in line with the commitment set out 339,482 0 0 026 Education DMR Scheme of Delegation for Schools 1,981,510 1,717,473 264,037 DMR Schools To be spent in accordance with DSM regulations. 264,037 0 0 027 Education Education to Support Young People 321,816 130,774 191,042 COVID-19 As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021 with an original allocation of £0.600m. Agreed to fund a package of 122,331 68,711 0 028 Education Education Transformation Fund 187,526 40,947 146,579 Unspent Budget At the Council meeting on 27 February 2020, it was agreed to input £400k into Education Digital Learning. The additional 146,579 0 0 029 Education 100 Day Promise - Increase Teacher and Pupil Support Assistant Numbers 374,095 259,574 114,521 Scottish Government Scottish Government initiative to increase the number of teachers and support assistants in schools. 114,521 0 0 030 Education Community Mental Health and Wellbeing support to Children and 210,285 101,804 108,481 Scottish Government Scottish Government/COSLA Initiative to support the work under the Children and Young People's Mental Health and 108,481 0 0 031 Education Recruitment of Additional Teachers and Support Staff in Schools 136,715 85,344 51,371 COVID-19 Fund additional teachers and support staff. 51,371 0 0 032 Education Scottish Government Initiatives: Developing the Young Workforce 37,478 0 37,478 Scottish Government Developing the Young Workforce: Developing an Argyll and Bute foundational apprenticeship scheme, developing support 37,478 0 0 033 Education Scottish Attainment Challenge - Care Experienced CYP Funding 55,544 21,003 34,541 Unspent Grant To provide targeted support for care experienced children and young people to achieve their full potential. 34,541 0 0 034 Education ERASMUS French and Spanish Training for Practitioners 41,614 7,691 33,923 Unspent Grant Due to COVID-19 and with restrictions on teachers going abroad to Spain and France for Teacher language training, this 33,923 0 0 035 Education Languages 1 + 2 28,056 0 28,056 Scottish Government Languages 1+2: Grant provided for implementing the Scottish Government's 1+2 languages policy for Primary schools. The 28,056 0 0 036 Education Digital Projects (Supply Staff Booking System) 35,000 9,900 25,100 Unspent Budget To deliver a number of Digital ServiceTransformation Projects with a commitment of £0.035m towards a Supply Staff Booking 9,900 15,200 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 037 Education Schools ADP Grant 19,000 0 19,000 Unspent Grant Providing social and emotional support to pupils who are affected by drugs and alcohol. 19,000 0 0 038 Education GIRFEC 49,310 34,072 15,238 Scottish Government To support Argyll and Bute’s contribution to implementing GIRFEC and the Children and Young Person (Scotland) Act to 15,238 0 0 039 Education Bord Na Gaidhlig - Parental/Community Gaelic 12,720 0 12,720 Unspent Third Party Contribution This funding was used for Gaelic Classes and Support being delivered in the academic year 21/22. An issue with invoicing 12,720 0 0 040 Education Skype for Business for Education / Digital Projects (Skype for Business) 10,000 0 10,000 Unspent Budget To fund the initial capital costs for the implementation of Skype for Business for Education. This will bring the Education 10,000 0 0 041 Education Ministry of Defence Grant - support for military children 2,607 0 2,607 Unspent Grant Providing social and emotional support to pupils who are affected by deployment who may have gaps in their Education 2,607 0 0 042 Education Education Learning Estate Condition Surveys 77,440 75,625 1,815 Unspent Budget To fund the delivery of School Core Facts (SCF) compliant Condition Surveys for prioritised School Buildings. 1,815 0 0 043 Education Food for Thought 577 442 135 Unspent Grant Lochgoilhead Primary have orders pending and plans for the remaining balance of the Food for Thought Grant. This spend 135 0 0 044 Education COVID 19 - CO2 Monitors 4,346 4,249 97 Unspent Grant To continue the work of providing CO2 monitoring in schools and day care settings to mitigate against the risks of airborne 97 0 0 045 Education Adult Services - c/f Health and Wellbeing funding 385 0 385 0 Unspent Third Party Contribution English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) funding and HandWB tutor costs. 0 0 0 046 Legal and Regulatory Services Education Purchasing Officers 210,000 0 210,000 Unspent Budget The earmarked funds will be used to fund an education purchasing team within the Procurement Service for two 105,000 105,000 0 047 Legal and Regulatory Services Welfare Rights Support 172,000 40,366 131,634 COVID-19 As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021 - an allocation of £0.172m. As part of our focus on Improving 80,184 51,450 0 048 Legal and Regulatory Services CCTV Maintenance 62,101 69 62,032 Unspent Grant Maintenance of CCTV systems. Funds transferred from external bodies (Police Scotland) to maintain systems for 15,000 47,032 0 049 Legal and Regulatory Services Councillor IT Equipment 65,000 20,443 44,557 Unspent Budget There is currently no budget for the provision and renewal of IT equipment for members. the earmarking identifies a 29,557 15,000 0 050 Legal and Regulatory Services Digital Projects: Hybrid Council meetings 55,000 11,698 43,302 Unspent Budget The funding will be used to maintain the ICT equipment used to support the provision of on-line and hybrid Council 43,302 0 0 051 Legal and Regulatory Services Community Safety Partnership 37,538 0 37,538 Existing Legal Commitments Community Safety Partnership funding received to be used for Community Safety Partnership purposes. These monies will be 37,538 0 0 052 Legal and Regulatory Services Debt Counselling & Welfare Rights 27,025 5,573 21,452 Unspent Budget To meet the cost of a Debt Counselling and Welfare Rights Management System. 5,965 15,487 0 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (KIRSTY FLANAGAN) 053 Customer Support Services Microsoft Licensing Costs 877,888 0 877,888 Previous Council Decision - Other To meet licensing and set-up costs for the Microsoft 365 rollout 451,856 426,032 0 054 Customer Support Services ICT computer replacement 531,000 531,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 23 February 2023, the Council committed to supporting the council's digital resilience and overall efficiency with investment in ICT assets. 531,000 0 0 055 Customer Support Services Skills Development Scotland 150,936 0 150,936 Unspent Grant We receive the money from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to enable us to deliver Foundation and Modern Apprenticeship programmes. The money covers the salaries of the two Tutors we employ and also any materials we require to deliver the 150,936 0 0 056 Customer Support Services Security Operations Centre Subscription/ Digital Projects 180,000 66,406 113,594 Unspent Budget There is a requirement to pay for a 3-year subscription at £60,000 per annum with a cost pressure being added to the ICT revenue budget to cover the costs from 2025-26 onwards. 53,594 60,000 0 057 Customer Support Services Growing our Own and Modern Apprentices 109,150 0 109,150 Unspent Budget Funding earmarked to support trainee development and modern apprenticeship opportunities based on priority workforce risk areas. These areas have been identified and proposals developed. £95,790 to be spent in 23/24 and £13,360 to be spent in 24/25 to fund a graduate trainee and 3 apprentices to deliver trainee development and modern apprenticeship opportunities 95,790 13,360 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 058 Customer Support Services Self Isolated Support / Self Isolated Support Grant (HR) 115,000 49,750 65,250 COVID-19 These were monies that were provided by Scotgov to fund additional overtime and resources for Shielding/Caring for People and Test and Protect activities. The funds are being used for a number of Customer Service and Business efficiency related projects including a system and consultancy of RPA (robotic process automation) and application development. A full corporate website upgrade and renewal using specialist web resources and the Digital Reception Project. 65,250 0 0 059 Customer Support Services Digital Projects (Increase in Schools Bandwidth) 63,455 0 63,455 Unspent Budget To complete one of a number of Digital Service Transformation projects with a commitment of £0.064m to increase Schools Bandwidth. 63,455 0 0 060 Customer Support Services Implementation of Gaelic Language Plan 30,000 0 30,000 Previous Council Decision Agreed at Council Meeting February 2021. Provision of funding for delivery and implementation of the council’s Gaelic Language Plan in recognition of the contribution that Gaelic makes to economic growth and to the tourism sector, and to enable delivery of key activities within the plan which currently receive no revenue funding. 30,000 0 0 061 Customer Support Services Business Development Training 27,601 0 27,601 Unspent Budget This budget is funding ongoing leadership development, coaching, action learning sets and commissioned training including Priority Management. 27,601 0 0 062 Customer Support Services Learning and Development 36,508 17,072 19,436 Unspent Budget In order to maximise the opportunities and efficiencies of digital learning, this funding will be used to support the extension of digital learning in order to deliver the Digital Learning Strategy, which was approved in FQ4 20/21. 19,436 0 0 063 Customer Support Services Establishing HR Service Centre 30,000 16,176 13,824 Unspent Budget To facilitate the implementation of technical efficiency improvements and new processes 13,824 0 0 064 Customer Support Services Bord na Gaidhlig 17,330 3,734 13,596 Unspent Grant Grant funding from Bord na Gaidhlig. Ongoing spend ad hoc to deliver on commitments in the Gaelic Language Plan. Grant income from GLAIF continues to be added to this total and then paid out to projects. 0 13,596 0 065 Customer Support Services Digital Projects (Replacement Learning Management System) 11,470 0 11,470 Unspent Budget To deliver a number of Digital Service Transformation Projects with an original commitment of £0.030m towards a replacement Learning Management System £0.030m. 11,470 0 0 066 Development and Economic Growth Crown Estates / Coastal Communities Fund 1,634,604 0 1,634,604 Unspent Grant 2021/22 Crown Estate Funding (Coastal Communities Fund) of £1.635m. Projects approved at 17 February 2022 P&R Committee totalling £1.191M, further report required to allocate remaining £444k. £772k has been spent on capital projects which will be drawn down in 23-24. The remainder is allocated to projects that are not yet underway and progress will be monitored closely on the plan for this expenditure. 771,665 862,939 0 067 Development and Economic Growth Coastal Communities (Capital) 680,000 191,000 489,000 Unspent Grant 2020/21 Crown Estate Funding (Coastal Communities Fund) totalling £1.504m. Expenditure/allocation to projects delayed due to covid, now allocated as per report to P&R on 18 Feb 2021. £680k relates to works within the current capital programme. Projects include Dunoon STEM Hub 100k, Dunoon Cycle Bothy 249k, Ardrishaig North Project 50k and Arrochar car park £90k. All projects underway during 22/23 and should be drawn down in 23/24. 240,000 249,000 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 068 Development and Economic Growth Coastal Communities 618,803 200,000 418,803 Unspent Grant 2020/21 Crown Estate Funding (Coastal Communities Fund) with original balance of £1.504m. Expenditure/allocation to projects delayed due to covid, now allocated as per report to P&R on 18 Feb 2021. £680k relates to works within the current capital programme, moved to line Coastal Communities (Capital). Remaining balance for Campbeltown Community Action Plan (£50k), Helensburgh Clyde Street (£350k), Bute Community Land Bike Transfer Station (£10k) Modular Hub Lochgilphead (£5k) and Tarbert Public Realm (£4k) to be spent in 23-24. 418,803 0 0 069 Development and Economic Growth Oban TIF (Tax Incremental Financing) 457,444 72,251 385,193 Previous Council Decision Will be used to fund the TIF Programme office for a further 3 years as well as the programme office for Rural Growth Deal beyond the funding that was agreed at Council for this in February 2021. 116,000 269,193 0 070 Development and Economic Growth Rothesay Pavilion - Revenue contribution 349,440 0 349,440 CHORD Build up a provision towards future Council commitment to provide additional financial support up to £150,000 per annum towards Rothesay Pavilion running costs. 150,000 199,440 0 071 Development and Economic Growth Helensburgh CARS 327,000 0 327,000 Previous Council Decision - Other Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme for Helensburgh. Grants awarded to upgrade conservation areas in Helensburgh such as shop fronts, town centre accommodation and other priority buildings. Business Case not yet approved. 163,500 163,500 0 072 Development and Economic Growth Staycation and Marketing Argyll and Bute 692,013 302,021 389,992 COVID-19 As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021 with an original allocation of £0.800m. This will include provision of additional waste disposal facilities and other facilities that will be informed by the Motorhome and Informal Camping Survey. As agreed at Council on 24 February 2022, Staycation investment £0.100m. Augments the 2021/22 £0.5m staycation initiative with an additional investment of £100k, including support for community groups and partners in the provision of facilities which can support increasing staycation visitor numbers during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons. 389,992 0 0 073 Development and Economic Growth Oban TIF (Tax Incremental Financing - Excess NDR) 252,256 0 252,256 Previous Council Decision This is the surplus NDR after paying all Loans Charges in respect of TIF infrastructure projects. This fund will be used in the future as TIF projects are delivered. 0 252,256 0 074 Development and Economic Growth Tackling Digital Exclusion Top-Up Fund 250,000 32,400 217,600 COVID-19 As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021. Establishes the Tackling Digital Exclusion Top Up Fund to support communities and in some cases individuals that are missing out on national programmes due to logistics and economies of scale. While vouchers are available from the UK and Scottish Governments in some cases these do not cover the full cost of infrastructure builds. Expenditure should be incurred during 23-24 to draw down against. 217,600 0 0 075 Development and Economic Growth Lochgilphead CARS 200,000 0 200,000 Previous Council Decision - Other Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme for Lochgilphead Grants awarded to upgrade conservation areas in Lochgilphead such as shop fronts, town centre accommodation and other priority buildings. 100,000 100,000 0 076 Development and Economic Growth Town Centre Fund 129,956 0 129,956 Unspent Grant This represents the revenue funded projects within the Town centre fund which have yet to be paid out plus the overall contingency amount which was built into the overall scheme. 129,956 0 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 077 Development and Economic Growth LACER Funding (Sector Support Grant) 150,000 54,602 95,398 COVID-19 Local Authority COVID Economic Recovery Fund grant. This will provide funding, either part of the small business development grant or standalone, to help micros and small business to implement projects that contribute to the sector as well as benefitting the business, for example: Tourism and hospitality, food and drink or retail. With option to provide additional business support to hard hit areas including Bute and Kintyre where unemployment remains higher than average - support via specialist advice, locally tailored grants to meet local priorities and targeted marketing activity. To be split £115,000 Business support via Business Gateway and £35,000 for Shop fronts 95,398 0 0 078 Development and Economic Growth Strategic Events & Festivals 115,764 35,100 80,664 Unspent Budget At the Council meeting on 25 February 21, a decision was taken to agree £90k funding for Events and Festivals for 22/23, in order that the application process can commence during 21/22 and that this agreed figure be augmented by any underspend remaining from the 20/21 financial year. At 24 February 22, decision made to agree £90k for 23/24, in order that the application process can commence during 22/23 and that this agreed figure be augmented by any underspend remaining from the 21/22 financial year. Applications have been received and payments will be made in 2023-2024. 80,664 0 0 079 Development and Economic Growth Economic Development - temp post to support economic recovery 55,000 0 55,000 COVID-19 As agreed at Policy & Resources committee on 9 December 2021, allocation of £0.055m to a post to support the economic and social recovery together with the building back stronger themes. To be used to fund Settlement Project Support Officer during 23-24. 55,000 0 0 080 Development and Economic Growth Island Post 50,461 0 50,461 Unspent Budget To fund a temporary post at LGE11 to assist with the National Islands Plan Implementation Route Map 2020-2025. 50,461 0 0 081 Development and Economic Growth EH Covid Posts 41,145 3,370 37,775 COVID-19 Funding initially for 2 posts for 2 years. Posts were intially recruited to with one leaving and the other going on maternity leave resutling in delays in expenditure. One employee is now back from maternity leave and earmarked reserve will be drawn down to cover their costs in 23-24. 37,775 0 0 082 Development and Economic Growth Digital Boost 34,894 1,054 33,840 Unspent Grant To provide funding for Digital Boost program. Initially was to be used to help fund the programme in 21/22 but additional income was received by the service so there will be some slippage into 2023/24 33,840 0 0 083 Development and Economic Growth LACER Funding (New Enterprise Support Grant) 120,000 88,841 31,159 COVID-19 Local Authority COVID Economic Recovery Fund grant. This funding would provide £3,000 grants to help new businesses start up and establish. Fund fully committed, there was a delay in getting all payments made and remainder will be made in 23-24. 31,159 0 0 084 Development and Economic Growth LACER Funding (Shop Local) 40,000 13,207 26,793 COVID-19 Local Authority COVID Economic Recovery Fund grant. This funding would provide funding to continue the Shop Local scheme into 2022/23 and 2023/24, buying additional cards and allow the cards to gather momentum and support local businesses. 26,793 0 0 085 Development and Economic Growth LACER Funding (Small Business Development Grant) 200,000 175,012 24,988 COVID-19 Local Authority COVID Economic Recovery Fund grant. This funding will provide funding of between £500 and £5,000 to help existing micro and small businesses to improve their resilience or growth via projects to implement green initiatives, implement digital development, implement marketing improvements and improve efficiency/innovation. Fully committed with final payments due in 2023-2024. 24,988 0 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 086 Development and Economic Growth Gypsy Traveller Grant / LACER Funding (Gypsy Travellers) 76,140 43,314 32,826 Unspent Grant Local Authority COVID Economic Recovery Fund grant. This funding would pay for MECOPP (Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project) to engage with the Gypsy Travellers community on the important subject of the cost of living increases, fuel poverty and the impact of factors such as their remote rural locations and the facilities available to them for everyday living have on their livelihoods. Claim for 22/23 awaited from ACHA, earmarking will be drawn down once received and paid. 32,826 0 0 087 Development and Economic Growth Royal National Mod 40,000 20,000 20,000 Unspent Budget One off funding allocation for the Royal National Mod agreed as part of the budget setting process for 2019/20. Grant contract issued. Proposed payment of £20k per annum starting 2020/21 (2023/24 final payment of £20k) 20,000 0 0 088 Development and Economic Growth Kilmartin Museum 76,207 56,208 19,999 Previous Council Decision - Other Upgrade of Kilmartin Museum, works carried out by Museum with grants awarded upon completion milestones. Budget allocated to capital originally but was moved out of capital and into earmarked reserves at 2020/21 budget meeting. £20k retention due to be paid out in 23/24. 19,999 0 0 089 Development and Economic Growth Proposed Local Development Plan 2 87,910 68,000 19,910 Previous Council Decision - Other During 19/20, a cost pressure of £68,000 was allocated to deal with the costs associated with the production of Local Development Plan 2. Due to delays this work has only commenced at beginning of 2022/23 where expenditure will be fully utilised. Remaining funds will be drawndown in 23/24 for consultancy costs 19,910 0 0 090 Development and Economic Growth UK Levelling Up Fund 125,000 105,535 19,465 Unspent Grant Development funding to help prepare UK Levelling Up Fund bids for 2 projects proposed by the Council, received from Scottish Government. Remaining funds will be drawn down in 23/24 for Consultant costs. 19,465 0 0 091 Development and Economic Growth Place Based Investment Programme 123,087 109,812 13,275 Unspent Grant Projects approved at 12 August 2021 P&R Committee totalling £821k, Remaining funds committed and will be spent during 23/24. 13,275 0 0 092 Development and Economic Growth Shop Local Campaign 1,992 1,403 589 Unspent Grant Grant received to support a Shop Local campaign. 589 0 0 093 Financial Services Housing Benefits Private 231,027 592 230,435 COVID-19 Specific funding allocation for Housing Benefit including DHP. Funds will be used to continue to support vulnerable people initially financially affected by the COVID-19 outbreak but now facing the cost of living crisis to sustain their tenancies. This earmarking will help offset potential overspends in the DHP/ Scottish Welfare Fund budget going forward. 230,435 0 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 094 Financial Services Flexible Food Fund 510,573 316,417 194,156 COVID-19 Financial Insecurity funding from Scottish Government routed into the Argyll and Bute Flexible Food and Fuel Fund (ABFFFF) is aimed at tackling financial insecurity for adults and families across Argyll and Bute. Working in partnership with the Community Food Forum, Bute Advice Centre and ALIenergy, households with low incomes and no access to cash savings can apply for immediate financial support. The Fund helps support daily living expenses. In the period from 10 January 2021 to 30 November 2022 client gain in extra benefits income for families was £2.25 million with 1,550 families had been supported. The project has been extended to 31 March 2025 with funding coming from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and this earmarking to support it. It is proposed that underspends from the Flexible Funding for Supporting People at tier 4 COVID will be used to support this project over the next two years to cover a funding gap of £50,000. The Scottish Government have provided this funding and have endorsed this award winning project promoting it as part of the solution to end the need for foodbanks nationally. 108,000 86,156 0 095 Financial Services Benefit Admin Grant 130,454 40,044 90,410 Unspent Grant Grant monies which would have to be repaid if not utilised for intended purpose. Benefit Administration activities in the build up to the migration of Housing Benefit to Universal Credit. These monies are committed to cover ongoing Benefit Administration activities in 22/23, 23/24 and 24/25 when it is now expected that the full migration of working age Housing Benefit caseload to Universal Credit will be complete. Monies will be used to implement the recommended changes from the recent Revs and Bens BPR (£50,000), build resilience including staff overtime, outsourcing of Housing Benefit processing during the transition and cover casual staff for the Universal Credit migration (£20,500). Monies also set aside for additional works to the value of £40,000 with the software suppliers around enhancing the Revs and Bens system, automating processes and transitioning customers to use digital gateways to contact the service. 90,410 0 0 096 Financial Services Flexible Funding for Supporting People while at Tier 4 COVID 167,983 91,626 76,357 COVID-19 Funding from SG to strengthen local authority responses to meet emerging needs and support people in their communities struggling with the restrictions and guidance at all protection levels re COVID, particularly those at risk through health and social inequalities. This support could cover the same types of support. In June 2021 the Council agreed to support 20 projects led by a range of Council officers, officers from the HSCP and members of the third sector to deliver wide ranging support across our region. A report will be presented to members in due course. 76,357 0 0 097 Financial Services Pandemic Support Payments (CTR - Admin) 51,968 0 51,968 Unspent Grant Administration funding associated with Scottish Government schemes to issue monies to CTR recipients. Provide additional staffing to support the recovery from backlog of Council Tax administration caused by Pandemic Support Payment process, further administration duties related to LACER fund and also to support any further Scottish Government funding initiatives that occur during 22/23 and 23/24. 51,968 0 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 098 Financial Services Financial Systems 114,000 80,252 33,748 Unspent Budget To fund the completion of the implementation of the Oracle Fusion Financial Management System, a software update for cash receipting to ensure card payments can still be taken and the procurement and implementation of a new system to manage the requirements of the IFRS16 Leases accounting standard. 33,748 0 0 099 Financial Services Accounting and Budgeting Team Resilience 95,000 64,336 30,664 Unspent Budget To fund the implementation of a new staffing structure in 2022/23 as agreed at ELT on 12 April 2022 which has been implemented. The residual funding is being used to meet the costs of ongoing professional accountancy training over the period 2022/23 to 2026/27 16,664 14,000 0 100 Financial Services CIPFA 32,530 8,490 24,040 Unspent Budget CIPFA Training - To fund the professional training costs for staff undertaking the CIPFA professional accountancy qualification. 6,000 18,040 0 101 Financial Services Self Isolated Support Grant 16,000 13,617 2,383 COVID-19 Unspent admin funding for processing Self isolation Support Grants. Scheme now closed, balance of funding should be used to support vulnerable customers affected by the Cost of Living Crisis with Crisis Grants 2,383 0 0 102 Roads & Infrastructure Roads Reconstruction Programme 2,653,000 1,286,000 4,839,000 6,206,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 24 February 2022, the Council committed to additional investments. For Roads Reconstruction, continuing a multi-million investment programme over the life of this Council by providing additional funding (£2.653 with £0.887m from COVID and £1.766m from unallocated general fund at 31/03/22) to maintain and improve Argyll and Bute’s rural, remote, island and urban roads network, to guarantee an overall Roads Reconstruction Budget of £8m for 2022/23. Capital expenditure incurred in 2022/23 with draw down in 23/24. At the Council Budget meeting on 23 February 2023, the Council committed to augmenting overall allocation for the roads repair and maintenance programme with additional funds to bring up to £8m total investment for 2023/24 and 2024/25. 5,164,000 1,042,000 0 103 Roads & Infrastructure Piers and Harbours 1,642,811 0 1,642,811 Piers and Harbours Investment Fund Funding generated through increased harbour fees and charges in order to generate funds to meet the costs of the prudential borrowing required to develop and maintain the Council's harbour assets and infrastructure. Under the Harbours Act 1964, section 42, as a statutory harbour undertaker, the Council must prepare an annual statement of accounts relating to the harbour activities and any associated activities for each harbour for which it is the statutory harbour authority. This requirement cannot be satisfied by the preparation of a statement of accounts which relates to other Council activities in addition to harbour activities. In essence, any surplus in the Piers and Harbours budget must be reinvested in the marine asset and reflected in accounts. 0 1,642,811 0 104 Roads & Infrastructure Waste Variation Monies 1,492,997 0 1,492,997 Unspent Budget This will be used to fund/part-fund various waste infrastructure projects that will support the council’s compliance with the 2025 ban on the Landfill of Biodegradable Municipal Waste, including the development of landfill cell construction works at Gartbreck. £640k for Capital works on Gartbreck completed in 2022/23, reserve will be drawn down for this in 2023/24. 1,066,000 426,997 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 105 Roads & Infrastructure Footpath improvements 750,000 750,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 23 February 2023, the Council committed to providing additional funding for footpath improvements across Argyll and Bute. 750,000 0 0 106 Roads & Infrastructure Active Travel 500,000 0 500,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 24 February 2022, the Council committed to additional investments. For Active Travel £0.500m for further improvements for footpaths and pavements and supporting safer routes to schools across Argyll and Bute. Requests that officers bring forward a report setting out scheme proposals to the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee. 370,000 130,000 0 107 Roads & Infrastructure Vehicle Replacement 499,260 0 499,260 Fleet - Timing Delay Timing delay in fleet replacement causing one-off saving. Vehicles purchased and received in 22/23, draw down to capital will be processed in 23/24. 499,260 0 0 108 Roads & Infrastructure 3G pitches / Tarbert Sports Pitches 427,286 52,264 375,022 Unspent Budget In November 2018, the Council agreed to a maintenance funding package to be progressed for a number of 3G pitches including Tarbert. This funding will provide an estimated 6.5 years’ worth of ongoing maintenance up to 2025-26. 87,736 287,286 0 109 Roads & Infrastructure Street Lighting 300,000 0 300,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 24 February 2022, the Council committed to additional investments. For Street Lighting, £0.300m to deliver a programme of street lighting column replacement and improvement across Argyll and Bute, prioritised based on condition, with funding for at least 260 lighting columns. Expenditure in 22/23, draw down in 23/24. 300,000 0 0 110 Roads & Infrastructure Waste Strategy 363,000 118,443 244,557 Unspent Budget To fund/part-fund various waste projects that will support the council's compliance with the 2025 ban on the Landfill of Biodegradable Municipal Waste. 128,999 115,558 0 111 Roads & Infrastructure Waste Management 256,753 27,251 229,502 Unspent Budget Will be used towards long term waste management strategy/model, including but not limited to scoping work for the creating of a waste transfer station at Helensburgh. 135,000 94,502 0 112 Roads & Infrastructure Green Transport Initiatives 400,000 260,000 140,000 Unspent Budget At the Council meeting on 27 February 2020, it was agreed to input £400k in Green transport, investment in footway and cycle path maintenance supporting the healthy wellbeing and green agenda. Spend has been delayed due to COVID and this will be taken forward in 23/24. £260k Footways Reconstruction programme now spent and will be drawn down against capital programme during 23/24. £140k Ardrishaig North Project will be spent in 22/23 and drawn down in 23/24. 140,000 0 0 113 Roads & Infrastructure Climate Change 500,000 418,116 81,884 Unspent Budget At the Council meeting on 27 February 2020, it was agreed to input £500k budget to mitigate the impacts of weather related damage and climate change with specific emphasis on gully cleaning and drainage improvements. Spend has been delayed due to COVID and the intention is to spend the funds on 2 Gully Motors plus staff over next 2 years. Vehicles have been received and budget will be drawn down to cover their cost. The remaining budget will be used towards running the vehicles. 81,884 0 0 114 Roads & Infrastructure Parking Grant 50,013 0 50,013 Unspent Grant Grant from Scottish Transport for the assessment of footway parking required under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. Assessment criteria from the Scottish Gov which will take approx 12 months to complete throughout 23/24. 50,013 0 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 115 Roads & Infrastructure Mercury Abatement - Crematorium 42,819 0 42,819 Unspent Third Party Contribution Phase 3 of the Cardross Crematorium works includes raised flooring for DDA compliance together with upgrades to fire doors. Works estimate circa £73k. The works include new fire exit doors to meet compliance and the raising of the floor level in the arch opposite the main entrance, the works include ensuring the book of remembrance is readily accessible. Work commenced 2020/21 and property have advised remaining work will be completed in 2022/23. Phase 1 and 2 complete, Phase 3 to commence during 23/24. 42,819 0 0 116 Roads & Infrastructure Amenity Services introduction of management information system 28,099 0 28,099 Unspent Budget Delay with introduction of amenity time recording system due to increased costs. Discussions ongoing to find alternative cheaper solution. The software/system being introduced by HR/Payroll during 2023-24 offers a time-recording facility. Although not included in the current HR/Payroll spec, once the new system is up and running, the proposal would be to investigate the time-recording system to see if viable for amenity time recording purposes. 28,099 0 0 117 Roads & Infrastructure Bin Replacement Programme 100,000 82,185 17,815 Previous Council Decision At the Council Budget meeting on 24 February 2022, the Council committed to additional investments - £0.100m in Argyll and Bute’s litter bin replacement programme and infrastructure, providing almost 200 new/better bins across the area where required due to condition/need and with a focus on town centres and prominent locations, to support cleaner communities. Requests that officers explore options for use of new and innovative litter disposal solutions for future consideration. The bulk of the spend was incurred during 2022-23 with the remaining balance to be spend early in 2023-24. 17,815 0 0 118 Roads & Infrastructure Hermitage Park Pavilion 4,327 0 4,327 Hermitage Park The Hermitage Park regeneration project has a significant investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) which has a requirement to have a 10 year Management and Maintenance Plan. This will be partly funded by existing Council revenue budgets but should also be supplemented by any additional income which can be generated from park activities. Part of the HLF conditions are that all income generated by the park should be retained to support the Management and Maintenance Plan and a result of this requirement, any unspent income generated by the park is retained for future years requirements. 4,327 0 0 119 Roads & Infrastructure Kintyre Recycling Redundancy Costs 36,000 21,511 14,489 0 Unspent Budget To fund redundancy costs associated with Kintyre Recycling. Remaining balance not required released back to the general fund. 0 0 0 NON DEPARTMENTAL 120 Non Departmental Strategic Housing Fund 6,591,173 1,574,261 5,016,912 Strategic Housing Fund Accumulation of Council tax collected from the second homes discount on properties is earmarked as part of the Strategic Housing Fund balance. 2,727,410 2,289,502 0 121 Non Departmental Further Capital pressures per budget pack February 22 3,900,000 0 3,900,000 Capital Projects As agreed at Council on 24 February 2022, a provision for Capital contract increases £3.900m. £1.133m currently allocated to Campbeltown Flood Scheme with expenditure in 22/23 and draw down in 23/24. 1,133,000 2,767,000 0 122 Non Departmental Investment in Affordable Housing 3,300,000 0 137,000 3,163,000 Investment in Affordable Housing Agreed at Council Meeting 11 February 2016. This balance reduces as the Loans to RSL balances are reducing. 0 3,163,000 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 123 Non Departmental Asset Management Fund 2,115,394 65,478 2,049,916 Asset Management Investment Agreed at Council Meeting 11 February 2016. This fund has been set up to allow the Council to invest monies where relevant to generate a return that will be reinvested within Argyll and Bute. There are potential investment opportunities in Colgrain, Kilmory and Oban Airport being explored 2,049,916 0 0 124 Non Departmental Redundancy Provision 1,731,826 153,800 1,578,026 Unspent Budget One-off re-profiling gain as a result of the loans fund review to fund known liabilities/cost pressures as agreed at budget setting meeting in February 2020. Future redundancies provision. 500,000 500,000 578,026 125 Non Departmental Recovery and Renewal Fund 1,547,000 0 1,547,000 COVID-19 As agreed at Council on 24 February 2022, Recovery and Renewal Fund £1.547m. This is provision for future recovery, regeneration and renewal, as well as any future pressures which may arise following the Covid-19 pandemic through a dedicated Recovery and Renewal Fund. Commitments have been made against this fund as follows: Levelling up bid costs £0.150m, Scotland Loves Local overspend £0.037m and Rothesay Pavillion £1.360m. 1,547,000 0 0 126 Non Departmental Allocated to Capital Plan 6,019,775 5,249,775 725,000 1,495,000 Previous Council Decision - Other Allocated to capital plan. £8.240m agreed 22 February 2018 and a further £2.408m agreed as a budgeted surplus from the 2018-19 budget. Further £3m agreed by the Council at the budget meeting in February 2021 from unallocated general fund. Further £2.975m transfer to Capital agreed as part of the 21/22 Revenue Budget agreed February 2021. Further £0.725m allocated February 2023 from the unallocated general fund. Future draw downs as per planned capital expenditure over 23- 24 and 24-25. 592,000 903,000 0 127 Non Departmental Regeneration and Economic sustainability in Lochgilphead and Tarbert. 2,270,579 811,000 1,459,579 Lochgilphead and Tarbert Regeneration Agreed at Council Meeting 11 February 2016. Lochgliphead Front Green Project (Capital) has now commenced with drawdown expected to be £811k in 22/23 for expenditure incurred in 21/22 and remainder in 23/24 for expenditure in 22/23 for Lochgilphead Front Green and Ardrishaig North. £289k unallocated. 1,141,000 318,579 0 128 Non Departmental Supporting Organisational Change 1,587,950 161,876 1,426,074 Unspent Budget One-off re-profiling gain as a result of the loans fund review to fund known liabilities/cost pressures as agreed at budget setting meeting in February 2020 - Provision to support organisational change (£0.500m) It is proposed to supplement the existing 'Supporting Organisational Change' reserve first established in February 2020 with a further £1.2m to enable the Council to deliver longer term, more fundamental, service redesign which will require funding to support the identification and delivery of solutions that take account of future requirements and community engagement and deliver longer term revenue and benefits to the Council 200,000 1,226,074 0 129 Non Departmental Capital Cost Pressures 2,000,000 718,000 1,282,000 Capital Projects As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021. Allocation of COVID funding to Capital Cost Pressures. Remaining budget to be drawn down in 23-24 for expenditure incurred in 22-23. 1,282,000 0 0 130 Non Departmental Underwriting development of Rothesay Pavilion 1,000,000 0 1,000,000 Unspent Budget Funding to meet additional costs identified as necessary for the refurbishment of Rothesay Pavilion. 0 1,000,000 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 131 Non Departmental Inward investment Fund 783,015 118,350 664,665 Inward Investment Fund Agreed at Council Meeting 11 February 2016. This fund has been set up to generate economic and population growth within Argyll and Bute. The aim is to encourage business and people to set up and live in Argyll and Bute. The remainder of this fund will be directed towards projects which support the Rural Growth Deal. 391,508 273,157 0 132 Non Departmental Provision for Capital Contract Increases 2,646,000 2,157,000 489,000 Capital Projects As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021. Allocation of COVID funding to Capital Cost Increases £2.5m with the amended value of £2.646m agreed at P&R on 14 October 2021. Remainder of expenditure planned for 22/23 and will be drawn down in 23/24. 489,000 0 0 133 Non Departmental Loans Fund 385,279 0 385,279 Unspent Budget At the Council Budget meeting on 24 February 2022, Saving FS01, a Loans Fund Management/Operational saving for 22/23 budget of £0.500m was agreed with at least £0.200m to come from underspends in 21/22. The underspend position for 21/22 is £0.385m and this earmarking is being released as a saving to help bridge the 2023/24 budget gap. 385,279 0 0 134 Non Departmental Information Management 372,032 36,314 335,718 Unspent Budget To support a number of initiatives in respect of improving the Council's information management in line with the transformation agenda and increasing the pace of change as outlined in the BV Review. The remaining balances within the planned initiatives are as follows: Estates Survey work £13k, Digitalisation of Title Deeds £92k, document management and workflow system for Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health £57k and a balance of funding to explore information management solutions in a strategic and coherent way £210k 0 0 335,718 135 Non Departmental Capital pressure 257,000 0 257,000 COVID-19 Pressure identified on the 20/21 COSLA COVID costs spreadsheets - requires to be earmarked to be drawn down when required against the Capital Plan 257,000 0 0 136 Non Departmental Levelling up Fund bids per P&R February 22 150,000 0 150,000 COVID-19 As agreed at Policy & Resources committee on 17 February 2022, an allocation of up to £0.150m to support Levelling Up Fund bids 150,000 0 0 137 Non Departmental Spend to Save Route Optimisation Software 100,000 0 100,000 Unspent Budget One-off re-profiling gain as a result of the loans fund review to fund known liabilities/cost pressures as agreed at budget setting meeting in February 2020 - Spend to save route optimisation (£0.100m) which will be spent over 2023/24. 100,000 0 0 138 Non Departmental Engagement with Hub North re provision of services for olders adults and vulnerable people across Argyll and Bute 0 0 0 100,000 100,000 Previous Council Decision At the Council budget meeting February 23, an allocation of £0.1m from the Unallocated General Fund balance for the Health and Social Care Partnership to engage, in partnership with the Council, with Hub North to develop a strategic business case in relation to the provision of services for older adults and other vulnerable people across Argyll and Bute. 100,000 0 0 139 Non Departmental Rural Growth Deal Programme Office 273,919 182,458 91,461 Previous Council Decision Agreed at Council meeting February 2021. Following the signing of the Heads of Terms Agreement for Argyll and Bute’s Rural Growth Deal in February 2021 and, to secure maximum potential from this £70m investment in the region, invests additional funding to drive forward the progression of Argyll and Bute’s Deal and to support the Deal’s associated programme, business case development and project management. This earmarking includes £151,733 that was sitting under Rural Resettlement fund as at 31 March 22 but was merged into this line going forward 91,461 0 0
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Ref Service Description Amount Earmarked at 31 March 2022 Actual Spend 2022/23 Funds Unearmarked New Earmarking Agreed by Council During 2022/23 Closing Balance at 31 March 2023 Reason for Carry Forward Plans for Use Amount Planned to be Spent in 2023/24 Amount Planned to be Spent in 2024/25 Amount Planned to be Spent from 2025/26 onwards 140 Non Departmental CHARTS 75,000 70,000 75,000 80,000 Previous Council Decision As agreed at Council on 24 February 2022, investment in CHARTS £0.075m. To support the organisation in delivering targeted support, in communities, to the culture, arts and heritage sector as part of its plans to contribute to overall economic recovery. At the Council Budget meeting on 23 February 2023, the Council committed to £0.075m one-off investment in CHARTS in response to an external funding request 80,000 0 0 141 Non Departmental Community Resilience Fund 76,447 0 76,447 Previous Council Decision Fund established in 2012/13 to be spent over more than one year. Fund reduced at the Council meeting on 11 February 2016 0 76,447 0 142 Non Departmental COVID Cost Pressures Beyond 2021/22 370,000 326,000 44,000 0 COVID-19 As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021 (£2.5m) with the value reduced to £0.370m based on more up to date projections at year end 2021/22. Allocation of COVID funding to projected 22/23 Revenue Cost Pressures with the remaining balance being released to the general fund. 0 0 0 143 Non Departmental Investment in HubCo 491,791 0 491,791 0 Asset Management Investment It was agreed at the Council meeting February 2016 that the investment in HubCo be supported. The earmarking has been updated to show the actual investment costs. During 2022-23, it was agreed that this can be returned to the General Fund as on further review it is being dealt with as an investment through the Treasury cash position. 0 0 0 144 Non Departmental Unallocated Admin Support Grant 411,285 0 411,285 0 COVID-19 Funding to support the delivery of the Business Grants to local businesses, partially used during 20/21 and 21/22. The unused balance has been returned to the General Fund in 2022/23. 0 0 0 145 Non Departmental Oban Library Leased Property 25,069 0 25,069 0 Previous Council Decision - Other Capital expenditure on a Leased Property - no planned expenditure in 2022/23 or subsequent years therefore can be returned to the general fund. 0 0 0 146 Adult Services See Hear Funding 13,658 0 13,658 Scottish Government Initiatives Funding has been received specifically from the Scottish Government to support activity around implementation of the See Hear recommendations and the identified priorities of individual Sensory Partnerships. No plans for spend in current financial year, funds will be used in the next two years in accordance with the See Hear plan and Argyll and Bute's BSL Local plan. 13,658 0 0 147 Children and Families Criminal Justice Transformation Funding 39,890 0 39,890 Unspent Third Party Contribution Additional funding from SG to fund redesign work within Criminal Justice. Funds to be pooled with equivalent additional funding received by our CJ Partnership Partners to fund a transformation and development project across the three partner areas. 39,890 0 0 88,990,793 33,893,036 1,124,019 7,080,000 61,053,738 0 0 39,782,289 20,357,705 913,744 SOCIAL WORK