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Financial Reports Monitoring Pack - 30 June 2023

Argyll and Bute Council · 10 August 2023
Back to Policy and Resources Committee — 10 August 2023 and its agenda

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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
FINANCIAL SERVICES 10 AUGUST 2023
FINANCIAL REPORTS MONITORING PACK – 30 JUNE 2023  
1. INTRODUCTION 
1.1 This report provides a summary of the financial monitoring reports as at the end of
June 2023. There are five detailed reports, setting out the position as at 30 June
2023,  which are summarised in this Executive Summary: 
• Revenue Budget Monitoring Report 
• Monitoring of Financial Risks 
• Capital Plan Monitoring Report 
• Treasury Monitoring Report 
• Reserves and Balances 
2. DETAIL 
2.1 Revenue Budget Monitoring Report 
2.1.1 This report provides a summary of the current revenue budget monitoring position to
ensure net expenditure is contained within budget.  It provides corporate and
departmental information with comparisons on a forecast outturn and a year to date
basis. 
2.1.2  There is a forecast underspend of £0.319m as at the end of June 2023.  This
forecast relates entirely to Social Work and is due to a combination of the over-
recovery of vacancy savings and income from fees, charges and recharges.  This is
offsetting financial pressures due to high demand for services and the use of agency
staff to fill staffing recruitment and retention gaps across Adult Services.  
2.1.3  There is a year to date overspend of £1.273m.  More focus is on the forecast outturn
position, hence why sometimes the year to date position is not updated.  The year to
date variances mainly relate to the timing of income and expenditure and recharging
of costs to capital. 
2.1.4 With regard to the ongoing financial impact of COVID-19, there are £5.512m of
reserves committed to manage the impact of the pandemic. The detail behind these
commitments is contained within Appendix 2 of the Reserves and Balances report. 
2.1.5 Total policy savings relevant to 2023-24 financial year amount to £6.953m.  The
table below outlines their progress as at 30 June 2023.

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Category No. of
Options
2023-24
£000
2023-
24
FTE
2024-25
£000
2024-
25
FTE
Future
Years
£000
Future
Years
FTE
Delivered 9 1,012.5 (0.7) 1,030.0 (0.7) 1,030.0 (0.7)
On Track to be
Delivered 5 5,487.0 9.4 5,490.0 11.9 5,588.0 12.4
Still to be
Implemented 1 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0
Being Developed 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Will not be achieved 2 248.5 0.0 248.5 0.0 248.5 0.0
Potential Shortfall 2 180.0 0.0 180.0 0.0 180.0 0.0
Delayed 1 24.0 0.0 24.0 0.0 24.0 0.0
TOTAL 20 6,952.5 8.7 6,973.0 11.2 7,071.0 11.7 
2.1.6 There are two savings marked as not going to be achieved and a cost pressure will
be input for 2024-25 budget to remove these savings targets.  Two further savings
are categorised as having a shortfall and one is currently delayed.   
Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) – Financial Update 
2.1.7 The forecast outturn position at the end of June is an estimated overspend of
£0.631m for 2023-24 (underspend of £0.319m for Social Work and overspend of
£0.950m for Health). The HSCP may use the social work underspend to help
address the deficit in NHS or transfer all or part of the social work underspend to the
IJB reserves. The HSCP’s financial position will continue to be monitored and
Financial Services staff will engage with the HSCP Chief Financial Officer to ensure
that mitigation actions are in place to address the deficit and ensure that no
additional funding is required from the Council. 
2.2 Monitoring of Financial Risks 
2.2.1  This report outlines the process and approach developed in carrying out a financial
risks analysis and provides an update on the current assessment of financial risks.   
2.2.2 There are 6 Council wide revenue risks identified for 2023-24 currently amounting to
£3.661m.   
2.2.3 There are currently 39 departmental risks totalling £4.800m.  Of the 39 departmental
risks, 4 are categorised as likely.  These will continue to be monitored and action
taken to mitigate or manage these risks.   
2.2.4 The top three risks in terms of the financial impact are noted in the table below.

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SERVICE TITLE OF RISK DESCRIPTION OF RISK LIKELIHOOD FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Roads
Maintenance -
Bridges,
Culverts & Sea
Defences
Extreme localised weather
may result in loss of bridge,
culvert, road or sea defence.
3 750
Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Winter
Maintenance
Adverse weather conditions
which require greater than
budgeted number of gritting
runs.
3 365
Financial
Services
Council Tax
Debt
Collection
Recovery
Recovery of debt becomes
more difficult to pursue in the
current economic
climate.  This is in relation to
historical debt that has
accumulated over many years
therefore any adverse
collection rates will impact on
the year end debt provision as
opposed to the in-year
financial position, hence no
forecast variance has been
reported within the current
year.
3 345 
2.2.5 There have been 5 changes to the departmental risks since the report as presented
to the Council on 23 February 2023.  These are outlined in paragraph 3.4.1 of the
Financial Risks Report. 
2.3 Capital Plan Monitoring Report 
2.3.1 
2.3.2
This report provides a summary of the current capital plan monitoring position. 
Information is provided in terms of monitoring year to date budget, current full year
budget, future years total budget and funding and non-financial in terms of project
performance. 
In recent years, the Council has agreed additional funding for the capital programme
totalling £10.803m to address specific costs related to dealing with COVID,
inflationary pressures arising as a consequence of the factors detailed in paragraph
2.3.3 below and other cost pressures on the capital plan. To date, £8.1m has been
allocated to projects leaving a balance of £2.703m available for allocation as
required. 
2.3.3  The impact of the pandemic along with the UK exit from the European Union, the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russian owned entities has seen
significant price increases as well as disruptions to the supply chain and longer lead

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in times. The increased rate of inflation impacts costs such as energy prices, labour,
packaging and transport. These all have an effect on the overall contract price and
make it extremely challenging to manage expenditure and the availability of supply.
As a result of this it should be noted that there are likely to be other significant
financial impacts which are not quantifiable at this stage. 
2.3.4 Actual net expenditure to date is £6.965m compared to a budget for the year to date
of £6.985m giving rise to an underspend for the year to date of £0.020m (0.29%).  
2.3.5 The forecast outturn for 2023-24 is a forecast net expenditure of £44.660m
compared to an annual budget of £44.976m giving rise to a forecast underspend for
the year of £0.316m (0.70%). 
2.3.6 The forecast total net projects costs on the capital plan are £213.649m compared to
a total budget for all projects of £213.599m giving rise to a forecast overspend for
the overall capital plan of £0.050m (0.02%).  
2.3.7 In respect of total project performance, there are 155 projects within the capital plan,
153 are complete or on target, 1 is off target and recoverable and 1 project is off
track.  
2.4 Treasury Monitoring Report 
2.4.1 This report provides information on the current levels and recent transactions in
relation to the capital financing limit, total borrowing, temporary borrowing and long
term borrowing and investments.   
2.4.2 The net movement in external borrowing for the period 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023
was a decrease of £10.072m. 
2.4.3 Borrowing is below the Capital Financing Requirement for the period to 30 June
2023, at this stage in the financial year capital expenditure is below target. Capital
expenditure continued to be lower than anticipated over the last twelve months
however there is an expectation this will increase back up again over 2023-24 which
will continue to be monitored closely 
2.4.4 The levels of investments were £90.502m at 30 June 2023. The average rate of
return achieved was 4.437% which is below the target SONIA (Sterling Overnight
Index Average) rate for the same period of 4.578%. 
2.5 Reserves and Balances 
2.5.1 This report summarises the overall level of reserves and balances and monitors the
spending of the earmarked reserves, providing detailed information on the unspent
budget earmarked balances.   
2.5.2 The Council has a total of £666.354m unusable reserves that are not backed with
resources.  They are required purely for accounting purposes. 
2.5.3 At 31 March 2023, the Council had a total of £93.828m of usable reserves.  Of this:

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• £2.916m relates to the Repairs and Renewals Fund
• £4.503m relates to Capital Funds
• £86.409m was held in the General Fund, with £79.466m of this balance
earmarked for specific purposes. 
2.5.4  Of the earmarked balance of £79.466m:
• £37.305m is invested or committed for major initiatives/capital projects
• £29.842m is still to be drawn down in 2023-24
• £12.319m is planned to be spent in future years 
2.5.5 The table below summarises the position of the unallocated General Fund balance. 
Further explanation of the figures can be found at Section 3.4 of the Reserves and
Balances report.  
Heading Detail £000
Unallocated General Fund
as at 31 March 2023
This is the balance that is
unallocated over and above the 2%
contingency, which amounts to
£5.691m
1,252
Budgeted allocation to
General Fund for 2023-24
Budget
Per the Budget Motion at Council on
23 February 2023
19
Current Forecast Outturn
for 2023-24 as at 30 June
2023
This is from Social Work as other
departments have not yet reported
variances 
319
Social Work outturn
adjustment
Social Work would expect to transfer
their surplus to internal reserves
(319)
Estimated Unallocated
balance as at 31 March
2024 
1,271 
2.5.6 It can be seen that, after taking into consideration the Budget Motion, the current
forecast outturn for 2023-24, the expected adjustment in relation to the Social Work
outturn, the Council is forecast to have a £1.271m surplus over contingency. 
2.6 VIREMENTS OVER £0.200m (Revenue) 
2.6.1 Virement is the process of transferring budget between cost centres, services or
departments or between capital projects.  The Council’s constitution notes that
virements over £0.200m require approval by Council.  This section of the report will
be used to outline revenue virements in the period that require approval.   Capital
virements are included within the capital monitoring report.

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2.6.2 For the period April to June, there are 4 virements requiring authorisation: 
- £0.325m within Social Work for the declaration of savings
- £0.296m harvested within Executive Director Kirsty Flanagan against the
vacancy savings target for the period April to June
- £0.322m harvested within Social Work against the vacancy savings target for
the period April to June
- £0.374m between Head of Education and Head of Legal and Regulatory
Support in relation to NPDO FM recharges 
2.6.3 There are also two virements relating to 2022-23 that require authorisation.  These
virements were completed late in the year end process therefore did not appear on
the report to Council on 29 June 2023 for authorisation.  They are: 
- £0.360m from Roads and Infrastructure to the Loans Fund to fund the
Harbour Investment Programme prudential borrowing repayments from the
increased fees and charges income
- £0.417m to Roads and Infrastructure from the Loans Fund to cover an
overspend in vehicle repairs. A delay in the Fleet Replacement Capital
Programme resulted in an underspend within the Loans Fund which was
transferred to offset this. 
3.  RECOMMENDATIONS 
3.1 It is recommended that the Policy and Resources Committee: 
a) Consider the revenue budget monitoring report as at 30 June 2023 
b) Note the financial risks for 2023-24 
c) Note the capital plan monitoring report as at 30 June 2023 and approve the
proposed changes to the capital plan outlined in Appendix 4 of that report. 
d) Note the treasury monitoring report as at 30 June 2023 
e) Consider the reserves and balances report as at 30 June 2023  
f) Recommend to Council that the revenue virements over £0.200m during April to
June 2023 are approved 
g) Recommend to Council that the revenue virements over £0.200m outstanding
from 2022-23 year are approved, per paragraph 2.6.3

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4. IMPLICATIONS 
4.1 Policy – None.
4.2 Financial -  Outlines the revenue and capital monitoring for
2023-24 as at 30 June 2023
4.3 Legal -  None.
4.4 HR -  None.
4.5 Fairer Scotland Duty -   None.
4.5.1 Equalities – protected
characteristics - 
None.
4.5.2 Socio-economic Duty -  None.
4.5.3 Islands -  None.
4.6 Climate Change - None.
4.7 Risk -  Risks are included in financial risks report. 
4.8 Customer Service -  None. 
Kirsty Flanagan
Executive Director /Section 95 Officer
7 July 2023 
Policy Lead for Finance and Commercial Services - Councillor Gary Mulvaney 
For further information contact Anne Blue, Head of Financial Services
anne.blue@argyll-bute.gov.uk

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REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING REPORT AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
10 AUGUST 2023 
2023-24 Overall Position:
There is a forecast underspend of £0.319m as at the end of June 2023.  This forecast relates entirely to Social Work and is due to a
combination of the over-recovery of vacancy savings and income from fees, charges and recharges.  This is offsetting financial pressures due
to high demand for services and the use of agency staff to fill staffing recruitment and retention gaps across Adult Services. 
There is a year to date overspend of £1.273m.  The year to date variances within the departments tend to relate to the timing of income and
expenditure and costs to capital not recharged yet. 
Key Highlights as at June 2023:  
• The projection currently being reported is an underspend from the Social Work service.   This will not impact the Council’s general fund
as the IJB is able to hold reserves. 
Key Financial Successes:
Performance against budget for 2022-23 was an overall net favourable position of £3.326m underspend after adjusting for year-end
earmarking.  This breaks down as:
• £0.347m net underspend in relation to Council service departmental expenditure
• £6.937m net underspend in relation to other central costs largely due to a one-off treasury gain as a result of a discount on the early
repayment of loans
• £0.652m over-recovery of Council Tax income
• £4.610m of unspent budget earmarkings 
Key Financial Challenges: Proposed Actions to address Financial Challenges:
Addressing the long-term impact of the COVID pandemic on service
demand and the increasing challenges facing departments across the
Council in relation to the recruitment and retention of suitably qualified
and experienced staff.
Engagement and monitoring of both issues with departments to
assess how these challenges are affecting service capacity and
capability, staff attendance, utilisation of agency staff and costs.
Collaboration with services and other back-office teams to consider
and develop mitigating actions.
Achieving a favourable year-end position and achieving savings targets
in light of council wide risks to expenditure. 
Robust monitoring of the financial position and delivery of savings to
ensure budget issues inform the budget monitoring process.
Monitoring Social Work expenditure and more widely the IJB position as
any overspend will transfer back to partner bodies in the first instance.  
Continue to work closely with the CFO of the IJB to ensure that early
indication of any potential adverse financial outturn is known and
corrective action is agreed as appropriate to reduce the risk to the
Council.

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Identifying further savings and delivering services more efficiently with
less resources, as whilst a balanced 2023-24 budget was agreed in
February 2023 there are still budget gaps in future years.
The Council will continue to progress savings options identified that
require further development and seek to identify further savings
through themed reviews and business process reviews.
Maintaining or improving the level of service income recovered, for
example planning, building standards and car parking.  
Actively monitor income recovery and ensure Council fees and
charges policies are regularly reviewed. 
Managing spend in service areas which are demand led and, to some
extent, outwith service control, for example Winter Maintenance. 
Use risk based approach to budget monitoring to focus additional
attention on these areas.
Ongoing requirement to fund unavoidable inflationary increases in areas
like utility costs, fuel, food etc. This is impacted further by the availability
of supply as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, UK exit from the
European Union, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russian
owned entities to name a few influencing factors.
Ensure emerging issues are highlighted as soon as possible so that
the financial impact can be reported through the budget monitoring
and preparation processes. 
Cost of living crisis impacting on pay inflation negotiations which could
result in pay awards above what is deemed affordable.
Ensure emerging issues are highlighted as soon as possible so that
the financial impact can be reported through the budget monitoring
and preparation processes. 
Forecast Outturn Position
There is a forecast underspend of £0.319m for 2023-24 as at the end of June 2023

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Department
Annual
Budget   
£'000
Forecast
Outturn   
£'000
Current
Forecast
Variance
£'000
Previous
Forecast
Variance
£000
Change
£000 Explanation
Chief Executive's Unit 920 920 0 0 0
Executive Director (Douglas Hendry) 129,376 129,376 0 0 0
Executive Director (Kirsty Flanagan) 54,247 54,247 0 0 0
Social Work 76,118 75,799 319 0 319
Underspend due to a combination of the over-recovery of vacancy savings and
income from fees, charges and recharges.  This is offsetting financial pressures
due to high demand for services and the use of agency staff to fill staffing
recruitment and retention gaps across Adult Services.
Central Budgets 26,371 26,371 0 0 0
Financed By (287,032) (287,032) 0 0 0
Total 0 (319) 319 0 319

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Further information on the departmental forecast variances is included later on in the report. 
0
500
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
£ 000
Forecast outturn position for each Department from the start of the financial year
Chief Executive's Unit
Executive Director (Kirsty Flanagan)
Executive Director (Douglas Hendry)
Social Work
Central Budgets
Financed By
Underspend
Overspend

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Year to Date Position
The year to date position as at the end of June 2023 is an overspend of £1.273m and the main variances are noted below. 
Department
YTD
Actual
£'000
YTD
Budget
£'000
YTD
Variance   
£'000
Explanation
Chief Executive's Unit 261 240 (21)
Executive Director (Douglas Hendry) 34,194 33,608 (586)
Executive Director (Kirsty Flanagan) 14,032 10,807 (3,225)
Social Work 2,742 3,351 609
Central Budgets (721) 1,229 1,950
Funding (71,641) (71,641) 0
Total Net Expenditure (21,133) (22,406) (1,273)
The year to date variance is largely due to profiling of budgets as opposed to
geniune under or overspends.  This will be rectified in the coming weeks.

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Further information on the departmental year to date variances is included later on in the report. 
-25%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Chief
Executive's
Unit
Executive
Director
(Kirsty
Flanagan)
Executive
Director
(Douglas
Hendry)
Social W
ork
Central
Budgets
TOTAL
Expenditure to date against the remaining budget for each
Department
YTD Actual Remaining Budget

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OBJECTIVE SUMMARY – OVERALL COUNCIL POSITION AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
YTD
Actual
YTD
Budget
YTD
Variance
Variance Annual Budget Forecast
Outturn
Forecast
Variance
Variance
£'000 £'000 £'000 % £'000 £'000 £'000 %
Departmental Budgets
Chief Executive's Unit 261 240 (21) (8.8%) 920 920 0 0.0%
Executive Director (Douglas Hendry) 34,194 33,608 (586) (1.7%) 129,376 129,376 0 0.0%
Executive Director (Kirsty Flanagan) 14,032 10,807 (3,225) (29.8%) 54,247 54,247 0 0.0%
Social Work 2,742 3,351 609 18.2% 76,118 75,799 319 0.4%
Total Departmental Budgets 51,229 48,006 (3,223) (6.7%) 260,661 260,342 319 0.1%
Central Budgets
Other Operating Income and Expenditure (1,936) 315 2,251 714.6% 3,656 3,656 0 0.0%
Joint Boards 313 374 61 16.3% 1,496 1,496 0 0.0%
Non-Controllable Costs 902 540 (362) (67.0%) 21,219 21,219 0 0.0%
Total Central Budgets (721) 1,229 1,950 158.7% 26,371 26,371 0 0.0%
TOTAL NET EXPENDITURE 50,508 49,235 (1,273) (2.6%) 287,032 286,713 319 0.1%
Financed By
Aggregate External Finance (53,082) (53,082) 0 0.0% (226,213) (226,213) 0 0.0%
Local Tax Requirement (18,559) (18,559) 0 0.0% (59,301) (59,301) 0 0.0%
Contributions to General Fund 0 0 0 0.0% (1,518) (1,518) 0 0.0%
Earmarked Reserves 0 0 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0.0%
Total Funding (71,641) (71,641) 0 0.0% (287,032) (287,032) 0 0.0%
(Deficit)/Surplus for Period (21,133) (22,406) (1,273) 0 (319) 319
CURRENT PROJECTED FINAL OUTTURNYEAR TO DATE POSITION

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SUBJECTIVE SUMMARY – OVERALL COUNCIL POSITION AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
YTD
Actual
YTD
Budget
YTD
Variance
Variance Annual
Budget
Forecast
Outturn
Forecast
Variance
Variance
£'000 £'000 £'000 % £'000 £'000 £'000 %
Subjective Category
Employee Expenses 40,285 40,462 177 0.4% 186,282 186,645 (363) (0.2%)
Premises Related Expenditure 2,458 2,678 220 8.2% 18,745 18,808 (63) (0.3%)
Supplies and Services 6,230 6,245 15 0.2% 23,471 23,439 32 0.1%
Transport Related Expenditure 3,314 3,070 (244) (8.0%) 17,489 17,429 60 0.3%
Third Party Payments 33,749 34,540 791 2.3% 168,739 168,846 (107) (0.1%)
Capital Financing (147) 0 147 14,523 14,523 0 0.0%
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 85,889 86,995 1,106 1.3% 429,249 429,690 (441) (0.1%)
Income (107,022) (109,401) (2,379) 2.2% (429,249) (430,009) 760 (0.2%)
(Deficit)/Surplus for Period (21,133) (22,406) (1,273) 0 (319) 319
YEAR TO DATE POSITION CURRENT PROJECTED FINAL OUTTURN
YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less than budget.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S UNIT – AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
The department is currently forecasting spend in line with budget. 
The department has a year to date overspend of £0.021m which can be attributed to profiling issues. 
Forecast Outturn Position 
Service Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Current
Forecast
Variance
£000
Previous
Forecast
Variance
£000
Change
£000
Chief Executive 920 920 0 0 0
Totals 920 920 0 0 0
Year to Date Position 
Key Financial Successes:
• All savings options have been delivered.  
• The department’s 2022-23 outturn position was an underspend of £0.017m.  This resulted from an overall underspend of £0.087m
offset by earmarking of £0.070m due to auto-carry forwards including unspent grants and third party contributions.   
Key Financial Challenges: Proposed Actions to address Financial Challenges:
To continue to deliver a high-quality service to support community
engagement and participation.
Regular monitoring, reflection and improvement cycle on service
provision to ensure most efficient use of staffing and financial
resources to meet national and local policy requirements for quality
engagement.
To continue to deliver a high quality support service function to community
organisations and community planning partners during a time of challenge
arising from continuing reductions in funding.
Seek to work in partnership with third sector organisations such as
the TSI in Argyll and Bute to efficiently deliver full package of support
to community organisations. Within the partnership working of the
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Chief Executive
Expenditure to date against the remaining budget for each
Service
YTD
Actual…
Remaining Budget
£000

Page 17

CPP we seek to establish working groups and collate resources
within this to deliver high quality solutions to identified needs.
Demands for funding from community applications to the Supporting
Communities Fund higher than available annual funds by about 40%.
Continue to monitor fund criteria adapting this to align with priority
outcomes for Argyll & Bute and continue to support groups to seek
alternative sources of funding from our database of funding
providers.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S UNIT – OBJECTIVE SUMMARY AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
Service Area YTD
Actual
£000
YTD
Budget
£000
YTD
Variance
£000
%
Variance
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Chief Executive 88 70 (18) (25.7%) 328 328 0 0.0%
Post funded from earmarked
reserves - drawdown will be actioned
in July.
Community Planning
& Development 173 170 (3) (1.8%) 592 592 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria  
261 240 (21) (8.8%) 920 920 0 0.0%   
YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less
than budget.
An explanation is given for any variance which exceeds £50,000 or 10%.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S UNIT – SUBJECTIVE SUMMARY AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
Subjective
Category
YTD
Actual
£000
YTD
Budget
£000
YTD
Variance
£000
%
Variance
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Employee 189 157 (32) (20.4%) 770 770 0 0.0% Overspend caused by posts funded from
earmarkings/other budgets - will be rectified in July
Supplies and
Services 3 3 0 0.0% 12 12 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria
Transport 2 4 2 50.0% 14 14 0 0.0% Underspend on staff travel budgets.
Third Party 67 79 12 15.2% 141 141 0 0.0% Profiling issues, will be rectified in July
Income 0 (3) (3) 100.0% (17) (17) 0 0.0% Profiling issues, will be rectified in July
Totals 261 240 (21) (8.8%) 920 920 0 0.0%   
YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less
than budget.
An explanation is given for any variance which exceeds £50,000 or 10%.

Page 20

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S UNIT – RED VARIANCES AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
Service Area Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation      
0 0.0%   
A red variance is a forecast variance which is greater than +/- £50,000.

Page 21

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (DOUGLAS HENDRY) – AS AT 30 JUNE 2023  
The department is currently forecasting spend in line with budget. 
The department has a year to date (YTD) overspend of £0.586m (1.7%). The year to date overspend position is mainly due to the current
budget profile which will be refined through July.                             
Forecast Outturn Position 
Service Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Current
Forecast
Variance
£000
Previous
Forecast
Variance
£000
Change
£000
Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry) 85 85 0 0 0
Head of Commercial
Services 11,639 11,639 0 0 0
Head of Education 102,030 102,030 0 0 0
Head of Legal and
Regulatory Support 15,622 15,622 0 0 0
Totals 129,376 129,376 0 0 0
Year to Date Position 
Key Financial Successes:
The 2022-23 year-end consolidated outturn position was an under spend of £2.202m after adjusting for automatic earmarking.  Contributing
factors included:
• Effective contract management of NPDO and Hub School contracts, including a lower-than-expected insurance premium as a result of
the annual renegotiation of insurance costs. 
• Successful negotiations with utility suppliers achieved both historic water charge refunds and ongoing reductions to water rates.
• Implementation of NDEEF project resulting in recurring annual saving in utilities and a significant contribution to meeting Net Zero
targets.
• Income generation within Early Years.
• Increased rental income within One Council Property. 
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Head of
Commercial
Services
Head of Education Head of Legal and
Regulatory Support
Expenditure to date against the remaining budget for each
Service
YTD… Remaining Budget…

Page 22

Key Financial Challenges: Proposed Actions to address Financial Challenges:
The legacy impact of COVID-19 on our young learners has led to an
increased demand on the additional support need functions of the
Education Service in response to the growing health and wellbeing
needs of our young people and their families.
Analysis and review of delivery models, robust costings of any
service redesign required and continual monitoring of associated
budgets
Impact of the current cost of living crisis on the cost of the school day for
learners and their families.
Work with schools to ensure effective use of PEF to close the
poverty related attainment gap and identify other funding sources
to ensure equity of experience for all children.
Impact of the current cost of living crisis on uptake in demand led service
areas like catering, design services and licensing.
Continually refine/develop systems to accurately forecast outturns
and the impact on the future financial outlook. Strategies in place
to redesign services in line with future demand.
Ensure that Catering and Cleaning Services remain efficient and
effective given the requirement to increase free school meal provision for
P6/7 and Early Years, the impact of high inflation on produce and a
requirement to adhere to the Statutory Guidance supporting Nutritional
Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations
2020.
Support a longer-term service re-design project, including
collaborative working with partners and cross department support
with implementation of revised service delivery models. Continual
monitoring and review of costs and budgets, ensuring that any
efficiencies and savings are secured for the Council
Manage delivery of legislative/policy requirements that may not be fully
funded by Scottish Government therefore placing additional burdens on
the Council, for example, expansion of Universal Free School Meals for
P6 and 7s.
Analysis of new obligations and whether they incur additional costs
not met through increased funding allocations. Work will be
designed and implemented in the most effective way within
resource availability.
The Council has a requirement to deliver 1140 hours of Early Learning
and Childcare (ELC). The ring-fenced grant was reduced in 2022-23 and
again this year, reducing funding by £1.478m.  
Robust service costings, financial monitoring and timely reporting
to ensure the service can be delivered within the financial
resources available. Medium term forecasting on population to
shape ongoing service redesign. Analysis of potential to extend
income generation using “spare” capacity to trial paid care for
under 2’s
Impact of high inflationary uplifts within the NPDO/HUB School contracts. Ensuring continued effective contract management of NPDO/HUB
Schools to minimise the impact of high inflationary uplifts.

Page 23

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (DOUGLAS HENDRY) – OBJECTIVE SUMMARY AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
Service Service Area
YTD
Actual
£000
YTD
Budget
£000
YTD
Variance
£000
%
Variance
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Executive
Director (Douglas
Hendry)
Central/Managem
ent Costs
79 83 4 4.8% 85 85 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria
79 83 4 4.8% 85 85 0 0.0%
Head of
Commercial
Services
Catering 89 100 11 11.0% 1,302 1,302 0 0.0% The YTD underspend is due to the
timing of income and expenditure.
Head of
Commercial
Services
Central/Managem
ent Costs
328 285 (43) (15.1%) 1,676 1,676 0 0.0% The YTD overspend is due to
payment of the annual
maintenance costs for the catering
management system and
miscoding of catering equipment.
The coding error will be rectified in
the July monitoring period. 
Head of
Commercial
Services
CHORD 53 6 (47) (783.3%) 35 35 0 0.0% The YTD overspend is due to a
delay in processing recharge of
expenditure, this will be processed
in July.
Head of
Commercial
Services
Cleaning (66) 50 116 232.0% 599 599 0 0.0% The YTD underspend is due to the
income budget profile which will be
refined through July and the
reduced use of bank staff. 
Head of
Commercial
Services
Culture, Heritage,
Recreation &
Sport
1,374 1,398 24 1.7% 5,915 5,915 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria
Head of
Commercial
Services
Events &
Commercial
Catering
42 8 (34) (425.0%) 123 123 0 0.0% The YTD overspend is due to
under recovery of income and high
staff costs within Commercial
Café's. Finance assisting the
Service to look at cashflows,
pricing, menus and staffing to
recover current position.
Head of
Commercial
Services
Property Portfolio (99) (78) 21 (26.9%) (191) (191) 0 0.0% The YTD underspend is due to the
timing of income and expenditure.
Head of
Commercial
Services
Property Services 47 73 26 35.6% 673 673 0 0.0% The YTD underspend is due to
receipt of historic water refunds

Page 24

offset by income accruals not yet
received for renewable energy.
Head of
Commercial
Services
Shared Offices 274 263 (11) (4.2%) 1,507 1,507 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria    
2,042 2,105 63 3.0% 11,639 11,639 0 0.0%  
Head of
Education
Additional Support
for Learning
2,492 2,526 34 1.4% 11,082 11,082 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria
Head of
Education
Central/Managem
ent Costs
581 463 (118) (25.5%) 1,695 1,695 0 0.0% The YTD overspend is due to the
current budget profile in computer
licenses and rental income which
will be refined through July.
Earmarked reserves require to be
drawn down to cover additional
temporary staffing costs.
Head of
Education
Community
Learning &
Development
(5) 1 6 600.0% 13 13 0 0.0% The YTD underspend is due to
accrued expenditure still
outstanding.
Head of
Education
COVID 7 0 (7) #DIV/0! 0 0 0 0.0% Funds to be drawn from Covid
earmarkings to match expenditure
which will eliminate adverse
variance.
Head of
Education
Early Learning &
Childcare
3,661 3,519 (142) (4.0%) 9,115 9,115 0 0.0% The YTD variance is due to the
current budget profile which will be
refined through July eliminating the
adverse variance.
Head of
Education
Primary Education 9,509 9,306 (203) (2.2%) 37,786 37,786 0 0.0% The YTD overspend is due to late
coding of Gaelic income and
profile related overspends which
will be refined through July and will
remove the adverse variance.
Head of
Education
Pupil Support 375 417 42 10.1% 2,324 2,324 0 0.0% The YTD underspend is due to the
current budget profile which will be
refined through July.  This will
change the YTD variance to a
£75k overspend in Schools
Residential Accommodation due to
a higher demand for service than
budget allows.
Head of
Education
Schools - Central
Services
706 369 (337) (91.3%) 2,452 2,452 0 0.0% The YTD overspend is due to an
overspend within Northern Alliance
that will be rectified through
income due to cover, earmarked

Page 25

funds require to be drawn from
reserves to cover an overspend in
ERASMUS French and Spanish
training with the remaining
overspend being profile related
which will be refined through July
eliminating the adverse variance.
Head of
Education
Secondary
Education
8,393 8,421 28 0.3% 37,563 37,563 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria    
25,719 25,022 (697) (2.8%) 102,030 102,030 0 0.0%  
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
Central/Managem
ent Costs
51 56 5 8.9% 272 272 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
Community Safety 56 35 (21) (60.0%) 167 167 0 0.0% The YTD overspend is due to the
timing of income and expenditure.
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
Elections 0 7 7 100.0% 36 36 0 0.0% The YTD underspend is due to the
timing of income and expenditure.
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
Governance 151 165 14 8.5% 799 799 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
Governance, Risk
& Safety
106 119 13 10.9% 577 577 0 0.0% The YTD underspend is due to
delays in recruitment of staff.
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
Legal Services 157 141 (16) (11.4%) 750 750 0 0.0% The YTD overspend is due to the
timing of licensing income partially
offset by underspends in staffing
due to delays in recruitment.
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
NPDO and Hub
Schools
5,471 5,495 24 0.4% 11,167 11,167 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
Procurement,
Commercial and
Contract
Management
226 249 23 9.2% 1,216 1,216 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria
Head of Legal &
Regulatory
Support
Trading Standards
& Advice Services
136 131 (5) (3.8%) 638 638 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria    
6,354 6,398 44 0.7% 15,622 15,622 0 0.0%      
34,194 33,608 (586) (1.7%) 129,376 129,376 0 0.0%

Page 26

YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less
than budget.
An explanation is given for any variance which exceeds £50,000 or 10%.

Page 27

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (DOUGLAS HENDRY) – SUBJECTIVE SUMMARY AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
Subjective
Category
YTD
Actual
£000
YTD
Budget
£000
YTD
Variance
£000
%
Variance
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Employee 23,593 23,882 289 1.2% 103,459 103,459 0 0.0%Non Education: The YTD underspend of £180k is made up of a £67k underspend in Legal and
Regulatory Support due to delays in recruitment and a £113k underspend in Commercial Services due
to delays in recruitment and lower than anticipated use of bank budgets in catering and cleaning.                                           
Education: £109k underspend is largely due delays in recruitment in schools and learning centres. 
Under the Scheme of Devolved School Management (DSM) schools are permitted flexibility at
yearend, therefore no forecast variance has been processed in relation to this                                                       
Premises 1,615 1,643 28 1.7% 7,604 7,604 0 0.0%Outwith Reporting Criteria
Supplies and
Services
2,887 2,894 7 0.2% 12,282 12,282 0 0.0%Outwith Reporting Criteria
Transport 82 74 (8) (10.8%) 296 296 0 0.0%Non Education: There is a YTD underspend of £6k due to more flexible ways of working and use of
technology for meetings reducing the need to travel.                                                                               
Education: YTD overspend of £14k within Primary and Secondary schools is due to  the timing of
expenditure and will continue to be monitored.
Third Party 8,612 8,646 34 0.4% 39,986 39,986 0 0.0%Outwith Reporting Criteria
Income (2,595) (3,531) (936) 26.5% (34,251) (34,251) 0 0.0%Non Education: The under recovery of Income within Commercial Services of £233k is due to profiling
of internal fees which will be refined during July and £94k within renewable energy due to profiling and
an income accrual not yet received.  Within Legal and Regulatory Services the profile for licensing
fees requires refining which will be done during July.                                                                
Education:  The £643k under recovery of income is due to late coding of £355k Gaelic funding and
the remainder is budget profile that will be refined during July which will eliminate the adverse
variance.                                                   
Totals 34,194 33,608 (586) (1.7%) 129,376 129,376 0 0.0%

Page 28

YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less
than budget.
An explanation is given for any variance which exceeds £50,000 or 10%.

Page 29

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (DOUGLAS HENDRY) – RED VARIANCES AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
Service Area
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
A Red variance is a forecast variance which is greater than +/- £50,000.

Page 30

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (KIRSTY FLANAGAN) – AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
The department is currently forecasting spend in line with budget. 
The department has a year to date overspend of £3.225m (29.8%).  This is mainly due to income being behind profile in the Roads
Operational Holding Account due to Capital project timing and the profile of grant income in Piers and Harbours. Budget profiles will be
analysed and updated for the next reporting period.  
Forecast Outturn Position 
Service Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Current
Forecast
Variance
£000
Previous
Forecast
Variance
£000
Change
£000
Executive Director (Kirsty
Flanagan) (114) (114) 0 0 0
Head of Customer Support
Services 8,947 8,947 0 0 0
Head of Development and
Economic Growth 7,790 7,790 0 0 0
Head of Financial Services 5,677 5,677 0 0 0
Head of Roads and
Infrastructure Services 31,947 31,947 0 0 0
Totals 54,247 54,247 0 0 0
Year to Date Position 
Key Financial Successes:
During 2022-23 the department had an over-recovery of Planning Fee and Building Warrant income, an over-recovery of NDR commission
due to a successful debt recovery campaign during the year focusing on high level debts plus an over recovery of vacancy savings. 
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Executive
Director (Kirsty
Flanagan)
Head of
Customer
Support
Services
Head of
Development
and Economic
Growth
Head of
Financial
Services
Head of Roads
and
Infrastructure
Services
Expenditure to date against the remaining budget for each
Service
YTD
Actual
£000
Remaining Budget
£000

Page 31

Key Financial Challenges: Proposed Actions to address Financial Challenges:
Ensuring that services spend to budget and do not overspend after the
department had an overspend of £1.5m after automatic earmarkings in
2022-23.
Detailed monitoring in the key areas overspent in 2022-23 to flag up
concerns early and mitigate before becoming an overspend. 
Department / Service ongoing ability to meet future savings / efficiency
requirements.
Monitoring of trends / expenditure levels / service configuration and
the Service Packages Policy Options savings process.
Rising cost of materials, software and consultancy services across the
service will result in a reduction in activity or overspends.
Costs are monitored regularly and contained as much as possible,
with any unavoidable overspends highlighted as soon as known.
Financial Services to continue to deliver a high-quality support service
function during a time of substantial uncertainty and challenge arising from
continuing reductions in funding whilst costs are increasing due to ongoing
high levels of inflation and service demand caused by world events.
Ensure the team is operating as efficiently and effectively as
possible by building resilience across the team and working
collaboratively with other services of the Council to support evidence
based decision making. 
Carry out the improvements identified during the Revenue and
Benefits Business Process Review to maximise income generation
and deliver efficiencies in service provision. 
Winter Maintenance costs are difficult to estimate as they are very much
dependant on the weather.  
Close monitoring of Winter Maintenance activity and reporting of the
financial implications through the budget monitoring process. The
Council agreed the winter policy, setting out the intervention level
and locations to be treated.  The number of treatments is determined
by weather conditions. The current budget provision provides for 58
full equivalent runs. There is a sophisticated weather monitoring
system in place consisting of several weather stations, this is
supported by a forecasting and meteorological service which is
collaboratively procured by West of Scotland local authorities.
Dangerous buildings costs as there is no budget for this expenditure and
the council has no control over the demand for the service.
Building Standards, Legal Services and Financial Services are
working closely to manage debt recovery and to consider other
options to minimise corporate risk exposure.

Page 32

Due to the nature of the various components of Waste Management there
are ongoing challenges with:
• The introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme
• Uncertainty with recycling income/ gate fee costs due to the           
volatility of the market
• Challenges in the legislative changes around the disposal of      
Biodegradable Municipal Waste 
To closely monitor all service components of Waste Management
and review the Waste Strategy in conjunction with our contractual
partner Renewi (previously Shanks).

Page 33

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (KIRSTY FLANAGAN) – OBJECTIVE SUMMARY AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
Service
Service Area
YTD
Actual
£000
YTD
Budget
£000
YTD
Variance
£000
%
Variance
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Executive
Director (Kirsty
Flanagan)
Central/Management
Costs
62 63 1 1.6% (114) (114) 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.    
62 63 1 1.6% (114) (114) 0 0.0%  
Head of
Customer
Support Services
Central/Management
Costs
31 32 1 3.1% 174 174 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of
Customer
Support Services
Communications 50 67 17 25.4% 325 325 0 0.0% Underspend in employee costs
due to vacancy which will be
used to cover future consultancy
costs.
Head of
Customer
Support Services
Customer Service
Centres
292 273 (19) (7.0%) 1,502 1,502 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of
Customer
Support Services
HR 571 623 52 8.4% 2,593 2,593 0 0.0% Underspend in employee costs
due to vacancies which will used
to offset employee overspends
elsewhere plus unbudgeted
grant income received but not
yet spent.
Head of
Customer
Support Services
ICT 1,221 1,254 33 2.6% 4,297 4,297 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of
Customer
Support Services
Registrars (32) (5) 27 (540.0%) 56 56 0 0.0% Underspend in employee costs
due to vacancies which will be
used to offset employee
overspends elsewhere.    
2,133 2,244 111 5.0% 8,947 8,947 0 0.0%  
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Airports 249 270 21 7.8% 1,210 1,210 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Building Control (135) 205 340 165.9% (84) (84) 0 0.0% Profile of income budget out of
alignment with actual income
received - will be kept under
review and adjusted if the
variance becomes material to
the Department's overall
position.

Page 34

Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Central/Management
Costs
127 110 (17) (15.5%) 583 583 0 0.0% Overspend in software costs in
GIS in comparison to profiling of
budget and will be rectified over
the financial year.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Culture & Heritage 27 47 20 42.6% 228 228 0 0.0% Underspend in Rothesay
Pavilion due to not being
operational.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Development
Management
(249) (77) 172 (223.4%) (16) (16) 0 0.0% Variance is due to the timing of
receipts for planning income
received.  Schedule of expected
Planning Applications to be
reviewed to determine any
potential over-recovery.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Development Policy 83 81 (2) (2.5%) 395 395 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Economic
Development
(41) 328 369 112.5% 1,092 1,092 0 0.0% Grant income for Placed Based
Investment and Scottish Govt
Islands Programme received in
advance of expenditure.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Environmental
Health
170 188 18 9.6% 1,281 1,281 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Environmental
Initiatives
24 24 0 0.0% 120 120 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Housing 1,176 881 (295) (33.5%) 2,745 2,745 0 0.0% Expenditure for HEEPS incurred
in advance of grant claim.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Private Landlords (26) 0 26 0.0% 0 0 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of
Development &
Economic Growth
Transportation
Policy
850 52 (798) (1534.6%) 236 236 0 0.0% Expenditure for SUSTRANS,
CWSS and SCSP incurred in
advance of grant claim.    
2,255 2,109 (146) (6.9%) 7,790 7,790 0 0.0%  
Head of Financial
Services
Accounting &
Budgeting
502 569 67 11.8% 2,668 2,668 0 0.0% Underspend due to the timing of
cash flows in comparison to

Page 35

profiling of budget and will be
rectified over the financial year 
Head of Financial
Services
Internal Audit &
Fraud
64 75 11 14.7% 353 353 0 0.0% Underspend caused by
temporary slippage on a vacant
post. 
Head of Financial
Services
Revenues & Benefits 1,260 1,327 67 5.1% 2,102 2,102 0 0.0% Underspend due to the timing of
cash flows in comparison to
profiling of budget and will be
rectified over the financial year 
Head of Financial
Services
Scottish Welfare
Fund
10 (117) (127) 108.6% 554 554 0 0.0% Earmarkings requiring to be
drawn down against third party
payments paid out - this will be
rectified in next reporting period.    
1,836 1,854 18 1.0% 5,677 5,677 0 0.0%  
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Amenity 891 790 (101) (12.8%) 3,139 3,139 0 0.0% Income budget profile out of
alignment with actual expected
income for Cemeteries and
Crematoria.  Overspend in Parks
due to CRA works and reduction
in Public Convenience income
due to delays in door charging
mechanisms.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Car Parking (84) (167) (83) 49.7% (571) (571) 0 0.0% Electric Vehicle Charger
electricity costs paid in advance
of income received.  Overspend
in DPE due to the timing of cash
flows in comparison to profiling
of budget and will be rectified
over the financial year.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Central/Management
Costs
688 655 (33) (5.0%) 3,060 3,060 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Depots 67 (138) (205) 148.6% (429) (429) 0 0.0% Overspend due to profile of
income budget - profile to be
updated for next reporting
period.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Fleet & Transport 2,224 2,078 (146) (7.0%) 8,685 8,685 0 0.0% Overspend in Pupil Transport
due to additional employees and
profile of income budget which
will be rectified over the financial
year.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Infrastructure 124 146 22 15.1% 763 763 0 0.0% Small underspend due to timing
of works.

Page 36

Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Marine (315) (995) (680) 68.3% (4,215) (4,215) 0 0.0% Underspend due to budget
profile for grant income - profile
to be updated for next reporting
period.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Network & Traffic
Management
62 17 (45) (264.7%) 182 182 0 0.0% Overspend due to timing of
income in comparison to
profiling of budget and will be
rectified over the financial year.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Road Safety 23 26 3 11.5% 123 123 0 0.0% Small underspend due to timing
of PPE purchases.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Roads & Lighting 2,721 944 (1,777) (188.2%) 7,089 7,089 0 0.0% Overspend due to timing of
income from Capital recharges
in comparison to profiling of
budget - profile will be updated
for next reporting period.
Head of Roads &
Infrastructure
Services
Waste 1,345 1,181 (164) (13.9%) 14,121 14,121 0 0.0% Overspend due to timing of
commercial refuse collection
income in comparison to
profiling of budget and will be
rectified over the financial year.    
7,746 4,537 (3,209) (70.7%) 31,947 31,947 0 0.0%      
14,032 10,807 (3,225) (29.8%) 54,247 54,247 0 0.0%   
YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less
than budget.
An explanation is given for any variance which exceeds £50,000 or 10%.

Page 37

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (KIRSTY FLANAGAN) – SUBJECTIVE SUMMARY AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
Subjective
Category
YTD
Actual
£000
YTD
Budget
£000
YTD
Variance
£000
%
Variance
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Employee 8,514 8,703 189 2.2% 43,504 43,504 0 0.0% Underspend due to vacant posts in HR, which will be used to
offset overspends elsewhere in the service, and the Roads
Operational Holding Account and Infrastructure Design
Teams, which will be offset against expenditure elsewhere
and reduced income from recharges.
Premises 511 629 118 18.8% 3,337 3,337 0 0.0% Underspend due to profile of Street Lighting Electricity and
will be rectified over the financial year.
Supplies
and
Services
2,788 2,511 (277) (11.0%) 8,827 8,827 0 0.0% Overspend due to heavy purchase of materials in Roads for
the Capital programme - these costs will be offset against
additional income when recharges are processed.
Transport 3,125 2,812 (313) (11.1%) 16,144 16,144 0 0.0% Overspend for vehicle repairs in Fleet which is offset against
additional income for recharges to the services.
Third Party 13,671 13,574 (97) (0.7%) 62,945 62,945 0 0.0% Overspend in Housing for HEEPS payments made against a
zero budget, which will be offset against the grant income
later in the year.  This overspend is partially offset with an
underspend in Roads due to outstanding invoices which
should be received in due course.
Capital
Financing
0 0 0 0.0% 2,398 2,398 0 0.0% Outwith Reporting Criteria.
Income (14,577) (17,422) (2,845) 16.3% (82,908) (82,908) 0 0.0% Under-recovery of income in Roads due to timing of
recharges to capital which is partially offset against grant
income received with zero budget for Placed Based
Investment and Scottish Govt Islands Programme, this grant
income will be offset against expenditure incurred later in the
year.
Totals 14,032 10,807 (3,225) (29.8%) 54,247 54,247 0 0.0%  
YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less
than budget.
An explanation is given for any variance which exceeds £50,000 or 10%.

Page 38

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (KIRSTY FLANAGAN) – RED VARIANCES AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
Service Area Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation             
A red variance is a forecast variance which is greater than +/- £50,000.

Page 39

SOCIAL WORK – AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
The department is currently forecasting an underspend of £0.319m (0.4%) which is due to the combination of the over-recovery of vacancy
savings and income from fees, charges and recharges. This is offsetting financial pressures due to high demand for services and the use of
agency staff to fill staffing recruitment and retention gaps across Adult Services.   
The department has a year to date underspend of £0.609m (18.2%) which is mainly due to the timing of payments, budget profiling across
services, the YTD over-recovery of vacancy savings and demand for purchased Children’s Services. This is partially offset by staffing
pressures, including the use of agency staff across Homecare and Older People Residential Units. 
Forecast Outturn Position  Year to Date Position 
-75%
-50%
-25%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Chief Officer
Integration
Head of Adult
Services
Head of Children
and Families
Head of
Strategic
Planning and
Performance
Expenditure to date against the remaining budget
for each Service
YTD… Remaining Budget…
Key Financial Successes: 
Delivered an underspend of £3.556m at the end of 2022/23 after automatic earmarkings of £1.078m. The total underspend of £4.634m has
been transferred to IJB reserves and should allow for future investment and transformation across Social Work. 
Service Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Current
Forecast
Variance
£000
Previous
Forecast
Variance
£000
Change
£000
Chief Officer Integration (342) (519) 177 0 177
Head of Strategic Planning
and Performance 499 492 7 0 7
Head of Health and
Community Care 39,205 39,107 98 0 98
Head of Acute and
Complex Care 20,082 20,165 (83) 0 (83)
Head of Children and
Families 16,674 16,554 120 0 120
Totals 76,118 75,799 319 0 319

Page 40

Key Financial Challenges: Proposed Actions to address Financial Challenges:
Deliver the outstanding savings total for 2023/24 of £0.956m (as at June
2023).
Maintain a close working relationship with the HSCP Service
Improvement Team in order to quickly and efficiently identify and
assess options for delivering the outstanding savings. 
Development and delivery of future service redesigns which will be
necessary to contain service expenditure within the allocated resource,
noting that in year savings still need to be identified for 23/24 to cover
23/24 budget gap, as well as budget gaps in future years. 
Support from finance to assist strategic managers to develop and
identify further savings and to look beyond the short term to identify
and plan the changes which will be needed to address the expected
ongoing budget challenge over the current, and future, years.
Use of agency staff to support service delivery across Social Work, but
particularly in Older People services, due to recruitment and retention
challenges within the service. Year to date spend at June 2023 of
£0.656m; with a forecast spend of £0.868m by the end of the year. 
Close working relationship with the HSCP to support the costing of
a plan to stabilise the service and ensure it is operationally and
financially sustainable. This includes an exit plan from the reliance
on agency staff. 
Cost of living crisis affecting pay inflation negotiations and financial
sustainability of service providers, which could affect affordability, and
sustainability of service delivery. 
Ensure emerging issues are highlighted as soon as possible so that
the financial impact can be reported through the budget monitoring
and preparation processes.

Page 41

SOCIAL WORK – OBJECTIVE SUMMARY AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
Service Service Area
YTD
Actual
£000
YTD
Budget
£000
YTD
Variance
£000
%
Variance
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Chief Officer
Integration
Integration
Headquarters
54 134 80 59.7% 569 579 (10) (1.8%) The YTD position is due to payroll
underspends and outstanding 22/23 accruals.
The forecast variance is outwith reporting
criteria.
Chief Officer
Integration
Social Work
Central
Support
(1,146) (1,076) 70 (6.5%) (911) (1,098) 187 (20.5%) The YTD variance is due to over-recovery on
vacancy savings, combined with underspends
on centrally held funds and payroll
underspends. This is further impacted by
profiling of the central repairs budget which is
showing a YTD underspend. The forecast
underspend is due to an over-recovery on
vacancy savings combined with underspends
on centrally held funds. 
(1,092) (942) 150 53.2% (342) (519) 177 (22.3%)  
Head of
Strategic
Planning &
Performance
Management
& Central
Costs
92 88 (4) (4.6%) 465 468 (3) (0.6%) Outwith reporting criteria.
Head of
Strategic
Planning &
Performance
Service
Development
9 13 4 30.8% 34 24 10 29.4% The YTD and forecast variance are due to
staff vacancies giving both a payroll
underspend and an under-recovery on
Charges to Health Boards.    
101 101 0 26.2% 499 492 7 28.8%  
Head of
Health and
Community
Care
Management
& Central
Costs
45 90 45 50.0% 571 570 1 0.2% The YTD variance is as a result of timing of
payments to third parties. The forecast
variance is outwith reporting criteria.
Head of
Health and
Community
Care
Older People 2,315 2,468 153 6.2% 38,634 38,537 97 0.3% The YTD variance reflects the over-recovery
on income as well as timing of payments to
third parties. This is partially offset by YTD
overspends on employee costs due to use of
agency staff. The forecast underspend is due
to the forecast over-recovery of income from
charges to clients for residential care
combined with underspends in Homecare as a
result of capacity issues which have reduced
the volume of service provided. This is all
partially offset by overspends on residential

Page 42

placements for the same reasons; reflecting a
temporary shift in the balance of care. 
2,360 2,558 198 7.7% 39,205 39,107 98 0.2%  
Head of
Acute and
Complex
Care
Learning
Disabilities
(1,777) (1,763) 14 (0.8%) 14,355 14,366 (11) (0.1%) Outwith reporting criteria.
Head of
Acute and
Complex
Care
Management
& Central
Costs
18 29 11 37.9% 130 127 3 2.3% The YTD variance is as a result of the timing
of payments to third parties. The forecast
variance is outwith reporting criteria.
Head of
Acute and
Complex
Care
Mental Health (189) (112) 77 (68.8%) 2,768 2,896 (128) (4.6%) The YTD variance is as a result of staffing
vacancies which have not yet been transferred
to vacancy savings combined with timing of
payments to third parties.  The forecast
overspend reflects higher than budgeted
demand for services in Supported Living and
Residential Placements combined with
overspends on staff costs due to the use
agency staff.
Head of
Acute and
Complex
Care
Physical
Disability
140 131 (9) (6.9%) 2,829 2,776 53 1.9% The YTD variance is outwith reporting criteria.
The forecast underspend reflects known
demand for Residential Placements partially
offset by overspends on Supported Living and
Respite due to demand. 
(1,808) (1,715) 93 (38.5%) 20,082 20,165 (83) (0.5%)  
Head of
Children &
Families
Child
Protection
613 720 107 14.9% 3,703 3,597 106 2.9% The YTD variance is as a result of staffing
vacancies which have not yet been transferred
to vacancy savings combined with timing of
income receipt.  The forecast underspend is
as a result of demand for contact and welfare
services as well as forecast underspends in
the Area Teams on payments to other bodies,
travel and subsistence.
Head of
Children &
Families
Children with
a Disability
141 224 83 37.1% 986 967 19 1.9% The YTD variance is as a result of budget
profiling and invoice timing for payments to
other bodies.  The forecast variance is outwith
reporting criteria.
Head of
Children &
Families
Criminal
Justice
82 14 (68) (485.7%) 224 204 20 8.9% The YTD variance is as a result of budget
profiling for income receipt. Scottish
Government grant income has been received
slower than anticipated. This is partially offset
by staffing underspends due to turnover and

Page 43

vacancies. The forecast variance is outwith
reporting criteria.
Head of
Children &
Families
Looked After
Children
1,668 1,664 (4) (0.2%) 7,894 7,938 (44) (0.6%) Outwith reporting criteria.
Head of
Children &
Families
Management
& Central
Costs
677 727 50 6.9% 3,867 3,848 19 0.5% The YTD variance is due to the timing of
receipt of grant income - in advance of
anticipated expenditure - combined with
budget profiling and timing of receipt of
invoices for rental costs.  The forecast
variance is outwith reporting criteria.    
3,181 3,349 168 5.0% 16,674 16,554 120 0.7%  
GRAND
TOTAL   2,742 3,351 609 18.2% 76,118 75,799 319 0.4%   
YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less than budget.
An explanation is given for any variance which exceeds £50,000 or 10%.

Page 44

SOCIAL WORK – SUBJECTIVE SUMMARY AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
Subjective
Category
YTD
Actual
£000
YTD
Budget
£000
YTD
Variance
£000
%
Variance
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Employee 7,263 7,040 (223) (3.2%) 34,642 35,005 (363) (1.1%) The YTD and forecast overspend is due to the use of
agency staff across the HSCP (£648k YTD; £860k
forecast). This is partially offset by over-recovery on
vacancy savings and payroll underspends due to
vacancies.
Premises 391 405 14 3.5% 1,536 1,599 (63) (4.1%) The YTD underspend is outwith reporting criteria.
The forecast overspend is due to anticipated
overspends on utilities as well as on safety and
property maintenance in the residential units and day
services.
Supplies &
Services
516 545 29 5.3% 1,037 1,005 32 3.1% The YTD and forecast underspends are outwith
reporting criteria.
Transport 99 171 72 42.1% 678 618 60 8.9% The YTD and forecast underspend is due to various
travel underspends across the whole department
following changes to working practices post Covid-19
and the number of staff vacancies.
Third Party 10,989 11,724 735 6.3% 62,187 62,294 (107) (0.2%) The YTD underspend is largely due to budget profiling
and timing of payments to third parties. 
The Forecast overspend is due to demand for
purchased care services across Adult Services.
Income (16,516) (16,534) (18) 0.1% (23,962) (24,722) 760 (3.2%) The YTD under-recovery of income is outwith
reporting criteria.
The forecast over recovery of income is mainly due to
increased income from fees, charges and recharges.
Totals 2,742 3,351 609 18.2% 76,118 75,799 319 0.4%   
YTD is year to date and represents the actual or budgeted expenditure and income for the financial year so far.
Forecast Outturn is the estimate now of what expenditure or income will be for the whole of the financial year.  
The Variance is the difference between budget and actual or forecast outturn.
A positive variance is when actual or forecast expenditure is less than budget or actual or forecast income is more than budget.
A negative variance is shown in brackets and is when actual or forecast expenditure is more than budget or actual or forecast income is less than budget.
An explanation is given for any variance which exceeds £50,000 or 10%.

Page 45

SOCIAL WORK – RED VARIANCES AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
Service Area
Annual
Budget
£000
Forecast
Outturn
£000
Forecast
Variance
£000
%
Variance Explanation
Social Work
Central Support (911) (1,098) 187 (20.5%) The forecast underspend is due to an over-recovery on vacancy savings combined with
underspends on centrally held funds. 
Older People 38,634 38,537 97 0.3%
The forecast underspend is due to forecast over-recovery of income from charges to clients for
residential care combined with underspends in Homecare as a result of capacity issues which
have reduced the volume of service provided. This is all partially offset by overspends on
residential placements for the same reasons; reflecting a temporary shift in the balance of care. 
Mental Health 2,768 2,896 (128) (4.6%) The forecast overspend reflects higher than budgeted demand for services in Supported Living
and Residential Placements combined with overspends on staff costs due to agency.
Physical Disability 2,829 2,776 53 1.9% The forecast underspend reflects known demand for Residential Placements partially offset by
overspends on Supported Living and Respite due to demand. 
Child Protection 3,703 3,597 106 2.9% The forecast underspend is as a result of demand for contact and welfare services as well as
forecast underspends in the Area Teams on payments to other bodies, travel and subsistence. 
A red variance is a forecast variance which is greater than +/- £50,000.

Page 46

MONITORING OF SAVINGS – AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
New policy savings were identified for the three year period 2023-24 to 2025-26 and these were agreed by Council in February 2023.  Council
agreed to policy savings of £6.145m in 2023-24 rising to £6.260m by 2025-26. 
The position of historical policy saving options is as follows:
- 2022/23 – those not delivered or that have further increases in value in 2023-24 onwards total £0.187m
- 2021/22 – those not delivered or that have further increase in value in 2023-24 onwards total £0.195m
- 2020/21 – those not delivered total £0.050m
- 2019/20 – all delivered
- 2018/19 - those not delivered total £0.376m
The 2023-24 savings have been removed from departmental budgets, however, it is important to monitor whether the saving has actually been
delivered to ensure that costs are not continuing resulting in an overspend by the end of the year.  It is also important to ensure that any
preparatory work required to deliver savings in future years is on track. 
There are two savings where the department has indicated they will not be achieved, two are categorised as having a potential shortfall and one
is currently delayed as summarised below: 
Saving Saving
Agreed
Status Detail Shortfall/
Delayed
Value
TB07 – Depots  Feb-18 Will not be achieved  Savings to date via the Oban project, tidying up NDR costs from
previous disposals and removing security costs. 
The remainder of the outstanding saving is based on removing the
smallest depot budget from each town but we cannot do this without
the capital investment to create fit for purpose single depot facilities. 
Working through possible alternative delivery model and updated
business case for Lochgilphead – there is a shortfall between
possible capital costs and likely income from vacated sites. 
This saving will not be achieved and a cost pressure has been put
through for this for 2024-25.  Work will be ongoing on the depot
rationalisation across the area and future savings will be brought
once known.
£107,500

Page 47

R&I17 - Public transport
fare scale increase
Feb-21 Will not be achieved   Fare increase did not offset the saving advised by the Stantec review. 
This saving will not be achieved and a cost pressure has been put
through for this for 2024-25.
£29,000
TB13b Roads and
Amenity Services
charging (non-statutory
services)
Feb-18 Potential Shortfall -
there is a risk that the
original saving will not
be achieved in full.  
The original proposal was to introduce charges for providing lighting
design and increase charges by 20% for road construction consents,
skips, scaffolds, hoarding, permits and licences. Whilst some
additional income has been generated through third party works,
opportunities are expected to be limited over the foreseeable future
due to staff shortages and other competing demands.
£150,000
TB12b Stadiums Feb-18 Potential Shortfall -
there is a risk that the
original saving will not
be achieved in full.  
Discussions had stalled with partners in the Oban and Lorn area with
regard to Mossfield stadium to create a sports Hub, attract external
funding to improve facilities and therefore attract additional events to
the arena.  The users group has now reconvened and will be
reporting to the steering group. It should be noted there is generally a
downturn in usage of pitches partly due to more clubs booking all
weather pitches at high schools and the loss of a well established
club disbanding which will result in the loss of income. The Mossfield
Sport Group have highlighted that certain clubs along with the Shinty
Associations have expressed concerns with regards to the condition
of the Pavilion and changing facilities and this is likely to impact on
income.  East King Street bookings have reduced due to the
condition of the changing facilities and clubs having to play their
fixtures elsewhere.
£30,000
TB09 – Public
Conveniences
Feb-18 Delayed - The full
saving will not be
achieved in line with
the original estimated
timescale.  
Door access control project has an indicative start date of July for
installs.   This should see the system being in place across the busy
summer months. We have no way to accurately predict income levels
but the system allows for regular reporting and itemisation so we will
quickly be in a position to profile future income.
£24,000 
All policy saving options previously agreed are noted in the table below for information.

Page 48

2023-24 2023-24
£000 FTE
Executive Director Douglas Hendry
CS01 Feb-22 Commercial
Services
Climate Change & Resource Efficiency 63.0 0.00 On Track to be Delivered
CS03 Feb-22 Commercial
Services
Stretch Targets for One Council Income &
Events
20.0 0.00 Delivered
EDU2324-001 Feb-23 Education Estimated saving due to change in pupil
numbers
700.00 0.0 Delivered
EDU2324-002 Feb-23 Education Removal of non-statutory Cultural
Coordinator post.
15.00 0.8 Delivered
Executive Director Kirsty Flanagan
DEG05(a) Feb-20 Development
and Economic
Growth
Raise additional fees by adopting the
current Building Cost Information Service
(BCIS) guide for the cost of building work.
Regular service users have been
informed of this change.
50.00 0.0 Delivered
DEG07 Feb-21 Development
and Economic
Growth
Additional income through fees and
charges for s64 Non-Material Amendment
Submissions, non e-planning application
submissions and property history
searches
28.00 0.0 Delivered
DEG01 Feb-22 Development
and Economic
Growth
Crown Estate Administration Contribution
to Project Delivery
104.0 0.00 Delivered
DEG2324-002 Feb-23 Development
and Economic
Growth
Reduce discretionary budget to minimum.
Retain budget to pay memberships to
SCDI, SLAED & HOPS but remove
remainder of discretionary budget.
21.50 0.0 Delivered
DEG2324-001 Feb-23 Development
and Economic
Growth
Long-term vacant 0.5FTE building
standards surveyors post that arose
through an employee reducing their
working hours is no longer requires in
structure.
24.00 0.5 Delivered
FIS2324-001 Feb-23 Financial
Services
Service Concessions - Alteration to
accounting treatment to align the
repayment of borrowing relating to new
schools over their asset life.  Guidance
from Scottish Government now permits
this change of accounting treatment. 
Further detail will be provided to Council in
due course.
4,831.00 0.0 On Track to be Delivered
FIS2324-002 Feb-23 Financial
Services
The Service has identified savings
through rightsizing of budgets, an
organisational restructure with investment
in modern apprenticeships and temporary
staff designed to boost income from the
billing of additional local taxes and the
recovery of associated debt. In addition
efficiency savings from increased
productivity, increased levels of process
automation and moving more customers
to transact with the service over the
internet will allow previously outsourced
review works to be carried out internally.
493.00 0.0 On Track to be Delivered
TB07 Feb-18 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Create one main depot in key areas to
reduce costs
172.50 0.0 Will not be achieved
TB13b Feb-18 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Roads & Amenity Services charging (non-
statutory services)
150.0 0.00 Potential Shortfall
TB12b Feb-18 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Review charges for stadiums to enable
improvement work
30.00 0.0 Potential Shortfall
TB09 Feb-18 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Public Conveniences - Progress
sustainable models including turnstiles
and franchising; establish simpler asset
transfer process
24.00 0.0 Delayed
R&I17 Feb-21 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Public transport fare scale increase 76.00 0.0 Will not be achieved
R&I05 Feb-21 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Design service fees - bringing in line with
industry standards and reduce cost of
consultancy. Two posts created as a
spend to save
50.00 -2.0 Delivered
R&I09 Feb-21 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Road inspections find and fix -  reduce
reactive work by proactivity. Moving to AI
technology as technology develops
40.00 1.0 On Track to be Delivered
R&I15 Feb-21 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Emergency services support and fuel
provision from our fuel supplies
0.50 0.0 Still to be Implemented
RIS2324-001 Feb-23 Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Support Communities to move to different
approaches to delivering School Crossing
Patrols through engagement with Parent
Council and Communities.
60.00 8.4 On Track to be Delivered
TOTAL 6,952.5 8.7
Template Ref Saving
Agreed
Service Savings Option Status of Implementation

Page 49

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL
FINANCIAL SERVICES
POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE 
10 AUGUST 2023
FINANCIAL RISKS ANALYSIS 2023-24  
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
1.1 The main purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the key financial risks
facing the Council.   
1.2  A number of Council wide risks, both revenue and capital, have been identified
along with risks for each department and service of the Council.  For each
departmental risk the financial impact has been quantified and the likelihood
assessed based on the standard risk matrix. 
1.3 There are 6 Council wide revenue risks identified for 2023-24 currently amounting
to £3.661m. 
1.4 There are currently 39 departmental risks totalling £4.800m.  Of the 39
departmental risks, 4 are categorised as likely.   
1.5 The financial risks are monitored routinely and actions put in place to continue to
mitigate the risks.

Page 50

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL
FINANCIAL SERVICES
POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE 
10 AUGUST 2023
FINANCIAL RISKS ANALYSIS 2023-24  
2. INTRODUCTION 
2.1 This report outlines the process and approach developed in carrying out a
financial risks analysis and provides a note of the current assessment of financial
risks for 2023-24. 
3 DETAIL 
3.1 Introduction 
3.1.1 The Council is currently in a period of significant financial challenge.  In
developing its budget to address both restricted resources and cost and demand
pressures there are a number of financial risks the Council needs to consider and
manage. 
3.1.2 There are a number of risks that affect the income or expenditure across the
whole council and these have been identified.  Financial risks have been
considered by each department and service of the Council.   
3.1.3 For each risk, the financial impact has been quantified and the likelihood
assessed based on the standard risk matrix as follows: 
1 – Remote
2 – Unlikely
3 – Possible
4 – Likely
5 – Almost Certain 
3.1.4 The Argyll and Bute Integrated Joint Board (IJB) with responsibility for Social
Work and a range of Health services was established and came into effect on 1
April 2016.  The IJB is responsible for financial and strategic oversight of these
services.  It is the responsibility of the IJB to consider the individual financial risks
associated with Integration Services and they are therefore not contained within
this report.  A Council wide risk has been included in respect of the IJB being
unable to deliver the social care service within the budget allocated. 
3.2 Council Wide Risks 
Revenue  
3.2.1 Utility costs remain a volatile area and it is difficult to accurately predict how the
prices could vary.  The outturn in respect of utilities for 2022-23 was an overspend
of £0.597m which was due to the unprecedented inflationary uplifts within the

Page 51

energy market although forward purchasing sheltered the Council from the full
impact.  With the volatility of utilities pricing it is very difficult to predict the impact
going forward but a financial risk based on a 20% variation in utility costs amounts
to £0.827m. 
3.2.2 The 2023-24 budget includes a 3.5% pay award assumption for SJC and Chief
Officer staff groups.  Negotiations on the 2023-24 award are in progress and due
to the high level of inflation, it is increasingly likely that the Trade Unions will
looking to negotiate a deal at more than 3.5%.  However, the affordability for
Local Government has to be considered and based on future estimates, anything
above a 3.5% pay award is deemed to be unaffordable, hence why the budget
outlook has been based on 3.5%.  This is a situation that will be kept under close
review as the pay negotiations advance during the year and the assumption will
be adjusted as required.  For each 1% more than the 3.5% built in, there would be
an additional cost of around £0.826m.  The financial risk is recognised at £0.826m
at this stage.  It should be noted that the Teachers pay award for 2023-24 is
already settled and built into the budget. 
3.2.2 At the budget meeting on 24 February 2023, the Council agreed 6 new policy
savings options that would deliver savings over the period 2023-24 to 2025-26. 
The savings to be delivered in 2023-24 amount to £6.145m.  Whilst the Council
have a good track record in delivering savings, a 10% shortfall on this savings
target would amount to £0.615m. 
3.2.3 The estimated level of council tax income is based on current and forecast Band
D equivalents and non-payment rates.  This reflects our most recent experience in
terms of the council tax base and likely collection rates.  A 1% variation in council
tax income amounts to approximately £0.593m.  
3.2.4 In respect of the Health and Social Care Partnership, it is the responsibility of the
Chief Officer and Chief Financial Officer to manage the HSCP financial position. 
If an overspend is forecast, a budget recovery plan will be prepared and
submitted to the IJB, the Council and NHS Highland.  Where recovery plans are
unsuccessful and an overspend occurs at the financial year end, and the HSCP
has insufficient reserves to meet the overspend, then the partners will be required
to make additional payments to the HSCP.  Whilst any additional payments by the
Council and NHS Highland will be deducted from future years funding, there is still
a financial risk that the Council may have to pay out additional monies in year.  As
at 30 June 2023, the net HSCP outturn in 2023-24 is estimated to be a £0.631m
overspend (underspend of £0.319m from Social Work and an overspend of
£0.950m from Health).  As Social Work are currently projecting an underspend
and the IJB holds significant financial reserves, there is a nil value on the risk.   
3.2.5 There is an ongoing requirement to fund unavoidable inflationary cost increases in
areas like fuel, food etc. This has been predominantly caused by the lack of
availability of supply of labour and materials as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic, the UK exit from the European Union, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and
sanctions on Russian owned entities.  Inflation has begun to fall and the Bank of
England estimates that it should continue to fall this year.  We will continue to
closely monitor the situation and update our financial forecasts using the best

Page 52

information available to us. A 1% general inflation increase has been included
with a financial impact of £0.800m. 
3.2.6  The Council wide risks are noted within the table below.   
Description Likelihood Assessed
Financial Impact
£000
Energy costs increase by 20% greater
than anticipated
3 827
Pay award exceeding 3.5% 3 826
10% shortfall on Savings Options 2 615
1% variation in Council Tax Income 2 593
IJB refer to Council for additional
funding to deliver social work services
1 0
1% variation of General Inflation Risk  4 800
Total  3,661 
Capital 
3.2.7 The finance settlement announcement on 20 December 2022 provided details of
the Local Government funding for 2022-23 and there is therefore certainty as to
what our funding is in respect of the General Capital Grant and the specific capital
grants already distributed. 
3.2.8  The capital plan for 2023-24 includes an estimate of £1.195m in respect of capital
receipts.   This is based on an assessment provided by the Special Projects Team
in January 2023.  A 10% variation equates to £0.120m and this would require to
be managed across the capital programme.   
3.2.9 
3.2.10 
3.2.11
General feedback from Scotland Excel and the Project Managers indicates that
price increases and uncertainty continue to be experienced as well as disruptions
to the supply chain and longer lead times, particularly in relation to the
construction sector and material availability. This can be attributed to a number of
factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, UK exit from the European Union,
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russian owned entities, to name a
few. 
The increased rate of inflation impacts costs such as energy prices, labour,
packaging and transport. These all have an effect on the overall contract price
and make it extremely challenging to manage expenditure and the availability of
supply. 
While it has been possible to estimate the impact of these pressures on some
projects, and therefore either include those projections within the capital
monitoring report or adjust the capital programme accordingly, for others it is
more difficult and no forecast has been projected at this stage but there are likely
to be further significant financial impacts not yet reported.

Page 53

3.3  Departmental/Service Risks 
3.3.1 The detail of each departmental financial risk is included within Appendix 1.  The
following table provides a summary of the number of risks within each department
and likelihood category with the financial impact. 
Department 1 - Remote 2 - Unlikely 3 - Possible 4 - Likely 5 - Almost
Certain Total
No £000 No £000 No £000 No £000 No £000 No £000
Chief Executive's
Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry 2 20 6 560 9 720 3 430 0 0 20 1,730
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan 5 335 2 230 11 2,405 1 100 0 0 19 3,070
Total 7 355 8 790 20 3,125 4 530 0 0 39 4,800 
3.3.2 The current top three risks in terms of the financial impact are noted in the table
below. 
SERVICE TITLE OF RISK DESCRIPTION OF RISK LIKELIHOOD FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Roads
Maintenance -
Bridges, Culverts
& Sea Defences
Extreme localised weather may
result in loss of bridge, culvert,
road or sea defence.
3 750
Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Winter
Maintenance
Adverse weather conditions
which require greater than
budgeted number of gritting
runs.
3 365
Financial
Services
Council Tax Debt
Collection
Recovery
Recovery of debt becomes more
difficult to pursue in the current
economic climate.  This is in
relation to historical debt that
has accumulated over many
years therefore any adverse
collection rates will impact on
the year-end bad debt provision
as opposed to the in-year
financial position, hence no
forecast variance has been
reported within the current year.
3 345

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3.3.3 The risks which are likely are noted below: 
SERVICE TITLE OF RISK DESCRIPTION OF RISK LIKELIHOOD FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
Council Wide -
Commercial
Services
Council Wide
Central Repairs
Increased demands on central
repair budgets (CRA) as a result
of a decrease in Capital funding,
increase in statutory and
emergency repairs and
increases in supplier/contractor
charges.  This impacts on all
departments of the Council with
a Central Repairs Budget.
4 300
Legal and
Regulatory
Support
Contract RPI for
NPDO and Hub
Schools
Increase in RPI would result in
higher costs.
4 100
Roads and
Infrastructure
Services
Street Lighting Age of lighting stock requires
greater maintenance as health
and safety becomes a
consideration.
4 100
Legal and
Regulatory
Support
Licensing Reduced numbers of licensing
applications leading to reduced
income.
4 30 
3.4 Changes to Financial Risks since last report 
3.4.1 There have been 5 changes to the departmental risks since the financial risks
report was presented to the Council on 23 February 2023, as follows: 
- The risk in relation to catering costs due to changes in food and drink
standards in schools has been removed as it is now covered within the
Catering Purchases risk. 
- The risk in relation to Education central repairs has been removed as it is
covered within the risk ‘Council Wide Central Repairs’. 
- A new risk in relation to reduced levels of car parking income has been
added to recognise the possibility that reduced income levels seen in 2022-
23 continue into 2023-24 due to reduced visitors.
- The risk in relation to ASN support has been increased from 100 to 200 in
recognition of increased applications at August.  The amount being
recognised matches the demand pressure being put forward for 2024-25.
- The risk relating to catering purchase inflation has been reduced from
‘Likely’ to ‘Unlikely’ because the budget has been right sized through
inflationary uplifts.

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3.5 Monitoring of Financial Risks 
3.5.1 Financial risks will be reviewed and monitored on a two monthly basis and will be
included in the pack of financial reports submitted to Policy and Resources
Committee.   
3.6 Potential Future Risks 
3.6.1 Scottish Government are, over the next 2 years, proposing to extend funded
childcare to all 1 and 2 year olds across Scotland. This brings significant financial
and qualitative risks to the service. The needs and legislative requirements for this
age range would mean significant capital work across our estate and in many
settings there is not the space so extensions would be required. Having this age
range in the same play space as 3/4 year olds seriously impacts on the ability of
practitioners to effectively support age appropriate learning and play. It is
uncertain when this risk will arise. 
4 CONCLUSION 
4.1 This report summarises the key financial risks facing the Council.  There are six
Council wide risks and 39 departmental risks identified with 4 categorised as
likely.  The financial risks are monitored routinely and actions put in place to
continue to mitigate the risks.   
5 IMPLICATIONS 
5.1 Policy - None.
5.2 Financial -  The financial value of each risk is included within the
appendix.   
5.3 Legal -  None.
5.4 HR -  None.
5.5 Fairer Scotland Duty - None.
5.5.1 Equalities – protected
characteristics - 
None.
5.5.2 Socio-economic Duty -  None.
5.5.3 Islands -  None.
5.6 Climate Change - None.
5.7 Risk -  Financial risks are detailed within the appendix.
5.8 Customer Service -  None. 
Kirsty Flanagan
Executive Director/Section 95 Officer
7 July 2023 
Policy Lead for Finance and Commercial Services - Councillor Gary Mulvaney 
APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Detail of Department/Service financial risks
For further information contact Anne Blue, Head of Financial Services
anne.blue@argyll-bute.gov.uk

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APPENDIX 1
DEPARTMENT/SERVICE FINANCIAL RISKS AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
DEPARTMENT SERVICE TITLE OF RISK DESCRIPTION OF RISK MITIGATING ACTIONS IN PLACE
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Commercial Services Catering Costs - Provision of
Meals to Early Years Children
The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act placed duties
on Councils to provide meals in an Early Years setting to
entitled children where sessions span over lunch time.  The
total quantum of grant funding is reducing and may not be
sufficient to fund the additional costs depending on uptake
and the additional costs to support the meal provision in
partner provider settings.
Joint strategy with procurement colleagues
to reduce potential impact of supplier
charges.  Control food wastage/portion
controls.
2 100 2 100
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Commercial Services Catering Purchases Increased supplier charges and higher than average inflation
on food costs.  In addition to this the Scottish Government
reviewed the regulations that govern the food and drinks
provided in schools and implemented revised regulations. 
The revised standards focus on reducing sugar, reducing red
processed meat and increasing fibre. Thus far, there has
been an increase in costs in produce and a reduction in
demand for school meals.
Joint strategy with procurement colleagues
to reduce potential impact of supplier
charges.  Control food wastage/portion
controls; introduction of online ordering to
help manage food waste. Analysis and
regular review of menu choices.
4 100 2 100
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Commercial Services Catering - Implementation of
Universal Free School Meals in
Primary Schools for P6 and P7
pupils
The Scottish Government may not give the local authority
adequate funds to support the policy to expand free school
meals in primary schools to include P6 and P7 pupils (the
scheme has already been implemented for P1 to P5 pupils).
Although expansion paused for full implementation for
P6&7, FSM expanded through entitlement to Scottish Child
Payment.
Senior Manager connected into the 
National Operational Delivery Group.  This
enables the Council's viewpoint to be
considered.
2 100 2 100
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Commercial Services Rental Income from Properties Due to current economic climate there may be reduced
ability to recover rental income from leased properties or
place suitable tenants in properties as leases come to an
end.
Management of leasehold properties by
Estates team, any issues with debt recovery
being dealt with in line with Council debt
recovery policy.
2 60 2 60
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Commercial Services Surplus Properties Ongoing market difficulties lead to increased numbers of
surplus properties, in addition, as Our Modern Workspace
Project gains traction more properties will become surplus
to operational requirements.  There are residual running
costs associated with all surplus properties.
One Council property team in place who
will monitor market conditions and work
with prospective tenants/ purchasers to
let/sell surplus properties.
3 50 3 50
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Commercial Services Leisure Service Level
Agreements
Increase in RPI and/or other running costs (eg utilities,
payroll etc) resulting in requests for additional funding.
Monitoring annual alteration to contract
RPI rate, communication with service
providers and mitigation through financial
forecasting and review of existing budget.
3 50 3 50
As at February 2023
(Budget Setting) As at 30 June 2023

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APPENDIX 1
DEPARTMENT/SERVICE FINANCIAL RISKS AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
DEPARTMENT SERVICE TITLE OF RISK DESCRIPTION OF RISK MITIGATING ACTIONS IN PLACE
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
As at February 2023
(Budget Setting) As at 30 June 2023
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Council Wide - Commercial
Services
Council Wide Central Repairs Increased demands on central repair budgets (CRA) as a
result of a decrease in Capital funding, increase in statutory
and emergency repairs and increases in supplier/contractor
charges.  This impacts on all departments of the Council
with a Central Repairs Budget..
Joint strategy with procurement colleagues
to reduce potential impact of
supplier/contractor charges.  Close
monitoring of central repairs budgets and
commitments and instructing only
statutory tests/inspections and essential
repairs.
4 300 4 300
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Education ASN Support Demand for ASN support continues to increase, Scottish
Government statistics suggest a 3% year on year increase,
resulting in an additional resource requirement.  Particularly
where gaps in our enhanced provision exist. The medium
term detriments on the development of young children
which occurred as a consequence of service closures during
the COVID pandemic have increased demands on the service
as children require additional support to catch up.  The
Additional Support for Learning National Implementation
plan continues to inform our strategic direction in line with
the Angela Morgan Review.
Service is currently looking at alternative
options for service delivery to mitigate the
inescapable pressures.  Continuing to
ensure robust assessment of needs,
monthly monitoring of budget, any delays
in recruitment factored into projections to
enable informed decision making on
allocation of funding for new/amended
/additional support packages.
3 100 3 200
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Education Pre-Five Units - retention of
partner providers
Failure in the commissioning or retention of pre-five partner
provider units to deliver 1140 hours would result in an
increased pressure on the Council to deliver the service.
Annual financial appraisal; Support
network; Short-term cash injections.
3 100 3 100
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Education Legislative Requirements -
Children and Young People
(Scotland) Act - ELC 1140 hours
The Council has been required to deliver 1140 hours of Early
Learning and Childcare since August 2021.  The Scottish
Government has committed to funding this and the Council
has revised its service model to align it to the Scottish
Government's reduced funding profile.  A risk remains that
actual costs of delivery exceed the Government Grant in any
given year.  For example, if child numbers are higher than
estimated, this may require additional staffing which has
not been built into the staffing model funded by Scottish
Government.
Continuous monitoring and review of the
service model, usage and resources.
3 100 3 100
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Education Legislative Requirements -
Education (Scotland) Act
The Education (Scotland) Act 2000 requires Councils to carry
out assessments of the need for the provision of Gaelic
Medium Primary Education (GMPE) and the duty to support
and promote Gaelic Education. This may lead to additional
staffing requirements depending upon the demand for
Gaelic from parents.
Continuous monitoring and review of the
service model  and resources available
within budget.
3 50 3 50
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
Hub DBDA/DBFM Schools  -
Litigation
Increased risk of the requirement to litigate to conclude
final capital contract payments due.
Monitoring claims and mitigation through
robust challenge of any additional claims.
2 150 2 150

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APPENDIX 1
DEPARTMENT/SERVICE FINANCIAL RISKS AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
DEPARTMENT SERVICE TITLE OF RISK DESCRIPTION OF RISK MITIGATING ACTIONS IN PLACE
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
As at February 2023
(Budget Setting) As at 30 June 2023
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
Contract RPI for NPDO and Hub
Schools
Increase in RPI would result in higher costs. Monitoring annual alteration to contract
RPI rate and mitigation through financial
forecasting and review of existing budget.
4 100 4 100
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
NPDO - Reduction in insurance
savings within NPDO Schools
Increase in insurance costs as a result of the long term
effects of Covid-19 on the insurance market and flood
claims.
Monitoring annual alteration to contract
insurance rate and mitigation through
financial forecasting and review of existing
budget.
3 75 3 75
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
Legal Services - Litigation Increased number of litigation cases. Ensure Legal Services are gateway to access
all legal advice and that advice is sought at
earliest opportunity.
3 50 3 50
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
NPDO/Hub DBFM contract
management efficiencies
Reduction in ability to generate contract management
efficiencies.
Monitoring annual efficiencies generated
and mitigation through robust contract
management and application of contract
specifications/requirements.
2 50 2 50
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
Elections More than 1 by-election required outwith standard election
cycle.
Outwith direct management control. 3 45 3 45
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
Licensing Reduced numbers of licensing applications leading to
reduced income.
Monitoring of trends and reporting the
financial impact in the budget monitoring.
4 30 4 30
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
Children's Panel Increased number of referrals increasing costs through
increases in the running costs.
Maximise the use of council
facilities/resources for panel session in the
first instance.
1 10 1 10
Executive Director
Douglas Hendry
Legal and Regulatory
Support
Legal Services Failure to minimise Council wide use of external legal
advice.
Ensure legal services are gateway to access
all legal advice.
1 10 1 10
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Customer Support Services Software Licences Potential risk of being under licensed for software which will
be identified via software audits which would incur
additional costs.
ICT security and compliance officer in post
and duties include review of systems to
ensure fully licenced. 
2 100 2 100
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Customer Support Services Additional Bandwidth for
Education
Additional costs required to be incurred in relation to
additional bandwidth required to deliver the Education
Digital Strategy due to a more digitalised learning
curriculum.
Work closely with Education on Digital
Devices for All strategy to ensure necessary
IT is in place.
3 50 3 50
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Development and
Economic Growth
Environmental Health- export
certificates
Downturn in requests for export certificates as a result of
UK withdrawal from EU, changes to international trading
agreements or business economy. Reduction in demand
creates a budget pressure on environmental health budget.
Monitor income and resources required for
export health certificates / attestations
required to support the export market.
Continue with food safety regulation
activities associated and support at 3rd
country audits.  Pursue debt rigorously with
key customers through seeking regular
payments.
2 130 2 130
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Development and
Economic Growth
Dangerous Buildings
interventions
Building Standards having to deal with an increasing level of
dangerous building work which has significant financial
implications for Council.
Monitor activity and seek to recover costs
from the owner.
3 100 3 100

Page 59

APPENDIX 1
DEPARTMENT/SERVICE FINANCIAL RISKS AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
DEPARTMENT SERVICE TITLE OF RISK DESCRIPTION OF RISK MITIGATING ACTIONS IN PLACE
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
As at February 2023
(Budget Setting) As at 30 June 2023
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Development and
Economic Growth
Planning fees reduced by
Scottish Government
Potential that the Scottish Government may reduce
planning fees due to poor performance by the Planning
Authority. The Scottish Government has recently appointed
a national Planning Performance Champion however the
detail of how this role intends to incentivise
improved/penalise poor performance at a local authority
level remains unclear at this time
Maintain high levels of performance as
articulated by performance markers
detailed in Planning Performance
Framework annual report.
1 100 1 100
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Development and
Economic Growth
Planning fee shortfalls Due to downturn in economic / building activity, in
particular renewable energy development and other major
developments could lead to planning fee income shortfalls
leading to revenue budget pressures.
Current income levels are looking more
positive, however, we are dependent on
some high value applications coming in
which if don't materialise, will impact the
overall position.  Will continue to monitor
Development Management income and
expenditure tightly and investigate further
income generation streams.
1 50 1 50
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Development and
Economic Growth
Building Warrant fee shortfalls Due to loss of commercial income and downturn in
economic / building activity, building warrant fee income
shortfalls leading to revenue budget pressures.
Continue to monitor Building Standards
income and expenditure tightly and
investigate further income generation
streams. 
1 50 1 50
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Development and
Economic Growth
Homelessness Temporary
Accommodation Income
Unpredictable number of Homeless applications. Inability to
recover rent.  Increase costs of property maintenance and
tenancy change over.
Provision of Housing Options information
and advice service to minimise number of
applicants proceeding to full homeless
application.  Implementation of Rapid
Rehousing Plan.
3 50 3 50
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Development and
Economic Growth
Animal Health Carrying out livestock seizure to protect welfare of the
animals
Monitor activity and seek to recover costs
from the disposal of the animals.
1 10 1 10
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Financial Services Council Tax Debt Collection
Recovery
Recovery of debt becomes more difficult to pursue in the
current economic climate.  This is in relation to historical
debt that has accumulated over many years therefore any
adverse collection rates will impact on the year end debt
provision as opposed to the in-year financial position, hence
no forecast variance has been reported within the current
year.
Robust monitoring of arrangements with
debt collection agency and performance
against target collection rates.
3 345 3 345
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Financial Services Housing Benefit Subsidy Loss of Housing Benefit Subsidy due to exceeding LA error
threshold.
Processes in place for handling of claims
accurately and efficiently.
1 125 1 125
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Financial Services Sundry Debt Recovery Recovery of debt becomes more difficult to pursue in the
current economic climate. 
Additional staff are being put in place in the
Sundry Debt Team who will work jointly
with Legal Services to enhance the
robustness of the Council's debt recovery
processes.
3 85 3 85

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APPENDIX 1
DEPARTMENT/SERVICE FINANCIAL RISKS AS AT 30 JUNE 2023
DEPARTMENT SERVICE TITLE OF RISK DESCRIPTION OF RISK MITIGATING ACTIONS IN PLACE
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
LIKELIHOOD
FINANCIAL
IMPACT
£000
As at February 2023
(Budget Setting) As at 30 June 2023
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Financial Services Non-Domestic Rates Relief Risk of demand changing due to legislative changes outwith
our control for charitable relief for Arms Length External
Organisations (ALEO).
Outwith direct management control. 3 30 3 30
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Roads and Infrastructure
Services
Roads Maintenance - Bridges,
Culverts & Sea Defences
Extreme localised weather may result in loss of bridge,
culvert, road or sea defence.
Routine inspections to deal with potential
weak areas - based on a stitch in time
repair regime.
3 750 3 750
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Roads and Infrastructure
Services
Winter Maintenance Adverse weather conditions which require greater than
budgeted number of gritting runs.
Monitor weather conditions and apply
gritting policy to minimise costs.
3 365 3 365
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Roads and Infrastructure
Services
Roads Maintenance - Roads
Network
Adverse weather conditions result in deterioration of the
road network necessitating greater spend on repair of
defects.
Manage maintenance budgets to ensure
that spend is prioritised to deal with safety
defects.
3 230 3 230
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Roads and Infrastructure
Services
Car Parking Income Reduced number of visitors to the area and use of council
owned car parks resulting in a reduction in income.
Closely monitor income levels throughout
the year, especially in high visitor seasons.
3 200
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Roads and Infrastructure
Services
Ferry Services - income Changes to ferry services resulting in reduced berthing and
passenger income.
Closely monitor passenger number
information coming from CalMac to
identify any emerging trends with reducing
passenger numbers.
3 200 3 200
Executive Director
Kirsty Flanagan
Roads and Infrastructure
Services
Street Lighting Age of lighting stock requires greater maintenance as health
and safety becomes a consideration.
Manage maintenance budgets to ensure
that spend is prioritised to deal with safety
defects.
4 100 4 100
38 4,500 39 4,800

Page 61

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL  POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE  
FINANCIAL SERVICES 10 AUGUST 2023 
CAPITAL BUDGET MONITORING REPORT – 30 JUNE 2023 
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
1.1 This report provides an update on the position of the capital budget as at 30
June 2023. The report provides information on the financial position in respect of
the capital plan and the performance in terms of delivery of capital plan projects. 
1.2  Financial Position: 
 Current Year to Date – actual net expenditure to date is £6,965k
compared to a budget for the year to date of £6,985k giving rise to an
underspend for the year to date of £20k (0.29%).
 Forecast Outturn for 2023-24 – forecast net expenditure for the full
financial year is £44,660k compared to an annual budget of £44,976k
giving rise to a forecast underspend for the year of £316k (0.70%).    
 Total Capital Plan – forecast total net project costs on the total capital
plan are £213,649k compared to a total budget for all projects of
£213,599k giving rise to a forecast overspend for the overall capital plan
of £50k (0.02%). 
1.3 Project Delivery: 
 Asset Sustainability – Out of 83 projects there are 83 projects (100%) on
track, 0 projects (0%) off track but recoverable and 0 projects off track
(0%).
 Service Development - Out of 42 projects there are 40 projects (95%) on
track, 1 project (2.5%) off track but recoverable and 1 project (2.5%) off
track.
 Strategic Change – Out of 30 projects there are 30 projects (100%) on
track, 0 projects (0%) are off track but recoverable and 0 projects (0%) off
track.  
1.4 
1.5 
The Capital Programme is funded by various income streams as detailed in
Appendix 5. Additional funding allocated since the last report has come from
SPT & Rural Growth Deal. 
Capital receipts of £160,000 have been received so far in 2023-24. The
estimated level of receipts will be kept under review as market conditions
change, as will values following due diligence undertaken by prospective
purchasers on the condition of asset.

Page 62

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
FINANCIAL SERVICES 10 AUGUST 2023
CAPITAL BUDGET MONITORING REPORT – 30 JUNE 2023
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
INTRODUCTION
This report provides an update on the position of the capital budget as at 30 June
2023. The report provides information on the financial position in respect of the
capital plan and the performance in terms of delivery of capital plan projects. 
Following the decision at Policy and Resources Committee on 9 December 2021,
the Rothesay Pavilion project was put on pause whilst potential funding options
were being considered. At the budget meeting in February 2023 additional funding
was allocated to this project which will allow the project to progress towards
success by supporting completion of certain work stages. The financial information
included within this report now includes historical spend plus amounts relating to
Stage 1 of the Rothesay Pavilion project. There is also a further report later in the
Policy & Resources Committee agenda relating to this project.
A £1m cost pressure was identified during 2021-22 in relation to repairs to the
A884 Ardbeg Sea Wall, where severe storm damage resulted in failure of the sea
wall on Bute. Emergency works were carried out and a permanent solution is
currently being developed. Additional funding of £1m was allocated for this
purpose at the Council meeting on 24 February 2022 however there remains a risk
that costs will exceed this. 
The impact of the pandemic along with the UK exit from the European Union, the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russian owned entities has seen
significant price increases as well as disruptions to the supply chain and longer
lead in times. The increased rate of inflation impacts costs such as energy prices,
labour, packaging and transport. These all have an effect on the overall contract
price and make it extremely challenging to manage expenditure and the availability
of supply.
As a result of this it should be noted that there are likely to be other significant
financial impacts which are not quantifiable at this stage, as follows: 
 Rothesay Pavilion – despite additional funding being awarded there
remains a funding gap to allow full completion of the original intended
works.
 Harbour Investment Programme – likely to be contractual cost increases in
future years (expected to be funded from increased fees and charges).
 Universal Free School Meals – delayed roll out to P6 and P7 and uncertain
capital funding levels available from the Scottish Government. Distributions
of 2023-24 funding have not yet been announced.
 Other general construction inflationary increases.
Although the direct impact of COVID on most local services has reduced or even
ceased altogether over the last 12 months, COVID-19 in conjunction with the UK
exit from the European Union and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, continues to
affect worldwide supply chains.

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4.0 CURRENT YEAR TO DATE FINANCIAL POSITION 
4.1 
4.2
Overall Position 
Actual net expenditure to date is £6,965k compared to a budget for the year to
date of £6,985k giving rise to an underspend for the year to date of £20k (0.29%). 
Project/Department Position 
The table below shows the year to date net expenditure against the year to date
budget by project type and service: 
Project Type: Year to
Date
Budget    
£'000
Year to
Date
Actual    
£'000
Variance       
£'000
Asset Sustainability 1,465 1,467 (2)
Service Development 1,354 1,327 27
Strategic Change 4,166 4,171 (5)
Total  6,985 6,965 20
Service:   
ICT 253 253 0
Education 435 435 0
Live Argyll 295 295 0
Health & Social Care Partnership 188 188 0
Shared Offices 116 118 (2)
Roads & Infrastructure 4,748 4,721 27
Development & Economic Growth 452 452 0
CHORD 498 503 (5)
Total 6,985 6,965 20 
Material variances are explained in Appendix 1 and there are a number of small
variances contributing to the year to date overspend. 
In recent years additional funding of £10.803m has been allocated to the capital
programme for this purpose which has mitigated the impact to date however, as
detailed in the table below, only £2.703m remains unallocated to projects facing
inflationary pressures. 
Funding for Capital Inflationary Pressures £m
COVID-19 Funding 0.257
February 2021 Budget Meeting - Capital Cost Pressures 4.646
February 2022 Budget Meeting - Capital Cost Pressures 3.900
February 2023 Budget Meeting – Capital Projects Inflation Pressures 2.000
Total Additional Funding Allocated to Capital 10.803
Allocated to Projects within Capital Programme (5.779)
Committed for future years (2.321)
Balance Remaining 2.703 
3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 
3.1 Note the contents of this report and the financial summaries as detailed in
Appendix 8 and approve the proposed changes to the capital plan detailed in
Appendix 4.

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5.0  FORECAST OUTTURN 2023-24 
5.1  Overall Position 
Forecast net expenditure for the full financial year is £44,660k compared to an annual
budget of £44,976k giving rise to a forecast underspend for the year of £316k (0.70%). 
5.2 Project/Department Position 
The table below shows the forecast expenditure and budget for the year by project
type and service. 
Project Type:
Annual
Budget            
£'000
Forecast
Outturn        
£'000 
Forecast
Variance         
£'000
Asset Sustainability 26,198 26,200 (2)
Service Development 224 272 (48)
Strategic Change 18,554 18,188 366
Total  44,976 44,660 316
Service:      
ICT 1,091 1,091 0
Education 7,814 7,814 0
Live Argyll 1,291 1,291 0
Health & Social Care Partnership 2,201 2,201 0
Shared Offices 2,270 1,906 364
Roads & Infrastructure 24,904 24,942 (38)
Development & Economic Growth (941) (931) (10)
CHORD 6,346 6,346 0
Total 44,976 44,660 316 
Material variances are explained in Appendix 2 and there are a number of smaller
variances contributing to the forecast underspend.

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6.0  TOTAL PROJECT COSTS 
6.1 Overall Position 
Forecast total net project costs on the total capital plan are £213,649k compared to
a total budget for all projects of £213,599k giving rise to a forecast overspend for
the overall capital plan of £50k (0.02%). 
6.2  Project/Department Position 
The table below shows the forecast expenditure and budget for the total capital
plan by project type and service. 
Project Type:
Capital
Plan
Budget         
£'000
Forecast
Project
Costs        
£'000 
Total
Capital
Plan
Variance         
£'000
Asset Sustainability 58,330 58,332 (2)
Service Development 22,147 22,195 (48)
Strategic Change 133,122 133,122 0
Total  213,599 213,649 (50)
Service:      
ICT 5,360 5,360 0
Education 45,630 45,630 0
Live Argyll 2,893 2,893 0
Health & Social Care Partnership 4,752 4,752 0
Shared Offices 22,953 22,955 (2)
Roads & Infrastructure 59,078 59,116 (38)
Development & Economic Growth 4,734 4,744 (10)
CHORD 68,199 68,199 0
Total 213,599 213,649 (50) 
Material variances are explained in Appendix 3 and there are a number of
smaller variances leading to the forecast overspend.

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7.0  TOTAL PROJECT PERFORMANCE 
7.1 Overall Position 
There are 155 projects within the Capital Plan, 153 are Complete or On Target, 1 is
Off Target and Recoverable and 1 is Off Track.
7.2  Project Position 
The table below shows the Performance Status of the Projects in the Capital Plan. 
Project Type: Complete/
On Target
Off Target/
Recoverable
Off
Target/
Problem
Total
Asset Sustainability 83 0 0 83
Service Development 40 1 1 42
Strategic Change 30 0 0 30
Total 153 1 1 155
Service:    
ICT 7 0 0 7
Education 31 0 0 31
Live Argyll 18 0 0 18
Health & Social Care
Partnership
17 0 0 17
Shared Offices 24 0 0 24
Roads & Infrastructure 34 0 1 35
Development & Economic
Growth
16 1 0 17
CHORD 6 0 0 6
Total 153 1 1 155

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7.3  Chart of Performance Status 
The graph provides a view of the Performance Status of the Projects included in
the Capital Plan:

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8.0 OFF TRACK PROJECTS 
8.1 
9.0 
9.1 
The Off-Track projects are noted in the table below and variance reports are
included in Appendix 6. 
Project Type Project What is Off
Track?
Explanation
Asset
Sustainability
Oban Depot
Development Project 
Total Project
expenditure
Projects overspends
are to be funded from
revenue and Scottish
Government Grant
funding. Actions are
planned to identify
and allocate funding
for these costs. 
STRATEGIC CHANGE PROJECTS 
Appendix 7 gives detailed information in respect of the Strategic Change
Projects within the Capital Plan. The appendix gives details of the forecast cost
of each project against the approved budget, the start and anticipated
completion date of the project and an assessment of the risks of the project and,
if these are not green, gives an explanation of the problem.

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10.0 
10.1 
CHANGES TO CAPITAL PLAN 
The table below shows proposed changes to the Capital Plan at summary level
which include slippages, accelerations and virements. Explanations relating to
the specific projects involved can be seen in Appendix 4. 
The updated capital plan incorporating these proposed changes can be found in
Appendix 9. 
Department
Prev.
Agreed
Changes 
2023-24
2023-
24
2024-
25
2025-
26
Future
Years
Total
Capital
Plan
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Asset
Sustainability 0 0 0 0 0 0
Service
Development 0 0 0 0 0 0
Strategic Change 0 (366) 366 0 0 0
Total 0 (366) 366 0 0 0              
Service:            
ICT 0 0 0 0 0 0
Education 0 0 0 0 0 0
Live Argyll 0 0 0 0 0 0
Health & Social
Care Partnership 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shared Offices 0 (366) 366 0 0 0
Roads &
Infrastructure 0 0 0 0 0 0
Development &
Economic Growth 0 0 0 0 0 0
Major Projects 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 (366) 366 0 0 0 
11.0          FUNDING 
11.1  The Capital Programme is funded by various income streams as detailed in
Appendix 5. £315k of funding has been received from SPT for Helensburgh and
Rosneath Cycleway and Bus Infrastructure, £132k for Rural Growth Deal initial
funding and Dunoon STEM Hub has received £1,750k from the Rural Growth
Deal.

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11.2 
12.0 
12.1 
12.2 
12.3 
12.4 
12.5 
12.6 
12.7 
12.8 
Capital receipts of £160,000 have been received so far in 2023-24. The
estimated level of receipts will be kept under review as market conditions
change, as will values following due diligence undertaken by prospective
purchasers on the condition of assets. 
IMPLICATIONS 
Policy – Monitors progress against the capital plan. 
Financial – Monitors funding and commitments of the capital plan. 
Legal – Available funding may not address all Statutory and Regulatory
requirements in relation to Health and Safety. 
HR – Available funding may have an impact on the sustainability of the Property
Design Team and Infrastructure Design Team. 
Fairer Scotland Duty – None. 
12.5.1     Equalities – protected characteristics – None. 
12.5.2     Socio-economic Duty – None. 
12.5.3     Islands – None. 
Climate Change – The Council is committed to addressing climate change via
projects within the capital plan. 
Risk – There are risks around increasing capital contract costs and the level and
timing of capital receipts. 
Customer Service – None. 
Kirsty Flanagan 
Executive Director / Section 95 Officer 
Policy Lead for Finance and Commercial Services – Councillor Gary
Mulvaney 
APPENDICES
- Appendix 1 – Year To Date finance variance explanations
- Appendix 2 – Forecast Outturn variance explanations
- Appendix 3 – Total Project finance variance explanations
- Appendix 4 – Changes to Capital Plan and Financial Impact
- Appendix 5 – Capital Funding
- Appendix 6 - Off Track project variance reports
- Appendix 7 - Cumulative spend, completion dates and risks relating                         
to significant capital projects. 
- Appendix 8 - Financial Summary – Overall
- Financial Summary – Executive Director Kirsty Flanagan
- Financial Summary – Executive Director Douglas Hendry
- Appendix 9 - Updated/Revised Capital Plan
For further information contact: Anne Blue, Head of Financial Services
anne.blue@argyll-bute.gov.uk

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APPENDIX 1 – Year to Date Financial Variance Explanations
Listed below are the projects where the variance is +/- £50k.
Project
YTD
Budget
£’000
YTD
Actual
£’000
(Over)/
Under
Variance       
£’000
Explanation
Other variances under £50k             25 Total value of non-material variances less than +/-£50k
Total   25

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APPENDIX 2 – Outturn Variance Explanations
Listed below are the projects where the current year variance is +/- £50k. 
Project 
Annual
Budget
£’000
Outturn
£’000 
(Over)/ Under
Forecast
Variance
COVID-19
Related         
£’000
(Over)/ Under
Forecast
Variance Non
COVID-19
Related         
£’000
Total
(Over)/
Under
Forecast
Variance         
£’000
Explanation
Net Zero  366 0  0 366 366
See appendix 4: virements of numerous
historic excess budgets that have been
combined to allow for Net Zero capital works
to be carried out. Slipped after virement to
allow time for a plan to be developed for this
project.
Other variances under £50k                 0 (50) (50) Total value of non-material variances less than +/-
£50k.
Total  0 316 316

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APPENDIX 3 – Total Project Finance Variances
Listed below are the projects where the total project variance is +/- £50k. 
Project 
Capital
Plan
Budget
£’000
Forecast
Project
Costs
£’000 
(Over)/ Under
Forecast
Variance
COVID-19
Related         
£’000
(Over)/ Under
Forecast
Variance Non
COVID-19
Related         
£’000
Total (Over)/
Under
Forecast
Variance         
£’000
Explanation
Oban Depot Development  2,117 2,182   (65) (65)
Projects overspends are to be funded from revenue
and Scottish Government Grant for EVC. Actions are
planned to identify and allocate funding for these
costs.
Other variances under £50k             15 15
Total value of non-material variances less than +/-
£50k. Project Managers are working to reduce these
small individual overspends by identifying
underspends elsewhere within the capital plan.
Total  (50) (50)

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APPENDIX 4 – Changes to Capital Plan and Financial Impact
OVERALL COST CHANGES
Project
2023-
24
£’000
2024-
25
£’000
2025-
26
£’000
Future
Years
£’000
Total
Capital Plan
£’000
Recommendation Explanation
Carbon Management
Business Cases (FPB) (60)     Vire into Net Zero project Excess historic budget, vired to one project line
for Net Zero related capital works.
NPDO Schools Solar PV
Panel Installations (183)     Vire into Net Zero project Excess historic budget, vired to one project line
for Net Zero related capital works.
Non-NPDO Schools PV Panel
Installations (88)     Vire into Net Zero project Excess historic budget, vired to one project line
for Net Zero related capital works.
Carbon Management
Capital Property Works
16/17
(20)     Vire into Net Zero project Excess historic budget, vired to one project line
for Net Zero related capital works.
Carbon Management -
Group Heating Conversion
Project (PB)
(10)     Vire into Net Zero project Excess historic budget, vired to one project line
for Net Zero related capital works.
Oil to Gas Heating
Conversions (FPB) (5)     Vire into Net Zero project Excess historic budget, vired to one project line
for Net Zero related capital works.
Net Zero Project  366    Vired from above Shared Office
projects.
Create one project line to bring together any
additional budgets from previous projects to fund
capital Net Zero related works.
Clyde Cottage – 600 hours
provision  (23)     Vired into Early Learning and
Childcare - 1140 Hours
Excess budget vired into the active Early Learning
and Childcare project.
Early Learning and Childcare
- 1140 Hours 23     Vired from Clyde Cottage – 600
hours provision See above.
Total Cost Changes (366) 366 0 0 0   
SLIPPAGES AND ACCELERATIONS
Project
2023-
24
£’000
2024-
25
£’000
2025-26
£’000
Future
Years
£’000 
2023-24
Slippage
Related to
COVID-19
£’000
2023-24
Slippage
Related
to Non
COVID-
19
£’000
Total
2023-24 
£’000
Recommendation Explanation
Total Slippages and
Accelerations 0 0 0 0  0 0 0  
Net Impact of Changes (366) 366 0 0  0 0 0

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CAPITAL PROGRAMME FUNDING Appendix 5
Estimated
Capital
Funding
Carry
Forwards
from 22-23
Slippage /
Acceleration Additional Funding
Updated
Capital
Funding
Available
Estimated
Capital
Funding
Carry
Forwards
from 22-23
Slippage /
Acceleration
Additional
Funding
Updated
Capital
Funding
Available
Estimated
Capital
Funding
Carry
Forwards
from 22-23
Slippage /
Acceleration
Additional
Funding
Updated
Capital
Funding
Available
General Capital Grant 11,900 0 0 0 11,900 9,851 0 0 0 9,851 10,007 0 0 0 10,007
Transfer to Revenue for Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) -1,033 0 0 0 -1,033 -1,033 0 0 0 -1,033 -1,033 0 0 0 -1,033
Capital Receipts 1,195 0 0 0 1,195 350 0 0 0 350 400 0 0 0 400
Flooding Allocation 155 0 0 0 155 155 0 0 0 155 155 0 0 0 155
Ring Fenced Capital Grant 5,800 0 0 0 5,800 304 0 0 400 704 0 0 0 0 0
Restricted Funding 1,613 0 0 427 2,040 0 0 366 2,065 2,431 0 0 0 50 50
Funded by Reserves 11,821 9,005 0 148 20,974 9,196 0 0 0 9,196 896 0 0 0 896
Additional Funding from Revenue 25 0 0 50 75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Insurance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Harbour Investment Programme 22,235 -13,035 0 0 9,200 27,025 -5,025 0 0 22,000 29,700 20,300 0 0 50,000
Prudential Borrowing 20,718 -6,345 -366 74 14,081 27 6,434 0 0 6,461 0 1,388 0 0 1,388
Loans Fund Review 0 131 0 0 131 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
COVID Funding 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
74,429 -10,244 -366 699 64,518 45,875 1,409 366 2,465 50,115 40,125 21,688 0 50 61,863
BREAKDOWN OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING
Additional Funding 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Source Reported
Tobermory Top Flat - SHF 30 Revenue Funding Jan-23
Dunoon STEM Hub 50 Revenue Funding Jan-23
Dunoon STEM Hub 150 Grant Funding Jan-23
Dunoon Cycle Bothy 145 Grant Funding Jan-23
Gartbreck - Capping 118 Reserves Mar-23
Dunoon Cycle Bothy 74 Scottish Government Mar-23
Tigh Na Rhuda 400 50 Scottish Government Mar-23
Helensburgh and Rosneath Cycleways 290 SPT Jun-23
SPT - Bus Infrastructure 25 SPT Jun-23
Dunoon STEM Hub 1,750 Rural Growth Deal Jun-23
Rural Growth Deal planning stages 132 Rural Growth Deal Jun-23
Total 699 2,465 50
2025-262024-252023-24

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OFF TRACK PROJECT  Appendix 6
Project Name:  Oban Depot Development Project Project Manager: Mark Calder   Risk: Low
Initial Start Date:  August 2019 Proposed End Date:  TBC 
How was this project initially funded?  
Insurance Claim - £1.681 million 
Please detail any additional funding.  
Prudential Borrowing - £0.42 million
Block Allocation - £0.032 million
Capital Receipt (Appin Depot – anticipated) £0.150 million
Previously Reported Committee and Date:    Next Reported Committee and Date: 
Why is the project classified as off target?
Reporting an overspend against approved budget. 
What has caused the issue outlined above?  
Additional works were requested by the operations team which exceeded the original building refurbishment contract. These works were agreed on the basis
that they would be absorbed by the service.  As the budget currently sits in revenue with the costs being capital, budget will be transferred over from revenue to
fund this overspend.
Some costs are attributed to Electric Vehicle charger installations which will be claimed against Scottish Government Grant Funding.
What action will be taken to rectify this issue?
Funding for the additional works will be transferred from the service’s revenue budget to the Oban Depot Development Project for the additional works,
as agreed.
What are the implications of the action proposed?
Transfer of funding from the service to the Oban Depot Development Project for the additional works requested will eliminate the overspend.

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Strategic Change Projects - Cumulative Spend, Start/Finish Dates and Project Risks APPENDIX 7
Strategic Change Projects
Prior Years
Spend
£'000
Current Year
Forecast
£'000
Total Project
Forecast
£'000
Total Project
Budget
£'000
Project Start
Date
Estimated
Completion
Date
Project
Risks
Identified Explanation
Helensburgh Waterfront Development 23,415 977 24,392 24,392 01/04/2017 31/03/2024 Green Physically complete, retentions outstanding
Campbeltown Flood Scheme 4,992 9,860 15,215 15,215 01/08/2016 31/03/2024 Green Contractor's updated programming of work moved Public Utility works from 22/23 to 23/24
CHORD Oban 7,279 626 7,905 7,905 27/10/2016 31/03/2022 Green Issues with contract close out impacting on timescales.
TIF - Halfway House Roundabout 66 574 640 640 tbc tbc Green Scope of project still to be determined - budget to be reprofiled.
CHORD Rothesay 15,231 11,487 26,718 26,718 tbc tbc Green Project recommenced.
Harbour Investment Programme 9,200 9,200 91,292 91,292 01/04/2017 31/03/2028 Green Budget slipped into future years.
Dunoon Primary 10,635 234 10,869 10,869 18/12/2014 30/04/2020 Green Physically complete - negotiations with contractor delaying payment of final sums outstanding.
Kirn Primary School 10,085 34 10,119 10,119 24/04/2014 31/10/2017 Green Physically complete - negotiations with contractor delaying payment of final sums outstanding.
Replacement of Oban High 2,844 406 3,250 3,250 24/04/2014 31/01/2019 Green Physically complete - negotiations with contractor delaying payment of final sums outstanding.
Street Lighting LED Replacement 3,226 674 3,900 3,900 01/08/2016 31/12/2022 Green Tender for final package of works still to be awarded.
Helensburgh Office Rationalisation 11,538 300 11,838 11,838 25/04/2013 31/12/2022 Green Project subject to legal dispute.
CHORD Dunoon 12,495 27 12,522 12,522 03/02/2012 09/03/2018 Green
Main contract complete and retentions paid. Landscaping and remediation works ongoing but
issues with water ingress may require works in 22-23.
Kilmory Business Park Phase 2AA 47 1,082 1,129 1,129 01/02/2022 01/09/2023 Green Development Agreement still to be concluded.
Carbon Management Business Cases 201 0 201 261 01/02/2014 31/12/2022 Green Budget to be reprofiled pending development of new projects.
Carbon Management - Group Heating Conversion Project 1,938 0 1,938 1,948 01/02/2016 31/12/2022 Green Complete.
Carbon Management - Non Education 29 21 50 50 01/04/2015 31/12/2022 Green Projects being determined.
NPDO Schools Solar PV Panel Installations 761 0 761 944 26/06/2014 31/12/2022 Green Budget to be reprofiled pending development of new projects.
Non NPDO Schools Solar PV Panel Installations 400 0 400 488 20/03/2014 31/12/2022 Green Budget to be reprofiled pending development of new projects.
Carbon Management Capital Property Works 2016/17 19 0 19 39 01/02/2016 31/12/2022 Green Budget to be reprofiled pending development of new projects.
Oil to Gas Heating Conversions 182 0 182 187 01/02/2012 31/12/2022 Green Budget to be reprofiled pending development of new projects.
Dunoon Pier OBC 2,844 0 2,844 2,844 03/02/2012 26/02/2016 Green Project complete.
Campbeltown Office Rationalisation 595 1 596 596 01/02/2015 31/03/2019 Green Complete.
TIF - Oban Airport Business Park 489 101 590 590 22/01/2015 31/12/2022 Green
Campbeltown Schools Redevelopment 2,092 38 2,130 2,130 16/02/2012 30/11/2018 Green Physically complete - negotiations with contractor delaying payment of financial sums outstanding.
CHORD - Helensburgh 6,529 28 6,557 6,557 29/09/2011 30/04/2015 Green Main contract complete. Art project proposed for 23-24.
TIF - North Pier Extension 214 0 214 214 06/12/2017 06/12/2021 Green Complete.
TIF - Lorn/Kirk Road 2,169 1 2,170 2,170 22/01/2015 31/03/2021 Green Complete.
Carbon Management Fuel Conversions 107 0 107 107 01/02/2014 31/03/2019 Green Complete.
Kilmory Biomass  Carbon Management 956 0 956 956 20/09/2012 31/03/2019 Green Complete.
Clean Energy - NDEEF1 328 224 745 745 tbc 31/03/2024 Green
Clean Energy - NDEEF2 0 50 1,140 1,140 tbc tbc Green
Strategic Change Total 130,906 35,945 241,389 241,755
Project Risk Classifications:
Green - Risks can be managed and are viewed as stable or reducing.
Amber - Risks are increasing but are still manageable.
Red - Risks are increasing or have increased to such an extent they may affect delivery of the project.
Capital Expenditure Dates Risks

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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL - CAPITAL PLAN MONITORING REPORT - OVERALL COUNCIL Appendix 8
FINANCIAL SUMMARY - NET EXPENDITURE
Current Financial Year To Date
Budget Actual
(Over)/Under
Variance Budget Forecast
(Over)/Under
Variance Budget Forecast
(Over)/Under
Variance
£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s
EXPENDITURE
Asset Sustainability Projects
Executive Director Douglas Hendry 896 898 (2) 11,505 11,507 (2) 22,959 22,961 (2)
Executive Director Kirsty Flanagan 596 596 0 15,331 15,331 0 36,459 36,459 0
Asset Sustainability Total 1,492 1,494 (2) 26,836 26,838 (2) 59,418 59,420 (2)
Service Development Projects
Executive Director Douglas Hendry 136 136 0 525 525 0 16,437 16,437 0
Executive Director Kirsty Flanagan 1,003 1,003 0 5,794 5,869 (75) 37,737 37,812 (75)
Service Development Total 1,139 1,139 0 6,319 6,394 (75) 54,174 54,249 (75)
Strategic Change Projects
Campbeltown Schools Redevelopment 0 0 0 38 38 0 2,130 2,130 0
Dunoon Primary 2 2 0 234 234 0 10,869 10,869 0
Replacement of Oban High 0 0 0 406 406 0 3,250 3,250 0
Kirn Primary School 0 0 0 34 34 0 10,119 10,119 0
Carbon Management - Non Education 0 0 0 21 21 0 50 50 0
Carbon Management Business Cases 0 0 0 60 0 60 261 201 60
NPDO Schools Solar PV Panel Installations 0 0 0 183 0 183 944 761 183
Non NPDO Schools Solar PV Panel Installations 0 0 0 88 0 88 488 400 88
Carbon Management Fuel Conversions 0 0 0 0 0 0 107 107 0
Carbon Management Capital Property Works 2016/17 0 0 0 20 0 20 39 19 20
Carbon Management - Group Heating Conversion Project 0 0 0 10 0 10 1,948 1,938 10
Kilmory Biomass  Carbon Management 0 0 0 0 0 0 956 956 0
Oil to Gas Heating Conversions 0 0 0 5 0 5 187 182 5
Campbeltown Office Rationalisation 0 0 0 1 1 0 596 596 0
Helensburgh Office Rationalisation 0 0 0 300 300 0 11,838 11,838 0
Clean Energy - NDEEF2 0 0 0 50 50 0 1,140 1,140 0
Net Zero 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 366 (366)
Campbeltown Flood Scheme 3,664 3,664 0 9,860 9,860 0 15,215 15,215 0
Street Lighting LED Replacement 1 1 0 674 674 0 3,900 3,900 0
Harbour Investment Programme 148 148 0 9,200 9,200 0 91,292 91,292 0
TIF - Lorn/Kirk Road 0 0 0 1 1 0 2,170 2,170 0
TIF - North Pier Extension 0 0 0 0 0 0 214 214 0
TIF - Oban Airport Business Park 1 1 0 101 101 0 590 590 0
TIF - Halfway House Roundabout 0 0 0 574 574 0 640 640 0
CHORD - Helensburgh 0 0 0 28 28 0 6,557 6,557 0
CHORD Dunoon 0 0 0 27 27 0 12,522 12,522 0
CHORD Oban 0 0 0 626 626 0 7,905 7,905 0
CHORD Rothesay 489 494 (5) 6,871 6,871 0 24,012 24,012 0
Helensburgh Waterfront Development 9 9 0 977 977 0 24,392 24,392 0
HWD - FFE (Funded by LA) 0 0 0 34 34 0 350 350 0
Kilmory Business Park Phase 2AA 0 0 0 1,082 1,082 0 1,129 1,129 0
Dunoon Pier OBC 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,844 2,844 0
Strategic Change Total 4,314 4,319 (5) 31,729 31,363 366 239,399 239,399 0
Total Expenditure 6,945 6,952 (7) 64,884 64,595 289 352,991 353,068 (77)
INCOME
Asset Sustainability
Executive Director Douglas Hendry 0 0 0 (128) (128) 0 (578) (578) 0
Executive Director Kirsty Flanagan (27) (27) 0 (510) (510) 0 (510) (510) 0
Asset Sustainability Total (27) (27) 0 (638) (638) 0 (1,088) (1,088) 0
Service Development Projects
Executive Director Douglas Hendry 0 0 0 0 0 0 (7,771) (7,771) 0
Executive Director Kirsty Flanagan 215 188 27 (6,095) (6,122) 27 (24,256) (24,283) 27
Service Development Total 215 188 27 (6,095) (6,122) 27 (32,027) (32,054) 27
Strategic Change Projects
Helensburgh Office Rationalisation 0 0 0 0 0 0 (349) (349) 0
Dunoon Primary 0 0 0 0 0 0 (137) (137) 0
Campbeltown Flood 0 0 0 0 0 0 (270) (270) 0
Harbour PB (148) (148) 0 (9,200) (9,200) 0 (91,292) (91,292) 0
01 TIF - Lorn/Kirk Road 0 0 0 (676) (676) 0 (2,717) (2,717) 0
H'burgh CHORD Public Realm Imprv 0 0 0 0 0 0 (570) (570) 0
Helensburgh Waterfront Development 0 0 0 (2,320) (2,320) 0 (7,979) (7,979) 0
Kilmory Business Park Phase 2AA 0 0 0 (979) (979) 0 (979) (979) 0
CHORD - Dunoon Waterfront 0 0 0 0 0 0 (10) (10) 0
CHORD - Oban 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1,624) (1,624) 0
Strategic Change Total (148) (148) 0 (13,175) (13,175) 0 (106,277) (106,277) 0
Total Income 40 13 27 (19,908) (19,935) 27 (139,392) (139,419) 27
Net Total 6,985 6,965 20 44,976 44,660 316 213,599 213,649 (50)
Full Year This Financial Year Total Project Costs
30 June 2023

Page 79

MONITORING REPORT
Budget Actual Variance Budget Forecast Variance Budget Forecast Variance
£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s
EXPENDITURE
Asset Sustainability
Education 297 297 0 6,756 6,756 0 13,403 13,403 0
Live Argyll 295 295 0 1,270 1,270 0 2,048 2,048 0
Health and Social Care Partnership 188 188 0 2,147 2,147 0 3,452 3,452 0
Shared Offices 116 118 (2) 1,332 1,334 (2) 4,056 4,058 (2)
Asset Sustainability Total 896 898 (2) 11,505 11,507 (2) 22,959 22,961 (2)
Service Development Projects
Ardrishaig Primary Pre 5 Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0
Bowmore Primary School - Pre 5 Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 149 149 0
Clyde Cottage - 600 hour provision 0 0 0 23 0 23 579 556 23
Craignish Primary School - Pre 5 Extension 0 0 0 0 0 0 400 400 0
Iona Primary School - Pre 5 Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 490 490 0
Islay High and Rosneath Primary School Pitches 0 0 0 0 0 0 719 719 0
Lochgoilhead Primary School - Pre 5 Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 391 391 0
Park Primary Extension/Pre Fives Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 341 341 0
Sandbank Gaelic Pre Five Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 491 491 0
Bunessan Primary School - Gaelic Medium Improvements 0 0 0 0 0 0 120 120 0
Early Learning and Childcare 0 0 0 0 0 0 850 850 0
Early Learning and Childcare - 1140 Hours 136 136 0 297 320 (23) 7,751 7,774 (23)
CO2 Monitoring - Covid Mitigation in Schools 0 0 0 113 113 0 192 192 0
Early Learning and Childcare - 1140 Hours - CFCR 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,379 1,379 0
Riverside Leisure Centre Refurbishment 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,245 1,245 0
Dunclutha Childrens Home 0 0 0 54 54 0 1,300 1,300 0
Service Development Total 136 136 0 525 525 0 16,437 16,437 0
Strategic Change Projects
Campbeltown Schools Redevelopment 0 0 0 38 38 0 2,130 2,130 0
Dunoon Primary 2 2 0 234 234 0 10,869 10,869 0
NPDO Schools Solar PV Panel Installations 0 0 0 183 0 183 944 761 183
Non NPDO Schools Solar PV Panel Installations 0 0 0 88 0 88 488 400 88
Carbon Management Fuel Conversions 0 0 0 0 0 0 107 107 0
Carbon Management Capital Property Works 2016/17 0 0 0 20 0 20 39 19 20
Carbon Management - Group Heating Conversion Project 0 0 0 10 0 10 1,948 1,938 10
Kilmory Biomass  Carbon Management 0 0 0 0 0 0 956 956 0
Oil to Gas Heating Conversions 0 0 0 5 0 5 187 182 5
Campbeltown Office Rationalisation 0 0 0 1 1 0 596 596 0
Helensburgh Office Rationalisation 0 0 0 300 300 0 11,838 11,838 0
Clean Energy - NDEEF1 0 0 0 224 224 0 745 745 0
Clean Energy - NDEEF2 0 0 0 50 50 0 1,140 1,140 0
Net Zero 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 366 (366)
CHORD Oban 0 0 0 626 626 0 7,905 7,905 0
CHORD Rothesay 489 494 (5) 6,871 6,871 0 24,012 24,012 0
CHORD - Helensburgh 0 0 0 28 28 0 6,557 6,557 0
CHORD Dunoon 0 0 0 27 27 0 12,522 12,522 0
Helensburgh Waterfront Deveopment 9 9 0 977 977 0 24,392 24,392 0
HWD - FFE (Funded by LA) 0 0 0 34 34 0 350 350 0
Kilmory Business Park Phase 2AA 0 0 0 1,082 1,082 0 1,129 1,129 0
Dunoon Pier OBC 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,844 2,844 0
Strategic Change Total 500 505 (5) 11,319 10,953 366 125,378 125,378 0
Total Expenditure 1,532 1,539 (7) 23,349 22,985 364 164,774 164,776 (2)
INCOME
Asset Sustainability
Education 0 0 0 (125) (125) 0 (125) (125) 0
Shared Offices 0 0 0 (3) (3) 0 (3) (3) 0
Asset Sustainability Total 0 0 0 (128) (128) 0 (578) (578) 0
Service Development Projects
Sandbank Gaelic Pre Five Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 (485) (485) 0
Bunessan Primary School - Gaelic Medium Improvements 0 0 0 0 0 0 (30) (30) 0
Early Learning and Childcare 0 0 0 0 0 0 (918) (918) 0
Early Years 1140 Hours 0 0 0 0 0 0 (6,300) (6,300) 0
Bowmore Primary School - Gaelic Medium Grant 0 0 0 0 0 0 (38) (38) 0
Service Development Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 (7,771) (7,771) 0
Strategic Change
Helensburgh Office Rationalisation 0 0 0 0 0 0 (349) (349) 0
Dunoon Primary School 0 0 0 0 0 0 (137) (137) 0
H'burgh CHORD Public Realm Imprv 0 0 0 0 0 0 (570) (570) 0
Helensburgh Waterfront Development 0 0 0 (2,320) (2,320) 0 (7,979) (7,979) 0
HWD - FFE (Funded by LA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (350) (350) 0
CHORD - Oban 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1,624) (1,624) 0
Net Departmental Total 1,532 1,539 (7) 19,922 19,558 364 144,427 144,429 (2)
30 June 2023
Total Project CostsFull Year This Financial YearCurrent Financial Year To Date
Appendix 8
FINANCIAL SUMMARY NET EXPENDITURE - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS HENDRY

Page 80

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL - CAPITAL PLAN MONITORING REPORT
Current Financial Year To Date
Budget Actual
(Over)/Under
Variance Budget
Year End
Forecast
(Over)/Under
Variance Budget Forecast
(Over)/Under
Variance
£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s
EXPENDITURE
Asset Sustainability Projects
Flood Prevention 14 14 0 807 807 0 1,305 1,305 0
Coastal Protection 1 1 0 99 99 0 199 199 0
Coastal Change Adaptation 5 5 0 158 158 0 158 158 0
Bute Sea Wall Repairs 10 10 0 100 100 0 680 680 0
Helensburgh Flood Mitigation 1 1 0 428 428 0 428 428 0
Bridge Strengthening 76 76 0 1,336 1,336 0 1,686 1,686 0
Local Bridge Maintenance Fund 49 49 0 1,000 1,000 0 5,203 5,203 0
Roads Reconstruction 0 0 0 7,032 7,032 0 15,032 15,032 0
Roads Reconstruction - Helensburgh CHORD 0 0 0 47 47 0 47 47 0
Roads Reconstruction - Oban CHORD 0 0 0 3 3 0 3 3 0
Helensburgh CHORD - Signage etc 0 0 0 10 10 0 10 10 0
Lighting 0 0 0 890 890 0 1,040 1,040 0
Environmental Projects 165 165 0 650 650 0 1,021 1,021 0
Play Park Refurbishment 0 0 0 312 312 0 938 938 0
Public Convenience Upgrades 0 0 0 82 82 0 82 82 0
Footway Improvements 0 0 0 750 750 0 750 750 0
Glengorm - Capping 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Glengorm - Cell and Transfer Station (PB) 36 36 0 85 85 0 85 85 0
Gartbreck - Capping 4 4 0 200 200 0 200 200 0
EV Quick Chargers 0 0 0 62 62 0 62 62 0
Tobermory Car Park 0 0 0 96 96 0 96 96 0
Active Travel 0 0 0 389 389 0 389 389 0
Block Allocation - RIS 0 0 0 0 0 0 4,268 4,268 0
Server Sustainability 0 0 0 209 209 0 1,042 1,042 0
PC Replacement 148 148 0 330 330 0 1,479 1,479 0
Telecomms Network 87 87 0 256 256 0 256 256 0
Asset Sustainability Total 596 596 0 15,331 15,331 0 36,459 36,459 0
Service Development Projects
Preliminary design for  Regional Transport projects 0 0 0 16 16 0 221 221 0
Campbeltown Old Quay 0 0 0 43 43 0 1,424 1,424 0
Fleet Management - Prudential Borrowing 747 747 0 2,187 2,187 0 4,861 4,861 0
Fleet Management 0 0 0 325 325 0 4,538 4,538 0
Lismore Ferry 0 0 0 15 15 0 672 672 0
Oban Depot Development Project 2 2 0 (63) 2 (65) 2,117 2,182 (65)
Lochgilphead Depot Rationalisation 0 0 0 8 8 0 37 37 0
Jackson's Quarry Refurbishment 0 0 0 0 0 0 285 285 0
Witchburn Road Demolition 0 0 0 0 0 0 158 158 0
Safe Streets, Walking and Cycling (CWSS) 0 0 0 370 370 0 3,383 3,383 0
SPT - bus infrastructure 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,430 1,430 0
Cycleways - H&L (FSPT) 0 0 0 300 300 0 3,402 3,402 0
Helensburgh Public Realm - Arts Strategy Fund 0 0 0 50 50 0 53 53 0
Town Centre Funds 17 17 0 358 368 (10) 3,969 3,979 (10)
Rural Growth Deal 51 51 0 132 132 0 182 182 0
Dunoon Cycle Bothy 95 95 0 292 292 0 563 563 0
Dunoon STEM Hub 4 4 0 713 713 0 2,558 2,558 0
Ardrishaig North Active Travel 69 69 0 112 112 0 880 880 0
Nature Restoration Fund 0 0 0 346 346 0 346 346 0
Gibraltar Street Public Realm Improvements 0 0 0 222 222 0 250 250 0
Hermitage Park 0 0 0 26 26 0 3,388 3,388 0
Service Development Total 1,003 1,003 0 5,794 5,869 (75) 37,737 37,812 (75)
Strategic Change Projects
Campbeltown Flood Scheme 3,664 3,664 0 9,860 9,860 0 15,215 15,215 0
Street Lighting LED Replacement 1 1 0 674 674 0 3,900 3,900 0
Harbour Investment Programme 148 148 0 9,200 9,200 0 91,292 91,292 0
TIF - Lorn/Kirk Road 0 0 0 1 1 0 2,170 2,170 0
TIF - Oban Airport Business Park 1 1 0 101 101 0 590 590 0
TIF - Halfway House Roundabout 0 0 0 574 574 0 640 640 0
Strategic Change Total 3,814 3,814 0 20,410 20,410 0 114,021 114,021 0
Total Expenditure 5,413 5,413 0 41,535 41,610 (75) 188,217 188,292 (75)
INCOME
Asset Sustainability
EV Quick Chargers 0 0 0 (27) (27) 0 (27) (27) 0
Roads Reconstruction (27) (27) 0 (83) (83) 0 (83) (83) 0
Tobermory Car Park 0 0 0 (400) (400) 0 (400) (400) 0
Asset Sustainability Total (27) (27) 0 (510) (510) 0 (510) (510) 0
Service Development Projects
Applications Projects 0 0 0 (46) (46) 0 (437) (437) 0
Safe Streets, Walking and Cycling 215 215 0 (376) (376) 0 (2,988) (2,988) 0
SPfT 0 0 0 (25) (25) 0 (1,268) (1,268) 0
Cycleways - H&L (FSPT) 0 0 0 (590) (590) 0 (3,502) (3,502) 0
Town Centre Funds 0 0 0 (275) (275) 0 (1,887) (1,887) 0
Rural Growth Deal 0 0 0 (152) (152) 0 (182) (182) 0
Dunoon STEM Hub 0 0 0 (2,050) (2,050) 0 (2,558) (2,558) 0
Ardrishaig North Active Travel 0 0 0 0 0 0 (50) (50) 0
Dunoon Cycle Bothy 0 0 0 (394) (394) 0 (563) (563) 0
Gibraltar Street Public Realm Improvements 0 0 0 0 0 0 (250) (250) 0
Hermitage Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 (3,319) (3,319) 0
Fleet Management - PB 0 0 0 (2,187) (2,187) 0 (4,861) (4,861) 0
Lochgilphead Depot Rationalisation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Millpark Depot Demolition Insurance 0 0 0 0 0 0 (53) (53) 0
Oban Depot - Mill Park Insurance Claim 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1,681) (1,681) 0
Oban Depot - Appin Depot Sale 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lismore Ferry 0 0 0 0 0 0 (500) (500) 0
Witchburn Road Demolition 0 0 0 0 0 0 (157) (157) 0
Service Development Total 215 188 27 (6,095) (6,122) 27 (24,256) (24,283) 27
Strategic Change Projects
Campbeltown Flood 0 0 0 0 0 0 (270) (270) 0
Harbour PB (148) (148) 0 (9,200) (9,200) 0 (91,292) (91,292) 0
01 TIF - Lorn/Kirk Road 0 0 0 (676) (676) 0 (2,717) (2,717) 0
Strategic Change Total (148) (148) 0 (9,876) (9,876) 0 (94,279) (94,279) 0
Total Income 40 13 27 (16,481) (16,508) 27 (119,045) (119,072) 27
Net Departmental Total 5,453 5,426 27 25,054 25,102 (48) 69,172 69,220 (48)
30 June 2023
Full Year This Financial Year Total Project Costs
FINANCIAL SUMMARY NET EXPENDITURE - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KIRSTY FLANAGAN
Appendix 8

Page 81

CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
Overall Summary
Service
Previous Years
£000's
2023-24                                           
£000s
2024-25                 
£000s
2025-26                
£000s
2026-27                 
£000s
2027-28                
£000s Total
Education 39,077 7,917 3,126 3,521 0 0 53,641
Shared Offices 17,025 1,907 3,396 977 0 0 23,305
ICT 2,529 1,137 1,243 888 0 0 5,797
RIS 26,197 36,801 37,320 55,347 2,737 0 158,402
DEG 18,331 3,597 2,090 0 0 0 24,018
HSCP 1,246 2,223 828 477 0 0 4,774
Live Argyll 1,274 1,291 428 427 0 0 3,420
CHORD 68,156 9,645 1,684 226 0 0 79,711
Overall Total 173,835 64,518 50,115 61,863 2,737 0 353,068

Page 82

CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
Education
Category Service Project
Previous
Years
£000's
2023-24                     
£000s
2024-25                 
£000s 2025-26                 £000s
2026-27            
£000s
2027-28            
£000s
Total
£000s
Asset Sustainability Education Asbestos Control/Removal Works 0 7 0 0 0 0 7
Block Allocation - Education 0 1,457 166 520 0 0 2,143
Digital Inclusion 20-21 0 9 0 0 0 0 9
Free School Meals 0 330 900 1,495 0 0 2,725
Homeless Houses - Housing Quality Standard 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Internal Refurbishment Budget 0 7 0 0 0 0 7
Lochgilphead Primary School Demolition 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pre-5's/Nurseries 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Primary Schools 0 3,955 1,835 1,280 0 0 7,070
School Houses - Housing Quality Standard 0 13 0 0 0 0 13
Secondary Schools 0 955 225 226 0 0 1,406
Asset Sustainability Total 0 6,734 3,126 3,521 0 0 13,381
Service Development Education Ardrishaig Primar School - Pre Five Extension 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
Bowmore Primary School - Gaelic Medium Grant 0 38 0 0 0 0 38
Bowmore Primary School - Pre Five Unit 149 0 0 0 0 0 149
Bunessan Primary School - Gaelic Medium Improvements 120 0 0 0 0 0 120
Clyde Cottage - 600 hours provision 556 23 0 0 0 0 579
CO2 Monitoring - Covid Mitigation in Schools 79 113 0 0 0 0 192
Craignish Primary School - Pre Five Extension (600 hours funding) 400 0 0 0 0 0 400
Early Learning and Childcare 850 0 0 0 0 0 850
Early Learning and Childcare - 1140 Hours 7,454 297 0 0 0 0 7,751
Early Learning and Childcare - 1140 Hours - CFCR 1,379 0 0 0 0 0 1,379
Iona Primary School - Pre Five Unit (600 hours funding) 490 0 0 0 0 0 490
Islay High & Rosneath PS Pitches 719 0 0 0 0 0 719
Lochgoilhead Primary School - Pre Five Unit (600 hours funding) 391 0 0 0 0 0 391
Park Primary Extension and Pre Fives Unit 341 0 0 0 0 0 341
Sandbank Gaelic Pre Five Unit 491 0 0 0 0 0 491
Service Development Total 13,421 471 0 0 0 0 13,892
Strategic Change Education Campbeltown Schools Redevelopment 2,092 38 0 0 0 0 2,130
Dunoon Primary School 10,635 234 0 0 0 0 10,869
Kirn Primary School 10,085 34 0 0 0 0 10,119
Replacement of Oban High School 2,844 406 0 0 0 0 3,250
Strategic Change Total 25,656 712 0 0 0 0 26,368
Overall Total 39,077 7,917 3,126 3,521 0 0 53,641

Page 83

CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
Shared Office
Category Service Project
Previous
Years
£000's
2023-24     
£000s
2024-25      
£000s
2025-26      
£000s
2026-27        
£000s
2027-28    
£000s
Total
£000s
Asset Sustainability Shared Offices 5-7 East Clyde Street - Coastal Communities Fund 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Argyll House, Dunoon 0 9 0 0 0 0 9
Asbestos Capital Property Works 0 51 0 0 0 0 51
Block Allocation 0 282 298 427 0 0 1,007
Bowmore Area Office 0 76 0 0 0 0 76
Burnett Building 0 0 110 0 0 0 110
Capital Property Works 0 38 0 0 0 0 38
Fire Risk Assessment Works 0 14 0 0 0 0 14
Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre - Emergency Heating Pipework 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hill Street Dunoon Rewire 0 33 0 0 0 0 33
Kilmory Castle 0 0 1,409 0 0 0 1,409
Legionella Control Works 0 144 0 0 0 0 144
Manse Brae District Office 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Manse Brae Roads Office 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
Our Modern Workspace 0 683 480 0 0 0 1,163
Asset Sustainability Total 0 1,332 2,297 427 0 0 4,056
Strategic Change Shared Offices Campbeltown Office Rationalisation 595 1 0 0 0 0 596
Carbon Management - Group Heating Conversion Project (Prudential Borrowing)1,938 10 0 0 0 0 1,948
Carbon Management Business Cases (FPB) 201 60 0 0 0 0 261
Carbon Management Capital Property Works 16/17 19 20 0 0 0 0 39
Carbon Management Fuel Conversions (FPB) 107 0 0 0 0 0 107
Clean Energy - NDEEF1 328 224 193 0 0 0 745
Clean Energy - NDEEF2 0 50 540 550 0 0 1,140
Helensburgh Office Rationalisation  (FPB,REC) 11,538 300 0 0 0 0 11,838
Kilmory Biomass Project OBC (FPB,REV) 956 0 0 0 0 0 956
Net Zero 0 -366 366 0 0 0 0
Non-NPDO Schools PV Panel Installations 400 88 0 0 0 0 488
NPDO Schools Solar PV Panel Installations 761 183 0 0 0 0 944
Oil to Gas Heating Conversions (FPB) 182 5 0 0 0 0 187
Strategic Change Total 17,025 575 1,099 550 0 0 19,249
Overall Total 17,025 1,907 3,396 977 0 0 23,305

Page 84

CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
Major Projects
Category Service Project
Previous
Years
£000's
2023-24    
£000s
2024-25    
£000s
2025-26     
£000s
2026-27          
£000s
2027-28     
£000s
Total
£000s
Strategic Change CHORD CHORD - Dunoon 12,495 27 0 0 0 0 12,522
CHORD - Helensburgh -Public Realm Imprv 6,529 28 0 0 0 0 6,557
CHORD - Oban 7,279 626 0 0 0 0 7,905
CHORD - Rothesay 15,231 6,871 1,684 226 0 0 24,012
Helensburgh Waterfront Development 23,415 977 0 0 0 0 24,392
HWD - FFE 316 34 0 0 0 0 350
Kilmory Business Park Phase 2AA 47 1,082 0 0 0 0 1,129
OBC for Dunoon Pier 2,844 0 0 0 0 0 2,844
Strategic Change Total 68,156 9,645 1,684 226 0 0 79,711
Overall Total 68,156 9,645 1,684 226 0 0 79,711

Page 85

CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
ICT
Category Service Project
Previous
Years
£000's
2023-24      
£000s
2024-25      
£000s
2025-26      
£000s
2026-27     
£000s
2027-28       
£000s
Total
£000s
Asset Sustainability ICT Block Allocation - ICT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PC Replacement 0 330 669 480 0 0 1,479
Server Sustainability 0 209 425 408 0 0 1,042
Telecomms Network 0 256 0 0 0 0 256
Asset Sustainability Total 0 795 1,094 888 0 0 2,777
Service Development ICT Applications Projects 2,529 342 149 0 0 0 3,020
Service Development Total 2,529 342 149 0 0 0 3,020
Overall Total 2,529 1,137 1,243 888 0 0 5,797

Page 86

CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
Roads and Infrastructure Services
Category Service Project
Previous
Years
£000's
2023-24     
£000s
2024-25    
£000s
2025-26   
£000s
2026-27    
£000s
2027-28    
£000s
Total
£000s
Asset Sustainability RIS Block Allocation 0 0 0 4,268 0 0 4,268
Bridge Strengthening 0 1,336 350 0 0 0 1,686
Bute Sea Wall Repairs 0 100 580 0 0 0 680
Coastal Change Adaptation 0 158 0 0 0 0 158
Coastal Protection 0 99 100 0 0 0 199
Environmental Projects 0 650 371 0 0 0 1,021
EV Quick Chargers 0 62 0 0 0 0 62
Flood Prevention 0 807 305 155 38 0 1,305
Footway Improvements 0 750 0 0 0 0 750
Glengorm - Capping 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Glengorm - Cell and Transfer Station (PB) 0 85 0 0 0 0 85
Helensburgh CHORD - Signage etc 0 10 0 0 0 0 10
Helensburgh Flood Mitigation 0 428 0 0 0 0 428
Investment in Active Travel 0 389 0 0 0 0 389
Lighting 0 890 150 0 0 0 1,040
Local Bridge Maintenance Fund 0 1,000 4,000 203 0 0 5,203
Plant and Machinery 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Public Convenience Upgrades 0 82 0 0 0 0 82
Roads Reconstruction 0 7,032 8,000 0 0 0 15,032
Roads Reconstruction - Helensburgh CHORD 0 47 0 0 0 0 47
Roads Reconstruction - Oban CHORD 0 3 0 0 0 0 3
Tobermory Car Park 0 96 0 0 0 0 96
Asset Sustainability Total 0 14,336 14,091 5,017 38 0 33,482
Service Development RIS Campbeltown Old Quay 1,381 43 0 0 0 0 1,424
Depot Rationalisation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fleet Management - Prudential Borrowing 2,674 2,187 0 0 0 0 4,861
Jackson's Quarry Refurbishment 285 0 0 0 0 0 285
Lismore Ferry Replacement 637 15 20 0 0 0 672
Lochgilphead Depot Rationalisation 29 8 0 0 0 0 37
Oban Depot Development 2,180 -63 0 0 0 0 2,117
Preliminary design for  Regional Transport projects (tif) 205 16 0 0 0 0 221
Witchburn Road Demolition 158 0 0 0 0 0 158
Service Development Total 10,582 2,531 1,200 0 0 0 14,313
Strategic Change RIS Campbeltown Flood Scheme 4,992 9,860 29 330 4 0 15,215
Harbour Investment Programme PB 7,397 9,200 22,000 50,000 2,695 0 91,292
Street Lighting LED Replacement 3,226 674 0 0 0 0 3,900
Strategic Change Total 15,615 19,734 22,029 50,330 2,699 0 110,407
Overall Total 26,197 36,601 37,320 55,347 2,737 0 158,202

Page 87

CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
Development and Economic Growth
Category Service Project
Previous
Years
£000's
2023-24    
£000s
2024-25   
£000s
2025-26    
£000s
2026-27     
£000s
2027-28     
£000s
Total
£000s
Service Development DEG Ardrishaig North Active Travel 755 112 13 0 0 0 880
Cycleways - H&L (FSPT) 2,812 300 290 0 0 0 3,402
Dunoon Cycle Bothy 259 292 12 0 0 0 563
Dunoon STEM Hub 95 713 1,750 0 0 0 2,558
Gibraltar Street Public Realm Improvements 28 222 0 0 0 0 250
Helensburgh Public Realm - Arts Strategy Fund 3 50 0 0 0 0 53
Hermitage Park 3,362 26 0 0 0 0 3,388
Nature Restoration Fund 0 346 0 0 0 0 346
Rural Growth Deal 50 132 0 0 0 0 182
Safe Streets, Walking and Cycling (CWSS) 3,013 370 0 0 0 0 3,383
SPT - bus infrastructure 1,405 0 25 0 0 0 1,430
Town Centre Funds 3,611 358 0 0 0 0 3,969
Service Development Total 15,393 2,921 2,090 0 0 0 20,404
Strategic Change DEG 01 TIF - Lorn/Kirk Road 2,169 1 0 0 0 0 2,170
05 TIF - North Pier Extension 214 0 0 0 0 0 214
09 TIF - Oban Airport Business Park 489 101 0 0 0 0 590
TIF - Halfway House Roundabout 66 574 0 0 0 0 640
Strategic Change Total 2,938 676 0 0 0 0 3,614
Overall Total 18,331 3,597 2,090 0 0 0 24,018

Page 88

CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
Health & Social Care Partnership
Category Service Project
Previous
Years
£000's
2023-24   
£000s
2024-25   
£000s
2025-26   
£000s
2026-27    
£000s
2027-28    
£000s
Total
£000s
Asset Sustainability HSCP Ardfenaig 0 23 0 0 0 0 23
Block Allocation 0 785 292 184 0 0 1,261
Capital Property Works 0 79 0 0 0 0 79
Digitalising telecare 0 100 0 0 0 0 100
Dunoon Hostel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Eadar Glinn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
East King Street Childrens Home 0 58 0 0 0 0 58
Glencruitten Hostel 0 81 36 143 0 0 260
Gortonvogie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Greenwood/Woodlands 0 216 0 0 0 0 216
Lochgilphead Resource Centre 0 16 0 0 0 0 16
Rothesay Community Education Centre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shellach View 0 142 0 0 0 0 142
Thomson Home Rothesay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tigh An Rudha HFE 0 600 500 150 0 0 1,250
Tobermory Top Flat 0 22 0 0 0 0 22
Asset Sustainability Total 0 2,169 828 477 0 0 3,474
Service Development HSCP Dunclutha Childrens Home 1,246 54 0 0 0 0 1,300
Service Development Total 1,246 54 0 0 0 0 1,300
Overall Total 1,246 2,223 828 477 0 0 4,774

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CAPITAL PLAN 2023-24 APPENDIX 9
Live Argyll
Category Service Project
Previous
Years
£000's
2023-24    
£000s
2024-25    
£000s
2025-26    
£000s
2026-27   
£000s
2027-28 
£000s
Total
£000s
Asset Sustainability Live Argyll Aqualibrium 0 368 20 40 0 0 428
Corran Halls Gaelic Centre 0 113 46 84 0 0 243
Inveraray CARS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kintyre Community Education Centre - Lift Shaft Refurbishment 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
LA - Indoor Cycles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lochgilphead Library Relocation 0 14 0 0 0 0 14
Moat Centre (Roofing) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Queen's Hall - Partition Wall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Riverside Leisure Centre - Spa Pool Upgrade 0 17 0 0 0 0 17
The Moat Centre 0 77 0 0 0 0 77
The Moat Centre - Heating Upgrade 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The Moat Centre - Window Upgrade 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Victoria Halls, Helensburgh 0 78 0 0 0 0 78
Asset Sustainability Total 0 1,270 428 427 0 0 2,125
Service Development Live Argyll Riverside Leisure Centre Refurbishment 1,245 0 0 0 0 0 1,245
Service Development Total 1,245 0 0 0 0 0 1,245
Strategic Change Live Argyll Carbon Management 29 21 0 0 0 0 50
Strategic Change Total 29 21 0 0 0 0 50
Overall Total 1,274 1,291 428 427 0 0 3,420

Page 90

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL  POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
FINANCIAL SERVICES 10 AUGUST 2023 
TREASURY MANAGEMENT MONITORING REPORT – 30 JUNE 2023 
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
1.1. This report sets out the Council’s treasury management position for the period 1 April
2023 to 30 June 2023 and includes information on: 
• Overall borrowing position
• Borrowing activity
• Investment activity
• Economic background
• Interest rate forecast
• Prudential Indicators 
1.2. Estimated borrowing is below the Capital Financing Requirement for the period to 30
June 2023, at this stage in the financial year capital expenditure is below target.
Capital expenditure continued to be lower than anticipated over the last twelve months
however there is an expectation this will increase back up again over 2023-24 which
will continue to be monitored closely.  
1.3. The net movement in external borrowing in the period 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023
was a decrease of £10.072m. 
1.4. The levels of investments were £90.502m at 30 June 2023. The rate of return
achieved was 4.437% compared to the target SONIA rate which was 4.578%. 
1.5 The Council has significant cash balances which are invested in accordance with its
Annual Treasury Management Strategy on the basis of security first, liquidity second
and then return.

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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL  POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
FINANCIAL SERVICES 10 AUGUST 2023 
TREASURY MANAGEMENT MONITORING REPORT – 30 JUNE 2023 
2. INTRODUCTION 
2.1. This report sets out the Council’s treasury management position for the period 1
April 2023 to 30 June 2023 and includes information on: 
• Overall borrowing position
• Borrowing activity
• Investment activity
• Economic background
• Interest rate forecast
• Prudential Indicators 
3. DETAIL
Overall Borrowing Position 
3.1. The table below details the estimated capital financing requirement (CFR) and
compares this with the estimated level of external debt at 31 March 2023. The CFR
represents the underlying need for the Council to borrow to fund its fixed assets and
accumulated capital expenditure. 
Forecast Forecast Forecast
2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
£000 £000 £000
CFR at 1 April 291,782 303,333 319,602
Net Capital Expenditure 23,281 28,461 51,388
Less Loans Fund Principal Repayments (5,950) (6,254) (6,573)
Less: NPDO Repayment (5,780) (5,938) (6,235)
Estimated CFR 31 March 303,333 319,602 358,182
Less Funded by NPDO (111,564) (111,784) (106,846)
Estimated Net CFR 31 March 191,769 207,818 251,336
Estimated External Borrowing at 31 March 176,532 221,513 261,510
Gap 15,237 (13,695) (10,174)

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3.2. Borrowing is below the Capital Financing Requirement for the period to 30 June 2023.
Whilst borrowing rates are still comparatively low the Council has significant cash
balances which reduces the need to borrow in the short term. 
3.3. The Council’s Treasury Management Strategy states that any decision to borrow in
advance will be within forward approved Capital Financing Requirement estimates. 
3.4. The Council’s estimated net capital financing requirement at 30 June 2023 is
£191.769m. The table below shows how this has been financed. £132.464m is funded
by loans and there are substantial internal balances of £149.807m of which £90.502m
are currently invested, as detailed in section 3.7, leaving a net internal balance of
£59.305m. 
Position at
31/03/23
Position at
30/06/23
£000 £000
Loans 142,536 132,464
Net Internal Balances 29,893 59,305
Total CFR 172,429 191,769 
3.5. During the period from 1 April to 30 June 2023, £10.098m of loans were repaid and £0.026m
of new borrowing was taken.  The analysis of the movement in borrowing is shown in the table
below: 
Actual
£000
(10,098)
26
Net Movement in External Borrowing (10,072)
External Loans Repaid 1st April 2023 to 30th June 2023
Borrowing undertaken 1st April 2023 to 30th June 2023
3.6. The table below summarises the movement in the level and rate of temporary
borrowing at the start and end of the period. 
£000 % Rate
Temp borrowing at 31st March 2023 10,378 3.40%
Temp borrowing at 30th June 2023 308 4.90%

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Investment Activity
3.7     The average rate of return achieved in the Council’s investments to 30 June 2023  was
4.437% compared to the SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average) rate for the same period
of 4.578%. The Council’s rate of return is marginally less than SONIA due to the rapid
rise in interest rates which increased SONIA faster than the Council was able to
redeem its existing lower rated investments. At 30 June 2023 the Council had
£90.502m of short term investments at an average rate of 4.437%. The table below
details the counterparties that the investments were placed with, the maturity date, the
interest rate and the credit rating applicable for each counterparty. 
Counterparty Maturity Amount £000 Interest
Rate
Rating  S&P
Clydesdale Bank Instant 5,202 4.90% Short Term A-2, Long
First Abu Dhabi bank 10/08/2023 5,000 3.12% Short Term A-1+,
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group 06/10/2023 5,000 4.99% Short Term A-1+,
Toronto Dominion Bank 13/10/2023 5,000 5.25% Short Term A-1+,
Cambridgeshire County Council 22/07/2024 5,000 1.00% AA
Thurrock Borough Council 31/07/2023 5,000 3.00% AA
Thurrock Borough Council 19/09/2023 5,000 3.50% AA
London Borough of Croydon 10/10/2024 5,000 4.10% AA
Close Brothers 31/07/2023 2,500 4.10% Short Term A-1, Long
National Bank of Kuwait 09/04/2024 7,500 5.13% Short Term A-1, Long
First Abu Dhabi Bank 09/05/2024 5,000 5.27% Short Term A-1+,
National Bank of Kuwait 10/11/2023 2,500 5.00% Short Term A-1, Long
Goldman Sachs 10/11/2023 2,500 4.91% Short Term A-1, Long
London Borough of Croydon 10/06/2024 5,000 5.30% AA
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group 13/09/2023 5,000 5.04% Short Term A-1+,
DBS Bank 13/09/2023 5,000 4.98% Short Term A-1+,
Money Market Fund - BNP Paribas Call 8,400 4.93% AAA
MMF - Aviva Call 6,900 4.84% AAA
Total 90,502 
3.8 All investments and deposits are in accordance with the Council’s approved list of
counterparties and within the limits and parameters defined in the Treasury
Management Practices. The counterparty list is constructed based on assessments
by leading credit reference agencies adjusted for additional market information
available in respect of counterparties. 
3.9 The Council has significant cash balances which are invested in accordance with its
Annual Treasury Management Strategy. These cash balances are in excess of what
is required for normal operating purposes but the economic environment for
investments has improved over the last few months with an increase in interest rates,
making investing these monies easier than in previous years.

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Economic and Interest Rate Forecasts 
3.10 The latest economic background is shown in Appendix 1 with the interest rate forecast
in Appendix 2.
Prudential Indicators 
3.11 The prudential indicators for 2023-24 are attached in Appendix 3. 
4. CONCLUSION 
4.1 In the period from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023, the Council’s borrowing decreased
by £10.072m, it is currently below the Capital Financing Requirement. There are
substantial internal balances, of which £90.502m is currently invested. The investment
returns were 4.437%. 
5. IMPLICATIONS 
5.1 Policy –       None.  
5.2 Financial –      Complies with Annual Treasury Strategy.
5.3  Legal –       None.
5.4 HR –       None.
5.5 Fairer Duty Scotland –     None. 
5.5.1 Equalities – protected characteristics –  None.
5.5.2 Socio-economic Duty –    None.
5.5.3 Islands –      None.
5.6  Climate Change –     None.
5.7 Risk –       None.
5.8 Customer Service –     None. 
Kirsty Flanagan
Section 95 Officer
8 July 2023 
Policy Lead for Finance and Commercial Services - Councillor Gary Mulvaney 
Appendix 1 – Economic Background
Appendix 2 – Interest Rate Forecast
Appendix 3 – Prudential Indicators 
For further information contact Anne Blue, Head of Financial Services 
anne.blue@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Page 95

Appendix 1 – Economics Update 
• The first quarter of 2023/24 saw: 
- A 0.2% m/m rise in real GDP in April, partly due to fewer strikes; 
- CPI inflation falling from 10.1% to 8.7% in April, before remaining at 8.7% in May.  This was the highest
reading in the G7;
- Core CPI inflation rise in both April and May, reaching a new 31-year high of 7.1%;
- A tighter labour market in April, as the 3myy growth of average earnings rose from 6.1% to 6.5%;
- Interest rates rise by a further 75bps over the quarter, taking Bank Rate from 4.25% to 5.00%; 
- 10-year gilt yields nearing the “mini-Budget” peaks, as inflation surprised to the upside.
• The economy has weathered the drag from higher inflation better than was widely expected. The 0.2% m/m
rise in real GDP in April, following March’s 0.3% m/m contraction will further raise hopes that the economy
will escape a recession this year. Some of the strength in April was due to fewer strikes by train workers and
teachers in that month. Moreover, some of the falls in activity in other areas in April were probably temporary
too. Strikes by junior doctors and civil servants contributed to the fall in health output (0.9% m/m) and the
meagre 0.1% m/m increase in public administration.
• The fall in the composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from 54.0 in May to a three-month low of 52.8
in June (>50 points to expansion in the economy, <50 points to contraction) was worse than the consensus
forecast of 53.6. Both the services and manufacturing PMIs fell. The decline in the services PMI was bigger
(from 55.2 to 53.7), but it remains consistent with services activity expanding by an annualised 2%. The fall
in the manufacturing PMI was smaller (from 47.1 to 46.2), but it is consistent with the annual rate of
manufacturing output falling from -0.8% in April to around -5.0%. At face value, the composite PMI points to
the 0.1% q/q rise in GDP in Q1 2023 being followed by a 0.2% q/q gain in Q2 2023.
• Meanwhile, the 0.3% m/m rise in retail sales volumes in May was far better than the consensus forecast of
a 0.2% m/m decline and followed the robust 0.5% m/m rise in April. Some of the rise was due to the warmer
weather. Indeed, the largest move was a 2.7% m/m jump in non-store sales, due to people stocking up on
outdoor-related goods. But department stores also managed to squeeze out a 0.6% m/m rise in sales and
the household goods sub-sector enjoyed a reasonable performance too. Overall, the figures were far better
than analysts had expected. In addition, the GfK measure of consumer confidence rebounded from -27 to a
17-month high of -24 in June.
• The recent resilience of the economy has been due to a confluence of factors including the continued
rebound in activity after the pandemic, households spending some of their pandemic savings, and the tight
labour market and government handouts both supporting household incomes. That said, as government
support fades, real household incomes are unlikely to grow rapidly. Furthermore, higher interest rates will
mean GDP is likely to contract later this year. Our central assumption is that inflation will drop to the 2.0%
target only if the Bank triggers a recession by raising rates from 5.00% now to at least 5.5% and keeps rates
there until at least mid-2024.  Our colleagues at Capital Economics estimate that around 60% of the drag on
real activity from the rise in rates has yet to bite, and the drag on the quarterly rate of real GDP growth over
the next year may be about 0.2ppts bigger than over the past year.
• The labour market became tighter over the quarter and wage growth reaccelerated. Labour demand was
stronger than the consensus had expected. The three-month change in employment rose from +182,000 in
March to +250,000 in April. Meanwhile, labour supply continued to recover as the size of the labour force
grew by 303,000 in the three months to April. That was supported by a further 140,000 decline in inactivity
as people returned to work from retirement and caring responsibilities (while inactivity due to long-term sick
continued to rise). But it was not enough to offset the big rise in employment, which meant the unemployment
rate fell from 3.9% to 3.8%
• The tighter labour market supported wage growth in April, although the 9.7% rise in the National Living Wage
on 1st April (compared to the 6.6% increase in April last year) probably had a lot to do with it too. The 3myy
rate of average earnings growth reaccelerated from 6.1% to 6.5% (consensus 6.1%) and UK wage growth
remains much faster than in the US and the Euro-zone.  In addition, regular private sector wage growth

Page 96

increased from 7.1% 3myy to 7.6%, which left it well above the Bank’s forecast for it to fall below 7.0%.
Overall, the loosening in the labour market appears to have stalled in April and regular private sector wage
growth was well above the Bank’s forecast.
• CPI inflation stayed at 8.7% in May (consensus 8.4%) and, perhaps more worryingly, core CPI inflation rose
again, from 6.8% to a new 31-year high of 7.1%. The rise in core inflation built on the leap from 6.2% in
March to 6.8% and means it is accelerating in the UK while it is slowing in the US and the Euro-zone (both
fell to 5.3%). A further decline in fuel inflation, from -8.9% to -13.1%, and the second fall in food inflation in
as many months, from 19.3% to 18.7%, explained why overall CPI inflation didn’t rise. And the scheduled
fall in the average annual utility price from £2,500 to £2,074 on 1st July means overall CPI inflation will
probably ease in the coming months. But the problem is that the recent surge in core inflation and the
reacceleration in wage growth shows that domestic inflationary pressures are still strengthening.
• This suggests the Bank may have more work to do than the Fed or ECB.  Indeed, the Bank of England
sounded somewhat hawkish in the June meeting. This came through most in the MPC’s decision to step up
the pace of hiking from the 25bps at the previous two meetings. The 7-2 vote, with only two members voting
to leave rates unchanged at 4.50%, revealed support for stepping up the fight against high inflation.
• That said, the Bank has not committed to raising rates again or suggested that 50bps rises are now the norm.
What it did say was that “the scale of the recent upside surprises in official estimates of wage growth and
services CPI inflation suggested a 0.5 percentage point increase in interest rates was required at this
particular meeting”.  Moreover, the Committee did not strengthen its forward guidance that any further rate
hikes would be conditional on the data.  However, it looks highly probable, given the on-going strength of
inflation and employment data, that the Bank will need to raise rates to at least 5.5% and to keep rates at
their peak until the mid-point of 2024.  We still think it is only a matter of time before the rise in rates weakens
the economy sufficiently to push it into recession. That is why instead of rising to between 6.00%-6.25%, as
is currently priced in by markets, we think rates are more likely to peak between 5.50-6.00%. Our forecast is
also for rates to be cut in the second half of 2024, and we expect rates to then fall further than markets are
pricing in. 
• Growing evidence that UK price pressures are becoming increasingly domestically generated has driven up
market interest rate expectations and at one point pushed the 10-year gilt yield up to 4.49% in late June,
very close to its peak seen after the “mini-budget”. Yields have since fallen slightly back to 4.38%. But
growing expectations that rates in the UK will remain higher for longer than in the US mean they are still
more than 70 bps above US yields. While higher interest rates are priced into the markets, the likely dent to
the real economy from the high level of interest rates is not. That’s why we think there is scope for market
rate expectations to fall back in 2024 and why we expect the 10-year PWLB Certainty Rate to drop back from
c5.20% to 5.00% by the end of this year and to 4.20% by the end of 2024.
• The pound strengthened from $1.24 at the start of April to a one-year high at $1.26 in early May, which was
partly due to the risks from the global banking issues being seen as a bigger problem for the US than the
UK. The pound then fell back to $1.23 at the end of May, before rising again to $1.28 in the middle of June
as the strong core CPI inflation data released in June suggested the Bank of England was going to have to
raise rates more than the Fed or ECB in order to tame domestic inflation. However, sterling’s strong run may
falter because more hikes in the near term to combat high inflation are likely to weaken growth (and,
hopefully, at some point inflation too) to such a degree that the policy rate will probably be brought back
down, potentially quite quickly, as the economic cycle trends downwards decisively. This suggests that
additional rate hikes are unlikely to do much to boost the pound.
• In early April, investors turned more optimistic about global GDP growth, pushing up UK equity prices. But
this period of optimism appears to have been short-lived. The FTSE 100 has fallen by 4.8% since 21st April,
from around 7,914 to 7,553, reversing part of the 7.9% rise since 17th March. Despite the recent resilience
of economic activity, expectations for equity earnings have become a bit more downbeat.  Nonetheless,
further down the track, more rate cuts than markets anticipate should help the FTSE 100 rally. 
MPC meetings 11th May and 22nd June 2023
• On 11th May, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased Bank Rate by 25 basis
points to 4.50%, and on 22nd June moved rates up a further 50 basis points to 5.00%.  Both increases
reflected a split vote – seven members voting for an increase and two for none.

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• Nonetheless, with UK inflation significantly higher than in other G7 countries, the MPC will have a difficult
task in convincing investors that they will be able to dampen inflation pressures anytime soon.  Talk of the
Bank’s inflation models being “broken” is perhaps another reason why gilt investors are demanding a
premium relative to US and Euro-zone bonds, for example.
• Of course, what happens outside of the UK is also critical to movement in gilt yields.  The US FOMC has
already hiked short-term rates to a range of 5.00%-5.25%, but a further increase is pencilled in for July, whilst
the ECB looks likely to raise its Deposit rate at least once more to a peak of 3.75%, with upside risk of higher
to come.

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Appendix 2 – Interest Rate Forecast 
The Council has appointed Link Group as its treasury advisors and part of their service is to assist the Council
to formulate a view on interest rates. The PWLB rate forecasts below are based on the Certainty Rate (the
standard rate minus 20 bps) which has been accessible to most authorities since 1st November 2012. 
The latest forecast, made on 26th June, sets out a view that both short and long-dated interest rates will be
elevated for some little while, as the Bank of England seeks to squeeze inflation out of the economy, against a
backdrop of a stubbornly robust economy and a tight labour market. 
You will note that our forecasts have steadily increased during the quarter as the data continued to spring upside
surprises, and the Bank of England continued to under-estimate how prevalent inflation is, and how tight the
labour market is.  The Government has also noted that despite immigration increasing markedly, high levels of
ill-health amongst the workforce has led to wage demands remaining strong until such time as there is a
loosening in demand for business services. 
Our current and previous PWLB rate forecasts below are based on the Certainty Rate. 
• LIBOR and LIBID rates ceased at the end of 2021. In a continuation of previous views, money market yield
forecasts are based on expected average earnings by local authorities for 3 to 12 months.
• The Link forecast for average earnings are averages i.e., rates offered by individual banks may differ
significantly from these averages, reflecting their different needs for borrowing short-term cash at any one
point in time. 
A SUMMARY OVERVIEW OF THE FUTURE PATH OF BANK RATE
• Our central forecast for interest rates was previously updated on 25th May and reflected a view that the
MPC would be keen to further demonstrate its anti-inflation credentials by delivering a succession of rate
increases.  This has happened to a degree, especially as it moved to a more aggressive 0.5% hike in
June but, with inflation remaining elevated, we anticipate that Bank Rate will need to increase to at least
5.5%, if not higher, to sufficiently slow the UK economy and loosen the labour market.
• Moreover, we also still anticipate the Bank of England will be keen to loosen monetary policy when the
worst of the inflationary pressures are behind us – but timing on this will remain one of fine judgment: cut
too soon, and inflationary pressures may well build up further; cut too late and any downturn or recession
may be prolonged.  Our current judgment is that rates will have to increase and stay at their peak until
the second quarter of 2024 as a minimum.

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• In the upcoming months, our forecasts will be guided not only by economic data releases and
clarifications from the MPC over its monetary policies and the Government over its fiscal policies, but
also international factors such as policy development in the US and Europe, the provision of fresh support
packages to support the faltering recovery in China as well as the on-going conflict between Russia and
Ukraine and whether there are any further implications for Russia itself following the recent aborted
mutiny by the Wagner group. 
• On the positive side, consumers are still estimated to be sitting on excess savings left over from the
pandemic, which could cushion some of the impact of the above challenges and may be the reason why
the economy is performing somewhat better at this stage of the economic cycle than may have been
expected.  However, most of those excess savings are held by more affluent people whereas lower
income families already spend nearly all their income on essentials such as food, energy and
rent/mortgage payments. 
PWLB RATES
• Gilt yield curve movements have shifted upwards, especially at the shorter end of the yield curve
since our previous forecast but remain relatively volatile.  PWLB 5 to 50 years Certainty Rates
are, generally, in the range of 4.90% to 5.60%.  
• We view the markets as having built in, already, nearly all the effects on gilt yields of the likely
increases in Bank Rate and the elevated inflation outlook. 
The balance of risks to the UK economy: -
• The overall balance of risks to economic growth in the UK is to the downside. 
Downside risks to current forecasts for UK gilt yields and PWLB rates include: - 
• Labour and supply shortages prove more enduring and disruptive and depress economic activity (accepting
that in the near-term this is also an upside risk to inflation and, thus, the rising gilt yields we have seen of late).
• The Bank of England increases Bank Rate too fast and too far over the coming months, and subsequently
brings about a deeper and longer UK recession than we currently anticipate. 
• UK / EU trade arrangements – if there was a major impact on trade flows and financial services due to
complications or lack of co-operation in sorting out significant remaining issues. 
• Geopolitical risks, for example in Ukraine/Russia, China/Taiwan/US, Iran, North Korea and Middle Eastern
countries, which could lead to increasing safe-haven flows. 
• A broadening of banking sector fragilities, which have been successfully addressed in the near-term by
central banks and the market generally, but which may require further intervention if short-term interest rates
stay elevated for longer than is anticipated. 
Upside risks to current forecasts for UK gilt yields and PWLB rates: - 
• Despite the recent tightening by 0.5%, the Bank of England proves too timid in its pace and strength of
increases in Bank Rate and, therefore, allows inflationary pressures to remain elevated for a longer period
within the UK economy, which then necessitates Bank Rate staying higher for longer than we currently project.
• The pound weakens because of a lack of confidence in the UK Government’s fiscal policies, resulting in
investors pricing in a risk premium for holding UK sovereign debt.
• Longer-term US treasury yields rise strongly if inflation remains more stubborn than the market currently
anticipates, pulling gilt yields up higher consequently.
• Projected gilt issuance, inclusive of natural maturities and QT, could be too much for the markets to
comfortably digest without higher yields compensating.

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Appendix 3 – Prudential Indicators 
(1).  EXTRACT FROM BUDGET
Forecast
Outturn
Original
Estimate
Forecast
Outturn
Forecast
Outturn
Capital Expenditure £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Non - HRA 23,281 43,110 28,461 51,388
TOTAL 23,281 43,110 28,461 51,388
Ratio of financing costs to net revenue stream
Non - HRA 4.25% 4.37% 4.40% 4.43%
Net borrowing requirement
brought forward 1 April * 291,782 304,498 372,359 319,602
carried forward 31 March * 303,333 372,359 319,602 358,182
in year borrowing requirement 11,551 67,861 (52,757) 38,580
In year Capital Financing Requirement
Non - HRA 11,551 67,861 (52,757) 38,580
TOTAL 11,551 67,861 (52,757) 38,580
Capital Financing Requirement as at 31 March    
Non - HRA 303,333 372,359 319,602 358,182
TOTAL 303,333 372,359 319,602 358,182

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PRUDENTIAL INDICATOR 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
(2).  TREASURY MANAGEMENT PRUDENTIAL INDICATORS £'M £'M £'M
Authorised limit for external debt -    
borrowing 268 283 305
other long term liabilities 112 113 108
TOTAL 380 396 413
Operational boundary for external debt -     
borrowing 263 278 300
other long term liabilities 109 110 105
TOTAL 372 388 405
Upper limit for fixed interest rate exposure
Principal re fixed rate borrowing 190% 190% 190%
Upper limit for variable rate exposure
Principal re variable rate borrowing 60% 60% 60%
Upper limit for total principal sums invested for over 364 days £20m £20m £20m
(per maturity date)
Maturity structure of new fixed rate borrowing during 2023/24
under 12 months       
12 months and within 24 months
24 months and within 5 years
5 years and within 10 years
10 years and above
upper limit lower limit
30% 0%
30% 0%
30% 0%
40% 0%
100% 0%

Page 102

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
FINANCIAL SERVICES 10 AUGUST 2023
RESERVES AND BALANCES – UPDATE AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
1.1 The main purpose of this report is to advise Members of the overall level of
reserves held by the Council as well as providing detail on the monitoring of the
earmarked balances held within the General Fund. 
1.2 The Council has a total of £666.354m unusable reserves that are not backed with
resources.  They are required purely for accounting purposes. 
1.3 At 31 March 2023 the Council had a total of £93.828m of usable reserves.  Of this:
• £2.916m relates to the Repairs and Renewals Fund
• £4.503m relates to Capital Funds
• £86.409m was held in the General Fund, with £79.466m of this balance
earmarked for specific purposes.
1.4 Of the earmarked balance of £79.466m: 
• £37.305m is invested or committed for major initiatives/capital projects
• £29.842m is still to be drawn down in 2023-24
• £12.319m is planned to be spent in future years 
1.5 The Council’s General Fund contingency level is set at 2% of net expenditure for
2023-24 which equates to £5.691m.  At the beginning of the financial year there
was £1.252m of unallocated General Fund Balance (over and above contingency). 
At the Council meeting on 23 February 2023 it was agreed that the budgeted
revenue surplus of £0.019m would be transferred into the general fund. After taking
this into consideration and the current forecast outturn position for 2023-24, the
Council is forecast to have a £1.271m surplus over contingency.

Page 103

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
FINANCIAL SERVICES 10 AUGUST 2023
RESERVES AND BALANCES - UPDATE AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 
2. INTRODUCTION 
2.1 This report outlines current balances on the Council’s reserves, both usable and
unusable. It also provides detail on the monitoring of the earmarked balances
within the General Fund.   
3. DETAIL 
3.1 Types of Reserves 
3.1.1 Usable Reserves - Councils have powers to establish certain resource backed
reserves which can be used to fund expenditure.  The powers of councils to
establish reserves are laid out in Schedule 3 of the Local Government
(Scotland) Act 1975.  These allow councils to establish a Renewal and Repairs
Fund, Insurance Fund and Capital Fund. Councils can also establish a Useable
Capital Receipts Reserve.  The Council must also maintain a General Fund and
can earmark balances for specific purposes within the General Fund. 
3.1.2 Unusable Reserves – Councils are also required to establish certain reserves
that are not backed by resources. They are required purely for accounting
purposes and do not represent resources available for councils to utilise. The
Pensions Reserve, Revaluation Reserve, Capital Adjustment Account, Financial
Instruments Adjustment Account and Accumulated Absences Account are
examples of unusable reserves. 
3.2 Reserve Balances at 31 March 2023 
3.2.1 The balances on each type of reserve at 31 March 2023 are set out in the two
tables below, per the Unaudited Accounts for 2022-23. 
Unusable Reserves £000
Revaluation Reserve 174,952
Capital Adjustment Account 268,788
Financial Instruments Adjustment Account (1,871)
Pensions Reserve 232,073
Accumulated Absences Account (7,588)
Total Unusable Reserves 666,354 
Usable Reserves £000
Repairs and Renewals Fund 2,916
Capital Fund and Usable Capital Receipts Reserve 4,503                                                                                                                
General Fund  86,409
Total Usable Reserves  93,828
Total Reserves  760,182

Page 104

3.2.2 The Revaluation Reserve represents the unrealised gains in the valuation of
fixed assets. The Capital Adjustment Account represents the difference
between depreciation based on proper accounting practice and statutory
charges for financing capital expenditure. The Financial Instruments Adjustment
Account represents the difference between gains and losses on borrowing and
statutory capital financing charges. The Pensions Reserve represents the
difference between pension costs based on proper accounting practice and
payments made for pension costs. The Accumulated Absences Account
represents the costed difference between holiday pay entitlement and actual
holidays taken at 31 March. 
3.2.3 The Repairs and Renewals Fund was established to support funding of renewal
and replacement of school equipment.  Schools can only draw on the Repairs
and Renewals Fund to the extent they have previously paid into the Fund and
contributions must be contained within schools devolved budgets. 
3.2.4 The Capital Fund was established to receive all capital receipts generated by
the Council and can be used to support the capital plan or meet the principal
repayments on loan charges. The Council decides as part of the budget
process each year how it wishes to draw funding from the Capital Fund. 
3.2.5 The Usable Capital Receipts Reserve relates to the accumulated unspent
capital receipts from sale of council houses prior to transfer of the housing
stock. The reserve forms part of the Council’s Strategic Housing Fund and can
only be used for investment in social housing. The reserve will be used in
accordance with the approach to investing in housing agreed by the Council in
August 2012. 
3.3 General Fund 
3.3.1 The General Fund balance at 31 March 2023 can be analysed as follows: 
Balance
31/03/23
£000
Balance on General Fund as at 31 March 2022 96,081
Decrease to General Fund balance at end of 2022-23 (9,672)
Earmarked Balances (79,466)
Contingency allowance at 2% of net expenditure (5,691)
Unallocated balance as at 31 March 2023 1,252 
3.3.2 The General Fund includes balances that the Council has agreed to earmark for
specific purposes. Some of these earmarked balances will be spent during the
current financial year and some of them will be held over and spent in later
years. The table below shows the balance at 31 March 2023, the amounts that
are currently invested or set aside for major initiatives, the amount already
spent and planned to be spent in the current year, the amount to be spent in
future years and any sums no longer required to be earmarked. Appendix 1
provides further details on the breakdown of unspent budget earmarkings.

Page 105

Officers have reviewed and updated the spending profiles. Appendix 2 provides
further details on the breakdown of COVID reserves.   
3.4 Unallocated General Fund Balance 
3.4.1  The Council’s General Fund contingency is set at 2% of net expenditure for
2023-24 and amounts to £5.691m.  At the beginning of the financial year there
was £1.252m of unallocated General Fund Balance (over and above
contingency).   After taking into consideration the budgeted allocation to the
General Fund agreed by Council on 23 February 2023 of £0.019m and the
current forecast outturn position for 2023-24, the Council is forecast to have a
£1.271m surplus over contingency.
Earmarking
Category
Balance
31/03/2023 -
per year
end
published
report
Transfers
between
categories
Invested or
committed
for major
initiatives
/capital
projects
Drawn-
down to
2023-24
Budget as
at 30/06/23
Still to be
drawn-
down in
2023-24
Planned
Spend
Future
Years
Released to
General
Fund
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Strategic Housing
Fund 7,247 7,247
Investment in
Affordable
Housing
3,163 3,163
Capital Projects 16,059 16,059
Lochgilphead and
Tarbert
Regeneration
1,460 1,460
Support for Rural
Growth Deal 756 756
Asset
Management
Investment
2,098 2,098
Piers and
Harbours
Investment Fund
2,789 2,789
Scottish
Government
Initiatives
2,834 1,986 848
CHORD 378 150 228
DMR Schools 1,394 1,394
Energy Efficiency
Fund 218 218
Existing Legal
Commitments 476 476
Unspent Grant 13,179 489 11,754 936
Unspent Third
Party Contribution 265 251 14
Previous Council
Decision - Other 3,808 1,847 1,500 461
Redundancy
Provision 1,578 500 1,078
Supporting
Organisational
Change
1,426 200 1,226
One Council
Property Team 566 189 377
Fleet - Timing
Delay 658 658
Hermitage Park 19 19
Electric Vehicle
Chargers 17 17
COVID-19 5,512 257 4,644 611
Unspent Budget 13,566 1,140 5,903 6,523
Totals 79,466 0 37,305 0 29,842 12,319 0

Page 106

3.4.2  The revenue budget position as at 30 June 2023 was estimated to be a
£0.319m underspend within Social Work.  There are no other reported
variances at this stage. 
3.4.3 Social Work, as a part of the Integrated Joint Board (IJB), are able to hold any
surplus within reserves therefore it is expected that any underspend that
materialises would be transferred to the IJB reserves and the General Fund of
the Council would not be impacted.    
3.4.4  The table below summarises the position of the unallocated General Fund
balance taking into consideration the points noted above. 
Heading Detail £000
Unallocated General Fund
as at 31 March 2023
This is the balance that is
unallocated over and above the 2%
contingency, which amounts to
£5.691m
1,252
Budgeted allocation to
General Fund for 2023-24
Budget
Per the Budget Motion at Council on
23 February 2023
19
Current Forecast Outturn
for 2023-24 as at 30 June
2023
Per paragraph 3.4.2. This is from
Social Work as other departments
have not yet reported variances
319
Social Work outturn
adjustment
Per paragraph 3.4.3 - Social Work
would expect to transfer their
surplus to internal IJB reserves
(319)
Estimated Unallocated
balance as at 31 March
2024 
1,271 
3.5 Loans Fund Review 
3.5.1 At the Council meeting on 27 February 2020, it was agreed that the one-off re-
profiling gain of £20.561m generated by the loans fund review should be used
partly to create a provision for the increasing principal repayments over the next
10 years (£7.649m) with the remainder of the gain (£12.912m) used to fund
known liabilities/cost pressures. The table below shows what has been drawn
down against the one-off gain and the remaining balance. 
Agreed
Allocation
Transferred
to
Earmarked
Reserves in
previous
years
Transferred
to
Earmarked
Reserves 
23-24 
Balance
Remaining 
£000 £000 £000 £000
Provision for the increasing
principal repayments 7,649   7,649
Provision to Support
Organisational Change 500 (500)  0

Page 107

Estimated Cost of 2020-21
redundancies that are part of
budget savings proposals
600 (600)  0
Future Redundancies
Provision 1,500 (1,500)  0
Spend to Save Route
Optimisation 100 (100)  0
Funding Gap in Capital
Programme 2,619   2,619
Capital Programme
Intolerable Red Risks 574 (574)  0
Campbeltown Flood
Prevention Scheme 1,406 (1,406)  0
Significant Strategic Change
Projects  5,013 (2,856)  2,157
2020-21 Revenue Budget
Contribution  600 (600)  0 
20,561 (8,136) 0 12,425 
4. CONCLUSION 
4.1 The report outlines the overall reserves and balances for the Council covering
the purpose and level of each reserve.  It also provides detail as to expenditure
against earmarked balances held within the General Fund.   
4.2 As at 30 June 2023 the estimated unallocated General Fund, after taking into
consideration the budget motion, the current forecast outturn for 2023-24 and
the expected adjustment in relation to the Social Work outturn, the Council is
estimated to have a £1.271m surplus over contingency. 
5. IMPLICATIONS 
5.1 Policy - Earmarked funds and funds set aside for delivery of
Single Outcome Agreement are available to support
Council Policy.
5.2 Financial -  Outlines the balances held with the Council’s usable
and unusable reserves.     
5.3 Legal -  None.
5.4 HR -  None.
5.5 Fairer Scotland Duty- None.
5.5.1 Equalities – protected
characteristics - 
None.
5.5.2 Socio-economic Duty -  None.
5.5.3 Islands -  None.
5.6 Climate Change - None.
5.7 Risk -  A contingency of £5.691m (equivalent to 2% of net
expenditure) has been set aside as part of the
general fund.  This has been subject to a risk
assessment. 
5.8 Customer Service -  None. 
Kirsty Flanagan
Executive Director/Section 95 Officer

Page 108

7 July 2023 
Policy Lead for Finance and Commercial Services - Councillor Gary Mulvaney 
APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Earmarked Reserves breakdown of unspent budget
Appendix 2 – Earmarked Reserves breakdown of COVID earmarkings 
For further information contact Anne Blue, Head of Financial Services
anne.blue@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Page 109

APPENDIX 1
Earmarked Reserves - Unspent Budget
As at 30 June 2023
Ref Department Service Description Opening Balance Budget
Drawdown
New
earmarkings
in year
Remaining
Balance
Still to be
drawndown in 23-
24
Planned to
spend in future
years
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
001 Chief Executive's Unit Community Planning Communities and Partnership
Team
8,855 8,855 8,855 0 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
002 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Across Services /
Education
Digital Projects (Supply Staff
Booking System)
25,100 25,100 9,900 15,200 To deliver a number of Digital ServiceTransformation Projects with a commitment of £0.035m towards a
Supply Staff Booking system.  Phase 1 of the project is nearing completion.
9,900 15,200
003 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services Rothesay Academy - Demolition
and Waste Disposal
895,000 895,000 55,000 840,000 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) to be
added to an existing earmarking . There are potential Health and Safety and insurance cover implications
due to deterioration of the building.
55,000 840,000 0
004 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services Rothesay Pavilion Charity 750,000 750,000 0 750,000 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
005 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services Rothesay Pavilion Essential
repairs
306,400 306,400 0 306,400 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
006 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services Estates - NDR Revaluation
Appeals
84,688 84,688 84,688 0
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
007 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services Demolition of former
Lochgilphead Primary and
Rothesay Secondary School
58,875 58,875 58,875 0 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
008 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services Mid Argyll Community Pool 30,000 30,000 30,000 0 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
009 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services MacTaggart Leisure Islay 30,000 30,000 30,000 0 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
010 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services Site Investigation Works 21,013 21,013 21,013 0 For Site Investigation works in relation to Tweeddale Street Car Park and Oban Airport Business Park,
exploring commercial opportunities to develop the sites and raise revenue income for Argyll and Bute
Council. HUB North were instructed to procure contractors to undertake the site investigations these are
now complete. The remainder of the budget is intended to be utilised for other site investigation and
pre-development works to further develop commercial opportunities across the council area.
21,013 0
011 Non Departmental /
Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Across Services /
Commercial Services
Information Management
(Estates Survey Work)
12,697 12,697 12,697 0 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
planned initiatives include: Estates Survey work £122k, Digitalisation of Title Deeds £92k, document
management and workflow system for Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health £77k and
a balance of funding to explore information management solutions in a strategic and coherent way
£209k
12,697 0
012 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Commercial Services (2023 Contract Inflation
Adjustments) MAKI/Islay Pools
SLA - inflationary increase
9,523 9,523 9,523 0 Additional pressure resulting from the February 2023 inflation rate being higher than the assumptions
built into the non-pay inflation calculation which went to Council at budget setting and reflects the
difference between what was in the budget and what will need to be paid under the SLAs. The February
inflation figure wasn't known until the middle of March, after the budget was set, and the recent trend
in inflation reductions turned around in February with an increase.
9,523 0 0
013 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education ASN Review 1,255,000 1,255,000 0 1,255,000 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
014 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Reduced Teacher Staffing Costs -
Strike Action
800,000 800,000 0 800,000 To fund one off savings in 2024-25 from the underspend in staffing from strike action. 0 800,000 0
015 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education (2023 Digital Projects) School
WiFi Upgrades
200,000 200,000 150,000 50,000 To extend WiFi coverage within school settings through the purchase of additional hardware such as
access points, switches and other networking hardware. This will result in more flexible learning spaces
and support the growing number of devices within schools. 
150,000 50,000 0
016 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Education Transformation Fund 146,579 146,579 146,579 0 At the Council meeting on 27 February 2020, it was agreed to input £400k into Education Digital
Learning.  The additional funds have been spent in 20/21, 21/22 and 22/23 as part of the ongoing
transformation work in the Education service, focussing on digital and virtual learning technology and
the development of learning clusters.  This will continue into 2023/24.
146,579 0

Page 110

Ref Department Service Description Opening Balance Budget
Drawdown
New
earmarkings
in year
Remaining
Balance
Still to be
drawndown in 23-
24
Planned to
spend in future
years
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
017 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education MCR Pathways Pilot 80,000 80,000 50,000 30,000 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
018 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Gaelic Specific Grant 30,000 30,000 30,000 0 Proposal to fund the continuation of the Principal Teacher Languages (Gaelic focus) post for the 2023-24
academic year to promote and develop Gaelic Medium Education across Argyll and Bute. This
earmarking refers to the Council contribution towards the Gaelic grant for 22-23.
30,000 0 0
019 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education (2023 Digital Projects) Cashless
Catering
30,000 30,000 30,000 0 To support the ongoing implementation of the new cashless catering system during the testing and roll
out phase.
30,000 0 0
020 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Skype for Business for Education
/ Digital Projects (Skype for
Business)
10,000 10,000 10,000 0 To fund the initial capital costs for the implementation of Skype for Business for Education.  This will
bring the Education service in line with other council departments and will improve staff collaboration
and modernise school telephony to deliver the  service more efficiently and cost effectively.
A balance was released back to the general fund in 2021-22 because the rollout project was almost
complete with only £0.01m expected spend in 23/24.
10,000 0
021 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Education Learning Estate
Condition Surveys
1,815 1,815 1,815 0 To fund the delivery of School Core Facts (SCF) compliant Condition Surveys for prioritised School
Buildings.
1,815 0
022 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Legal and Regulatory
Services
Education Purchasing Officers 210,000 210,000 105,000 105,000 The earmarked funds will be used to fund an education purchasing team within the Procurement Service
for two years.  The team will embed good procurement practice, train headteachers on current
procurement process requirements, develop spend plans that evidence best value.
105,000 105,000
023 Non Departmental /
Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Across Services / Legal
and Regulatory
Services
Information Management
(Digitalisation of Title Deeds)
92,000 92,000 92,000 0 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
planned initiatives include: Estates Survey work £122k, Digitalisation of Title Deeds £92k (delay on
spending due to COVID-19), document management and workflow system for Planning, Building
Standards and Environmental Health £77k and a balance of funding to explore information management
solutions in a strategic and coherent way £209k
92,000 0
024 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Legal and Regulatory
Services
Councillor IT Equipment 44,557 44,557 29,557 15,000 There is currently no budget for the provision and renewal of IT equipment for members. the
earmarking identifies a resource to utilise spend for that purpose to ensure that members have
contuinued support in maintaining and replacing vital IT equipment.
29,557 15,000
025 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Legal and Regulatory
Services
Digital Projects: Hybrid Council
meetings
43,302 43,302 43,302 0 The funding will be used to maintain the ICT equipment used to support the provision of on-line and
hybrid Council meetings.
43,302 0
026 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Legal and Regulatory
Services
Debt Counselling & Welfare
Rights
21,452 21,452 5,965 15,487 To meet the cost of a Debt Counselling and Welfare Rights Management System. 5,965 15,487
027 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Legal and Regulatory
Support
(2023 Contract Inflation
Adjustments) NPDO and DBFM
School Contracts – inflationary
increase
350,000 350,000 350,000 0 Additional pressure resulting from the February 2023 inflation rate being higher than the assumptions
built into the non-pay inflation calculation which went to Council at budget setting and reflects the
difference between what was in the budget and what will need to be paid under the NPDO/Hub DBFM
Schools contracts. The February inflation figure wasn't known until the middle of March, after the
budget was set, and the recent trend in inflation reductions turned around in February with an increase.
350,000 0 0
028 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Legal and Regulatory
Support
(2023 Digital Projects)
Replacement of Council
Chambers Online Meeting
Equipment
130,000 130,000 130,000 0 Current online meeting system  is less than resilient and has failed on a number of occasions, leading to
issues at strategic committees. A condition assessment by the incumbent maintenance contractor has
highlighted that the current equipment is now at end of life and unsupportable due to the  obsolescence
of the system. Discussions with ICT have taken place to identify a simpler more robust solution to be
procured.
130,000 0 0
029 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
(2023 Digital Projects) iTrent
Project
332,000 332,000 147,000 185,000 Combination of parallel running of the new iTrent system alongside the legacy systems for up to 18
months whilst iTrent is implemented and additional staffing resource to implement iTrent in late June
2024 and support staff for the first 3 months of operation through summer 2024. Total includes £73k
from Financial services for funding additional staffing resource to implement the payroll components of
the iTrent HR and Payroll System by the end of June 2024 and support staff for the first 3 months of
operation during summer 2024.
147,000 185,000 0
030 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
Security Operations Centre
Subscription
113,594 113,594 53,594 60,000 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 year 4 onwards.  There is unallocated funding
of £103,545 from the earmarking (172) created at 2020/21 year end for 'Digital Projects' combined with
this earmarking to cover these costs for 3 years.
53,594 60,000
031 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
Growing our Own and Modern
Apprentices
109,150 109,150 95,790 13,360 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
032 Non Departmental /
Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Across Services /
Customer Support
Services
Digital Projects (Increase in
Schools Bandwidth)
63,455 63,455 63,455 0 To complete one of a number of Digital Service Transformation projects with a commitment of £0.064m
to increase Schools Bandwidth. 
63,455 0
033 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
(2023 Digital Projects) Resilient
Website Project
60,000 60,000 60,000 0 Cybersecurity action to move to a cloud based website platform that would improve resilience and
enable service continuity in the event of a cyber attack.
60,000 0 0
034 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
(2023 Digital Projects) Digital
Project Officer
60,000 60,000 60,000 0 Employ a temporary Digital Project Officer as part of OD changes. 60,000 0 0
035 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
Implementation of Gaelic
Language Plan
30,000 30,000 30,000 0 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
036 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
(2023 Digital Projects) Digital
Engagement Services Developer
28,000 28,000 28,000 0 To fund 50% of a new temporary LGE10 post.  The post is a Digital Engagement Services Developer that
will be provide capacity to deliver service efficiencies through the use of the the new CREATE/RPA
software.  The other 50% of the post can be funded from a current vacancy. 
28,000 0 0

Page 111

Ref Department Service Description Opening Balance Budget
Drawdown
New
earmarkings
in year
Remaining
Balance
Still to be
drawndown in 23-
24
Planned to
spend in future
years
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 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
Business Development Training 27,601 27,601 27,601 0 This budget is funding ongoing leadership development, coaching, action learning sets and
commissioned training including Priority Management.
27,601 0
038 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
Learning and Development 19,436 19,436 19,436 0 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
039 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
Establishing HR Service Centre 13,824 13,824 13,824 0 To facilitate the implementation of technical efficiency improvements and new processes 13,824 0
040 Non Departmental /
Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Across Services /
Customer Support
Services
Digital Projects (Replacement
Learning Management System)
11,470 11,470 11,470 0 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
041 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development &
Economic Growth
Planning Income (Saving 23-24) 340,000 340,000 340,000 0 To fund one off operational saving MGT5 agreed for the 2023/24 budget 340,000 0 0
042 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development &
Economic Growth
Planning Income 60,000 60,000 60,000 0 To fund additional resources to support and develop the Council's planning service. 60,000 0 0
043 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
Oban TIF (Tax Incremental
Financing)
385,193 385,193 116,000 269,193 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
044 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
Strategic Events & Festivals 80,664 80,664 80,664 0 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
045 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
Island Post 50,461 50,461 50,461 0 To fund a temporary post at LGE11 to assist with the National Islands Plan Implementation Route Map
2020-2025.
50,461 0
046 Non Departmental /
Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Across Services /
Development and
Economic Growth
Information Management
(Document Management and
Workflow for Planning, Building
Standards and Environmental
Health)
21,177 21,177 21,177 0 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
planned initiatives include: Estates Survey work £122k, Digitalisation of Title Deeds £92k, document
management and workflow system for Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health £77k and
a balance of funding to explore information management solutions in a strategic and coherent way
£209k
21,177 0
047 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
Royal National Mod 20,000 20,000 20,000 0 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
048 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Financial Services Financial Systems 33,748 33,748 33,748 0 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
049 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Financial Services Accounting and Budgeting Team
Resilience
30,664 30,664 16,664 14,000 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
050 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Financial Services CIPFA 24,040 24,040 6,000 18,040 CIPFA Training - To fund the professional training costs for staff undertaking the CIPFA professional
accountancy qualification.
6,000 18,040
051 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Roads & Infrastructure Waste Variation Monies 1,967,056 1,967,056 1,329,999 637,057 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. This will include scoping
work for the creation of a waste transfer station at Helensburgh and 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).
1,329,999 637,057
052 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Roads & Infrastructure 3G pitches / Tarbert Sports
Pitches
375,022 375,022 87,736 287,286 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
053 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Roads & Infrastructure Green Transport Initiatives 140,000 140,000 140,000 0 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
054 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Roads & Infrastructure Climate Change 81,884 81,884 81,884 0 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
055 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Roads & Infrastructure Amenity Services introduction of
management information system
28,099 28,099 0 28,099 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.
0 28,099
056 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Roads & Infrastructure
Services
(2023 Contract Inflation
Adjustments) Waste PPP
255,000 255,000 255,000 0 Adjustment to inflation included in the budget based on updated RPIX figures at February 2023. 255,000 0 0
057 Non Departmental Non Departmental Underwriting development of
Rothesay Pavilion
1,000,000 1,000,000 0 1,000,000 Funding to meet additional costs identified as necessary for the refurbishment of Rothesay Pavilion. 0 1,000,000
058 Non Departmental Non Departmental Oban TIF (Tax Incremental
Financing - Excess NDR)
875,651 875,651 291,884 583,767 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.
291,884 291,884 291,883

Page 112

Ref Department Service Description Opening Balance Budget
Drawdown
New
earmarkings
in year
Remaining
Balance
Still to be
drawndown in 23-
24
Planned to
spend in future
years
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
059 Non Departmental Non Departmental Loans Fund 385,279 385,279 385,279 0 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
060 Non Departmental Non Departmental Loans Fund 300,000 300,000 300,000 0 To fund one off operational saving MGT3 agreed for the 2023/24 budget 300,000 0 0
061 Non Departmental Non Departmental Information Management
(Balance of Funding)
209,844 209,844 0 209,844 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
planned initiatives include: Estates Survey work £122k, Digitalisation of Title Deeds £92k, document
management and workflow system for Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health £77k and
a balance of funding to explore information management solutions in a strategic and coherent way
£209k
0 209,844
062 Non Departmental Non Departmental Spend to Save Route
Optimisation Software
100,000 100,000 100,000 0 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
063 Non Departmental Non Departmental Engagement with Hub North re
provision of services for olders
adults and vulnerable people
across Argyll and Bute
100,000 100,000 100,000 0 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
064 Non Departmental Non Departmental CHARTS 80,000 80,000 80,000 0 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
065 Non Departmental Non Departmental Community Resilience Fund 76,447 76,447 0 76,447 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
13,565,615 0 0 13,565,615 6,001,435 7,564,180 6,001,435 7,272,297 291,883

Page 113

APPENDIX 2
COVID
As at 30 June 2023
Ref Department Service Description Opening Balance Budget
Drawdown
New
earmarkings
in year
Remaining
Balance
Still to be
drawndown in 23-
24
Planned to
spend in future
years
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
001 Chief Executive's Unit Community Planning Community Planning - temp post
to support communities
55,000 55,000 55,000 0 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
002 Chief Executive's Unit Community Planning Covid impacts – support to
communities’
49,147 49,147 49,147 0 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.
49,147 0
003 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Logistics Funding - Safe Opening
of Schools
699,036 699,036 699,036 0 Scottish Government funding to ensure the safe opening and operation of schools. Includes transport,
PPE, cleaning, ventilation and expansion of estate. It is likely that any unused balances would have to be
returned to the Scottish Government.
699,036 0
004 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Additional Teaching/Support in
Schools/Digital Devices/Family
Home Learning Support Fund - 
421,198 421,198 421,198 0 Continuation of funding for additional staffing, teachers, support staff, additional devices for pupils and
additional family/home learning programmes.
421,198 0
005 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Education to Support Young
People
191,042 191,042 135,933 55,109 As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021 with an original allocation of £0.600m.  Agreed to
fund a package of measures to boost the wellbeing and build back the resilience of young people, in
particular those most vulnerable, following the Covid-19 pandemic, including counselling and increased
provision of childcare for children under three. Notes that the Scottish Government is yet to confirm
details of funding for similar initiatives and, should our investment in children’s wellbeing qualify for this
funding, the balance will be re-allocated to the Recovery and Renewal Fund. 
135,933 55,109
006 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Education Recruitment of Additional
Teachers and Support Staff in
Schools
51,371 51,371 51,371 0 Fund additional teachers and support staff. 51,371 0
007 Executive Director
(Douglas Hendry)
Legal and Regulatory
Services
Welfare Rights Support 131,634 131,634 80,184 51,450 As agreed at the Council Meeting on 25 February 2021 - an allocation of £0.172m.  As part of our focus
on Improving Opportunities for People and Communities, agrees to provide additional resources to
proactively support people experiencing poverty and hardship, by investing in two additional Welfare
Rights support staff for two years.
80,184 51,450
008 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Customer Support
Services
Self Isolated Support / Self
Isolated Support Grant (HR)
65,250 65,250 65,250 0 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              
65,250 0
009 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
Staycation and Marketing Argyll
and Bute
389,992 389,992 389,992 0 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.               
389,992 0
010 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
Tackling Digital Exclusion Top-Up
Fund
217,600 217,600 217,600 0 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
011 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
LACER Funding (Sector Support
Grant)
95,398 95,398 95,398 0 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
95,398 0
012 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
Economic Development - temp
post to support economic
recovery
55,000 55,000 55,000 0 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
013 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
EH Covid Posts 37,775 37,775 37,775 0 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
014 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
LACER Funding (New Enterprise
Support Grant)
31,159 31,159 31,159 0 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
015 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
LACER Funding (Shop Local) 26,793 26,793 26,793 0 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
26,793 0
016 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Development and
Economic Growth
LACER Funding (Small Business
Development Grant)
24,988 24,988 24,988 0 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            
24,988 0
017 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Financial Services Housing Benefits Private 321,524 321,524 321,524 0 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.
321,524 0

Page 114

Ref Department Service Description Opening Balance Budget
Drawdown
New
earmarkings
in year
Remaining
Balance
Still to be
drawndown in 23-
24
Planned to
spend in future
years
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
018 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Financial Services Flexible Food Fund 194,156 194,156 108,000 86,156 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                  
108,000 86,156
019 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Financial Services Flexible Funding for Supporting
People while at Tier 4 COVID
76,357 76,357 76,357 0 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
020 Executive Director
(Kirsty Flanagan)
Financial Services Self Isolated Support Grant 5,316 5,316 5,316 0 Unspent admin funding for processing Self isolation Support Grants. 5,316 0
021 Non Departmental Non Departmental Recovery and Renewal Fund 1,547,000 1,547,000 1,547,000 0 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
022 Non Departmental Non Departmental COVID Funding 418,337 418,337 0 418,337 Net balance on COVID cost centres at year end 2022/23 with proposals on use to be developed. 0 0 418,337
023 Non Departmental Non Departmental Capital pressure 257,000 257,000 257,000 0 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
024 Non Departmental Non Departmental Levelling up Fund bids per P&R
February 22
150,000 150,000 150,000 0 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
5,512,073 0 0 5,512,073 4,901,021 611,052 4,901,021 192,715 418,337