Issue - meetings

To consider the recommendations of the Cabinet in respect of:

·         2025/26 Quarter One Finance Update

(report of the Cabinet enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet held on 16 September 2025 which sought approval for the Cabinet’s recommendations.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance introduced the report which had been presented and discussed fully at Cabinet, noting the following points:

• It included updates on the General Fund Revenue Forecast, General Fund Capital, Housing Revenue Account and Treasury Management.
• The report sought approval from Full Council to make amendments to the HRA Capital Programme.

DECISION:

That as recommended from Cabinet, Full Council approves the amendments to the HRA Capital Programme at Appendix A (to the Cabinet report) – Table 4 to take into account the changes set out in this report.

To set out the current financial position for the Council at the end of the first quarter of 2025/26 (report of the Interim Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Interim S151 Officer which set out a summary of the current financial position for the Council at the end of the first quarter of 2025/26 forecasting to the year end.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance introduced the report which outlined the forecast full-year financial performance as at 30 June 2025, based on the quarterly monitoring undertaken throughout the year.

He drew attention to the following key areas:

General Fund Revenue Forecast

The revenue outturn forecast indicated an overspend position of £462,000 at year-end.

Key points highlighted included:

·                     The 2025/26 net budget for investment income was £0.771m. The forecasted full-year outturn as at Quarter 1 was £1.142m, representing an overachievement of £371,000.

·                     The 2025/26 budget included a savings efficiency target of £1.203m. As at 30 June, 54% of this target had been identified. The forecast assumed the remaining target would be met, with work ongoing to support this. Details were provided in Table 1b.

General Fund Capital

·                     Table 1a of Appendix B provided details of all capital schemes. The capital budget for the General Fund as at Quarter 1 was £14.880m. Changes to the capital programme totalling £304,000 were identified and detailed in Table 1c.

·                     Slippage continued to be monitored and budgets refined as the financial year progressed.

General Fund Reserves

·                     Table 2 of Appendix A set out the reserve balances held at 30 June 2025, totalling £7.699m. The overall movement in reserve balances during Quarter 1 was a decrease of £24,000, reflecting adjustments either budgeted or previously approved via Proforma B by the S151 Officer or Cabinet.

Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Revenue

·                     Section 2.4 detailed the HRA revenue outturn, which showed a surplus of £373,000. This was primarily due to underspends in Supervision and Management (£163,000) and investment income (£247,000).

HRA Capital

·                     Table 4a outlined all HRA capital schemes, with the programme totalling £20.356m for 2025/26. Forecasted capital spend at the end of Quarter 1 was £20.356m, indicating the budget was expected to be met.

Treasury

·                     Section 2.6 of Appendix A provided details of the Council’s treasury investments. The Council’s cash continued to perform well, with £371,000 forecast to be achieved in excess of budget.

Cllr Barnes queried the £70k overspend on the General Fund assets, specifically questioning the £35k allocated for utilities at Priory Road. He questioned why the budget did not reflect last year’s actual costs and where the forecasting may have gone wrong for this year.

The S151 officer acknowledged that occasional variances in estimates were not unusual. Officers were actively monitoring such discrepancies and would ensure appropriate in-year adjustments were made. Specific attention would be given to this issue, with the aim of bringing the budget back on target by Quarter 4.

Cllr Barnes queried the recurring issue of not achieving salary efficiency targets. It was asked where these targets were being derived from.

The S151 officer confirmed Finance were working closely with Assistant Directors to ensure these areas received particular attention in the preparation of Quarter 2  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35