Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) detailing the latest financial position and progress against the agreed budget strategy.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       note the budgets set for 2021/22 and progress against the agreed budget strategy, and

(b)       approve the inclusion of £250k in the Capital Plan for 2022/23 in order to reach the 10% match funding requirement for the Levelling Up Fund (as detailed in section 6.9 of the report).

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the report detailing the latest financial position and service budgets for 2021/22 together with the Budget Summary Report for 2021/22.  He provided a summary of the Council’s financial position as follows –

·        the net revenue budget for 2021/22 was £216.818m (£208.302m in 2020/21)

·        an overspend of £0.708m was forecast for service and corporate budgets

·        highlighted current risks and assumptions relating to corporate budgets and individual service areas together with the impact of coronavirus and position on claims to Welsh Government

·        detailed agreed savings and efficiencies worth £4.448m with the assumption that operational savings and fees and charges increases had been achieved and schools’ saving were delegated to the governing bodies to monitor and deliver; the savings of £0.781 would be monitored closely in year

·        provided a general update on the Capital Plan, Housing Revenue Account and Housing Capital Plan.

Cabinet was also asked to approve the inclusion of £250k in the Capital Plan for 2022/23 to meet the balance of the 10% match funding requirement (£423,181) for the Levelling Up Fund – Clwyd South bid.

The following matters were raised during debate –

·        confirmation received from the Welsh Government (WG) regarding continuation of the current system of expenditure and income loss claims for the next two quarters was welcomed together with indications that, subject to budget availability, WG funding would continue beyond that timeframe if required

·        the Leader reported upon the good relationship with WG and significant financial support provided to mitigate the financial pressures as a result of Covid-19.  However the local government financial settlement had still not been sufficient to address the continued pressures and financial challenges faced and the investment required to move the authority forward.  There was also a concern that Denbighshire had slipped from the top quartile settlement.  The Leader continued to lobby for a 3 year financial settlement in order to aid better financial planning which WG had indicated would be dependent upon the UK Government.  The likelihood that the financial settlement would not be known until December posed further challenges in terms of budget planning.  Notwithstanding those difficulties  the Leader welcomed the clarity in the report and approach taken to budget setting and thanked the Lead Member and officers for the hard work undertaken

·        the approach taken to seek Cabinet approval of the funding required for the Clwyd South bid for Levelling Up funding was explained given the tight timescale for submission of the bid in partnership with Wrexham County Borough Council.  Future funding bids for the Vale of Clwyd and Clwyd West had been included in the Capital Strategy on the basis that 10% match funding would be required; it was hoped that some of that funding would be derived from projects already identified as part of the authority’s forward planning process and further work would be undertaken in that regard over the next few months

·        there was some debate regarding the risks identified in corporate budgets and the ongoing impact on Council Tax and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) together with the pay settlements for 2021/22. Whilst current projections showed that the contingency funding would cover those elements it was hoped that WG would continue to recognise those pressures and provide funding in line with the previous financial year for Council Tax and the CTRS.  However it was highlighted that the budget for the CTRS had been largely underfunded since it became part of the Revenue Support Grant which remained a pressure

·        Councillor Brian Jones raised concerns regarding the gathering pressures on homelessness, particularly given that the ban on tenant evictions would soon be lifted, and he sought assurances in that regard.  Officers confirmed an additional £2.4m had been included in the base budget for Community Support Services to mitigate pressures, including homelessness, and the position would be closely monitored and had been identified as a risk.  The current position showed an increase in costs as expected but it was dependent on movement during the year as to whether the actual pressures could be contained within the current provision. Reference was also made to the Senior Officer Working Group tasked with identifying and providing in-house provision to improve the level of service and reduce costs in the future and an update on that programme was provided

·        in response to questions raised by Councillor Brian Jones regarding the figures in the budget summary relating to Harbour Empowerment (£7k) and Acquisition of Boat Crane, Rhyl Harbour (£170k) the Head of Finance agreed to report back directly to Councillor Jones on the detail behind those two items on the final figures given the budget book provided a snapshot at a particular point in time.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       note the budgets set for 2021/22 and progress against the agreed budget strategy, and

(b)       approve the inclusion of £250k in the Capital Plan for 2022/23 in order to reach the 10% match funding requirement for the Levelling Up Fund (as detailed in section 6.9 of the report).