Agenda item

The Chief Finance Officer presented the finance and performance monitoring report for the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.  Members were advised that in future, financial and performance monitoring data would be reported separately for the Executive Committee’s consideration.

By the end of the first quarter, Officers were anticipating that there would be an overspend of £19,900 by the end of the financial year.  Changes could occur prior to the end of the financial year but Officers would continue to monitor the budget position moving forward.

In respect of treasury management, the Council had not borrowed from external sources during the quarter and the authority was debt free in the General Fund.  Investments were held in security, liquidity and yield, which ensured that the Council received a rate of return.

Information had been included in the report in respect of expenditure on Members’ ward budgets.  This revealed that Members had spent more than a third of the available ward budgets by the end of the first quarter of the financial year.

Once the report had been presented, Members discussed the content and in doing so noted that savings targets had been included in the report.  The Executive Committee would continue to monitor progress in relation to these savings targets as the financial year progressed.

Reference was made to the figures that had been included in the report in respect of expenditure of Members’ ward budgets and questions were raised about whether the detail provided was accurate.  Members commented that they were aware of some Councillors who were recorded as not having spent their budgets when they had in fact agreed to some expenditure.  Officers clarified that the report related to expenditure in the first quarter of the financial year, from April to June 2025, and would not include any expenditure of ward budgets agreed by Members in July or August.  This would be addressed in the monitoring report for the second quarter of the financial year instead.

The deadline for expenditure of the Members’ ward budgets was also questioned.  Members noted that they were being encouraged to spend ward budgets by the end of December 2025 and they queried whether this represented the final deadline.  Clarification was provided that ideally ward budgets would be spent by the end of December 2025, as this would help with budget monitoring and planning for the future.  However, the actual deadline for expenditure of the Members’ ward budgets would be the end of the financial year on 31^st March 2026.  To ensure that these budgets were spent in a timely manner and in accordance with the proper process, Members requested that a reminder be issued to all Councillors regarding the deadline for expenditure of Members’ ward budgets together with a copy of the form that Members needed to complete.

The performance data included in the report was also discussed.  Members welcomed the inclusion of additional contextual information for some of the measures included in the report.  The suggestion was made that it would be helpful for more contextual information to be included in future in respect of ASB and crime.  Further information regarding the take up of business grants and the circumstances under which applications tended to be submitted for these grants was also requested.

During consideration of this item, Members noted that the Budget Scrutiny Working Group had pre-scrutinised this report at a meeting held on 28^th August 2025.  However, the group had not proposed any recommendations on this subject.

RESOLVED to NOTE

1)          the current Revenue position of £0.020 million unfavourable variance;

2)          the current Capital spending of £3.429 million against a budget of £8.082 million;

3)          the current savings delivery of £0.545 million against an annual target of £2.342 million for 2025/26;

4)          Earmarked Reserves of £27.117 million.

5)          the Ward Budget allocation position to date of 13 approved allocations at £15,800, leaving a balance of £38,200 to be allocated before year end;

6)          the updated procurements position set out in Appendix D, with any new items over £200,000 to be included on the Executive Committee’s Work Programme;

7)          the position on Council Tax and Business Rates;

8)          the position on benefits processing; and

9)          the Performance data for the period April to June 2025 (Quarter 1).

RECOMMENDED that

10)      the Balance Sheet Monitoring Position for Quarter 1 be noted – which was the Treasury Monitoring Report and required to be reported to Council.