Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2016/102

Contact: Katy Jurczyszyn, Strategic Finance Manager (Finance, Strategy & Monitoring) Tel: 07584 909518

Report by Director of Finance (CA7).

The report focuses on the financial management of the 2016/17 budget.   Parts 1 and 2 include projections for revenue, reserves and balances as at the end of December 2016. Capital Programme monitoring is included at Part 3. 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)  note the report;

(b) approve the use of the High Needs Strategic Planning grant  and increase to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reserve for 2017/18 in paragraph 23;

(c)  approve the virements in annex 2a;

(d) approve the debt write off detailed in paragraph 49;

(e)  note the Treasury Management lending list at Annex 4;

(f)   approve the creation of an Investment Reserve in paragraph 54;

(g) approve the supplementary estimate in paragraph 56;

(h) note the changes to the Capital Programme set out in Annex 7b and 7c;

(i)   approve the release of £3.2m of development funding for the A40 Science Transit Scheme and delegate the release of those funds to the Director of Finance and Strategic Director Communities in £0.5m tranches in line with their approval limits under the Financial Procedure Rules; and

(j)   approve the increase of £1.0m on the Milton Interchange scheme to enable the payment of the final account.

Recommendations agreed.

The Cabinet considered a report (CC7) which focused on the financial management of the 2016/17 budget including projections for revenue, reserves and balances as at the end of December 2016 and Capital Programme monitoring. 

Councillor Mathew spoke against the £36.5m A40 Science Transit Phase 2 scheme on the basis that he believed it would be a waste of money and have minimal effect on congestion of the A40; did not have public support and that there had not been a proper survey into the destination of cars on the A40.  He urged the Cabinet to build the A44 link to Peartree first; carry out an A40 car destination survey and then to find an innovative ‘blue sky’ solution to the congestion on the A40.

Councillor Hards referred to the high overspend on the Children, Education & Families Directorate and the need for new facilities for children with SEN to reduce the need to transport them around the County.  He welcomed the underspend due to the reduction in Academy conversions, but queried the forcast underspend in the Early Intervention Team suggesting that this would be due to ‘scrapping’ rather than remodelling services.  He further acknowledged ever increasing demands in Children’s and Adult Social Care.

Councillor Stratford in moving the recommendations responded to the points raised, noting that the overspend for CEF reflected increased activity. SEN transport continued to be challenging but the Council was working hard to reduce all overspends.

Councillor Hudspeth expressed delight at seeing the long awaited funding for the preliminary and detailed design work of the A40 Bus Scheme.  In response to the comments made by Councillor Mathew he confirmed that the A40 solution had to be public transport for the bid and that the scheme provided a real solution to congestion on the A40.

RESOLVED:             to:

(a)            note the report;

(b)            approve the use of the High Needs Strategic Planning grant  and increase to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reserve for 2017/18 in paragraph 23;

(c)            approve the virements in annex 2a;

(d)            approve the debt write off detailed in paragraph 49;

(e)            note the Treasury Management lending list at Annex 4;

(f)             approve the creation of an Investment Reserve in paragraph 54;

(g)            approve the supplementary estimate in paragraph 56;

(h)           note the changes to the Capital Programme set out in Annex 7b and 7c;

(i)             approve the release of £3.2m of development funding for the A40 Science Transit Scheme and delegate the release of those funds to the Director of Finance and Strategic Director Communities in £0.5m tranches in line with their approval limits under the Financial Procedure Rules; and

(j)                    approve the increase of £1.0m on the Milton Interchange scheme to enable the payment of the final account.