Issue - meetings

The Committee is asked to consider the forecast Revenue Budget overspend of £1.9 million for the financial year 2025-26, based on expenditure to 30 June 2025.

The Committee considered the Quarter One Revenue Monitoring report from the Interim Chief Accountant. The Council was forecasted to overspend its current 2025/26 budget by £1.9 million based on figures through 30^th June 2025. This was mainly due to shortfall in forecasted property income, expenses related to government-appointed commissioners and expenses required for the Improvement and Recovery Plan. Officers had initiated  mitigation measures to address the forecasted deficit which included freezing and reviewing non-essential spending, and reviewing vacant posts, as well as accelerating income initiatives and exploring grant opportunities. The Medium-Term Financial Plan would also be reviewed. The Interim Chief Accountant assured the Committee with the current implementations, the future revenue monitoring reports should reflect a different position.

The Chair and Vice-Chair made the following statements and asked the following quesitons:

“This is a very worrying financial position to be in so early into the financial year. Can you give me further assurance on the mitigations set out in paragraph 3.4 and explain how they will realistically bring the budget into balance?

Specific Questions on Mitigations

a)    Spending Controls (Freezing non-essential spend, review of vacant posts)

-       What specific controls have been put in place?

-       What progress has been made beyond what is already reported?

-       Can you give examples of non-essential spending that has been stopped?

b)    Acceleration of income collection, grant opportunities

-       What initiatives are being pursued this year?

-       Why were these not considered earlier?

c)    Reviews of High Cost Services

-       Which services are under review?

-       How confident are you that savings can be achieved, particularly given we are halfway through the year?

d)    Refurbishment at 3 Roundwood Avenue?

-       When will a decision be made on this?

-       If refurbishment is not undertaken, what impact will this have on income projections?

e)    Reprioritisation of the Savings Programme

-       Does this mean bringing 2026/27 savings forward?

-       If so, which savings, how much, and with what implications?

f)     Rent restructuring and adjusting rent levels

-       Has this been agreed with the Assets team and reported to the Commercial Assets Sub-Committee?

-       What is the expected timescale for implementation?

-       Will it deliver any income in the current year, given reduced asset values and existing tenants?

g)    Reducing Void Times

-       Are we already performing effectively in this area?

-       If not, what further gains could be achieved, and when?

h)    Operational Efficiency Through Technology

-       What does this mean in practice?

-       What financial impact will it have, and over what timeframe?

Regarding Salary Monitoring in Paragraph 5, the report states we are on track to achieve the £1m target. However, given that nearly £720k of posts still need to be deleted to achieve this:

-       Which areas are these posts expected to come from?

-       What impact will these deletions have on service performance?

Regarding Lessons Learned from the Best Value Inspection Report, the Best Value Inspection Report was highly critical of in-year budget monitoring, citing poor governance and lack  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84