Agenda item

8.1

This report brings the Committee up to date with the Council’s outturn position for 2023/24 including the General Fund revenue position, Housing Revenue Account, and Capital Programme Monitoring (Appendix 1). The report also provides an update of the Council’s Treasury Management activity (Appendix 2) and the Collection Fund Account (Appendix 3).

8.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Finance Committee:-

a)    approves the virement of £700k from the Ward Pots (£25k per ward) to the Local Area Committees (LACs);

b)    notes the updated information and management actions provided by this report on the 2023/24 Revenue Budget Outturn as described in this report;

c)     notes the updated information and management actions provided by this report on the Q1 2023/24 Capital Programme Monitoring as described in Appendix 1;

d)    notes the Treasury Management report for Q1 2023/24 as described in Appendix 2; and

e)    notes the Collection Fund monitoring report for Q1 2023/24 as described in Appendix 3.

8.3

Reasons for Decision

8.3.1

To record formally changes to the Revenue Budget and the Capital

Programme.

8.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

8.4.1

The Council is required to both set a balance budget and to ensure that in-year income and expenditure are balanced. No other alternatives were considered.

8.1

The Director of Finance and Commercial Services and the Head of Accounting submitted a report bringing the Committee up to date with the Council’s outturn position for 2023/24 including the General Fund revenue position, Housing Revenue Account and Capital Programme Monitoring (Appendix 1). The report also provided an update of the Council’s Treasury Management activity (Appendix 2) and the Collection Fund Account (Appendix 3).

8.2

The Monitoring Officer brought an urgent issue to the attention of the Committee regarding a need to vire funding from the Ward Pots budget to the Local Area Committees (LAC) budget. Additional spending of £700k (£25k per ward), to be delivered through the LAC process, had been approved by Council in March 2023. However, the approved budget set out that the funding be added to the Ward Pots which are administered by the LAC team and not subject to LAC decision making. Therefore, to give effect to the budget resolution as intended, the Committee were asked to approve a virement of £700k from the Ward Pots budget to the LAC budget to enable the LACs to use the money to support their community plan priorities. Members discussed if £25k needed to be spent in each ward or whether the LAC could decide to combine the funding to support projects involving multiple wards. Though it was not a decision for Finance Committee, Members agreed that the LACs should have the ability to determine how to spend the money in their areas, however the situation needed to be resolved formally by the Council.

8.3

Officers agreed to provide Members with further information on when the last review of home to school transport was undertaken, what the recommendations were and whether they were all implemented. Members took a keen interest in the overspend in the Education, Children and Families and Adult Health and Social Care budgets and requested that the overspends be reviewed by the respective Committees.

8.4

Officers agreed to provide Members with benchmarking information comparing Sheffield City Council’s budget position with other major cities.

8.5

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Finance Committee:-

a)    approves the virement of £700k from the Ward Pots (£25k per ward) to the Local Area Committees (LACs);

b)    notes the updated information and management actions provided by this report on the 2023/24 Revenue Budget Outturn as described in this report;

c)     notes the updated information and management actions provided by this report on the Q1 2023/24 Capital Programme Monitoring as described in Appendix 1;

d)    notes the Treasury Management report for Q1 2023/24 as described in Appendix 2; and

e)    notes the Collection Fund monitoring report for Q1 2023/24 as described in Appendix 3.

8.6

Reasons for Decision

8.6.1

To record formally changes to the Revenue Budget and the Capital

Programme.

8.7

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

8.7.1

The Council is required to both set a balance budget and to ensure that in-year income and expenditure are balanced. No other alternatives were considered.