Agenda item

[Report of the Director of Finance.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration]

This report will provide an update on the Quarter 3 budget monitoring and will seek approval for any revenue or capital budget changes required to respond to the changing financial scenario and the delivery of the MTFS.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration introduced the report which outlined the budget position at Quarter 3 (Period 9) of the 2020/21 financial year, including General Fund Revenue, Capital, Housing Revenue Account and Dedicated Schools Grant budgets.  The Cabinet Member referred to the impact of Covid-19 on the borough and the financial impact on the current year’s agreed budget was set out very clearly in the report.  He added that it remained critical that the Council maintained its strong financial management at this time in order to continue to do the best for all who live and work in the borough.

The Cabinet Member responded to questions from Councillor Emery:

-           In terms of overspend in the high needs block, Haringey was not unique in this situation and Local Authorities were working together to lobby the Government to ensure that funding was provided to meet the funding gaps experienced by many Councils.

-           Whilst it was not good to use reserves to fund budget gaps, the Cabinet Member stated that he and the Finance team would do what they could to ensure that the budget gap was reduced by looking at where savings could be made.

-           The debt write-offs were historic and could not remain in the accounts, therefore the necessary steps needed to be taken to remove these.  Systems had been put in place to ensure any services provided by the Council in terms of payroll services, the money would be provided first to the Council and then payments made, which was a change to the previous system.

RESOLVED to

1.         Note the forecast revenue outturn for the General Fund (GF), including the impact of Covid, and known and estimated levels of announcedCovid funding, is a net overspend of £8.1m (Q2 £9.8m). This is before any further emergency grant support (Section 6, Tables 1a and 1b, and Appendix 1 of the report). This excludes the DSG forecast.

2.         Note that Directors have been asked to focus on actions to bring the forecast overspend down before the end of the year.

3.         Note the net Housing Revenue Account (HRA) forecast of £4.2m (Q2 £4.2m) overspend (Section 6, Table 2, and Appendix 2 of the report).

4.         Note the net DSG forecast of £6.5m (Q2 £5.3m) overspend, the actions being taken to seek to address this and the potential implications for the GF (Section 7 and Table 3 of the report).

5.         Note the forecast budget savings position in 2020/21 which indicates that £7.7m (47%) (Q2 £7.3m (45%) may not be achieved. (Section 8, Table 4 and Appendix 3 of the report).  This is incorporated in the GF budget pressures addressed in recommendation 3.1 above.

6.         Approve the proposed budget adjustments and virements to the capital programme as set out in Table 5 and Appendix 5 of the report and note the forecast expenditure of £198m (£218m Qtr2) in 2020/21 which equates to 37% (40% Qtr2) of the revised capital budget (Section 9, Table 5 and Appendix 4 of the report). 

7.         To approve the budget virements and receipt of grants as set out in Appendix 5 of the report.

8.         To note the debt write-offs approved by officers in Quarter 3 2020/21 (Appendix 6 of the report) and approve the >£50,000 debt write-offs (Appendix 6a of the report).

Reason for Decision

A strong financial management framework, including oversight by Members and senior management, is an essential part of delivering the council’s priorities and statutory duties.  This is made more critically important than ever as a result of the severe financial duress placed on the Council by the Covid-19 crisis.

COVID-19 affects everything local authorities do – as community leaders, public health authorities, education authorities, employers, partners and service deliverers. The Leader, Cabinet and its officers continue to need to focus on responding to the crisis while ensuring normal critical services are provided.

Alternative Options Considered

The report of the management of the Council’s financial resources is a key part of the role of the Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) in helping members to exercise their role and no other options have therefore been considered.