Agenda item

Report of the Director for Finance. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services.

This report sets out the 2023/24 provisional outturn for the General Fund, HRA,

DSG and the Capital Programme compared to budget. It will seek approval

for any changes to the Council’s revenue or capital budgets required to respond

to the changing financial scenario and the delivery of the MTFS. It also includes

proposed transfers to/from reserves, revenue and capital carry forward requests and any budget virements, adjustments and grant acceptances.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services introduced the report, which set out the provisional outturn for 2023/24 for the General Fund, HRA, DSG and the Capital Programme compared to the original budget agreed by Council in March 2023. It provided explanations of significant under/overspends and included proposed transfers to/from reserves to enable a balanced budget, the revenue and capital carry forward requests and any budget virements or adjustments.

The Cabinet Member continued to outline the following key considerations:

-       Unsustainable rise in the cost of Children’s care, Adult social care and Temporary Accommodation for homeless households.

-       Significant measures within the 2023/24 financial year to help mitigate these rising costs.

-       £5m additional un-forecast spend pressure that was highly likely to continue into the new financial year, mainly around children’s placement costs and temporary accommodation.

-       Lack of real growth in wages still likely to place pressure on residents’ ability to meet outgoings.

-       Larger number of JSA (Jobseekers Allowance) and ESA (Employment & Support Allowance) claimants than the London average and Haringey had the fourth largest proportion of residents earning below the London Living Wage of all London boroughs.

-       In the last year, the Council had delivered 77% of agreed savings programme, which was positive, however the agreed target for this year was £20m and would need to be considered in the context of the financial challenges outlined above, and the need to collectively work together as a Council to ensure that these savings were delivered as planned.

-       The capital programme for the GF (General Fund) and HRA (Housing Revenue Account) would still need continual review to reduce on the General Fund Revenue budget.

Assurance was provided that the focus would be on careful and transparent financial planning for the next iteration of the MTFS, which was already well underway.

In response to questions from Cllr Hakata and Cllr Emery, the following information was noted:

-       With regards to concerns about the unplanned drawdown in reserves set out in the report, replenishing the reserves and passing a balanced budget in 2025/26 was an underpinning consideration in the budget process for this year. Supporting the budget for Children’s Services, Temporary Accommodation and Adult service was an existing strategy and additional funding provided in this coming year’s budget for these areas. It was noted that these areas were a common pressure point for all local authorities in the country.

-       The increased costs across placements identified during February and March 2024 (£2.3m) not previously forecast were as a result of data quality issues following the migration to Liquid Logic from Mosaic. It was noted that during this period there had not been the required visibility on the increasing placement costs. This was explained to not be an uncommon occurrence with the transfer of a large data sets. However, this had unfortunately happened at the end of the financial year and after the budget setting process and when the cost of placements went up. However, these additional costs still needed to be met in the coming financial year. The data migration issue was expected to be a one-off situation and not a continuing issue.

-       Noted that previous budget practice had been to roll over the budget for any unspent capital-funding allocations. However, given the financial pressures, the capital programme would now be continuously re -examined and reassessed. It was noted that that certain spends agreed in the capital programme a year ago or two years ago would not automatically roll over. The capital budget would be continuously re – examined to make sure that it was fit for purpose and affordable, meaning that if a scheme was no longer viable it would no longer be continued.

-       Responding to the issue of no accruals having been made for March 2023 expenditure in the 2022/23 accounts for SEND Transport and this potentially being an indication of a wider finance process oversight problem, it was noted that this had been identified as part of wider deep dive exercise and the correction made. External Audit were now appointed and coming in to review financial balances and track actions according to the outturn report. It was further reiterated that central government makes the appointment of external auditors for local authorities, and this was a nationwide issue with the delays in appointments and a failure of the previous government.

RESOLVED

1. To note the provisional revenue and capital outturn for 2023/24 as detailed in the report;

2. T approve the capital carry forwards as set out in Appendix 3;

3. To approve the transfers to/from reserves as set out in Appendix 4;

4. To approve the budget transfers as set out in Appendix 5;

5. To note the debt write-offs approved by officers in Quarter 4 of 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 6;

Reasons 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.

It is necessary at year-end to review the use of reserves and balances in light of the financial position during the year and knowledge of the Council’s future position and requirements.

Alternative options considered

The Director of Finance, as Section 151 Officer, has a duty to consider and propose decisions in the best interests of the authority’s finances and that best support the delivery of the agreed Corporate Delivery Plan outcomes whilst maintaining financial sustainability.

This report of the Director of Finance has addressed these points. Therefore, no other options have been presented.