Agenda item

RESOLVED:

KEY DECISION

That the Executive:

a)    Noted the Council’s forecast outturn position for 2022/23 as summarised in Section 4, alongside the further analysis, risks and other considerations as set out from Section 5 of the report onwards.

b)    Noted the assessment of the current deliverability of the 2022/23 savings proposals in Appendix A of the report.

c)    Approved the inclusion of a grant and associated expenditure of £98k in respect of support for developing the Council’s approach to Social Care Reforms.  See paragraph 5.23.

d)    Approved the use of earmarked reserves totalling £3.938m to mitigate in year pressures relating to Home to School Transport, short-term vehicle leasing costs, commercial income for grounds maintenance and facilities management from the previous Wellingborough NORSE contract, and Knuston Hall as referenced in paragraphs 5.33 and 5.37 respectively.

e)    Approved an increase in the gross budget of £2.696m to provide support for families and individuals in specific financial hardship to be funded from the Household Support Fund 2 grant of £2.466m as reported to Executive in June and a further contribution of £230k from the Public Health Reserve to underwrite the potential shortfall in the School Holiday Food Voucher Scheme over the Summer break.  See paragraphs 5.49 and 5.50.

f)     Noted the use of £650k of the contingency budget to support the Maintained Nurseries as previously agreed by Council.

g)    Noted the use of £1.150m of the contingency budget to fund a salary increment for all eligible employees in 2022/23.  This will include staff not at the top of their grade where their protected TUPE terms and conditions of employment have no contractual entitlement to incremental progression as agreed by the Employment Committee at meeting on 28^th June 2022, alongside staff with a contractual entitlement to increments.  See paragraph 5.53.

Reason for Recommendations – to note the forecast financial position for 2022/23 as at Period 2 and consider the impact on this year and future years budgets.

The Chair invited Cllr Anne Lee to address the meeting. Cllr Lee spoke to welcome Summer School Holiday Food Vouchers but queried the use of funding from the Public Health Reserve to cover the cost. Cllr Lee also referenced the Right to Buy scheme and queried when a report on the building of new social housing would be brought forward, having previously been on the published Executive Forward Plan.

The Chair thanked Cllr Lee for her attendance and confirmed that utilising the Public Health Reserve was a legitimate method of funding holiday food vouchers as outlined above.  

Cllr Lloyd Bunday, Executive Member for Finance and Transformation then introduced a report that set out the forecast outturn position for the Council based on the Period 2 monitoring forecasts for the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). Cllr Bunday noted that although it was early in the financial year the overall outturn forecast for the General Fund for 2022/23, as at Period 2 was a forecast overspend of £237,000 against the approved budget of £295.9m.

Cllr Bunday referenced the forecast underspend for Children’s Services of £1.085m as well as the volatility of Adult Social Care, Safeguarding and Wellbeing and Commissioning and Performance Services. A pressure of £398,000 was forecast for the Assets and Environment Service to be mitigated by the use of reserves which would also be used to meet a forecast pressure of £666,000 for the Highways and Waste Service.

It was reported that for the HRA, there was a forecast underspend of £267,000 against the approved budget of £36.270m.

RESOLVED:

KEY DECISION

That the Executive:

a)    Noted the Council’s forecast outturn position for 2022/23 as summarised in Section 4, alongside the further analysis, risks and other considerations as set out from Section 5 of the report onwards.

b)    Noted the assessment of the current deliverability of the 2022/23 savings proposals in Appendix A of the report.

c)    Approved the inclusion of a grant and associated expenditure of £98k in respect of support for developing the Council’s approach to Social Care Reforms.  See paragraph 5.23.

d)    Approved the use of earmarked reserves totalling £3.938m to mitigate in year pressures relating to Home to School Transport, short-term vehicle leasing costs, commercial income for grounds maintenance and facilities management from the previous Wellingborough NORSE contract, and Knuston Hall as referenced in paragraphs 5.33 and 5.37 respectively.

e)    Approved an increase in the gross budget of £2.696m to provide support for families and individuals in specific financial hardship to be funded from the Household Support Fund 2 grant of £2.466m as reported to Executive in June and a further contribution of £230k from the Public Health Reserve to underwrite the potential shortfall in the School Holiday Food Voucher Scheme over the Summer break.  See paragraphs 5.49 and 5.50.

f)     Noted the use of £650k of the contingency budget to support the Maintained Nurseries as previously agreed by Council.

g)    Noted the use of £1.150m of the contingency budget to fund a salary increment for all eligible employees in 2022/23.  This will include staff not at the top of their grade where their protected TUPE terms and conditions of employment have no contractual entitlement to incremental progression as agreed by the Employment Committee at meeting on 28^th June 2022, alongside staff with a contractual entitlement to increments.  See paragraph 5.53.

Reason for Recommendations – to note the forecast financial position for 2022/23 as at Period 2 and consider the impact on this year and future years budgets.