PAPER
E1
Purpose
: For decision
Committee : EXECUTIVE
Date : 30
JULY 2002
Title : PROVISIONAL
ACCOUNTS FOR 2001-02
PORTFOLIO
HOLDER - RESOURCES
SUMMARY/PURPOSE
This report sets out the Council’s revenue and capital
financial results for the financial year to 31st March 2002. Members
are asked to agree the figures as presented, subject to any late minor
adjustments, so that the statutory Statement of Accounts can be drawn up for
consideration at a September meeting, after which the external audit will
commence.
Revenue
At revised estimate stage the planned withdrawal from
the General Fund was £535,700, leaving an expected balance of £1,825,200 as at
31st March 2002. The revised budget included a provision of
£1,554,000 against projected overspends on Social Services and Waste
Management, and Directors were instructed to take steps to minimize calls on
this contingency sum.
The final revenue results for the year are set out in
appendix A. These show a net underspend against revised estimate of £647,000,
and it is suggested that in the light of uncertainties highlighted in other
reports on the agenda that this sum should be left in the Fund for the time
being, leaving the balance at 31st March 2002 at £2,472,300.
Capital
Capital spending details are shown at appendix B. Of
the budgeted programme of £25.0 millions, £18.6 millions had been spent by the
end of the year. This
will not in itself cause problems, as it has been possible on this occasion to
carry forward sufficient resources to finance the resulting £6.4 millions of
slippage. This may not always be the case, as borrowing approvals have an
expiry date, and for highways in particular these are now single year basic
credit approvals instead of the two year supplementary credit approvals issued
in recent years.
REVENUE BACKGROUND AND KEY POINTS
v Appendix A shows ‘controlled’ expenditure
for each service, in order to demonstrate how spending has been controlled
against cash limits
v The ‘actual spend’ column of appendix A
includes carry forwards by directorates which have kept within their original
cash limits to finance committed and future projects:
o
Education
(£165k)
o
Community
Development, incl. sports grants in advance (£240k)
o
Policy &
Communications, incl. Community Budgets (£276k)
o
Planning (£30k)
o
Engineering
(Storm damage commitments) (£481k)
o
Consumer
Protection (£88k)
o
Tourism (£4k)
o
Fire &
Rescue (£125k)
o
Building
Maintenance (£48k)
o
Corporate
Budgets (£15k)
v Main areas of variance are:
o
Lower than
expected Engineering overspend (-£400k)
o
Treasury
management operations (-£604k)
o
Housing
Benefits (+£271k)
o
Highways
Overspend (+£373k)
o
Rate refunds
(-£81k)
o
Fire &
Rescue unused contingency (-£50k)
o
Bad debts
provision (-£46k)
v Only Engineering Services is significantly
over budget, with small overspends in two other service areas. Normal practice
would be to reduce the current year budgets by an equal amount. In the context
of significant corporate savings members may feel that on this occasion the
relatively small sums involved for two of the services can be written off. The
services and amounts involved are:
o
Ryde CCTV
(£14k)
o
Social
Service & Housing (£1.4k)
In the case of Engineering, the overspend
is £392k, of which £373k relates to highways. Members may feel that the high
priority of this service, coupled with the Council’s current efforts to produce
a step improvement in this area, mean that this sum should also be written off.
CAPITAL BACKGROUND AND KEY POINTS
v Education and
Community Development slippage is principally due to devolved budgets held on
behalf of schools. These can be spent over a three year period.
v Housing slippage
relates to the delay in the programmed scheme at Oakfield.
v Roads &
Transport underspending includes the delayed £2 million Military Road scheme,
and the unused element of a two-year Supplementary Credit Approval (SCA) (£2.3
million).
v The major
component of underspend Environmental Services relates to expenditure yet to be
incurred at Lynnbottom.
v Resources have
been carried forward to meet all slippage requirements.
OPTIONS
1. To agree the revenue accounts and capital accounts as presented, subject to any late adjustments, as a basis for the formal Statement of Accounts
2. To write off the Engineering overspend for 2001-02
2. To propose some other course of action.
RECOMMENDATION:
Options 1 & 2
BACKGROUND PAPERS
Council publications Budget ‘2001-02’ and ‘Budget
2002-03’
Contact Point : Paul Wilkinson, F 823650
|
J PULFORD Strategic Director Finance and Information and
County Treasurer |
R BARRY Portfolio Holder for Resources |
Appendix A
Revenue spending 2001-02
Appendix B
Capital spending 2001-02
