Decision details

To present the Revenue Budget Outturn 2017- 2018

1. That the net surplus after taxation of £74,000 of Yoo Recruit Limited to be retained by the company to enable further business development.

2. That the write off of four non-domestic rates totalling £45,817.82 be approved as detailed in Appendix 7 to this report.

3. That the write off of three sundry debts totalling £35,792.68 be approved as detailed in Appendix 8 to this report.

4. That the write off of two council tax accounts totalling £11,600.09 be approved as detailed in Appendix 9 to this report.

5. That 27 virements totalling £5.6 million be approved for transfer within directorates, as detailed in Appendix 10 to this report.

6. That it be noted the revenue outturn position for 2017-2018 for the General Fund; a net underspend of £781,000 (-0.35%) was achieved against the net budget requirement of £222.6 million, after meeting the net cost of redundancy and pension strain, after the use of capital receipt flexibility, and contributions to essential earmarked reserves.

7. That it be noted whilst the positive General Fund outturn position during 2017-2018, and the resulting adjustments to reserves, will help to support the Council’s short term financial position, it does not address the challenging financial position that the Council finds itself in over the medium term; namely identifying an additional £19.5 million of budget reduction and income generation proposals over the period to 2019-2020. Cabinet will be presented with a report at this meeting detailing the progress towards identifying £19.5 million of budget reduction and income generation proposals for 2019-2020.

8. That it be noted a comprehensive review of all services will be undertaken following the positive 2017-2018 General Fund outturn position to identify any new budget reduction or income generation opportunities; Cabinet will be provided with an update on progress in the October 2018 budget report.

9. That it be noted the General Fund outturn position takes into account a number of proposed transfers to and from reserves and provisions for which approval is sought in the Reserves, Provisions and Balances 2017-2018 report to be presented at this meeting.

10. That it be noted that Schools which remain under the control of the City of Wolverhampton Council drew down a net £940,000 of their reserves during 2017-2018 and after adjusting for the balance attributable to academies, taking the total accumulated reserves to £6.9 million at 31 March 2018.

11. That it be noted the Housing Revenue Account revenue outturn position for the year was a surplus before allocations of £23.6 million, compared to a budgeted surplus of £16.8 million.

12. That it be noted the draft financial statements of Yoo Recruit Limited will be subject to external audit.

13. That it be noted as a result of recruitment through Yoo Recruit Limited, the Council has been able to avoid fees which would have otherwise have been incurred, including approximately £225,000 in relation to the permanent recruitment of individuals who had been previously employed on a temporary basis through the agency.

14. That it be noted the Collection Fund outturned with a £13.0 million surplus during 2017-2018; this resulted in an overall deficit of £200,000 to be carried forward. In 2014-2015, as a result of the adverse outturn against the Collection Fund, primarily owing to the impact of appeals against Business Rates, over which the Council has no control, Cabinet approved the establishment of a Business Rates Equalisation reserve to equalise the impact of appeals on the Council. In the Reserves, Provisions and Balances report to be presented to Cabinet at this meeting, approval is sought to increase that reserve in 2017-2018 to support the Council over the medium term.

15. That it be noted the non-domestic rates accounts totalling £372,552.17 have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

16.That it be noted that 1,403 council tax accounts totalling £278,262.58 have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

17.That it be noted 38 sundry debt accounts totalling £125,465.96 have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

18.That it be noted 18 housing benefit debt accounts totalling £4,819.72 have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.