Agenda item

[To report on the Council’s revenue budget outturn position for 2015/16 compared with approved budgets and targets]

Cllr Andrew Johnson presented the report on the positive revenue budget outturn position for the General Fund during 2015/16 compared with approved budgets and targets.

Resolved:

1.     That it be noted that the revenue outturn position for 2015/16 for the General Fund; a net underspend of £9.4 million (-4.20%) was achieved against the net budget requirement of £224.9 million, after meeting the cost of redundancy and pension strain totalling £7.8 million.

2.     That it be noted that the positive General Fund outturn position for 2015/16 has arisen largely as a result of:

                     i.            The receipt of a £3.6 million special dividend from Birmingham Airport in March 2016;

                   ii.            A £3.4 million underspend within the Children & Young People service arising as a result of the success of the early intervention programme which has delivered a reduction in costs due to investment in additional social workers at the at the top end of expectations, in addition to,

                  iii.            The prudent approach to spending adopted by all budget managers to generate budget reductions during 2015/16, which reflects our ethos whereby every budget manager ensures that they spend money wisely - making every pound go further.

3.     That it be noted that whilst the positive General Fund outturn position during 2015/16, and the resulting adjustments to reserves, would help to support the Council’s short term financial position, enabling one-off investment to support transformation of the Council, it does not address the challenging financial position that the Council finds itself in over the medium term; namely identifying an additional £54.6 million of budget reduction and income generation proposals over the three year period to 2019/20. Cabinet would be presented with a report at this meeting detailing the progress towards identifying £22.2 million of budget reduction and income regeneration proposals for 2017/18.

4.     That it be noted that a comprehensive review of all services would be undertaken following the positive 2015/16 General Fund outturn position to identify any new budget reduction or income generation opportunities; Cabinet would be provided with an update on progress in the October 2016 budget report.

5.     That 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 2015/16 report to be presented at this meeting.

6.     That it be noted that schools under the control of the City of Wolverhampton Council drew down £1.3 million net of their reserves during 2015/16, taking the total accumulated reserves to £12.9 million at 31 March 2016.

7.     That it be noted that the Housing Revenue Account revenue outturn position for the year was a surplus before allocations of £19.6 million, compared to a budgeted surplus of £15.7 million.

8.     That it be noted that the draft financial statements of Yoo Recruit Limited would be subject to external audit.

9.     That it be noted that 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.

10.That it be noted that the Collection Fund outturned with a £3.6 million deficit during 2015/16; this resulted in an overall deficit of £9.9 million to be carried forward. In 2014/15, 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 bolster that reserve in 2015/16 to support the Council over the medium term.

11.That it be noted that 75 non-domestic rates accounts totalling £231,206.03 have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

12.That it be noted that 997 council tax accounts totalling £46,119.18 have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

13.That it be noted that 151 sundry debt accounts totalling £81,797.80 have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

14.That it be noted that three housing benefit debt accounts totalling £2,451.98 have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

15.That it be noted that 1,281 net debt write-offs totalling £825,014.32 for Wolverhampton Homes have been incurred during 2015/16 and have been approved for write off by the Director of Finance in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

16.That the net surplus after taxation of £230,000 of Yoo Recruit Limited be retained by the company to enable further business development.