Issue - meetings

(To receive a report from the Executive Director of Finance and Public Protection, which provides an update on spending compared with budgets for the financial year which started on 1 April 2017)

(1)  That the current position on the revenue and capital budgets be noted.

(2)  That the transfer of £1.500m from Readiness for Schools revenue budget to Readiness for Adult Life be recommended to the County Council.

Consideration was given to a report from the Executive Director of Finance and Public Protection, which provided an update on spending compared with budgets for the financial year, which started on 1 April 2017.

The County Finance Officer advised that the tables in the report had shown the actual income and expenditure for nine months of the financial year, along with the projections for spendings and a comparison of the projections against the approved budgets.

The report requested that the Executive recommend to the County Council on 23 February 2018 the approval of the transfer of £1.5m from Readiness for Schools (Children's Centres) to Readiness for Adult Life for supported accommodation for homeless young people.  It was emphasised that spending on Children's Centres was not being reduced.  It would be funded by using £1.5m from the Public Health grant reserve in 2017/18.  The Executive supported the recommendation, as outlined above. 

It was highlighted that Other Budgets was currently forecasting an £8.740m underspend.  This was primarily due to national living wage growth in Adult Care being funded by the new Better Care Fund (BCF) monies in 2017/18.  Beyond 2017/18, it was anticipated that national living wage costs in Adult Care would continue to be funded from BCF income.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board advised that the Board had considered an item on Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report 2017/18 at its meeting on 25 January 2018.  The Board had supported the recommendation to transfer of £1.5m from Readiness for Schools (Children's Centres) to Readiness for Adult Life for supported accommodation for homeless young people.  The Board also supported the carrying forward of an underspend, as it would place the County Council in a good position when setting future budgets.

In response to a question, it was advised that the County Council had ended its contract with Carillion, following the company's announcement that it had gone into liquidation.  Officers had engaged with the Highways Alliance Framework to procure the remaining work on the Lincoln Eastern Bypass, which had now been packaged into smaller pieces of work.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the current position on the revenue and capital budgets be noted.

(2)  That the transfer of £1.500m from Readiness for Schools revenue budget to Readiness for Adult Life be recommended to the County Council.