Issue - meetings

There is an exempt appendix located in the Exempt/Confidential Appendices Section of the agenda below.

(i)       note the cash position that has been achieved for the General Fund and HRA to the end of Quarter 1 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(ii)      note the Common Good financial performance to the end of Quarter 1 as detailed in Appendix 3, specifically the £0.733m reduction in cash balances due to investment volatility;

(iii)      note that the General Fund full year forecast position remains very uncertain at this time and subject to the successful implementation of actions as per Appendix 2 and no further financial shocks, then a full year outturn position of ‘on budget’ is anticipated;

(iv)     note that financial resilience to mitigate the risks of overspending is underpinned by the resources available on the Council Balance Sheet and General Fund Reserves in particular. As at 31 March 2023 the uncommitted value of those reserves was £12m, the minimum that the Council Reserves Statement recommends and as approved by the Council;

(v)      note that the HRA full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is on target to achieve the approved budget;

(vi)     note that the Council relies on the Integration Joint Board (IJB) achieving a balanced budget, and that the IJB retains reserves to mitigate unplanned additional costs arising during the year;

(vii)     note that the forecast for General Fund Capital budget is that it will be lower than its revised budget and Housing Capital expenditure will be on budget in 2023/24 as described in Appendix 2;

(viii)    note that due to the prevailing market conditions of high inflation and supply chain volatility, and the requirements of the Prudential Code for the Council to manage capital investment through a programme that is prudent, affordable and sustainable, the Chief Officer – Capital will present a review of the General Fund Capital Programme to this Committee in September. In conjunction with individual reports on capital business cases, that report will demonstrate our approach to value for money and to ensure that external scrutiny is robustly evidenced;

(ix)     approve the write off of debt as noted in Appendix 5;

(x)      that the Chief Officer – Finance circulate details to Councillor Watson in relation to Sport Aberdeen’s credit line arrangements;

(xi)     that the Chief Officer – Finance circulate details to Councillor Tissera in relation to how many ACC officers over the age of 65 had sought VSER in the past 2 years and at what cost to the Council; and

(xii)     that in relation to the closure of the small financial assistance grant scheme, that the Chief Officer – Finance circulate details to all members of the Committee in relation to the organisations and the financial sums involved.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided details of the financial position of the Council as at Quarter 1 (30 June 2023) and the full year forecast position for the financial year 2023/24, including:-

·       General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and capital accounts; and associated Balance Sheet; and

·       Common Good revenue account and Balance Sheet.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the cash position that has been achieved for the General Fund and HRA to the end of Quarter 1 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(b)      note the Common Good financial performance to the end of Quarter 1 as detailed in Appendix 3, specifically the £0.733m reduction in cash balances due to investment volatility;

(c)      note that the General Fund full year forecast position remains very uncertain at this time and subject to the successful implementation of actions as per Appendix 2 and no further financial shocks, then a full year outturn position of ‘on budget’ is anticipated;

(d)      note that financial resilience to mitigate the risks of overspending is underpinned by the resources available on the Council Balance Sheet and General Fund Reserves in particular. As at 31 March 2023 the uncommitted value of those reserves was £12m, the minimum that the Council Reserves Statement recommends and as approved by the Council;

(e)      note that the HRA full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is on target to achieve the approved budget;

(f)       note that the Council relies on the Integration Joint Board (IJB) achieving a balanced budget, and that the IJB retains reserves to mitigate unplanned additional costs arising during the year;

(g)      note that the forecast for General Fund Capital budget is that it will be lower than its revised budget and Housing Capital expenditure will be on budget in 2023/24 as described in Appendix 2;

(h)      note that due to the prevailing market conditions of high inflation and supply chain volatility, and the requirements of the Prudential Code for the Council to manage capital investment through a programme that is prudent, affordable and sustainable, the Chief Officer – Capital will present a review of the General Fund Capital Programme to this Committee in September. In conjunction with individual reports on capital business cases, that report will demonstrate our approach to value for money and to ensure that external scrutiny is robustly evidenced; and

(i)       approve the write off of debt as noted in Appendix 5.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations;

(ii)      that the Chief Officer – Finance circulate details to Councillor Watson in relation to Sport Aberdeen’s credit line arrangements;

(iii)      that the Chief Officer – Finance circulate details to Councillor Tissera in relation to how many ACC officers over the age of 65 had sought VSER in the past 2 years and at what cost to the Council; and

(iv)     that in relation to the closure of the small financial assistance grant scheme, that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5

(i)       note the positive cash position that has been achieved for the General Fund and HRA to the end of Quarter 2 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(ii)       note the Common Good financial performance to the end of Quarter 2 as detailed in Appendix 3, specifically the £3.7m reduction in cash balances due to investment volatility;

(iii)      note that the General Fund full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is expected to show a deficit of £4.4m for 2022/23, and that the Chief Officer – Finance is instructing that budget holder act to delay, stop or reduced expenditure wherever possible to mitigate this deficit; and note that any remaining deficit will be mitigated from the use of earmarked reserves;

(iv)      note that the HRA full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is on target to achieve the approved budget, making a contribution to HRA reserves for 2022/23;

(v)      note that the Council relies on the Integration Joint Board (IJB) achieving a balanced budget, and that the IJB retains reserves to mitigate unplanned additional costs arising during the year;

(vi)      note that the forecast for General Fund and Housing capital expenditure is that there will be lower spend than had been budgeted in 2022/23 as described in Appendix 2;

(vii)     to note that the Chief Officer – Finance agreed to circulate to members, details of the pre-pandemic figures compared to the current year in respect of car parking income (on and off street); and

(viii)    to note that in relation to the rising costs of supplies and materials in the building/construction sector, the Chief Officer – Finance would consider how best the impact in real terms for tenants could be captured as part of the budget setting process.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided details of the financial position of the Council as at Quarter 2 (30 September 2022) and the full year forecast position for the financial year 2022/23, including:-

·       General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and capital accounts; and associated Balance Sheet; and

·       Common Good revenue account and Balance Sheet.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the positive cash position that has been achieved for the General Fund and HRA to the end of Quarter 2 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(b)      note the Common Good financial performance to the end of Quarter 2 as detailed in Appendix 3, specifically the £3.7m reduction in cash balances due to investment volatility;

(c)      note that the General Fund full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is expected to show a deficit of £4.4m for 2022/23, and that the Chief Officer – Finance is instructing that budget holder act to delay, stop or reduced expenditure wherever possible to mitigate this deficit; and note that any remaining deficit will be mitigated from the use of earmarked reserves;

(d)      note that the HRA full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is on target to achieve the approved budget, making a contribution to HRA reserves for 2022/23;

(e)      note that the Council relies on the Integration Joint Board (IJB) achieving a balanced budget, and that the IJB retains reserves to mitigate unplanned additional costs arising during the year; and

(f)       note that the forecast for General Fund and Housing capital expenditure is that there will be lower spend than had been budgeted in 2022/23 as described in Appendix 2.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener, moved:-

that the Committee approve the recommendations contained within the report.

Councillor Grant, seconded by Councillor Macdonald, moved as an amendment:-

           That the Committee:-

(1)        note the officer recommendations at 2.1 to 2.6 and thanks officers for presenting a positive cash position up to the Quarter 2 period;

(2)        note the challenges highlighted within the report which are contributing to budget pressures and the instruction by the Chief Officer – Finance to service budget holders to act to delay, stop or reduce expenditure wherever possible to mitigate the reported deficit;

(3)        agree that members require to be advised, through a Service Update from the Chief Officer - Finance, of the implications of this instruction and the methodology for determining what expenditure will be delayed, stopped or reduced and where this is most likely to occur. Instructs the Chief Officer - Finance to include within the Quarter 3 Financial Performance report to the February meeting of the Committee, a summary of the impact this instruction has had on the financial position and service delivery;  Agrees that in relation to recommendation 2.3, the Chief Officer – Finance consults with the Convenor and Vice-Convenor of the Finance and Resources Committee where any such proposal to delay, stop or reduce expenditure risks having a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9

in terms of Standing Order 34.1, this matter was referred to Full Council for a decision.

 Additional Decisions

(i)       to instruct the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to circulate to members of the Committee further details in relation to free school meals;

(iii)      to instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to provide further details to the Committee in relation to the timescales and next steps for the Clinterty site; and

(iv)      to instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to provide further details in relation to the Council Led Sites.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided details of the financial position of the Council as at Quarter 1 (30 June 2022) and the full year forecast position for the financial year 2022/23, including:-

• General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and capital accounts; and associated Balance Sheet; and
• Common Good revenue account and Balance Sheet

The report also provided information on the outcome of the reprofiling of the Capital Programmes, as instructed by the Committee at its meeting on 21 June 2022.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the positive cash position that has been achieved for the General Fund and HRA to the end of Quarter 1 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(b)      note the Common Good financial performance to the end of Quarter 1 as detailed in Appendix 3, specifically the £2m reduction in cash balances due to investment volatility;

(c)      note that the General Fund full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is expected to show a balanced position overall for 2022/23, based on the assumption that the Scottish Government will fund any increase to the current pay offer made by Cosla and through the other mitigations contained within the report, including the use of one-off funding streams;

(d)      note the initial information provided in the report about the fire at Altens East Waste and Recycling Centre and instruct the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services to report back to the next meeting of the Committee with details of the contractual, financial, and operational implications, including assurance about how the council has mitigated financial exposure;

(e)      note that the HRA full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is on target to achieve the approved budget, making a contribution to HRA reserves for 2022/23;

(f)       note that the Council relies on the Integration Joint Board (IJB) achieving a balanced budget, and that it retains reserves in the event of unplanned additional costs arising during the year;

(g)      note that the forecast for General Fund capital expenditure is that there will be lower spend than had been budgeted in 2022/23, and for Housing, capital expenditure will be in line with 11% slippage on the programme, as described in Appendix 2;

(h)      note that officers have completed the work required to reprofile the capital programmes, following instruction by the Committee on 21 June 2022 (Appendix 5), and that this has led to the following recommendations:-

(h1)  note that almost all capital projects can be paused, delayed or ultimately cancelled though there would be implications related to such decisions;

(h2)  note that for reprofiling purposes there are projects/programmes within the approved Capital Programmes which have been excluded;

(h3)  note the legal status of the contracts involved in delivery of the projects as this to an extent dictates the level of flexibility that the Council has in terms of reprofiling, pausing or cancelling projects;

(h4)  note the General Fund Capital funded projects/programmes recommended for reprofiling are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7