Issue - meetings

The Council resolved:-

(i)             to welcome the publication by the Scottish Government of its Resource Spending Review through to 2026/2027 on 31 May 2022 and note that this indicated a flat cash settlement for Local Government for the next 3 years, followed by a 1% increase in 2026/27;

(ii)           to approve the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the General Fund 2022;

(iii)          to note that the report on TOM 1.2 was also on the agenda today, which described the approach the Council intended to take through transformation and multi-agency working to contribute towards closing the gap between income and expenditure forecast;

(iv)          to welcome the alignment of the MTFS and TOM 1.2, together these documents represented the fiscal framework for Aberdeen;

(v)           to note that the publication of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill and associated Financial Memorandum indicated that the first year of operation would be 2025/26, within the terms of the MTFS, and this had the potential to remove c.25% of financial resources from the Council;

(vi)          to note the reported impact that inflation and supply chain volatility was having on our current financial year [Council Financial Performance Quarter 1, 2022/23: RES/22/152] and that the impact was anticipated to continue to have an effect on the future funding gap;

(vii)        to note that the commitments contained within the Partnership Agreement, adopted on 18 May 2022, remained uncosted for future years and were being worked on to support the update of the MRFS when the budget was set for 2023/24 in March 2023;

(viii)       to note the reprofiled capital programme, which was referred from the City Growth and Resources Committee on 3 August 2022 [RES/22/152] to Council today, was the basis for capital financing costs and debt levels referred to in the MTFS;

(ix)          to note the 2023/24 Budget would be discussed and set by the Council in March 2023 reflecting the commitments within the Partnership Agreement;

(x)           to note the ongoing development of the data presented in relation to the Council’s Financial Resilience Framework and the insight this provided of the underlying strength of the Council’s finances that support the continued operation of services through the uncertain and volatile environment. The data identified indicators to watch, and these should be carefully considered when setting future budgets. The Chief Officer - Finance would continue to develop the Framework; and

(xi)          to request that the Council’s submission to the National Care Service call for evidence be circulated to all members after it had been submitted on 2 September.

(A)       The Council had before it a report by the Director of Resources which presented a Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which pulled together all known factors affecting the financial position and financial sustainability of the organisation over the medium term.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)          welcome the publication by the Scottish Government of its Resource Spending Review through to 2026/2027 on 31 May 2022 and notes that this indicates a flat cash settlement for Local Government for the next 3 years, followed by a 1% increase in 2026/27;

(b)          approve the Medium Term Financial Strategy for the General Fund, 2022;

(c)          note that the report on TOM1.2 is also on the agenda today, which describes the approach the Council intends to take through transformation and multi-agency working to contribute towards closing the gap between income and expenditure forecast;

(d)          welcome the alignment of the MTFS and TOM1.2, together these documents represent the fiscal framework for Aberdeen;     

(e)          note that the publication of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill and associated Financial Memorandum indicates that the first year of operation will be 2025/26, within the term of the MTFS, and this has the potential to remove c.25% of financial resources from the Council;

(f)           note the reported impact that inflation and supply chain volatility is having on our current financial year [Council Financial Performance Quarter 1, 2022/23: RES/22/152] and that the impact is anticipated to continue to have an effect on the future funding gap;

(g)          note that the commitments contained within the Partnership Agreement, adopted on 18 May 2022, remain uncosted for future years and are being worked on to support the update of the MTFS when the budget is set for 2023/24 in March 2023;

(h)          note the reprofiled capital programme, which was referred from City Growth and Resources Committee on 3 August 2022 [RES/22/152] to Council today, is the basis for capital financing costs and debt levels referred to in the MTFS;

(i)            note the 2023/24 Budget will be discussed and set by the Council in March 2023 reflecting the commitments within the Partnership Agreement; and

(j)            note the ongoing development of the data presented in relation to the Council’s Financial Resilience Framework and the insight this provides of the underlying strength of the Council finances that support the continued operation of services through the uncertain and volatile environment. The data identifies indicators to watch, and these should be carefully considered when setting future budgets. The Chief Officer - Finance will continue to develop the Framework.

(B)       The Council had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services which proposed the next iteration of the Council’s Target Operating Model (TOM) 1.2 to support the necessary scale of transformation that would contribute to the level of savings required over the next 5 years, as outlined in the MTFS.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)         agree the TOM 1.2 for 2022-27, attached to the report as Appendix A, to support the necessary  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10