To receive Report No. 146/2021 from the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation.

In consultation with Cabinet, Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation:

1)     Noted the revenue forecast at the of September as per section 3.3

2)     Noted the changes to the approved budget as per section 3.1 and Appendix A

3)     Noted that the projected deficit for 22/23 was estimated to be £580k which was less than the £1m target set by Council in February 2021

4)     Noted that the revenue budget outlook beyond 22/23 remained challenging with the financial gap estimated at £1.7 - £2.8m.

5)     Approved the budget timetable for 22/23 as per section 8.3 of the report.

Report No. 146/2021was introduced by Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation. The purpose of the report was to provide all Members with an update on the revenue budget position for 21/22 and the future outlook and in particular progress on closing the financial gap which stood at £2.7m for 22/23 (at the time the Council set its original budget in February 2021). Councillor Payne drew the Cabinets attention to the £400,000 underspend in Adult Social Care and £410,000 in Childrens Services through changes in working practice, a windfall of £551,000 won against a Social Care residency case in Cambridgeshire and £130,000 underspend on resourcing.

During discussions the following points were noted:

• Councillor Walters thanked Councillor Payne and Officers for the report.
• In response to concerns raised by Members in relation to how quickly the Council was moving in reducing the deficit, Councillor Payne advised that the Senior Management Team were meeting on Wednesday 17 November to identify further projects to potentially reduce budgets. Additionally, a financial plan was being pulled together that would feed into the Corporate Plan and progress reports on projects that had been approved in July 2021 were included within the report. Mark Andrews, Chief Executive explained that there was an interim position, but this was not sufficient to close the financial gap and further, more detailed work was required.
• Meetings had taken place with the MP to discuss Rutland’s access fairer funding from Central Government.

RESOLVED:

In consultation with Cabinet, Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation:

1)    NOTED the revenue forecast at the of September as per section 3.3

2)    NOTED the changes to the approved budget as per section 3.1 and Appendix A

3)    NOTED that the projected deficit for 22/23 was estimated to be £580k which was less than the £1m target set by Council in February 2021

4)    NOTED that the revenue budget outlook beyond 22/23 remained challenging with the financial gap estimated at £1.7 - £2.8m.

5)    APPROVED the budget timetable for 22/23 as per section 8.3 of the report.