A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Council and councillors

Agenda item

QUARTER 4 FINANCE MANAGEMENT REPORT AND DRAFT OUTTURN 2014/15

To receive Report No. 96/2015 from the Director of Resources.

 

Minutes:

Report No. 96/2015 from the Director for Resources was received, the purpose of which was to inform the panel of the draft outturn figures (subject to audit) for the financialyear 2014/15 and provide an update on the status of the 2015/16 budget and accompanying recommendations, which would be presented to Cabinet for approval on 21 July 2015.

 

During the discussion the following points were noted:

 

     i.                 Cllr King presented the report and indicated that the Council was in a good position overall as outlined in the report;

    ii.          An example of how the Quarterly budget monitoring reports would be presented in future had been provided for all Members of the panel.  The new format would provide more detailed information and would be easier to navigate.  It had been improved to take account of feedback provided by Councillors.  This was a pilot and constructive feedback was welcomed in order to further improve and develop the format of the information provided;

  iii.          It was common to have variances which could result in the accumulation of a surplus, or an overspend.  Variances were more likely in less stable budgets than demand led budgets, such as some that exist in People’s Services.  In the last few years the Council has generally accumulated a surplus;

   iv.          Where there was a surplus, it could be set aside for use in following years.  Where there was a long term reduction in spending on a particular budget, it could be reduced in future years;

    v.          The forecast details what budget holders believe they will spend in a full year on specific areas; if the budget is revised each quarter there is an audit trail to show all of the changes made.  Quarter 4 reflects the actual end of year position;

   vi.          Staff vacancies and spend on interims was a recurring theme in the Quarter 4 report;

 vii.          It was confirmed that some staff vacancies had proved difficult to recruit to.  The option of an interim may have also been considered because it provides a better solution that a permanent employee such as where skills are required to complete a short-term project, or a specific piece of work. IIn some cases an interim isless expensive in overall terms than acquiring a permanent replacement for a vacancy;

viii.          Further information regarding the number of interim Officers and plans for recruiting to these positions on a permanent basis was requested and will be presented at Q1;

   ix.          A report to review senior management pay arrangements would be presented to Council later in the year.  The panel requested that this report was brought to Resources Scrutiny before going to Council.  The Chair would look to consider how this might be achieved taking into account the timeframes;

    x.          A question was raised regarding investments in training for less senior officers and succession management planning.  The Director for Resources confirmed that the plans for a leadership and development programme were currently being finalised by Human Resources;

   xi.          The figures for the funding required in order to extend the Travel For Rutland Service until the end of August would be confirmed in Quarter 1.  This was due to uncertainty over a grant that had been advanced by a Government Department in error;

 xii.          The question of outsourcing IT Support had been explored, but was not considered to be a viable option at this time.  The Council was moving towards all new software systems being hosted by the providers, this would mean that support and specialist knowledge would also be provided by the software companies;

xiii.          There was a request for further information from the People’s Directorate regarding costs associated with the transitional arrangements in the People’s Directorate (Section 1.33) and when the structure approved as part of the People’s Review would be established; and

xiv.          Clarification was given regarding the un-allocated Capital Programmes detailed in Appendix 6. It was explained that this was where funding streams had been received, but there was no plan currently in place against which to allocate them.

 

AGREED:

 

1)    That the panel noted the contents of Report No. 96/2015.

 

Supporting documents: