Agenda item

(Finance & Economic Development – Cllr H Whitbread) To note the revenue and capital positions of the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account at the end of Quarter 2 (C-033-2024-25).

(1)            That the Cabinet noted the General Fund revenue position at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024) for 2024/25, including actions being undertaken or proposed to ameliorate the position, where significant variances had been identified (including Appendix A of the agenda report).

(2)            That the Cabinet noted the General Fund capital position at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024) for 2024/25 (including Appendix B of the agenda report).

(3)            That the Cabinet noted the Housing Revenue Account revenue position at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024) for 2024/25, including actions proposed to ameliorate the position, where significant variances had been identified.

(4)            That the Cabinet noted the Housing Revenue Account capital position at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024) for 2024/25 (including Appendix C of the agenda report); and

(5)            That the Cabinet noted the wider position on Financial Performance and Risk at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024).

The Finance & Economic Development Portfolio Holder (Councillor H Whitbread) introduced the report which represented a fairly stable position. The Council had healthy reserves and good collection rates. At the quarter 2 stage, in terms of General Fund revenue expenditure a budget underspend of £0.131 million was forecast with a projected net expenditure of £15.740 million against an overall budget provision of £15.871 million. There were overspend pressures particularly in Planning & Development which had an overspend forecast of £533,535 in addition to costs of £168,000 on planning appeals awarded against the Council. This added to the budget pressure and included £141,000 that related to Chigwell Nursery. There were other underspends in ICT & Transformation, Regulatory Services and Customer & Communities. The Portfolio Holder reported that the Housing Revenue Account was also in a healthy position. If the overall HRA forecast materialised, the HRA Balance would end the year at £3.655 million (the adopted minimum contingency balance in the HRA Business Plan was £2.0 million).

Councillor Jon Whitehouse asked the following questions.

What plans were there to revise the business plan for Qualis in light of late charges and higher interest rates and what impact would that have on Qualis? The Commercial & Estates Portfolio Holder (T Matthews) replied the Qualis Business Plan Update would be going to the next Cabinet meeting on 9 December.

Was the forecasted underspend in ICT an ongoing spend that would go back to reserves next year or phased, so the money would go into next year’s budget? The Strategic Director & 151 Officer replied that the ICT underspend was more about the late delivery of activities as opposed to the permanent reductions in costs.

Why was there an overspend on housing repairs when a key driver for moving housing repairs to Qualis was this service would be cheaper and more efficient? The Strategic Director & 151 Officer (A Small) clarified that it was to do with the amount of work required to voids as some properties had been left in a worst state of repair than had been anticipated, so this was being looked into.

Councillor G Wiskin asked the following questions.

Why was there a quarter 2 forecasted spending variance of £98,000 for the Chief Executive service area, if this was due to sick leave absence was there insurance cover in place? The Leader replied that he would come back later with a detailed reply.

With the Planning & Development projected overspend did the higher costs predicted cover the training for councillors, planning officers and the recruitment of new planning officers following the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) review? Also, with the restructure of the planning committees for better informed decision making, why was there no site visit for the Epping tree application at Planning Committee B in October when site visits were supposed to be taking place for every application going to a planning committee? The Shaping our District Portfolio Holder replied that the current budget included training, and the budget overspend was a lot less than in previous years, so this was improving. Also, the charges for the planning service the Council had to provide were set by the government. There would be site visits for every application going to committee unless the chairman decided otherwise, as site visits would take place at the discretion of the chairman. The Leader remarked that costs of £141,000 awarded against the Council on this planning appeal decision indicated why the way the planning committees had been run had needed to change. Councillor P Keska added that a substantial training programme was being organised for the chairman and officers involved with the planning committees including local councils’ planning committees.

At the last Council meeting Councillor N Bedford mentioned reports were being compiled and work was being done by third parties on information for the Clean Air Zone (CAZ). Was there any budget for this project? Councillor H Whitbread replied that the Council would do everything in its power not to have a CAZ. A Portfolio Holder Advisory Group had been set up on clean air, so both research and funding were ongoing. The Shaping our District Portfolio Holder advised that reports were being done and weekly meetings were being held with the Service Director and officers.

The report set out the options considered, if any, and the reasons for the recommendation and the decision.

Decision:

(1)           That the Cabinet noted the General Fund revenue position at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024) for 2024/25, including actions being undertaken or proposed to ameliorate the position, where significant variances had been identified (including Appendix A of the agenda report).

(2)           That the Cabinet noted the General Fund capital position at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024) for 2024/25 (including Appendix B of the agenda report).

(3)           That the Cabinet noted the Housing Revenue Account revenue position at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024) for 2024/25, including actions proposed to ameliorate the position, where significant variances had been identified.

(4)           That the Cabinet noted the Housing Revenue Account capital position at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024) for 2024/25 (including Appendix C of the agenda report); and

(5)           That the Cabinet noted the wider position on Financial Performance and Risk at the end of Quarter 2 (30th September 2024).