Agenda item

The Charter Trustees for the City of Durham considered a report of the Treasurer which provided information on the actual expenditure compared to the profiled budget, for the period ending 30 September 2013; and forecasted expenditure to 31 March 2014 in comparison to the 2013/14 original budget (for copy see file of minutes).

The Treasurer reported that at 30 September 2013 actual net expenditure was £22,472; an underspend of £11,161 against a profiled budget of £33,633. However as a consequence of the decision that the roles of Mayor of the City of Durham and Chairman of Durham County Council be undertaken by one person; it was anticipated that actual expenditure at 31 March 2014 would be significantly lower than the original budget and subsequently there would not be a need to draw from reserves, in order to balance the budget.

Explanations for the main variances were contained in the report and it was noted that there would be further variances during the course of year as a result of the new arrangements.

The Treasurer further provided details of the forecast of expenditure to 31 March and details regarding the general reserve balance. It was reported that a contribution of £27,353 would be available towards the reserves, giving a total reserve balance of £62,708.

Councillor Holland raised a query regarding the transport aspect of the budget and asked whether there had been no transport provided during August and September as no costs were shown in Appendix 3 for these months. In addition he queried whether the contract with Lee’s Coaches had been discontinued. In response the Treasurer advised that transport would have been used during those months, however it was likely that the invoices for those trips had not as yet been issued from the supplier. With regard to the use of Lee’s Coaches, it was noted that there was no contract in place, but the firm were simply used on an adhoc basis.

The Mayor advised that the County Council’s vehicle was being used on a trial basis to transport the Bodyguard and their equipment and had significant cost benefits.

Councillor Holland advised that one of the guards had approached him and had advised that they had experienced some difficulties with the new arrangements. It was noted that using a bus firm did have significant cost implications however; the Mayor advised that she would follow this up and transport arrangements would continue to be monitored and reviewed.

Councillor Martin raised a query regarding the cost of the collection of the Mayors Robe. In response the Clerk advised that due to the delicate nature of the fabric of the robes, they had been returned to the Company who had produced the garment for specialist cleaning. This had been after being advised by a local robe making company to use the original manufacturer as they were not prepared to risk damaging the robe through the cleaning process. On this occasion some necessary refurbishment was also required which should help prolong the life of the garment. As it was essential that the robe was cleaned, refurbished and returned in a short space of time for Mayor Making the robe had been sent by courier, the method used previously when the robes had been cleaned by the former Durham City Council.  The robe, which was 30 years old, had not been cleaned for 7 years.

Resolved:

(i)            That the outturn position for the period ended 30 September 2013 be noted.

(ii)          That the forecast outturn to 31 March 2014 be noted.