Agenda item

The Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Director of Resources which provided information on:

a)            the final revenue and capital outturn for the General Fund for 2023/24;

b)            the final outturn for the dedicated schools grants and schools for 2023/24;

c)             the final outturn for the Council Tax and Business Rates collection fund for 2023/24;

d)            the use of and contributions to earmarked, cash limit and general reserves in 2023/24 together with the closing position regarding balances held at 31 March 2024;

e)            the achievement of Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) (13) savings targets in 2023/24; and

f)              the outcome of a review of all earmarked reserves, which has resulted in set of proposals to repurpose a range of these reserves.

(for copy of report, see file of minutes).

In moving the report, Councillor R Bell, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance, thanked the Corporate Director and his Team for the comprehensive and thorough report.

Over the last few years financial performance had been impacted by inflation, interest rates and legacy issues caused by the pandemic and compounded by the local government pay award.  Whilst inflation was back to normal levels, residents and businesses had been impacted by the issues, which had driven additional demand and costs.  The council had sought to help vulnerable families and businesses during these difficult times.  Many of the reported issues would affect the 2024-25 budget setting.

With the exception of Children and Young People’s Services all other services had an in-year cash limit underspend.  The overspend of £8.4m had required a transfer from Corporate Reserves.

In the absence of the school reserves which had increased, the overall level of reserves held by the Council had reduced by just over £14m compared to 31 March 2023.  The Councils general reserve was in line with policy and appropriate for an organisation of its size and complexity, with the risks managed.  The report set out details of the review of reserves undertaken in quarter four and actioned at year end, to realign and strengthen corporate capacity in preparation for MTFP15 and beyond.

The reserves held were inflated by grant funding which had been carried over from quarter four to meet commitments in 2024-25. The net outturn position across Council Tax and Business Rates collection fund showed an improvement.  A record amount had been delivered by the Capital Programme and whilst less than budgeted for, the funding would be carried over and reprogrammed.  The report demonstrated that the Council had strong financial resilience and exercised prudent financial management.

The Leader of the Council seconded the recommendations, thanking Councillor Bell and the Corporate Director and his team, for the detailed report.  She also acknowledged all budget managers for their continued effective budget management, despite difficulties faced due to the scale and complexity of the organisation, combined with inflationary and demand pressures.  It was positive to note that the Council was generally under budget and overspending had been offset by corporate underspends and effective treasury management.  Referring to the improvements to address the forecasted overspend on the high needs Dedicated Schools Grant, she confirmed that the Government should address cumulative deficits in high needs over the coming years.

The Joint Administration had focused on delivery and it was particularly pleasing to report the final capital outturn position with capital expenditure totalling £233.010 million which exceeded previous levels delivered in any one year.  This had included £23.9m invested in highways, £18.3m towards a £60m scheme at NetPark Phase 3 and an initial £16.2 million towards a £38 million investment in a new primary and secondary school at Belmont.  There had also been investment of £13 million as part of the Leisure Transformation Programme and £9.4 million invested from the disabled facilities programme to ensure vulnerable people were able to stay in their own homes.  This was not an example of an administration who did not want to improve the economy or invest in County Durham.  In addition to these investments and major schemes at the bus station, The Story and Spennymoor Primary School had concluded and work had commenced on bringing the DLI building back into use.

The Capital Programme was significantly improving infrastructure and the Leader noted that £361m had been budgeted for 2024/25 and £232.5 for 2025/26.  To conclude, she thanked everyone concerned in the delivery of the Capital Programme, confirming that County Durham was open for business and the Council would continue to deliver, as they had for the previous three years.

Resolved:

That the recommendations in the report be approved.