Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of Resources on the Provisional Revenue Outturn for 2018/2019 compared with the approved budget and the capital expenditure in the year ended 31 March 2019 with sources of funding.

Mr Steve Thompson, Director of Resources, presented the Provisional Revenue Outturn 2018/2019. He informed the Committee that the ongoing overspend in Children’s Services had continued to have an impact on the Council’s other services but that a £1 million underspend had been achieved during 2018/2019. This had been as a result on a number of factors such as improved collection and meant that the Council was considered to be in a healthy financial position.

Mr Thompson also informed members of a technical adjustment in Waste Services in the Council’s favour as a result of aligning different accounting methods between Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council. He also highlighted that earmarked reserves had decreased, but no greater that the planned deficit in Leisure Assets.

The Committee questioned why there had been a £81,000 overspend in Parks and Heritage. Mr Cavill, Director of Communication and Regeneration, responded that the overspend had been the result of there being no budget for the Grundy Art Gallery and that funds had to have been used from elsewhere for expenditure on it. He also stated that a report on the overspend would be presented to the Council’s Corporate Leadership Team during August 2019.

Members queried if the money spent on temporary staff represented value for money. Mr Thompson replied that the money had been spent to ensure services continued to be delivered and that the use of temporary staff would be continuously reviewed.

The Committee also asked by how much spending had been reduced as the result of cuts in the past few years. Mr Thompson responded that total cuts had reduced spending by a compound amount of over £800 million over the last nine years.

The potential for increasing income from the Illuminations was also discussed. Members questioned if more could be charged for attending the event. Mr Cavill responded that charging for the event would be complicated and potentially costly for the Council. Sponsorship had traditionally been the main method for generating income for the Illuminations but interest had reduced and a new approach would therefore have to be considered.

The Committee discussed the income from car parking. It was queried if missing the revenue target for car parking had been the result of a reduction in income. Mr Cavill responded that revenue had increased consistently over the past ten years. The target had been missed as a result of setting a target that had been intentionally ambitious. It was also queried if there had been a reduction in available spaces in Blackpool. Mr Cavill replied that a limited number of spaces had been lost near to the Pleasure Beach and other locations in the town.

Members queried if the cost of car parking could discourage greater use of the car parks in Blackpool. Mr Mark Smith, Cabinet Member for Business, Enterprise and Job Creation, responded that rates had been frozen for the last year and that various methods were available for paying for parking.