Issue - meetings

To report the level of spending and exposure against the Council’s Revenue budgets and reserves and balances for the first 7 months to 31 October 2021.

The Executive agreed the recommendations as outlined above namely:

1. To note the report.  

2. To agree to transition out the Growth and Prosperity net revenue budget target over a 2-year period, 2022/23-23/24, with any proceeds subsequently realised from the existing work programme being directed to bolstering reserves and any new proceeds being retained by Growth and Prosperity for their re-investment [para 3.4 of the report].

3. To require the respective directors and Director of Resources to continue to closely monitor and manage service financial and operational performances, specifically Growth and Prosperity, Children’s Services, Strategic Leisure Assets and Adult Services.

4. To prompt the Scrutiny Leadership Board to continue to independently review the financial and operational performances of the services listed in decision 3.

5. To continue to lobby central government (HM Treasury, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (formerly the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), Department for Health and Social Care, Department for Transport, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Department for Education in particular) along with local authority peers and networks and the Local Government Association for the funding necessary to cope with the demands and new burdens presenting as a result of both Covid and within Children’s Services.