Agenda item

To consider the level of spending against the Council’s Revenue and Capital budgets for the first eight months to 30 November 2018.

Mr Steve Thompson, Director of Resources, presented the Financial Monitoring Report outlining the level of spending against revenue and capital budgets for the first eight months to 30 November 2018.

The Committee discussed the ongoing overspend in Children’s Services and queried if officers were aware of any work being undertaken on a national level to identify the causes of the problem. Mr Thompson replied that this was a topical issue affecting a number of councils and that a relevant National Audit Office report had been issued the previous day (22 January 2019).

Members also asked how the Children’s Services overspend had affected the Council’s budget as a whole. Mr Thompson replied that work was ongoing to manage the effects of the overspend and that underspends in other services would be utilised to mitigate the impact. A final review of the Council’s financial position would be undertaken in the Provisional Outturn report 2018/2019.

The overspend of £234k due to the loss of catering contracts was queried by the Committee. Members asked what monitoring was undertaken of contracts and if it was sometimes better to relinquish bad contracts than continue them. Mr Thompson responded that this was sometimes the case but that every contract was monitored to ensure that it delivered value for money.

The Committee queried a reference to delayed income in Communications and Regeneration contributing to an overall overspend. Mr Cavil responded that the income related to support given to a film project produced in Blackpool which would not generate income until it had been released, however an initial payment was expected to be forthcoming soon.

Members also discussed the reduction in bus and tram usage, which had contributed to an underspend in Concessionary fares, and if this had been caused by the ongoing regeneration work in the town centre. Mr Thompson replied that reductions in public transport patronage was a national issue caused by behavioural changes that saw increasing numbers of people using cars as their primary mode of transport besides changes to the state pension age. It was also noted that there would be a corresponding negative effect on Blackpool Transport Services as a result.

The remaining level of funds available in Ward Budgets was highlighted, with Mr Thompson informing Members that the figures shown represented the position at the end of November 2018 and that current levels would be lower and would be reported in the month nine Financial Monitoring report.