Issue - meetings

Report by Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Finance and Resources to provide information on actual expenditure and income incurred on the HRA compared to the latest approved budget for period 1

Cabinet:

1)    NOTED the financial position on the HRA at 30 September 2022 and the year-end forecast for both revenue and capital.

2)    RECOMMENDED that Council approve the proposed virements and realignment of the HRA capital programme for 2022/23 as outlined in paragraph 5.8 of the report.

The Director for Corporate Services, Mrs Dawn Garton, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to provide information on actual expenditure and income incurred on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), compared to the latest approved budget for the period 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022 for revenue and capital budgets.

The Director for Corporate Services stated that the overall expenditure is forecast to overspend and there is a shortfall in rental and other income, however additional interest on investments will help offset some of the shortfall.

With regard to capital, the Asset Management Plan has given clarity to capital spending needs and therefore there is a recommendation to council to move some of the Capital Budgets from underspends and historical budgets to those identified as higher priority.

In moving the recommendations, the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Finance and Resources, Councillor Ronnie de Burle, said he fully supported the report. He added that the report shows there is a need to be flexible with expenditure and be able to redirect to areas of greater need. He added that he was disappointed in the rental income shortfall but was delighted to recognise the treasury team being able to deliver additional interest on investments of £133,000.

Councillor Graham commented on the underspend at Gretton Court and asked if there were any outstanding reasons for this. In response, Councillor de Burle said that there have been many void properties, which is why there is the underspend. Councillor de Burle added that work had been done to reduce the number of void properties and there is now a higher occupancy rate than has been previously.

The Leader thanked Councillor De Burle and seconded the recommendations.

Cabinet:

1)       NOTED the financial position on the HRA at 30 September 2022 and the year-end forecast for both revenue and capital.

2)       RECOMMENDED that Council approve the proposed virements and realignment of the HRA capital programme for 2022/23 as outlined in paragraph 5.8 of the report.

Reason for Recommendations

The Council, having set an agreed budget at the start of the financial year, needs to ensure that the delivery of the budget is achieved.  Consequently, there is a requirement to regularly monitor progress so that corrective action can be taken when required, which is enhanced with the regular reporting of the financial position.