Issue - meetings

The committee’s members on the Budget Task and Finish Group - Mrs N Graves, Mr S Lloyd-Williams and Mr J Ransley - will provide an oral report on the outcomes of this review.

Mr Ransley presented an oral report on the deliberations of the task and finish group, stating that members had concluded they were satisfied with the explanations on the projected variances on the 2017-18 budget.

Mr J Ward, Head of Finance & Governance Services, advised that the draft settlement had been received from the Government on the day of the review and confirmed that the figures in the draft financial model had been similar to those predicted. The projected funding in the draft settlement had been confirmed for 2016-17 plus three years. A variance of £300,000 deficit in the car parks budget had been identified which had been due to a budgeting error when the 2016-17 budget had been set based on the 2015-16 budget monitoring position at the end of the second quarter, which had forecast an increase in car park usage.  This budget correction would be fed into the 2017-18 budget.

Mr Ransley thanked officers for being candid about budgeting mistakes and for the detailed presentations made to the group and for managing the council’s accounts in an exemplary manner. The Chairman gave her thanks to the Task and Finish Group for its review.

To consider and agree the Terms of Reference for this review and to nominate three members to contribute to this review.

The committee considered the report circulated with the agenda (copy attached to the official minutes). Mr Ward presented the report.

RESOLVED

1)      That the terms of reference for the Budget Task and Finish Group be approved.

2)      That the Mr Barrett, Mr Hicks and Mrs Tull be approved as the committee’s representatives on this group.