Issue - meetings

The Chief Operating Officer to present a report which provides details of the council’s overall finance and performance position for the period 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020, together with an overview of any emerging issues.

Resolved:  That the finance and performance information and the actions needed to manage the financial position be noted.

Reason:     To ensure that expenditure is kept within the approved budget.

The Chief Operating Officer presented a report which provided details of the council’s overall finance and performance position for the period 1 April to 30 September 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to have a significant impact on the financial position, as summarised in paragraph 3, with additional costs of some £10m as reported in October.  Government grant of £12m had been awarded to date, with the Income Compensation Scheme potentially providing a further £4m.  Despite the additional funding described in paragraphs 5-7 of the report, an ongoing impact in future years was still expected and efforts to urge government to ‘Back York’ had been stepped up.

The gross financial pressures facing the council were now projected at £8.6m.  After mitigation and further action, as outlined in the report and Annex 1, it was considered that this could be brought down to a net position of £2.8m by the year end.  The council had £7.4m general reserves to call upon should the outturn not be within the approved budget, but it was important to maintain reserves at an appropriate level in 2021/22 and beyond. 

Performance against the core indicators in the Council Plan was set out in paragraphs 33-37 of the report and in Annex 2.  Those indicators showing a direct adverse effect from Covid-19 were listed in paragraph 35.  Further significant changes were likely to be seen in future reports as new data became available.

The Chair highlighted the scale of the challenge facing all councils in terms of setting their budgets and noted that, while the increase in spending power was welcome, it would mostly be funded from council tax increases.  Lobbying efforts for government investment in the city would continue.

Resolved:  That the finance and performance information and the actions needed to manage the financial position be noted.

Reason:     To ensure that expenditure is kept within the approved budget.