Issue - meetings

The Chief Operating Officer to present a report which provides a year end analysis of the council’s overall finance and performance position in 2020-2021.

Resolved:  (i)      That the year end position be noted.

(ii)      That the finance and performance information in the report be noted.

(iii)     That the extension to March 2023 for the letter of credit to York Museums Trust, as outlined in paragraphs 20 to 24 of the report, be approved.

(iv)    That approval be given for the use of contingency and reserves outlined in paragraphs 14 to 16.

(v)     That the carry-forward of HRA reserves outlined in Annex 1 be approved.

Reason:     To ensure that significant financial issues can be appropriately dealt with.

The Chief Finance Officer presented a report which provided an analysis of the council’s overall finance and performance position at the end of the financial year 2020-2021.

The report highlighted the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the council’s financial position, with estimated gross additional costs of £26m and income loss of £8m.  These had been mitigated by grant funding, but an ongoing impact was still expected in future years.   A provisional net overspend of £1.2m was reported on the net General Fund budget of £127m for 2020/21, funded from the use of contingency, earmarked reserves and the general reserve.  An overview of the outturn was provided in Table 1 at paragraph 12 of the report and key variances within each directorate were summarised in Annex 1.  The report also examined the position of reserves and contingency and outlined a request from York Museums Trust to extend the letter of guarantee approved by Executive in August 2020.

The performance update was based on the core indicators grouped around the eight outcome areas in the 2019-23 Council Plan.  Performance in general had remained high despite the challenges of the past year, and compared well against similar local authority areas.  Core indicators with a good or poor direction of travel were set out in paragraphs 25-28 of the report, and progress on the outcome areas was summarised in paragraph 30.  Detailed information was provided in Annex 2.

The Executive Member for Finance & Performance commented on the overall report, highlighting the work carried out by frontline staff and the support provided by the council to residents and businesses.  Other Members commented on their individual portfolio areas  In response to matters raised under Public Participation, officers confirmed that grant monies had been spent appropriately in Adult Social Care to fund pressures directly relating to Covid-19.

Resolved:  (i)      That the year end position be noted.

(ii)      That the finance and performance information in the report be noted.

(iii)     That the extension to March 2023 for the letter of credit to York Museums Trust, as outlined in paragraphs 20 to 24 of the report, be approved.

(iv)    That approval be given for the use of contingency and reserves outlined in paragraphs 14 to 16.

(v)     That the carry-forward of HRA reserves outlined in Annex 1 be approved.

Reason:     To ensure that significant financial issues can be appropriately dealt with.