Agenda item

This report provides details of the Council’s performance during the period April 2008 to March 2009 and presents requests to carry forward funds into 2009/10, together with a reserves position statement. 

RESOLVED: (i)         That the performance issues identified in the report be noted.

REASON:      So that corrective action on these issues can be taken by Corporate Management team and directorates and key areas for improvement fed into future corporate planning.

                        (ii)        That the out-turn position be noted.

REASON:      So that consideration can be given to areas that are over or under spending.

                        (iii)       That the transfer of the net receipt of £1,817k to the general revenue reserve, following the Fleming VAT case, as set out in paragraph 8 of the report, be approved.

REASON:      To ensure that, over the lifetime of the Council’s Financial Plan, reserves are maintained at an acceptable level.

                        (iv)       That the transfer of £120k from the Council’s insurance reserve to the general fund reserve in 2008/09 and a further £400k in 2009/10, as set out in paragraph 10, be approved.

REASON:      To ensure that, over the lifetime of the Council’s Financial Plan, reserves are maintained at an acceptable level.

                        (v)        That the transfer of the balance on the trading activity reserve to the general fund reserve with effect from 1 April 2009, as set out in paragraph 10, be approved.

REASON:      To reflect the fact that this reserve is no longer required as the service is now part of the general fund.

                        (vi)       That the requests to carry forward into 2009/10 funds totalling £472k for general fund services, as detailed in paragraphs 44. 54, 59, 65 and 67 and summarised in paragraphs 74 to 78 be approved, subject to the table below:

REASON:      So that resources can be directed into those areas that meet corporate priorities.

                        (vii)      That the request to carry forward unspent budget of £35k within the housing revenue account, as detailed in paragraph 50 and summarised in paragraph 74, be approved. 

REASON:      So that resources can be directed into those areas that meet corporate priorities.

Members considered a report which provided details of the Council’s performance during the period April 2008 to March 2009 and presented requests to carry forward funds into 2009/10, together with a reserves position statement. 

This was the first year in which the Council was reporting its performance under the new, outcome-based national indicators.  Priority based improvement had been encouraging, with over three quarters of Local Area Agreement indicators improving and nearly two thirds reaching or exceeding their targets.  The Council’s first Place Survey results were also good, with 55% in the top quartile.  In some areas, such as educational achievement and waste management, York’s performance was amongst the best in the country.  Due to effective financial management, these improvements had been achieved within the Council’s overall budget for 2008/09.  Detailed information on the Council’s performance generally and within each directorate was provided in paragraphs 18 to 68 of the report and in annexes 2 to 3.

With regard to financial performance, a net underspend of £1,478k was projected in 2008/09, of which directorates had requested £472k to be carried forward into 2009/10.  Due to external pressures there had been overspends in City Strategy and Children’s Services that could not be brought back into budget through corrective action and work was currently under way to address these.  Details of the carry forward requests were provided in the body of the report and summarised in paragraph 74 to 78 for Members’ consideration.  Approval was also sought for the following transfers to the general reserves, as detailed in paragraphs 8 and 10 of the report:

·        a backdated VAT rebate of £1,817k received in respect of museum admissions

·        £120k from the insurance reserve, to meet the remaining uninsured costs of the York High School fire.

Members welcomed the positive indications in the report and noted the need to monitor the reserves position to ensure there was no deficit in the next three years, in view of the current financial climate.

Having noted the comments of the Shadow Executive on this item, it was

RESOLVED: (i)         That the performance issues identified in the report be noted.

REASON:      So that corrective action on these issues can be taken by Corporate Management team and directorates and key areas for improvement fed into future corporate planning.

                        (ii)        That the out-turn position be noted.

REASON:      So that consideration can be given to areas that are over or under spending.

                        (iii)       That the transfer of the net receipt of £1,817k to the general revenue reserve, following the Fleming VAT case, as set out in paragraph 8 of the report, be approved.

REASON:      To ensure that, over the lifetime of the Council’s Financial Plan, reserves are maintained at an acceptable level.

                        (iv)       That the transfer of £120k from the Council’s insurance reserve to the general fund reserve in 2008/09 and a further £400k in 2009/10, as set out in paragraph 10, be approved.¹

REASON:      To ensure that, over the lifetime of the Council’s Financial Plan, reserves are maintained at an acceptable level.

                        (v)        That the transfer of the balance on the trading activity reserve to the general fund reserve with effect from 1 April 2009, as set out in paragraph 10, be approved. ²

REASON:      To reflect the fact that this reserve is no longer required as the service is now part of the general fund.

                        (vi)       That the requests to carry forward into 2009/10 funds totalling £472k for general fund services, as detailed in paragraphs 44. 54, 59, 65 and 67 and summarised in paragraphs 74 to 78 be approved, subject to the table below:³

REASON:      So that resources can be directed into those areas that meet corporate priorities.

                        (vii)      That the request to carry forward unspent budget of £35k within the housing revenue account, as detailed in paragraph 50 and summarised in paragraph 74, be approved. ⁴

REASON:      So that resources can be directed into those areas that meet corporate priorities.