Agenda item

This report provides details of the headline performance issue from the performance monitor session on the 27 September 2006. It also builds on this to present the latest projection of the Council’s revenue income and expenditure for the current year.

Members considered a report which provided details of the key performance issues discussed at the performance monitor session held for Directors and Executive Members on 27 September 2006 and presented the latest projection of the Council’s revenue income and expenditure for the current year.

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

REASON: So that corrective action on the performance issues can be addressed by Directorates and EMAPs prior to the next monitor session in December.

(ii) That the applications for supplementary estimates of £179k, to be funded from the contingency fund, as set out in paragraph 62 of the report, be approved.

REASON: In accordance with the Executive’s Constitutional powers to make decisions on the level and granting of supplementary estimates.

(iii) That consideration of the virements identified in paragraph 64, Table 4, be deferred until further information on the implications of such action is available.

REASON: To enable the Executive to make a properly informed decision.

(iv) That the virement of £3k between Treasury Management and Leisure and Culture, as identified in paragraph 65, be approved.

REASON: The virement request is within the budget areas where the Executive is the responsible body.

(v) That the virements (on a non-recurring basis) that reduce the budgets for indicated departments / portfolio areas and reallocate them to achieve a balanced budget, as set out in paragraph 67, Table 5, be approved.

REASON: In accordance with the requirement in the Council’s financial regulations that virements of more than £250k be approved by the Executive.

(vi) That departments be instructed to continue to look for savings from within their own budgets, rather than request supplementary estimates for additional expenditure pressures.

REASON: To ensure that all practicable action is taken in departments prior to seeking additional funding from the Executive.

(vii) That the action currently being taken by departments to manage the overspends identified be endorsed, and that the Director of Housing and Adult Social Services be requested to report to the Executive at the earliest opportunity on the implications, for this and future years’ Council budgets, of the increased demand for social care, including those arising out of complexity issues, plus the impact of changes to the Government’s grant regulations for the Supporting People programmes.

REASON: To enable the Executive to continue to monitor the budget and in view of the particular pressures faced by Housing and Adult Social Services.

Members considered a report which provided details of the key performance issues discussed at the performance monitor session held for Directors and Executive Members on 27 September 2006 and presented the latest projection of the Council’s revenue income and expenditure for the current year.

Key performance issues identified for Directors and Executive Members to address before the next monitor in December were listed in paragraph 4 of the report. Work to agree scopes and scorecards for the 13 priorities within the Corporate Strategy agreed by the Executive in June would not be in place until December. Meanwhile, the focus would remain on the two top priorities – York Pride and Safer City. Progress on York Pride had included significant improvements in response times for investigating reports of abandoned cars and removing graffiti. On Safer City, performance against all of the public perception measures had been consolidated or improved upon and Safer York Partnership was on track to achieve most of its Home Office targets. Progress in other areas included reduced levels of staff sickness and staff turnover and improved performance against some Customer First targets, notably timely responses to letters and Stage 2 complaints.

With regard to financial performance, an overspend of £604k was projected on the General Fund revenue budget, representing 0.6% of the total net budget of £100,295k. On the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) functions, a £486k underspend was projected, but this was not available to be used for other General Fund purposes. A summary of the budgets and variations in each service area was provided in Table 1 at paragraph 44 of the report. Table 4 at paragraph 64 outlined virements for asset rental charges sought under CIPFA’s new Code of Practice for 2006/07. However, it was reported at the meeting that guidance on the Code was still awaited and it was requested that a consideration of these virements be deferred.

Recommendations made by the Corporate Management Team in respect of potential areas for further budgetary savings during the year included transferring interest earned on retained Section 106 funds into the General Fund Reserve as a commuted sum. Approval was sought to vire £3k between Treasury Management and Leisure and Culture to achieve this. Approval was also sought for non-recurring virements to re-align the 2006/07 budgets; details were set out in Table 5 at paragraph 67. The transfers would be reversed in future years, leaving a gap of £167k which, it was proposed, initially be set against the remaining contingency sum.

Members commented on the particular financial pressures faced by Adult Social Services in this year and the next, due to growth in the number of complex care cases. It was noted that these had been addressed in the proposals and that the Council was on track to out-turn within or under budget by the end of the year.