Decision details

To provide Cabinet with an update in respect of the financial position and forecasts for both the General Fund (GF) and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), allowing review of financial assumptions, approval of any mid-year budgetary changes and agreement of the budgets strategies for 2018/19 and beyond.

1.     With regard to the General Fund (GF) Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), Cabinet

(a)   Approved the assumptions underpinning the MTFS (Appendix 1, Section 3);

(b)   Noted the GF forecast at Section 4 and Appendix A

(c)   Noted the indicative unavoidable revenue pressures and their impact on savings requirements;

(d)   nstructed the Head of Finance to bring forward detailed draft estimates for 2018-19 based on assumptions and issues contained in the report for consideration by the Cabinet in the new year; and

(e)   Instructed the Executive Management Team (EMT) to identify and develop other options for meeting the MTFS additional income / savings requirement.

2.     Cabinet approved the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) MTFS, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report, to include:

(a)   changes in financial assumptions as detailed in Appendix B to the HRA MTFS;

(b)   mid-year revenue budget changes, as detailed in Appendix D(1) to the HRA MTFS, which impact future forecasts for the HRA;

(c)   mid-year capital budgets changes, as detailed in Appendix E to the HRA MTFS;

(d)   update to the total new build budget and the new build schemes included in the Housing Capital Investment Plan, incorporation of the latest budgetary figures in respect of new build schemes, and re-phasing of expenditure in line with anticipated build timetables;

(e)   recognition of an increase of £500,000 in the budget for the acquisition of market dwellings, to ensure that right to buy receipts are appropriately reinvested in 2017/18;

(f)     changes in anticipated receipt and use of capital resources for the HRA, as included in Appendix H to the HRA MTFS;

(g)   approval of the HRA budget strategy for 2018/19, to include the exemplification of savings against a target of £600,480, with £100,480 required from 2018/19, and £250,000 per annum sought from 2019/20 and 2020/21 onwards; and

(h)   noting the early proposals for bids and savings in the HRA, in advance of formal consideration as part of the HRA Budget Setting Report in February 2018.