Agenda item

Approved budget rollovers totalling £83,555 on General Fund revenue budgets, £382,839 on HRA Revenue budgets and £3,303,383 on the Capital Programme, as detailed in Appendices E(1) General Fund Revenue, E(2) HRA Revenue and E(3) Capital, to be carried forward into the 2018-19 financial year, and

Cabinet considered a report relating to

·        A provisional 2017-18 outturn position statement on General Fund, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Capital expenditure, including requests for budget rollovers from 2017-18 to 2018-19;

·        Statements on the 2017-18 year-end position with regard to the Council’s corporate objectives and performance indicators, and

·        The Strategic Risk Register

After the Executive Director had highlighted the main points in the report, including the fact that South Cambridgeshire District Council was, for the period covered, the third best Authority in England in terms of the Council Tax collection Performance Indicator. Councillor Brian Milnes, the Scrutiny and Overview Committee Vice-Chairman, reported on that Committee’s pre-scrutiny deliberations.

The Leader wondered how much of the underspent budget was due to staff vacancies. In reply, the Executive Director said that, while individual instances were highlighted in the report, there was currently no aggregate figure referred to. Councillor John Williams, Finance Portfolio Holder, pointed out that the report should simply be noted as it related to a period presided over by the previous Administration.

Councillor Sue Ellington raised the issue of staff health and wellbeing specifically within the Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service. Both the Director of Health and Environmental Services and Councillor Neil Gough, Environmental Services Portfolio Holder, recognised the challenge, and pointed to an improving situation. The Leader wondered whether an incentive scheme could be introduced with a view to enhancing employees’ quality of life.

Councillor Ellington instigated a wide-ranging discussion about the provision of ICT services to Councillors.

Following further comments about the report,

Cabinet

(a)             Noted the Council’s provisional financial outturn position, together with the overview of Corporate Plan 2017-2022  achievements and performance against key performance indicators set out in the report and appendices A-E attached;

(b)             Approved budget rollovers totalling £83,555 on General Fund revenue budgets, £382,839 on HRA Revenue budgets and £3,303,383 on the Capital Programme, as detailed in Appendices E(1) General Fund Revenue, E(2) HRA Revenue and E(3) Capital, to be carried forward into the 2018-19 financial year, and

(c)             Noted the Strategic Risk Register at Appendix F attached.to the report.