Agenda item

Council          

Agreed to

A)           Acknowledge the 2021/22 general fund revenue outturn position as summarised in Appendix A, the operational underspend of £0.490 million, and the shortfall after income from Taxation and Government Grants in the year of £0.747 million, and the explanations provided for the variances compared to the revised 2021/22 revenue budget;

B)           Acknowledge the consequent increase in the General Fund as at 31 March 2022 of £2.955m to around £14.7m;

C)           In relation to the Capital Programme:

(i) Note the 2021/22 capital outturn of £32,420 million;

(ii) Acknowledge the performance achieved in relation to the Capital Programme schemes substantially completed in 2021/2022, summarised in Appendix B.

(iii) Approve the carry forwards of £3.344 million in relation to General Fund capital projects due mainly to slippage.

Councillor John Williams introduced this report on the General Fund Revenue and Capital outturn position for the financial year 2021/22 with Reserve balances as at 31 March 2022, which proposed changes to the Capital Programme. He stated that the actual outturn for the General Fund was close to the predicted revised budget. The actual figures for the Capital Budget were different from the predicted budget as a number of projects had been delayed and so moved into the budget for 2022/23. He reminded Council that the report provided details of last year’s accounts.

Councillor John Batchelor was pleased with the accuracy of the General Fund budget and hoped that this would be sustained for the 2022/23 budget.

The Chair asked why the funding allocation for the Vitrum Building had been £10,000 but the actual cost had been £118,000. Councillor John Williams promised a written answer to this question.

Councillor Heather Williams asked a number of questions that the Head of Finance then answered.

Overspend in the Planning service

The Head of Finance explained that the overspend in the Planning service had been due to the hiring of agency staff as the Council had been unable to recruit permanent staff.

Tenants on 270 Cambridge Science Park

The Head of Finance explained that the Council had two tenants in place at 270 Cambridge Science Park and councillors could expect to be updated regarding current negotiations with a prospective tenant.

Air Quality Monitoring Equipment project

The Head of Finance explained that the table on page 29 of the report should be amended as the Air Quality Monitoring Equipment project had not been completed on budget. £1,000 had been allocated but the project had not been completed.

Allocation of councillors’ laptops

The Head of Finance stated he believed that the laptops for councillors had been allocated in April 2022 and so did not appear in the 2021/22 accounts.

Delays to the greening of South Cambs Hall project

The Head of Finance explained that delays to the greening of South Cambs Hall project had been due to the contractor, who had agreed to pay the costs of the delay.

Funding of the Investment Strategy

The Head of Finance explained that the £450,000 allocated to the Investment Strategy had been carried forward to the 2022/23 accounts, as the project had not been completed.

Written answers to unanswered questions

Councillor John Williams promised written answers to the following questions from Councillor Heather Williams:

·         When would the parish maintained street lights project be completed?

·         When would the Aerial Photography Refresh project be completed? Or would it be cancelled?

·         Who was the officer responsible for commercial investments now that the Head of Economic Development and Commercial Investments officer had left?

Councillor John Williams proposed and Councillor John Batchelor seconded the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and

Council unanimously

Agreed to

A)           Acknowledge the 2021/22 general fund revenue outturn position as summarised in Appendix A, the operational underspend of £0.490 million, and the shortfall after income from Taxation and Government Grants in the year of £0.747 million, and the explanations provided for the variances compared to the revised 2021/22 revenue budget;

B)           Acknowledge the consequent increase in the General Fund as at 31 March 2022 of £2.955m to around £14.7m;

C)           In relation to the Capital Programme:

(i) Note the 2021/22 capital outturn of £32,420 million;

(ii) Acknowledge the performance achieved in relation to the Capital Programme schemes substantially completed in 2021/2022, summarised in Appendix B.

(iii) Approve the carry forwards of £3.344 million in relation to General Fund capital projects due mainly to slippage.