Issue - meetings

Financial Monitoring Report Quarter 3 2018/19

Meeting: 05/03/2019 - Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 47)

47 Financial Monitoring Report Quarter 3 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 122 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Jenny Spick, Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Policy, introduced the report of the Director of Finance and Investment which set out the Council’s revenue and capital monitoring position for 2018/19 quarter 3.

 

The quarter 3 revenue report showed a £0.5m overspend for Business. The quarter 3 capital report showed an expenditure to date off £10.2 million on a revised programme of £17.6 million.

 

Jenny Spick gave a presentation to the Committee which included further details on the forecast overspend as follows:

 

·  Finance and Resources: IT services overspends netted down by underspends within Treasury management and Change Management.

·  Highways and Transport: Combination of higher than expected Winter Maintenance costs and reduced car park income.

·  Jobs and Growth: Overspend in this area due to legal costs relating to Wirral Waters One.

·  Law and Order: Overspend due to enhancement payments, overtime payments and shortfall in income targets.

 

Responding to comments from Members, Jenny Spick stated that spend on the Windows 10 rollout was £2.3m as at the end of February, though she did not have all the details on how long it was due to take. With regard to the Highways overspend, this was due to the anticipated high cost of winter maintenance with initial forecasts being for a harsh winter which had not arisen and the associated increased costs in salt and transport. There had also been reduced levels of income from car parking charges in the autumn. She could not forecast what would happen in March and whether or not forecasts would come back on track.

 

Members expressed concern that neither the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport nor the Interim Director Highways and Streetscene were present at the Committee to answer questions.

 

Responding to further comments Jenny Spick stated that extra staffing costs for community safety would be because some work had dropped off, such as for academy schools which no longer used this service. With regard to street lighting and the column upgrades she did not have an end date as to when this work would be completed. With regard to the reference to sustainable transport links at Duke Street, she would need to find this information out from the Interim Director Highways and Streetscene and provide a written answer.

 

Members also expressed concern at the length of time for street light repairs to be undertaken and the Chair also reiterated the need for the Cabinet Member to be present at this meeting to respond to comments.

 

Resolved – That the report be noted.