The Senior Finance Business Partner introduced the report of the Director of Neighbourhood Services. The report provided a summary of the year-end revenue position for the 2022/23 financial year as at the end of March 2023 for the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee. The report also provided Members with an overview of budget performance to enable the Committee to take ownership of the budgets and provide robust challenge and scrutiny to Officers on the performance of those budgets.

Members were informed that the year-end revenue outturn for 2022/23 represents an adverse position of £3.437m on the Committee net revenue budget of £63.761m.

Members noted that the delay in the parking strategy had caused a revenue shortfall and queried the projection for that and noted that some of this was due to home and hybrid working as well as the delayed car parking strategy. In terms of mitigations officers were looking at spend against supplies and contracts. Members also quired using one off reserves to bolster the budget and noted concerns regarding that. Members also queried reserves for energy efficiency and were informed that the budget was there to be spent. Various other underspends were discussed included the climate emergency and sought assurance that these items would be brought forward to 2023/24.

Resolved – that,

1. the draft, unaudited 2022/23 outturn adverse variance of £3.437m be noted.

2. the draft, unaudited 2022/23 capital variance be noted.

3. Agree the transfer to and use of earmarked reserves, as detailed in Appendix 2 be agreed;

4. the progress on delivery of the 2022/23 savings programme be noted