The report of the Assistant Chief executive sought approval to acquire land in Lingham Lane, Moreton to enable the existing footbridge over the railway line to be replaced.

Resolved - That the Corporate Director of Delivery Services / Assistant Chief Executive be authorised to agree the acquisition of land at Lingham Lane, Moreton from Magenta Living for nil consideration but paying reasonable legal/valuation fees to enable the existing footbridge over the railway line to be replaced.

The report of the Assistant Chief Executive sought approval to the release of a restrictive covenant in respect of a small parcel of land amounting to 45 square metres located in Borough Way, Seacombe.

Resolved - That the Corporate Director of Delivery Services / Assistant Chief Executive be authorised to release a restrictive covenant in respect of 45 square metres of land located in Borough Way, Seacombe for a consideration of £1,000 plus fees of £700.

The report of the Director of Finance and Investment sought approval for the release of funds which Cabinet had previously agreed to be earmarked to fund its 50% share of Wirral Growth Company’s initial working capital. Agreement was also sought for the three key milestones within Wirral Growth Company Partnership Agreement to be extended, as agreed between Wirral Council and Muse at the quarterly JV Board on 25 July, 2019.

Resolved –

(1)  That working capital of up to £1.27m (which is within limits previously agreed by Cabinet in February 2018) be made available by way of loan to Wirral Growth Company LLP (WGC) on an equal contributory basis with Muse Developments Ltd (Muse) in advance of an agreed Partnership Business Plan. The agreement is provided on the premise that in each case the Director of Finance is satisfied that the expenditure is reasonable and is necessary for WGC to incur in advance of any Indicative Drawdown Profile being agreed in an approved Partnership Business Plan or relevant Site Development Plan.

(2)  That the milestone date for the submission of the Partnership Business Plan by Muse (as Development Manager) to WGC Board for its approval be extended by agreement with Muse to a date no later than 30 November, 2019.

(3)  That the milestone date for the approval by the Council of the Partnership Business Plan adopted by WGC be extended by agreement with Muse to a date no later than 31 January, 2020.

(4)  That the approval of the Council and Muse to the Final Site Development Plan for Phase 1 of the Birkenhead Commercial District be extended by agreement with Muse from 21 to 24 months from the date of the execution of the Partnership Agreement (19 March, 2019).

In the absence of Councillor Janette Williamson, the Leader of the Council introduced a report which provided a summary of the projected year-end revenue position as at Quarter 1, Month 3 (June 2019). The year-end forecast recorded as part of June’s financial monitoring activity represented an adverse variance to budget of £4.327m. Plans were, in some cases, in place to mitigate the overspend whereas in other areas these were still being developed.

There were a number of areas with particular pressures, including Children’s Services and the Look After Children budget; delivery services where sport and recreation income and the implementation of savings was causing budget challenges; highways and streetscene where there were challenges with car parking charges income and waste collection income. At the end of 2019/20 73% of programmed savings were or were expected to be achieved, 8% were partly achieved or required further work to be achieved and 6% were at risk of not being delivered, relating to Children’s Services and Business Support and the Floral and Golf projects.

Due to the Council’s financial position, an adverse budget variance was not viable and Corporate Directors would be supported to ensure that a balanced budget would be achieved by year-end. The report also provided an update on the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and budget gap pressures. The anticipated budget gap for 2020/21 was £40m with £16m of savings for 2020/21 reducing the initial assessment of pressures which totalled £56m.

The report also provided progress on the Capital Programme 2019/20 at the end of June 2019. It recommended that Cabinet agreed the 2019/20 Capital Programme of £88.7 million which took account of re-profiling, additional funding requirements for Eastham Youth Hub and the Eureka project and grant variations identified since February.

On a motion by Councillor Anita Leech, seconded by Councillor Tony Jones, it was –

Resolved – That,

Revenue

(1)  the Year-end forecast position at Quarter 1 of £4.327 million Adverse, be noted;

(2)  the level of achievement of savings proposed for 2019-20, be noted;

(3)  the revisions to the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2020-2025, be noted;

Capital

(4)  the expenditure at Quarter 1 of £2.9 million, be noted;

(5)  Cabinet recommends to Council the approval of additional funding for the schemes referred to in paragraph 3.7 of the report, i.e. Eureka Project, Seacombe (£200,000) and Eastham Youth Hub (£442,000);

(6)  Cabinet recommends to Council the approval of the revised Capital Programme of £88.7 million (Table 2 of the report) for 2019-20.

Reasons for decision: Regular monitoring and reporting of the Revenue Budgets, savings achievements, MTFS position and Capital Programme enable decisions to be taken faster which may produce revenue benefits and will improve financial control in Wirral Council.