Agenda item

Agenda item

Revenue Budget Monitoring to the end of October 2020

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer was to follow and is now enclosed.

Minutes:

The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer presented a review of the 2020/21 revenue budgets. The report provided an overview of the Council’s financial position as at the end of October 2020 and the work to develop a balanced budget for 2020/21. The report projected a balanced budget outturn for 2020/21, a further improvement on the forecast deficit that had been reported in October (Minute Exe/20/104). That new forecast was based on the financial implications of COVID-19, budget revisions through the year and additional government funding confirmed to date. The overall revenue forecast for 2020/21 was now:

 

Forecast as at 31 October 2020

Original Approved Budget

£000

Revised Budget

£000

Forecast Outturn

£000

Total Forecast Variance

£000

Total Available Resources

(666,125)

(846,898)

(832,997)

13,901

Total Corporate Budgets

126,761

258,851

257,019

(1,832)

Children's Services

130,320

134,728

132,811

(1,917)

Adult Social Care

221,253

232,247

238,968

6,721

Homelessness

15,285

17,604

22,771

5,167

Corporate Core

69,958

91,354

93,178

1,824

Neighbourhoods

93,802

100,842

109,517

8,675

Growth and Development

8,746

11,272

15,079

3,807

Total Directorate Budgets

539,364

588,047

612,324

24,277

Total Use of Resources

666,125

846,898

869,343

22,445

Total forecast over / (under) spend

0

0

36,346

36,346

COVID 19 Government grant income (tranche 1 to 4) - Confirmed

 

 

 

(64,782)

COVID 19 Sales, fees and Charges grant income – Forecast

 

 

 

(6,400)

Re-profile the use of reserves

 

 

 

34,836

Net forecast over / (under) spend

 

 

 

0

 

The report also addressed a number of specific changes and approvals needed as part of the Council’s budget revisions processes in 2020/21.

 

Grants in Addition to that Already Planned

 

The report explained that notifications had been received in relation to specific external grants as additional funds for the Council’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as two grants for other purposes. These allocations had not been confirmed at the time of the 2020/21 budget setting processes, so confirmation of them was now being sought. These were all supported:

·         £24.330m as tranche four emergency COVID-19 funding for the council’s ongoing work to support communities during the pandemic.

·         £3.7m as a further sales, fees and charges grant, the support package for losses from sales, fees and charges.

·         £4.423m for the Contain Outbreak Management Fund to fund activities such as enforcement, compliance and contact tracing, being £8 per head of the city’s population.

·         £286,000 for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable people to provide food and support to the most at risk so as to enable them to stay at home as much as possible over the 28 national “lock-down” in November and early December 2020.

·         £2.581m for the Holiday Activities and Food programme to support families and the most vulnerable over winter for provision of food during school holidays for children who normally would have access to a free school meal.

·         £390,000 for cultural recovery, the first payment of £0.780m awarded to Manchester Art Gallery as a qualifying organisation that was severely financially impacted by COVID 19.

·         £454,000 for rough sleepers Protect Programme to provide further accommodation for entrenched rough sleepers who are very complex in nature and will include Mental Health and Drugs/Alcohol misuse support.

·         £65,000 for the Wellbeing for education return to provide training and support on specific mental health areas.

·         £360,000 for Safer Streets Funding for interventions that will impact on the acquisitive crime including targeted hardening improvements to individual properties.

 

Budget to be Allocated

 

When setting the 2020/21 budget the Council has agreed to hold some funds for contingencies, and other money that was to be allocated throughout the year. The report proposed one further use of some of these budgets to be allocated. This was agreed:

·         £99,000 for the Street Lighting PFI contract to fund the annual inflation increase on the PFI unitary payments.

 

Budget Virements

 

The report also proposed two budget virements, both of which would need to be approved by the Council. Those were both supported.

 

Decisions

 

1.         To note the global revenue monitoring report and a forecast outturn position of a breakeven position.

 

2.         To approve additional COVID-19 grants, and other unbudgeted external grant funding, to be reflected in the budget as set out above.

 

3.         To approve the use of budgets to be allocated as set out above.

 

4.         To recommend to the Council the approval of a proposed budget transfer of £1m from Corporate Core directorate to Collection Fund to offset council tax discounts (funded through the specific Hardship Fund grant); and also approve a £375k transfer within Adults Social Care for the Impower savings delivery partnership.

 

 

Supporting documents: