Agenda item

The Committee considered a report which detailed the financial position for the period April to June 2015.

The Finance Manager, Bromsgrove District Council introduced the report and in doing so informed the Committee that the report presented the final financial position for Worcestershire Regulatory Services for the period April to June 2015.

The Finance Manager, Bromsgrove District Council drew Members’ attention to Appendix 1 to the report which highlighted a projected outturn underspend of £29,000.  Members were asked to note that this was an estimate to the year-end, based on the current level of expenditure.  The underspend was mainly due to:-

·         Vacant posts within the service together with savings resulting from maternity leave, long term sick etc. Part of the underspend was offset by the costs associated with additional agency staff being used to cover the vacancies.

·         There was a projected overspend on IT, this was due to the uncertainty with the ICT transfer.  This may be reduced when arrangements are finalised.

·         Income includes £72,000 worth of Disturbance Allowance, 50% to be recharged to Worcestershire County Council, with the remaining 50% to be split equally between the Districts.  Contracts on Nuisance Work, Contaminated Land and Stray Dogs projected to generate £55,000 and Feed Grant received from CEnTSA £45, 000.

·         Any grant funded expenditure was shown separate to the core service costs as this was not funded by the participating Councils.

Members were further informed that should the service fund the pension deficit of £119,000 for 2015/2016 there would be a resulting overspend of £89,000.  Appendix 1 to the report detailed the apportioned charge that would be attributed to each partner authority based on the percentage as agreed by the Joint Committee at the meeting held on 27th November 2014.

The ICT system implementation / mobile working budget was £179,000.  There was no expenditure to June 2015 due to the move to Wyre Forest.  Further consideration would be made with regard to the requirements of the team in relation to mobile working.

The Finance Manager drew Members’ attention to the revised Annual Return as detailed at Appendix 2 to the report.  Members were informed that the books and records maintained by the Joint Committee had treated finance leases and fixed assets consistently as per the host authority, Bromsgrove District Council. However External Audit had recommended that figures on the Annual Return should be in accordance with their Practitioners’ Guide.  Therefore finance leases had not been classed as borrowings and fixed assets were reported at cost price, as shown in the revised Annual Return at Appendix 2 to the report.

RESOLVED:

(a)   that the final financial position for the period April to June 2015, be noted;

(b)   that the funding from partner authorities for the 2015/2016 pension deficit  as detailed below, be approved, and

(c)   that the revised Annual Return 2014/2015, as detailed at Appendix 2 to

       the report be approved.