To consider the Quarter 2 2022-23 Budget and Performance reports. 

The committee noted that under this item quarter 2 of 2022/23 of the budget and performance report provides assurances over the delivery of the agreed revenue budget and service delivery targets.  It also presents explanation around any major variances in outturn. The following principal points were raised by the committee:

• Explanation was sought on what the impacts are across other council services as a result of addressing this overall budget pressure impact – with major deficit of spend within children’s services driven by increasing numbers of child placements
• Where will additional financial resource be drawn from to plug the gap required to cover this additional spend.

Resolved: Cabinet to provide SMB with the full details of the council’s recovery plan and the actions that the administration will take to address the overspend.

• What assurances can be given around other mitigating measures to reduce the increasing costs and financial risk to the council.
• What scope and opportunity is presented by the council entering in to the care provision market place (notably in adult social care) to provide new income streams.

Resolved:  Cabinet to provide a briefing on what learning has been established with particular focus on whether the £6m (in Q1) was predicted or unexpected. 

• Assurances be drawn around budget performance by the committee where key data and performance reporting is missing within the Q2 report.
• The degree that the wider national economic context (notably high inflation and energy price increases) have been factored in to future management of risk.

Resolved: The S151 Officers/Cabinet Member be invited to provide a briefing around the capital budgeting to discuss how the data is presented to ensure clearer explanations can be extrapolated from the performance reporting.

The committee also recommended that:  All future quarterly reporting include progress updates against actions; report specifically on measures put in place, and improvement targets report in more detail against their green, orange or grey boxes.