Issue - meetings

To present the report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer.

It was RESOLVED to note the progress of expenditure and receipts against the capital budget 2021/22 at Quarter 1.

The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer setting out the financial performance of the Capital Budget for the first quarter of the financial year for the Executive’s consideration. 

The Portfolio Member for Finance reported this is the Capital Budget monitoring report for the first quart of the financial year.  The total Capital Budget for 2021/22 was £54.253m.  He noted that it was anticipated that by the end of the Q1 a total of £6.396m would have been spent but £5.262m of the annual budget has been spent but a total of £706k has been recognised.  A number of capital schemes are weighted towards the latter part of the financial year. 

The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer reiterated the comments by the Portfolio Member and noted that the Finance Scrutiny Panel had raised that there is a likelihood that in future years the capital budget could be implemented to a different timescale so that it is set earlier in the year thereby enabling projects to commence sooner thus avoiding a significant underspend by the end of the year.  He noted that setting the capital budget earlier in the year would enable the tendering process for contracts earlier and it was anticipated that this could be implemented in the 2023/24 financial year.    The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer highlighted the number of Capital Grant schemes in the Capital Programme as noted within the report at Paragraph 3 which is shows that capital schemes are dependent on outside grant funding for WG and continued EU grants.   He noted that there are risk factors within the capital budget with the pandemic and absence of staff who are having to self-isolate.  There is also risks associated projects tendered to contractors as there is a shortness of availability of materials and the costs of materials has risen immensely.   The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer further said that he anticipated that the Q2 report will have a better insight into the capital budget forecast. 

Councillor Dafydd Roberts, Chair of the Finance Scrutiny Panel said that the  Panel received a verbal presentation by the Director of Function (Resources)/ Section 151 Officer noted that the capital budget Q1 performance reflects the previous pattern of underspend  with slippage most likely under the following headings :-

The Council’s housing development programme

WHQS council housing modernisation programmes

Disability adaptations in schools

The Schools’ Modernisation Programme

Flood prevention schemes

The Panel in noting the underspend on the 2021/22 Capital Budget at Quarter 1, noted also the likelihood that in future years the capital budget could be implemented to a different timescale so that it is set earlier in the year thereby enabling projects to commence sooner thus avoiding a significant underspend by the end of the year.  

It was RESOLVED to note the progress of expenditure and receipts against the capital budget 2021/22 at Quarter 1.