Issue - meetings

To submit a report by the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer.

It was resolved to note the following –

·                The position set out in respect of the financial performance of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for Quarter 3 2022/23.

·                The forecast outturn for 2022/23.

The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer setting out the financial performance of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget for Quarter 3 2022/23 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Robin Williams, Portfolio Member for Finance, Corporate Business and Customer Experience presented the report which set out the financial performance of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for the period from 1 April to 31 December, 2022 comprising of both revenue and capital expenditure. He highlighted that the HRA is ring-fenced and its reserves cannot be used for purposes other than to fund costs relating to the Council’s housing stock including the development of new housing. The Council has been proactive over many years in improving and developing its housing stock as attested to by Appendix 3 to the report which shows that 180 additional housing units have been planned for 2022/23 comprising of several new housing schemes across the Island as well as the re-purchase of former right to buy properties.

The HRA revenue surplus/deficit at the end of Quarter 3 shows an overspend of £544k compared to the profiled budget. The forecast has been reviewed and projects an overspend of £951k for the year with further details provided in Appendix A to the report. The capital expenditure is £4,509k below the profiled budget. The forecast expenditure for the year is £4,891k below budget with further details provided in Appendix B. The forecast deficit surplus combining both revenue and capital is now £2,187k, £3,940k less than the budget due mainly to lower than budgeted capital expenditure. The opening balance of the HRA reserve stood at £12,333k. The revised budget allowed for the use of £6,128k of this balance. However, the revised forecast will only use £2,187k giving a reserve balance of £10,146k by the end of the financial year which will be available to fund future HRA expenditure.

The Director of Function| (Resources)/Section 151 Officer commented that the report outlines the most significant variances with regard to capital expenditure and also clarifies  the reasons why some schemes have slipped which may be due to unforeseen works, planning delays, tender issues and/or difficulties in obtaining external agency approval for certain aspects of a scheme.

The Head of Housing Services highlighted that high costs and lack of contractors have contributed significantly to the increase in repairs and maintenance expenditure with the Housing Maintenance Unit showing an overspend of £749k at the end of Quarter 3.The budget for reactive repairs and maintenance has had to be reviewed ahead of the next financial year to ensure that it makes sufficient provision. In terms of capital, 49 new housing units are being let this financial year and the Service continues to buy back 15 former council properties per year.

It was resolved to note the following –

·                The position set out in respect of the financial performance of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for Quarter 3 2022/23.

·                The forecast outturn for 2022/23.