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.

·      The forecast outturn for 2023/24.

The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer setting out the financial performance of the Housing Revenue account for Quarter 1 2023/24 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Robin Williams, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance presented the report which outlines both the revenue and capital budget performance of the Housing Revenue Account for the period and the forecast outturn for the year ending 31 March 2024. The report shows the revenue budget with a budgeted surplus of £8,044k. The gross capital budget for 2023/24 is £19,988k. Grant and other funding of £6,898k reduced the net budget to £13,090k. The combination of both the revenue budget and the adjusted capital budget gave a planned budget deficit of £5,046k to be funded from the HRA reserve. The HRA revenue budget shows an overspend of £8k compared to the profiled budget as detailed in Appendix A to the report. Capital expenditure is £25k below the profiled budget. The forecast expenditure is £100k below budget as detailed in Appendix B to the report. This underspend means that the amount funded from the HRA revenue account is reduced by the same amount. The balance is then available to fund projects that have been deferred into next year.  The forecast deficit combining both revenue and capital is now £4,278k, £768k less than the budget.

The opening balance of the HR reserve stood at £12,107k. The revised budget allowed for the use of £5,046k of this balance. However the revised forecast will only use £4,278k. This will give a reserve balance of £7,829k by the end of the financial year. This balance is ringfenced and is only available to fund future HRA expenditure.

The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer advised that the surplus on the HRA revenue budget is reinvested in maintaining the existing housing stock to Welsh Housing Quality Standards and in developing new housing stock. Appendix C to the report provides an overview of the new development budget for 2023/24 and the new housing schemes across the Island which it is intended to fund.

The Executive was pleased to note the planned/active schemes listed in Appendix C which are a continuation of the Council’s approach of increasing the housing stock on the Island year on year.  Councillor Gary Pritchard, Portfolio Member for Children, Youth and Housing Services referred to the six additional units in Beaumaris on the list in Appendix C which had now been completed and allocated to local individuals and which he had recently visited. He praised the flats as being of high quality and a valuable acquisition to the town as well as being a marked improvement on the plot as it was previously.

It was resolved to note the following –

·      The position set out in respect of the financial performance of the Housing Revenue Account.

·      The forecast outturn for 2023/24.