On 10
November 2020, Cabinet:-
(i) Noted the City Council’s 2020/2021
forecast revenue budget position and the pressures and savings identified as at
30 September 2020 resulting in a forecast overspend of £10.8m;
(ii) Noted that the Medium Term Financial Plan
(MTFP) Refresh (that is also on the agenda for this meeting) makes proposals on
how to balance the budget for this year;
(iii) Noted that the Council has received to
date £84.3m of un-ringfenced Covid-19 related grant funding from the government
and it is estimating that the Council will receive further £19.6m from the
Income loss funding scheme;
(iv) Noted that the forecast additional
spend/loss of income to the Council on Covid19 related general fund activities,
after utilising the £84.3m un-ringfenced government grants received to date,
for 2020/21 is £11.9m. We are continuing to review and assess our forecasts and
risks and are seeking mitigations in year to deal with this gap;
(v) On 22 October the Council was informed it
will be receiving a further £44.2m of un-ringfenced Covid-19 related grant. It
is recommended that this funding is transferred to a specific Covid reserve to
manage the ongoing pandemic through the higher risk winter months;
(vi) Noted the Council is also forecasting
other revenue underspends of £1.1m;
(vii) Noted the latest monitoring position in
respect of the Council’s savings programme and the risks identified in its
delivery;
(viii) Approved the redirection of the savings
programme related to Housing as set out in paragraph 4.12;
(ix) Noted the forecast capital expenditure in
2020/2021 of £723.3m;
(x) Approved the allocation of Policy
Contingency as set out in paragraph 4.14;
(xi) Approved the amendment to the 2019/20
reported outturn to reflect the replacement of £8.7m of Direct Revenue
Financing of Capital by increasing the Council’s Capital Financing Requirement,
thus increasing the level of usable reserves, as proposed in Appendix A,
sections 8.4 and 8.5 of the report.
(xii) Noted the Treasury Management and
Investment Portfolio Reports that are included in Appendix A of the report;
(xiii) Approved the redirection of Housing Savings
Targets, as proposed in section 4.2 of Appendix A of the report.
THE
DEADLINE FOR CALL IN IS 1600 HOURS ON MONDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2020.