Decision

RESOLVED
that Cabinet:
 
CORPORATE FINANCE PERFORMANCE
 
(i)           
Note the £8.9M projected cost pressure on the
Council’s 25/26 General Fund budget, a deterioration of
£5M since Q1;

 
(ii)         
 Note the continued cost
pressures within Children’s Social Care driven by factors
largely outside of the Council’s direct control;
 
(iii)        
 Note the drawdown of
£5.9m of reserves previously earmarked for specific purposes,
mainly relating to school balances / grant funding;
 
(iv)        
Receive further updates from Executive Directors for
the areas where costs pressures are being experienced,
specifically:
 
•
Children’s Social Care – Residential
Placements.
•
Adults Social Care – Placement costs and other
pressures.
• Home
to School Transport;
 
(v)         
Note the update provided by the Director of Finance
(S151 Officer) regarding the Government’s recent Spending
Review and pending Local Government Finance reforms;
 
(vi)        
Note the Housing Revenue Account is forecast to end
the financial year with a balanced position;
 
(vii)       
Note the accounting write-off of historic bad debts
totalling £1.0M as detailed in the report [NB: all debts
remain liable for collection];
 
CAPITAL PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE
 
(viii)      
Note the updated Capital Programme from 2025/26 to
2029/30;
 
(ix)        
Note scheme slippage of £6.6M;
 
(x)         
Note increased costs totalling £0.9M, relating
to the Milefield Primary Roofing scheme
(£0.4M) and LUF Youth Place and Space Scheme
(£0.5M);
 
TREASURY MANAGEMENT
 
(xi)        
Approve the updated Prudential and Treasury
Management indicators; and

 
(xii)       
Note the key messages from the Council’s
Treasury Management activities (paragraph 4).