The Corporate Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel met on Tuesday 23 July 2024 to review the council's financial performance for the 2023/24 financial year, examine budget monitoring for the first quarter of 2024/25, and consider the annual performance report.

2023/24 Outturn Report

The panel was scheduled to discuss the 2023/24 outturn report, which detailed the council's financial performance against its revenue and capital budgets for the previous financial year. The report indicated an adverse revenue outturn position of £0.13m, which was proposed to be funded from the Revenue Budget Contingency Reserve. Capital spend for 2023/24 was £63.502m against a budget of £82.206m, with a variance of £18.704m primarily due to projects being re-phased into future financial periods. The report also detailed variances across various portfolios, including significant pressures in Children's Services (£5.05m over budget) and Adult Services (£1.39m over budget), alongside favourable movements in Resources (£4.28m under budget). The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) showed a deficit of £22.263m to be carried forward. The report also outlined carry forward requests for specific budget items totalling £335,805.

Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring, Cash Limits and Virements – April 2024 to June 2024

This item focused on the revenue and capital budget monitoring for the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year. The net revenue forecast position was £3.95m over budget, with main pressures identified in Children's Services (£2.47m over budget) due to demand-led placement costs, and in the Corporate Estate and Regeneration services within Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development (£1.54m over budget) due to holding costs of surplus properties and lost rental income. Highways portfolio showed a favourable position of £0.62m due to increased parking income. Capital spend was forecast to be £11.8m below the approved budget, largely due to the re-phasing of schemes into future years, particularly related to the council's housing company. The report also noted a forecast underspend of £0.3m on the Local Council Tax Support Scheme and provided an update on business rates, including the impact of retail, hospitality, and leisure relief.

Annual Performance Report

The panel was scheduled to review the Annual Performance Report for 2023/24, which detailed the council's progress in delivering its Corporate Strategy 2023-27. The report highlighted achievements such as a seventh-place national ranking for climate action, second-place for Park & Ride customer satisfaction, and significant economic contributions from events like the Bath Christmas Market. It also detailed the support provided to vulnerable adults and children, including over 1,800 adult social care users and over 200 looked-after children. The report indicated that 71% of commitments supporting the Corporate Strategy had been successfully completed. The Strategic Performance Indicators showed a mixed picture, with improvements in areas like average CO2 emissions per residential property and household waste recycling, but also challenges in areas such as the percentage of people using Adult Social Care services with an up-to-date review. The report also included an update on Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings for care homes, with 83% rated as 'Good'. The Voicebox 32 Survey results indicated a reduction in resident satisfaction across several key areas, including satisfaction with the council's running of services and value for money.

Panel Workplan

Finally, the panel was to consider its workplan, which outlines future items for discussion and allows for suggestions for amendments to the current programme.