Decision details

To consider the report of the Chief Financial Officer setting out changes to existing Revenue and Capital budgets.

(i)  Approve one-off expenditure of £240,000 in 2012/13 set out in Appendix 1 to be funded from balances.

(ii)  Note the high level forecast for the General Fund for 2013/14 as detailed in paragraphs 13 to 16.

(iii)  Note the Executive’s proposals for efficiencies and service reductions which are put forward for consultation and are set out in Appendix 2.

(iv)  Note that formal consultation on the proposals as set out in Appendix 2 will now commence with trades unions, affected staff and any people or organisations affected by the proposals to ensure all options have been considered.

(v)  Delegate authority to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resources to do anything necessary to give effect to the recommendations in this report.

1. The recommendations have been put forward to ensure that the operating budget for 2012/13 reflects the priorities of the Executive and to ensure that proposals are advanced as early as possible as part of the budget process for 2013/14.
2. The current medium term financial forecast highlights the challenges facing the Authority.  This combined with the potential impact of reductions in future funding levels for Local Government and a continuing weak economic position make it imperative that proposals for 2013/14 onwards are developed and savings achieved as early as possible.

The option to not consider changes to existing revenue and capital budgets is not compatible with the need to ensure effective and robust financial planning given the financial challenges facing the Authority.  There are almost limitless options that can be applied to budget changes in the year most of which are driven by political priorities.  In formulating the final options to present in this paper the Executive have taken into account the relevant impact of all options that were under consideration and as a result some have not been progressed.