Agenda Item No

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

Scrutiny Committee (Lifelong Learning) 8th September 2008

Report from the Director of Learning and Development.

Revenue and Capital Monitoring for the period 1st April 2008 to 31st July 2008

Purpose of the Report

1.             To bring to the attention of this Scrutiny Committee, the position in respect of revenue and capital expenditure for the period 1st April 2008 to 31st July 2008 regarding those revenue and capital budgets, which form this Committee’s remit.

Recommendations

1.             It is recommended that the Scrutiny Committee note the position with regard to the 2008/09 revenue and capital monitoring

Reasons for the Recommendations

1.             That members are aware of the position with regard to the 2008/09 revenue and capital monitoring relevant to this scrutiny committee.

Background

2.             Council on 20th February 2008 (minute no. 827 and 826 respectively) approved the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme for 2008/2009. The Revenue Budget for other Directorates was amended by Cabinet on 11th June 2008(minute no. C31) to reflect virements for staff transfers. 

Relevant Issues and Options

3.             The projected outturn for 2008/2009 Revenue Budget is shown in comparison with the Amended Annual Budget at Appendix 1. The current forecast this Directorate is for a balanced budget

4.             Schools – The delegated budget relating to schools is expected to balance as any under/overspend is carried forward by schools.

5.             Education Service – It is currently projected that expenditure will be in line with the budget. However, it is very early in the financial year. Any budget variations will be reported in subsequent monitoring reports.

6.             Grant related expenditure – Schools have access to the following Welsh Assembly funded grants:

7.             RAISE £191,680 available from September 2008 until August 2009: Addressing the link between socio-economic disadvantage and low attainment remains the central principle of the RAISE programme in its third year. In the Vale, 12 schools are in receipt of RAISE funding. The school year 2008-2009 is the last year in which funding will be available at current levels. Therefore for this third year, in addition to their proposals of how the grant is to be used, schools must also draft exit strategies that will allow the benefits of RAISE funding to continue beyond the life of the grant.

8.             Foundation Phase; £1,065,000 available from September 2008 until August 2009; this grant is available to enable the authority to implement the Foundation Phase from September 2008. The grant is to be used to move towards staffing: pupil ratios of 1:8 for 3-5 year olds, as well as to fund appropriate training and support. Implications of the Foundation Phase have been and will continue to be reported separately.

9.             Foundation Phase Pilots and Early Start Setting: Holton Primary and Cadoxton Nursery will continue to receive funding until March 2009 as an Early Start setting. The amount available from April 2008 to March 2009 is £277,336.

10.        Details of any other grants which have not yet been confirmed will be reported in subsequent monitoring reports.

11.        Libraries - This service is anticipated to outturn on target.

12.        Lifelong Learning –Currently this service is also anticipated to outturn on budget.

13.        Catering – Also anticipated to outturn on budget. However it is still early in the financial and the service can be affected by external factors and the requirement to meet WAG nutritional guidelines. The budget will be closely monitored and any variations reported to future meetings.

Capital Programme 2007/2008

14.        Appendix 2 details financial progress on the Capital Programme as at 31st July 2008. Budgets brought forward from 2007/2008 into 2008/2009 were reported to Cabinet and Council on 25th and 26th June 2008 respectively and are now included in Appendix 2.

15.        Foundation Phase Grant - The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) have approved a capital grant of £148,000 towards the delivery of the Foundation Phase initiative in order to improve the quality of existing schools and develop outdoor learning areas. Cabinet on 9th July 2008 will be requested to approve that the 2008/2009 Capital Programme be increased by £148,000.

16.        Appendix 3 provides non-financial information on capital schemes with a budget of over £100,000.   Where a budget shown in Appendix 2 is more than £100,000 but is made up of several schemes that individually are less than £100,000, the scheme is not included in Appendix 3.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

17.        As detailed in the body of the report.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

18.        None

Crime and Disorder Implications

19.        It has been suggested that an improved environment will assist in reducing the incidence of crime

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

20.        There are no equal opportunity implications.

Corporate/Service Objectives

21.        Effective monitoring assists in the provision of accurate and timely information to officers and members and in particular allows services to better manage their resources

Policy Framework and Budget

22.        The report is in accordance with the Policy Framework and Budget.

Consultation (including Ward Member Consultation)

23.        The appropriate Chief Officer has been consulted. This report does not require Ward Member consultation.

Background Papers

None.

Contact Officer

Sian Keen (Senior Group Accountant) (01446 709255).

Officers Consulted

Director of Learning and Development.

Responsible Officer:

Bryan Jeffreys Director of Learning and Development.