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Agenda Item No. 5

 

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

 

Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee: 11th October 2018

 

Report of the Director of Environment and Housing

 

Revenue and Capital Monitoring for the period 1st April to 31st August 2018

 

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 to 31st August 2018 regarding those revenue and capital budgets, which form this Committee's remit.

Recommendation

It is recommended that :-

  1. Scrutiny Committee consider the position with regard to the 2018/19 revenue and capital monitoring.

Reason for the Recommendation

  1. That Members are aware of the position with regard to the 2018/19 revenue and capital monitoring relevant to this Scrutiny Committee. 

Background

  1. On 28th February 2018, Council approved the Revenue and Capital budgets for 2018/19 (minute no 746 and 745 respectively).  Reports monitoring expenditure are brought to this Committee on a regular basis.

Relevant Issues and Options

Revenue

  1. It is currently projected that services under this Committee will out-turn on budget, however, there are some areas of concern and reserves will be utilised this year.
 

    Original

 Budget

    Probable

Outturn

Variance

    (+) Favourable

(-) Adverse

 

£000

£000

£000

Neighbourhood Services & Transport

25,518

25,833

(315)

Unplanned use of reserves to fund overspend

0

(315)

+315

Regeneration

2,075

2,075

0

Development Management

1,060

1,060

0

Total Environment & Regeneration

28,653

28,653

0

  1. Neighbourhood Services & Transport - This service is currently projected to outturn on budget, however, there are some areas of concern to highlight and reserves will be utilised.
  2. Within the Waste Collection Service there is still pressure on employee and transport budgets due to downtime involved in travelling to Cardiff to dispose of waste. There has recently been a change to the use of a site within Cowbridge for some elements of waste which is anticipated to decrease the level of downtime currently experienced.  £200k had been set aside for 2018/19 within the Neighbourhood Services Reserve with an aim to offset this budget pressure. Due to an increase in treatment charges within the recycling market, primarily as a result of China's decision to reject elements of mixed recycling, there is also a pressure within the recycling treatment budget. Again funding had been set aside in reserves for 2018/19 to cover this pressure however this is only a one-off funding stream and there will be a cost pressure on the budget in 2019/20 of approximately £430k.
  3. The Reshaping Services savings target for Neighbourhood Services and Transport for 2018/19 is £951k.   £375k of this saving relates to the remaining balance to be found from the recent restructure within Neighbourhood Services. The restructure has been effective from 1st April 2018 however due to the timescales and notice periods required, some staff have remained in post longer than anticipated.   This may have some effect on the level of savings achievable.  It is envisaged that the full £951k saving will not be made in this financial year and a shortfall of £315k is being reported. Plans for the remainder of the savings are currently being developed and will be reported to Cabinet in due course however the Neighbourhood Services Reserve will be required to meet any remaining shortfall in savings at year end.
  4. Regeneration - This budget covers the Countryside, Economic Development and Tourism & Events functions. Although the forecast is again shown as a balanced budget, there remains concern over the income targets for car parking charges and commercial opportunities within the Countryside Division, where historic savings targets are unlikely to be achieved this year. Efforts will however be made to maintain a balanced budget by year-end.  The initial savings target for the year relating to the Reshaping Tranche 3 Establishment Review has been re-apportioned across the Managing Director and Resources directorate and the savings target for Regeneration has been reduced by £20k and £16k has been transferred to Development Management and £4k to Private Housing.  This transfer has been reflected in the table above.
  5. Development Management - Planning application fee income has fallen behind target as at 31st August so, as in previous years, the position will be monitored closely. To mitigate any potential shortfall, the Section will continue to pursue the use of Planning Performance Agreements and other income generation such as pre- planning application advice to help support this regulatory process.

2018/19 Savings Targets

  1. As part of the Final Revenue Budget Proposals for 2018/19, a savings target of £6.298m was set for the Authority.  Attached at Appendix 1 is a statement detailing all savings targets relating to this Committee. 
  2. Each savings target has been given a RAG status.  Green indicates that it is anticipated that the target will be achieved in full within the year, amber indicates that it is considered that the saving in the year will be within 20% of the target and red indicates that the saving to be achieved in year will be less than 80% of the target.
  3. Neighbourhood Services and Transport - There is a savings target this year of £951k however it is currently anticipated that £636k will be achieved leaving a shortfall of £315k to be identified.  Work is continuing to identify schemes to close this gap however any shortfall at year end will need to be funded from the Neighbourhood Services reserve.

Capital

  1. Appendix 2 details financial progress on the Capital Programme as at 31st August 2018. 
  2. Vehicle Replacement Programme - The majority of this budget had been allocated for the purchase of new waste vehicles.  It is now planned that the vehicles will be purchased this year from grant and any further vehicles will be purchased in 2019/20 with the further roll out of the new waste collection service.  It has been requested that £2m is carried forward to 2019/20.
  3. Waste Grant - Welsh Government have now approved grant funding of £3.5m to allow the Vale of Glamorgan Council to transition to a blueprint municipal waste collection service.  It has been requested that the grant is included in the Capital Programme.
  4. Neighbourhood Services Asset Renewal - A delegated authority was approved on 3rd July 2018 to allocate £440k of the budget to the following schemes:-

Scheme

   £000

Replacement of Jenner Park Roof

50

Community Centres Works

25

South Road Sully

60

Cross Common Bridge

20

Dinas Powys to Penarth via Cosmeston

40

Highways Structures Asset Renewal

50

Green Flag Parks

75

Parks Asset Renewal

120

TOTAL

440

  1. St Athan Sustainable Transport Improvement - The Council has been successful in applying for Active Travel grant from Welsh Government of £12k.  The grant will be used this financial year to carry out scheme design.  Works are anticipated to start on site in the next financial year and therefore it has been requested that £143k is carried forward into 2019/20.
  2. Rhoose Sustainable Transport - S106 funding has been approved to provide walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure improvements within the village of Rhoose. At present, it has been requested that £60k is included in the Capital Programme for 2018/19 to allow for design with further funding being available in future years to undertake the works.
  3. Active Travel Mapping - It has been requested that this scheme is renamed Biglis Roundabout to Dinas Powys Active Travel Route to better describe the scheme.
  4. WelTag Stage Two Transport Network Appraisal for Dinas Powys - It has been requested that this scheme is renamed Weltag Studies as it will also cover the M4 to Cardiff Airport studies.
  5. Coastal Asset Renewal - A budget of £25k has been allocated to this scheme and it has now been proposed that this funding is added to the Barry Island shelter scheme to carry out remedial works to the structure.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

  1. As detailed in the body of the report.

Sustainability and Climate Change Implications

  1. There are no direct implications arising from this report.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

  1. There are no legal implications.

Crime and Disorder Implications

  1. There are no crime and disorder implications.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

  1. There are no equal opportunity implications.

Corporate/Service Objectives

  1. 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

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

Consultation (including Ward Member Consultation)

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

Background Papers

None

Contact Officer

Carolyn Michael

Operational Manager - Accountancy

Officers Consulted

Director of Environment and Housing

Responsible Officer:

Miles Punter