Resolved:

1.         That the Quarter 2 2010/11 performance be noted, including areas where further work is needed to ensure the Authority delivers improved outcomes;

2.         That the Council’s financial position as outlined in paragraphs 5 and 6 and appendices 5, 6 and 8 of the report (CAB 063/101) be noted; and

3.         That the actions being taken to address the reported overspends be noted.

Action by:

CORPORATE DIRECTOR RESOURCES (C. NAYLOR)

Service Head Corporate Finance, Resources (A. Finch)

Service Head, Strategy and Performance, Chief Executive’s (L. Russell)

Mr Naylor, Corporate Director Resources, at the request of the Mayor, in introducing the report:

·                    Summarised the key points contained therein, informing Cabinet that the report detailed service and financial performance for the second quarter of 2010/11, the period ending 30 September 2010, and highlighting in particular:

o                   Financial Performance:

Ø                  At the end of September 2010 a projected overspend of just over £1 million was reported. Although large amounts in absolute terms this was within financial tolerance approximating to 0.3% of the Authority’s Gross Revenue Budget.

Ø                 Budget monitoring at the end of October 2010 had now been undertaken and the projected overspend was under £1 million and continuing to fall, indicating that the active management within the Authority’s Budget process was achieving the desired outcome.

Ø                 It was important to consider that, following the announcement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 2010 approximately £7 million had been removed from the Authority’s “in year” Revenue Budget, but despite this its finances were being managed to deliver an outturn within the new Budget envelope.

Ø                 The report had received robust scrutiny from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee the previous evening.

o                   Service Performance:

Ø                 Performance monitoring in relation to Strategic Plan activities, Strategic Performance indicators and milestones for the ‘You Decide!’ participatory budgets introduced for Local Area Partnerships (LAP’s) had been undertaken and it was pleasing to report that the Authority was on track to achieve or exceed 69% of strategic measures by financial year end. This was the best performance since monitoring started in 2008/09 and very significant in the context of the resources removed from the “in year” Budget.

·                    Addressed the matters raised by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, held on 30^th November 2010, in relation to the report; as set out in the tabled sheet of questions and comments presented by the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee earlier in the proceedings:

A brief discussion followed which focused on the following point:-

·                    A Labour Group Member, speaking with the consent of the Mayor and Cabinet, sought and was given assurance in relation to progress made to date in implementing decisions made by the pre-Mayoral Cabinet in July 2010 to achieve substantial savings, required as a consequence of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government’s cuts in resources for public services. Mr Naylor, Corporate Director Resources, concurred that a breakdown of achievement of savings agreed in July had not been reported here, and would be included in the next quarterly report. However he gave an assurance that the projections to financial year end were for a Budget reflective of the savings agreed in July 2010; he also gave an assurance that actions required to achieve the savings had been undertaken by Officers, and were having the desired outcome.

The Mayor Moved the following motionfor the consideration of members of the Cabinet that:

·                    In relation to recommendation 2.1 contained in the report, that Quarter 2 performance in 2010/11 be noted including areas where further work was needed to ensure the Authority delivered improved outcomes.

·                    Recommendation 2.2 and 2.3, as set out in the report, be agreed.

And it was: -

Resolved:

1.         That the Quarter 2 2010/11 performance be noted, including areas where further work is needed to ensure the Authority delivers improved outcomes;

2.         That the Council’s financial position as outlined in paragraphs 5 and 6 and appendices 5, 6 and 8 of the report (CAB 063/101) be noted; and

3.         That the actions being taken to address the reported overspends be noted.

Reasons for Decisions

These are detailed in paragraph 3.1 of the report (CAB 063/101)

Alternative Options Considered

These are detailed in paragraph 4.1 of the report (CAB 063/101)