Issue - meetings

Report of Assistant Director of Finance (S151 Officer)

Purpose of report

To report to the committee the council’s performance, risk, and financial positions at the end of the financial year 2024-2025.

Recommendations

The Budget Planning Committee resolves:

1.1       To note the contents of this report.  

Resolved

(1)      That the report be noted.

The Assistant Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) submitted a report to on the council’s and financial position at the end of the financial year 2024-2025.

In introducing the report, the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Property and Regeneration advised the Committee that there was a projected in year underspend of (£4.596m), of which £3.765m was recommended to be reprofiled into future years.

With regards the Castle Quay office relocation project, the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Property and Regeneration advised the Committee , it had been identified that the full cost of the project would need to be increased by £646k. This was due to the fit out works being higher than the estimate provided by the Council’s independent costs consultants and the need to include a contingency element within the revised budget levels.

It was reported by the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Property and Regeneration that in relation to revenue, the Council’s forecast outturn position for 2024/25 was an overspend of £208k. This was primarily due to variations across Law and Governance, Planning and Development, Property and Environmental. All services had been requested to consider ways that the forecasted overspend could be mitigated to perform within their forecasted budget for 2024/25.

In response to a question regarding the overspend, Planning and Development and if this was due to the payment of costs after the Council had lost planning appeals, the Head of Finance directed the committee to Appendix 2 to the report and advised that the forecast is due to lower application income.

In response to a question about the re-profiling of the funding for the new depot in Bicester, the Head of Finance directed the Committee to section 4.2.4 of the report where officers have reported that a planning application been submitted however an ecological survey and protected species survey was required to be submitted with the application and the Council had been unable to obtain these services, due to high demand for Ecologists, until October. That had resulted in a delay of 4 months to the original programme and consequent reprofiling of the capital budget as the anticipated completion had been impacted by the delay to planning approval.

Following a question from the Committee regarding empty units within Castle Quay, the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Property and Regeneration advised that officers had been putting pressure on the marketing team for the site to make sure they were doing everything they can to fill the units.

Resolved

(1)      That the report be noted.