Issue - meetings

Quarter 2 Performance Report 2021/22

Meeting: 16/12/2021 - Executive (Item 53)

53 Quarter 2 Performance Report 2021/22

Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance and Governance and Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Resources.

Supporting documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED to:

 

1.    Note Key performance Indicator performance for Q2 2021/22 as detailed in the report and in Annex 1;

 

2.    Note the Budget Monitoring forecasts for Q2 2021/22 as detailed in the report and at Annexes 2 and 3.

Minutes:

The Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Resources, Councillor Lewanski, introduced the report which outlined the Council’s performance up to the end of Quarter 2.

 

Of the ten indicators, eight were on target or within the agreed tolerance. There were two that were red rated:

·       KPI 2 – Business Rates collection had been affected by the recalculation of the Retail Rate Relief earlier in the year. This resulted in some instalments being set back and the creation of new instalment plans. It was expected that performance would catch up throughout the year.

·       KPI 7 – Affordable Housing Completion. 24 affordable houses had been delivered this year, against a target of 50. However, a significant number of housing development projects were expected to reach completion later in the year, bringing the level in line with the target.

 

In response to questions from Visiting Members, the work of the Council to deliver affordable housing was highlighted including projects in Horley for single occupants and the Cromwell Road development. The Council was also working with the YMCA to deliver housing for young people with additional support needs. It was recognised that these weren’t sufficient in themselves to meet overall need, but the Planning Authority worked hard with developers to increase the number of affordable units being developed.

 

The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance and Governance, Councillor Schofield, outlined the Council’s Revenue and Capital Budget position for Quarter 2.

 

In terms of the Revenue Budget, the projected full year outturn was £17.841m against a management budget of £17.808m which resulted in a minor underspend for the year of £33k. Details of the more significant budget variances were set out in the report.

 

Councillor Schofield explained that the budget forecast was before income shortfalls, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, had been taken into account. The Council was confident that income streams had started to be restored, but parking income remained the main area of concern. The shortfall was to be funded through £354k claimed from Government and drawing on £2m Earmarked Reserve. Expenditure on the continued pandemic response was forecast to be funded within grants made available by the Government.

 

The full year Capital Programme forecast at the end of Quarter 2 was £88m (62%) below the approved Programme for the year. The variance was as a result of £87m slippage and a £650k net underspend, as, substantial budgets had been allocated for investment in Housing and Commercial developments and the related business cases had not been developed.

 

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Harrison, explained that the Committee considered the report at its meeting on 9 December. Members of the Committee had asked questions in relation to community centres, revenue benefits and fraud, leisure services and the housing delivery programme. Officers had agreed to investigate whether, due to a shortfall in spending in Disabled Facilities Grants and the Handy Person Scheme, funding could be made available for vulnerable residents requiring essential items.

 

In response to a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53


Meeting: 09/12/2021 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 51)

51 Quarter 2 Performance Report 2021/22

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

1.    Note Key Performance Indicator (KPI) performance for Q2 2021/22 as detailed in the report and in Annex 1 and make any observations to the Executive;

2.    Note the Budget Monitoring forecasts for Q1 2021/22 as detailed in the report and at Annex 2 and make any observations to the Executive.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received the Performance Reports for Quarter 2 2021/22 including Key Performance Indicator (KPI) performance and the Budget Monitoring forecasts Q2 2021/22 – both revenue and capital.

Quarter 2 KPI performance 2021/22

Councillor Lewanski, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Policy & Resources, gave an overview of the KPI performance: of the ten KPIs reported on in Quarter 2, eight were on target. Two indicators were not on target and were therefore red-rated: KPI 2 – Business rates collection and KPI 7 – Affordable Housing Completions. KPI 2 was affected by the recalculation of Retail Rate Relief which led to new instalment plans but it was expected that performance would catch up during the year. KPI 7 was off target currently as affordable housing developments were often completed and then delivered in batches through the year.

Affordable housing – the lower number of social rent affordable completions by tenure compared to shared ownership delivery was noted. Members also commented that high performance delivery in developments such as Pitwood Park in Tadworth and Cromwell Road in Redhill were not captured in the targets.

Quarter 2 Budget Monitoring 2021/22

Councillor Schofield, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance, gave an overview of the Quarter 2 Budget Monitoring set out in the report and Annex 1.

There was a small overspend in Service and Central budgets, currently forecast to be only £0.061m (0.4%) higher than the Revenue Budget for 2021/22 that was approved in February 2021.

The report included separate forecasts for the additional expenditure and funding related to the COVID-19 pandemic (which is currently forecast to be in balance), and for income shortfalls due to the pandemic. The forecast income loss was £1.418m as of 30 September 2021, with car parking accounting for the majority at £1.228. Car parking income was steadily starting to improve . The net shortfall can be funded on a one-off basis through drawing on the Earmarked Reserve set aside in anticipation at the end of 2020/21.

The Capital Programme forecast for the year is £53.07m which is below the approved programme as a result of £87.36m slippage and a net underspend due to the lack of viable housing schemes and commercial investments coming forward.

Members made comments and discussed the following areas:

Community centres – it was noted that operating costs of the three community centres in the Borough were reported on in the revenue budget. The review of the community centres had been highlighted to the Committee earlier in the year, with changes well underway, supported by one-off funding from the Corporate Plan Delivery Fund. There were more family-related activities as well as activities for older people, and a positive response to home cooked food provided for those attending the centres.

Revenue, Benefits and Fraud – a reported £393k overspend in this service area was discussed by Members. This was due to a lower DWP subsidy, as more clients moved to Universal Credit, and higher Housing Benefit, partially offset by lower staff costs. The high number of vacancies  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51