The Acting Head of Finance provided an overview of Local Government Finance, which explained how the Council was funded.

During, and following, the presentation the officers responded to questions from Members.

ACTION –

that the Acting Head of Finance provide an electronic copy of the presentation slides for Panel members.

No apologies had been received from Councillors Derbyshire and Whitman.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2015 to be submitted and signed. 

Copies of the minutes of this meeting are usually available seven working days following the meeting.

(All minutes are available on the Council’s website.)

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2015 were submitted and signed.

Report of the Director of Finance

This report informs the Budget Panel of the expected financial position at the end of the financial year, based on the actual performance at the end of June 2015 (Period 3)

The Panel received a report on the latest Finance Digest, covering the period to the end of June, by the Acting Head of Finance.  This was the first report to the Panel for the 2015/16 financial year.

Members reviewed the net revenue spend for the year to date.  The figures included some carry forwards from the previous financial year to fund a number of agreed initiatives and services.  The Panel noted the favourable variance forecast for the end of the year, which was predicted to be £60,000.  This figure included a number of key variances, including a one-off payment from the Lanchester Community Free School Trust to purchase a 25 year lease on 16 parking spaces in The Avenue car park.

Councillor Williams asked how this income would be accounted for and, in particular, whether it would be divided into 25 instalments covering the life of the lease to provide an annual income to the Council.  The Acting Head of Finance responded that this had yet to be clarified and he would report back to the Panel.

Looking at the key financial risk areas, the Chair, Councillor Khan, queried the downturn in kerbside recycling income.  The Acting Head of Finance reported that there had been a widespread reduction in the value of recycling, which reflected an over-supply in the market.

The Acting Head of Finance further reported that the Property Investment Board had proposed the disposal of some properties in the Council’s portfolio in order to increase capital receipts.  This strategy would target higher value properties from which rental income was relatively low.  It was requested that the list of properties under consideration be circulated to the Panel.

Councillor Joynes drew attention to the growing problem of providing bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people in the Borough.  The Acting Head of Finance agreed that costs in this area were increasing and an additional £50,000 had been budgeted in the current financial year.

Councillor Williams sought clarification on the loss of land charges fee income to the Council.  The Acting Head of Finance explained that this related to the searches carried out by local authorities when purchasing a property.  The legitimacy of the charge for environmental information had been challenged in the courts and judged illegal.  Watford Council was now liable to pay litigation charges.  The Council had anticipated the ruling and money had been set aside to cover this outcome.  However the ruling represented a future loss of income to the Council through the removal of this part of the search fees.

Noting that commercial rents provided a valuable source of income to the Council, Councillor Counter commented that it was important that rent was received promptly.  The Acting Head of Finance agreed and said that the majority of commercial property debtors were expected to pay in full and the significant outstanding debt statistic (77%) in the 0-1 month category was not of concern.

Observing that over 18% of outstanding debt was over three months old, Councillor Williams asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

·               Tuesday 27 October 2015

·               Tuesday 1 December 2015

·               Wednesday 13 January 2016

·               Tuesday 23 February 2016

·               27 October 2015

·               1 December 2015

·               13 January 2016

·               23 February 2016