Report of the Interim Director of Finance that informs the committee of the council’s 2020/21 financial position at the end of September 2020 (Period 6).

The committee received a report of the Finance Manager- Financial Planning and Analysis with the financial position at the end of September 2020.

The Interim Head of Finance introduced the report providing an overview of key points for the committee. The 2020/21 forecast outturn was estimated to be £18.139 million. This gave an unfavourable variance of £0.630 million, when compared to the latest budget of £17.509 million. Variances included additional support for SLM, the non-receipt of expected recycling credits, the implementation of a new payroll system and a reduction in investment income due to the low Bank of England base rate. This £0.630 million was planned to be funded from earmarked reserves.

Other key points included:

·        The expected levels of government funding through the income guarantee scheme was estimated to be £1 million.

·        There was a significant underspend on the capital programme largely due to the revised funding model for the multi-storey car park at the Riverwell site.

·        Business rates and council tax receipts had not been as affected by the pandemic as anticipated.

Responding to a question, the Interim Head of Finance advised that the council had a good understanding of the additional costs that would be incurred but the impact of the second lockdown was not yet clear.

The committee noted that there were a number of staff vacancies; some were being held vacant to accrue savings while others were filled by agency staff. Apprentices were not being recruited as the support was not available for them. Work was ongoing to explore solutions for some departments as part of the end of the Watford 2020 programme, but no decisions had yet been made.

The committee received an overview of three housing projects that the council was involved in. One was to provide housing assistance to those with no recourse to public funds, the second was for a wraparound scheme with OneYMCA for accommodation and support to those with complex needs and the third was for a project called ‘Housing First’ with Watford Community Housing. The numbers in temporary accommodation remained stable. The committee welcomed the council’s participation in these initiatives.

RESOLVED –

that the 2020/21 Quarter 2 Finance Digest as shown in Annex A was considered and both the revenue and capital forecast outturn positions were noted.