Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent items.

The minutes of the meetings held on 7 and 13 November 2023 were confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

The Co-Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Property presented a report which set out the position on the council’s capital programme for the second quarter of 2023/24.  An underspend of £1.9 million was reported against the approved programme. He highlighted funding requests for the Local Housing Funding Scheme and regeneration of May Place.

Resolved:    To note:

1.      The forecast capital expenditure for 2023/24 of £28.337M which is £1.904M (6.30%) less than the latest approved budget for the capital programme;

2.      The 2023/24 significant outturn variations and explanations for them as shown in section 4 of the report;

3.      The quarter two forecasts and impact of scheme variances for 2023/24 on future years’ capital expenditure were reported to the Capital Programme Board in November 2023;

4.      The capital programme budget for 2023/24 has been profiled to show the period when the budget will be spent, so that progress on scheme delivery may be monitored more closely. Profiled budgets by Council Plan Priority and capital are shown in section 5 and Appendix 2 of the report;

5.      The latest forecast of capital receipts, grants and contributions for 2023/24 in section 6 of the report;

6.      The latest approved capital programme for 2023/24 to 2026/27 and it’s financing as shown in section 7 and detailed in Appendix 1 of the report;

7.      The risks associated with the capital forecasts are as detailed in section 10 of the report; and

8.      The capital programme remains fully funded from the council’s own resources up to 2026/27, based on the latest forecast of available resources.

Cabinet recommend Council to approve:

9.      Additions to the capital programme to support the delivery of Council Plan Priorities as set out in section 9 to fund:

An increase to the Local Authority Housing Fund scheme of £1.392M in 2023/24; and

New scheme May Place with a capital budget of £1.300M in 2024/25 and £0.800M in 2025/26.

The Co Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Property presented the report which set out the financial position for the second quarter of the financial year 2023/24 as at 30 September 2023.  The overall financial forecast as at quarter two was £0.02 million lower than the latest budget position.  He highlighted a significant shortfall in relation to The Malls due to costs arising from service charge caps which could not be charged to tenants under the lease terms.  He also referred to additional costs incurred across various service areas being offset by underspend related to difficulties to recruit staff.  

Resolved:      To note:

1.     The financial position for quarter 2 of 2023/24 and the forecast for the financial year as set out in section 2 of the report;

2.     The budget virements amounting to £0.47M were processed during the first quarter, as summarised in section 5 of the report;

3.     The 2023/24 savings, income and investment in services position detailed in section 7 of the report; and

4.     The risks associated with the revenue forecasts are detailed in section 8 of the report.

Cabinet considered a report which presented a digital strategy for adoption, to deliver needed technology changes and to support the development and enhancement of business processes related to the digital delivery of services to residents.  The Leader of the Council stated it was important to understand that the strategy should not detract from the in-person approach but would provide choice for residents and officers, digital accessibility, best quality digital services and best possible digital experience.  The Strategy also set out an action plan and how those actions would be monitored. 

Resolved:   

The Digital Strategy 2023–2026 as set out in Appendix 1 of the report be adopted.