Councillor Mark Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) introduced the Provisional Revenue and Capital Outturn 2024/25.

Having considered the report  Cabinet agreed to:

1.    Note the Provisional Revenue Outturn position for the year to 31 March 2025, delivering a balanced budget despite the challenges faced

2.    Note the closing position included a release of £1.137m from the Collection Fund plus a draw down of £3.913m from other reserves to balance the outturn to the approved budget;

3.    Note the audit sign-off of the backlog of Statement of Accounts resulted in a reprofiling of the Minimum Revenue Provision charge which resulted in a release of £5.170m from the brought forward reserve;

4.    Note the Provisional Capital Outturn position for the year totals £109.309m, of which £72.997m(67%) was funded by grants or other external sources;

5. Recommend the Report to Full Council 2 June 2025.

Councillor Mark Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) introduced the Provisional Revenue and Capital Outturn 2024/25, and discussed:

a)     The report was provisional, subject to external auditing as well as scrutiny at the Audit and Governance Committee;

b)    A balanced budget position had been achieved, maintaining working balances at 5% of the net Revenue Budget;

c)     The Council’s Revenue Budget was £241 million, with a gross budget of £625 million;

d)    Achieving a balanced budget was a significant achievement, particularly given the challenges faced this year which included inflation, the cost of living, national living wage increases and increased demand for services;

e)     Reserves had been drawn down for Children's Services, Adult Social Care, and Special Educational Needs;

f)      Directorate overspends had been addressed with other underspends, and use of corporate resources;

g)     83% of the Council’s net Revenue Budget was spent on the provision of care for children, adults and homelessness;

h)    The Capital Programme budget had been set at £120 million however, only £109 million had been spent (91%);

i)      £72.9 million of Capital Programme expenditure had been funded through grants and/or external funding;

j)      Key Capital projects included:

                         i.         Woolwell to the George

                       ii.         Railway Station Regeneration

                      iii.         Housing projects to tackle homelessness

                      iv.         Net Zero Ambitions

                       v.         Zero Emissions Busses

                      vi.         Freeport

                     vii.         Armada Way Regeneration

                   viii.         Highway Maintenance

                      ix.         Drainage

                       x.         National Marine Park

k)     Thanks were given to officers and members who had worked to achieve the balance budget position despite the significant challenges faced.

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) added:

l)      It was important to promote a list of the many accomplishments achieved this year;

m)   There had been considerable negativity circulating regarding performance of the authority, which was undeserved;

n)    Some opposition members had claimed that the Council was close to bankruptcy, which was false;

o)    The Council was well financially managed despite many pressures and strains;

p)    The Leader challenged the opposition to ‘cease and desist’ with ‘talking the Council down’, which was dangerous and misleading.

Councillor Mark Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) added:

q)    It was important and appropriate for the Council to borrow, in order to invest in projects within the City. This drove employment, growth, business rates, and infrastructure improvements;

r)     Interest rates and financing costs were transparently set out in the Treasury Management section of the report.

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) added:

s)     The Council borrowed to provide investment in assets to drive growth, jobs, entertainment, housing and more;

t)     The Council’s borrowing was not an outlier in comparison to others, and was a sensible strategy which generated income;

u)    Borrowing was a responsible investment in the future, and was not utilised to offset the annual revenue budget;

v)     Thanks were expressed to the officers who had worked tirelessly and diligently to ensure a balanced budget was achieved.

The Cabinet agreed to:

1.     Note the Provisional Revenue Outturn position for the year to 31 March 2025, delivering a balanced budget despite the challenges faced;

2.     Note the closing position included a release of £1.137m from the Collection Fund plus a draw down of £3.913m from other reserves to balance the outturn to the approved budget;

3.     Note the audit sign-off of the backlog of Statement of Accounts resulted in a re-profiling of the Minimum Revenue Provision charge which resulted in a release of £5.170m from the brought forward reserve;

4.     Note the Provisional Capital Outturn position for the year totals £109.309m, of which £72.997m(67%) was funded by grants or other external sources;

5. Recommend the Report to Full Council 2 June 2025.