Issue - meetings

To receive an update on the financial forecasts for 2021/22 and note any actions associated with the position reported; and to note or approve virements and supplementary estimates as required.

The Committee considered a report considered by the Finance Sub-Committee at its meeting on 1^st December 2021 in relation to the 2021/22 Financial Year Review.

The report outlined how the Council was managing resources to provide value for money services during the 2021/22 financial year.It set out the financial performance of the Council with and without the impact of Covid-19.

Further details of how the Council was performing in 2021/22 were set out in the Annex to the report. Appendix 2 to the Annex contained information specific to the Corporate Policy Committee.

Councillor A Stott, as Chair of the Finance Sub-Committee, reported the outcome of the Sub-Committee’s consideration of the report and commended the Sub-Committee’s recommendations to the Committee.

Arising from members’ consideration of the report, the following comments were made:

§  Any underspends/overspends by service committees would be reported at year end.

§  It was important to note that each service committee was responsible for its own budget, although it was important to manage the budget as a whole.

§  Officers and members were congratulated on achieving a budget variance of less than 1% in the difficult circumstances of the pandemic.

Councillor T Dean referred to the capital strategy of the Environment and Communities Committee and asked about the scheme for the Knutsford Leisure Centre which did not appear on the list. The Chair asked that a written answer be provided.

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the Corporate Policy Committee

1.    notes the report and specifically the recommendations of the Finance Sub-Committee as follows:

Finance Sub-Committee recommends Service Committees to:

          (a)        note the financial update and forecast outturn relevant to their terms of reference; and

          (b)        note that officers will seek to improve outcomes and the financial outturn across all Committees to mitigate the overall forecast overspend of the Council.

2.    notes the Annex to the report;

3.    notes Appendix 2 and the following sections specific to the Committee:

·         Changes to Revenue budget 2021/22

·         Policy Proposals Update

·         Corporate Grants Register

·         Debt Management

·         Capital Strategy

·         Reserves Strategy