Decision details

The Committee received a report which provided an overview of the Cheshire East Council provisional outturn for the financial year 2023/24 and the financial performance of the Council relevant to the committee remit.

Some members expressed their disappointment that the Highways £0.6millon underspend could not be rolled over and shared fears that residents would end up paying the price for this on car repairs etc due to potholes. They also encouraged the Council to be transparent with the community as to why this money would be returned so that they had a better understanding of the financial process.

In respect of a question raised in relation to the HS2 underspend, this was a similar process and was a wider council decision on where best to spend the money or make savings.

Following a question raised about what documentary evidence there was to demonstrate that the service doubled up on shifts to spend money given that adverse weather was listed as the cause for this underspend officers agreed to provide a written response outside of the meeting.

In respect of a question raised as to what type of vacancies the service was carrying officers reported that these included Civil Enforcement Officers, Transport Planners, and Contract Managers within the Highways Thin Client Team. Vacancies varied throughout the year and there had been several applications for Civil Enforcement Officers which were going through the assessment process and others which were currently undertaking training, so the situation had improved in the last 6 months.

In respect of a question in relation to debt, officers agreed that they would provide a written response summarising figures and how they change over time.

In respect of a question as to why there were such challenges with adverse weather due to climate change and communicating what had gone wrong to residents’ officers agreed to provide a summary note of what had happened in the recent period and what mitigations were being put in place for the future. This would be made available online for residents to view.

RESOLVED: (By Majority)

That the Highways and Transport Committee:

1.    Note the factors leading to a positive Net Revenue financial outturn of £1.5m against a revised budget of £21.1m (7.1%), for Highways and Transport Committee services.

2.    Note the contents of Annex 1 and note that any financial mitigation decisions requiring approval will be made in line with relevant delegations.

3.    Approve the Supplementary Capital Estimate above £500,000 up to and including £1,000,000, as detailed in Annex 1, Section 3 Capital Strategy, Table 3 of the report.

4.    Note that Finance Sub Committee will be asked to approve the Supplementary Capital Estimate (SCE) over £1,000,000 in accordance with Financial Procedure Rules as detailed in Annex 1, Section 3 Capital Strategy, Table 4 of the report.