Lead Member – Cllr Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer – James Walton, Executive Director (S151 Officer)

REPORT TO FOLLOW

RESOLVED:

A.    To ensure emergency action is continued by all Officers in the second half of the financial year to improve further the Quarter 2 forecast of a projected spend over budget of £47.069m (30th September 2025). Such action should predominantly focus on reducing spend, increasing income, delivering remaining savings and significant mitigating actions to control in-year spending pressures.

B.    To support the continued use of Operations Boards, which have been in place from August 2025, to challenge all in-year spending, and more recently have been further enhanced to bring greater Service Director scrutiny. Further details to be included in future Finance Monitoring reports.

C.    To consider the Period 6 position (as at the end of September) forecast indicative level of savings delivery of £21.304m (36%),

D.    To continue to review the projected General Fund Balance which is forecast to be negative (-£12.789m), indicating a potentially illegal financial position by the end of the financial year if proposed action does not improve this position.

E.    To continue to support, in light of the Council’s current financial position and ongoing engagement with MHCLG, the active discussions regarding Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) are continuing.

To scrutinise financial performance at Quarter 2 and identify issues that may require further investigation by an overview and scrutiny committee.

TO FOLLOW