Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director for Finance and Resources

Shabana Kausar, Director of Finance and Deputy S151 Officer presented a report and provided an update on progress made to date on the Council’s Financial Improvement Plan (FIP). The following information was highlighted:

a)  There has been substantial progress to date with 83.5% of the 248 financial deliverables/actions identified as of February 2024 completed, embedded into business as usual, or in progress.

b)  Despite resourcing issues in finance, priority has been placed on delivering the improvement plan.

c)  the FIP will continue for a few years, more work will be done over the next 12 months on fundamentals such as the financial accountability framework, whilst actions addressing control weaknesses and value for money have either happened or are in progress.

d)  Greater openness has led to additional weaknesses being highlighted.

The following points were raised in discussion:

e)  The Chair and Portfolio Holder for Finance commented that the report highlights consistent improvement and actions work recommended by the External Auditors. Officers were thanked for the improvements made.

f)  The Committee sought assurance on the work generated by the section 114 spending controls and its impact on workloads given declining resources. The S151 Officer explained that the spending controls were a necessary and proportionate measure to put in place following the S114 (3) report. The process continues to be refined and works as well as can be expected. There are between 300-400 transactions approved daily by the S151 Officer. He believed it was important to maintain this financial grip given the scale of the financial challenge even though it was resulting in resourcing issues but it was intended that approvals would be returned to more junior level officers. The S151 Officer informed the committee that as a result of the controls useful insight had been gained, in particular from a procurement perspective which provided opportunities for future savings. Controls would evolve to avoid the administrative burden.

g)  There is a scheme of delegation where if the S151 Officer is not present decisions will be taken by Deputy S151 OfficeR.

h)  The S151 Officer has rejected fewer than 50 transactions. It was stated that most rejected transactions take place at Corporate Director level. A projected overspend of £23.6m had been reduced to £19.6m over the course of the S114 spending control implementation period.

i)  The Budget Monitoring process, particularly period 12 data, will ascertain the overall level of success and impact of the spend prohibition period to date.

j)  The S151 Officer was asked whether as a result of delaying or stopping £100 grants to voluntary community groups there would be increased costs and agreed to respond separately to councillors on this issue.

k)  The Committee queried what was being done to address the delivery risks to the FIP. It was explained that the main risk is capacity and resources and that activities within the FIP sometimes needed to be re-prioritised. Due to the Council’s financial situation it is a constant risk that needs to be managed.

l)  The Committee discussed wider resourcing within the Council and how it can continue to balance activities such as financial improvement and other strategic responsibilities whilst simultaneously funding adult’s and children’s social care and temporary accommodation services which continue to increase in demand and cost. Members noted that this was a considerable demand and was a constant challenge for senior officers. An improvement plan will be produced following the appointment of commissioners and a budget refresh will further outline how that balance can be made. The aim in the new financial year would be to shift deployment of resource to enable more strategic capacity. The Council had improved in its forecasting and work continued to take place with Corporate Directors to ensure it remains accurate.

m)  Members queried the delivery of capacity building and training actions within the FIP and that a substantial number remained outstanding. It was explained that a refresh was due to take place soon and new training will be introduced at the start of the new financial year and first quarter whilst also embedding the new financial structure. The capacity issues would remain ongoing due to the wider challenging recruitment and retention environment within local government. Agency staff would be used but Finance would also look to implement permanent recruitment to its structure.

Resolved:

1)  The Committee note the progress to date on the Financial Improvement Plan and remediation controls project.

2)  The Committee note the progress in achieving the City Council’s Finance Improvement Plan (FIP).

3)  The Committee note the specific improvements delivered since the last update to the Committee in February 2024 and the planned activities within the FIP to the end of March 2024.

4)  The Committee note the update on the other finance related activities listed in paragraph 1.2.