Agenda item

Purpose: the capital financing performance report provided to Members reports on the under or overspends against the Council’s approved capital budget and proposed reprofiling of planned expenditure into subsequent financial years.  The report presents the provisional outturn position for financial year 2024/25 and is subject to external audit scrutiny and review prior to finalisation. 

Resolved that: Members are informed of:

·         The provisional outturn of £41.1 million against the 2024/25 capital programme of £59.2 million.

·         The impact of required capital financing on the Council’s Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) and liability benchmark which identifies the Council as a long-term borrower of funding.  (Appendix B). 

·         £18.3m of planned expenditure to be reprofiled into financial year 2025/26 (Appendix A). (Slippage discussed in Asset and Capital Group 28.04.2025)

·         £1.6m of funding proposed to be brought forward from approved expenditure from financial year 2025/26 into financial year 2024/25 (Appendix A).  (Slippage discussed in Asset and Capital Group 28.04.2025)

·         Members are informed of the following adjustments to the 2025/26 capital programme:

o   £150,000 of external funding for Bus Service Improvement plan,

o   £118,347 of external grant for Royal Berkshire Archives extension,

Members are asked to approve:

·         £408k of additional Council funding relating to Social Care Case Management System, increasing the budget provision from £960k agreed as part of the 2025/26 capital programme, to £1.37 Million.  The increase is required to fund additional technical consultancy support for implementation. 

·         £316k of external grant for the expansion of childcare and wraparound places,

·         £2.3m of combined funding (£1.86 million external funds and £460k Council funding), for the Royal Berkshire Archives extension.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on Friday 11 July 2025, then it will be implemented.

Councillor Iain Cottingham introduced and proposed a report (Agenda Item 6), which detailed the under or overspends against the Council’s approved capital budget and proposed reprofiling of planned expenditure into subsequent financial years.

Councillor Cottingham noted that there had been a detailed discussion in relation to the report at Resources and Place Scrutiny Committee earlier in the week. He drew Members’ attention to Appendix B of the report which detailed the required borrowing to allow the Council to conduct day to day activities. Councillor Cottingham suggested that without radical reform from central government, by 2028/29 all the borrowed capital would be utilised in funding the High Needs Block.

Councillor Jeff Brooks explained that High Needs Block expenditure related to services that the Council purchased to help children that required special education, for example, teaching assistants.

Councillor Cottingham reported that the Council would move to longer term borrowing once interest rates reduced.

Councillor Brooks noted that there was a trend in underspend that he wanted to halt and queried how much had been re-profiled in 2022/23. Shannon Coleman-Slaughter, the Section 151 Officer, agreed to revert with the figures at a future meeting.

Councillor Dominic Boeck acknowledged that the previous administration did have underspends towards the end of its term, however this had been due to the impact of Covid. He suggested that to understand any trends in re-profiling would require more of a historical review.

Councillor Richard Somner requested that formatting issues in relation to the graph at section 4.1 of the report be resolved in future reports.

Councillor Somner noted that it was important to understand the table at section 5.5 of the report, and the breakdown of the £7 million ‘other projects’ but acknowledged that Councillor Cottingham had agreed to provide the information.

Councillor Somner referred to the ‘Liability Benchmark’ graph and the issues raised by it and queried when it would be factored into discussions relating to Ridgeway Council. Councillor Brooks responded that the Ridgeway Council Proposal was not a certainty. Councillor Somner suggested that as the proposal progressed the issue would need to be at the forefront of discussions.

Councillor Howard Woollaston how borrowing would be repaid and the sum of the interest charged on it. Councillor Cottingham commented that the Council was currently within its borrowing fiscal rules, but that the pressure would increase over future years to service the High Needs Block.

Councillor Woollaston commented that his understanding was that the total debt recorded was probably effectively a third of the total being represented due to it being re-financed. Councillor Cottingham agreed with the synopsis.

Councillor Ross Mackinnon noted that the administration appeared proud of its £500,000 spending on a grass football pitch at Faraday Road and queried how residents may feel when that project was progressed, but a mental health and autism project had been slipped. Councillor Mackinnon queried why Faraday Road had been prioritised over such a worthy project.

Councillor Nigel Foot commented that sport had a significant benefit to the mental health and wellbeing of people. Councillor Mackinnon responded that Faraday Road could only be used twice a week, with priority booking awarded to Newbury Football Club, and consequently was unlikely to benefit many residents.

Councillor Jo Stewart referred to section 2.2 of the report and the request for Members to approve an increase in funding to the social care case management system and queried what assurances could be made to ensure that there would not be regular increases in budget to fund the system, as there had been for previous systems.

Councillor Cottingham provided assurances that the Executive would monitor the spending on the project to ensure that it remained to budget. 

Councillor Jeff Brooks seconded the recommendations within the report.

RESOLVED that:

Members are informed of:

·         The provisional outturn of £41.1 million against the 2024/25 capital programme of £59.2 million.

·         The impact of required capital financing on the Council’s Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) and liability benchmark which identifies the Council as a long-term borrower of funding.  (Appendix B). 

·         £18.3m of planned expenditure to be reprofiled into financial year 2025/26 (Appendix A). (Slippage discussed in Asset and Capital Group 28.04.2025)

·         £1.6m of funding proposed to be brought forward from approved expenditure from financial year 2025/26 into financial year 2024/25 (Appendix A).  (Slippage discussed in Asset and Capital Group 28.04.2025)

·         Members are informed of the following adjustments to the 2025/26 capital programme:

o   £150,000 of external funding for Bus Service Improvement plan,

o   £118,347 of external grant for Royal Berkshire Archives extension,

Members are asked to approve:

·         £408k of additional Council funding relating to Social Care Case Management System, increasing the budget provision from £960k agreed as part of the 2025/26 capital programme, to £1.37 Million.  The increase is required to fund additional technical consultancy support for implementation. 

·         £316k of external grant for the expansion of childcare and wraparound places,

·         £2.3m of combined funding (£1.86 million external funds and £460k Council funding), for the Royal Berkshire Archives extension.