Issue - meetings

To accept the report on the end of year review (31 March 2024 position) of the capital programme.

To approve the revised financing as shown in part 3.2.3 of the report, namely:⁠

-      An increase of £2,189,000 in the use of grants and contributions

-      An increase of £132,000 in the use of capital receipts

-      An increase of £645,00 in the use of revenue contributions

-      An increase of £87,000 in the use of renewal and other reserves.

The report was submitted by Cllr. Paul Rowlinson

DECISION

To accept the report on the end of year review (31 March 2024 position) of the capital programme.

To approve the revised financing as shown in part 3.2.3 of the report, namely:⁠

-      An increase of £2,189,000 in the use of grants and contributions

-      An increase of £132,000 in the use of capital receipts

-      An increase of £645,000 in the use of revenue contributions

-      An increase of £87,000 in the use of renewal and other reserves.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted, and reference was made to the Capital Programme 2023/24 to 2025/26 worth £189 million in addition to an analysis per Department. It was confirmed that there was an increase of £3,053k in the budget for this capital programme since the 2023 November review.

It was explained that the Council had managed to spend £57 million in 2023/24 on capital plans.  It was elaborated that 58% of the expenditure would be funded through specific grants. However, it was acknowledged that the impact of recent financial challenges on the capital programme could be seen.

It was reported that an additional £34 million proposed spending had been re-profiled from 2023/24 to 2024/25 and 2025/26. It was explained that this change had been planned whilst some of the Council's main plans had slipped since the original budget, such as:

·       £16 million - Housing Strategy Plans

·       £14.6 million - Schools Schemes (Sustainable Learning Communities and Others)

·       £6.4 million - Shared Prosperity Fund Schemes

·       £5.7 million – Renewal of vehicles and equipment

·       £4.1 million - Carbon Management and Solar Panels Schemes

·       £3.8 million - Shared Prosperity Fund Plans

There was pride that the Council had managed to receive additional grants since the recent review in November 2023. Reference was made to the grants below as the largest ones submitted to the Council since the review:

·       £1,755 - A grant towards the plan to de-carbonise heat within the Council.

·       £1,100k – Flying Start and Childcare Capital Grant from the Welsh Government.

·       £659k- Welsh Government grant towards the purchase of a property to meet the needs of the Homelessness field.

·       £392k - Litter Infrastructure Grant from the Welsh Government.

·       £358k – Schools’ Maintenance Grant 2023/24 from the Welsh Government.

It was explained that it was now required for the Council to share information on smart Prudential Indicators from 2023/24 forward and attention was drawn to that information within the report.   

Attention was drawn to the fact that the capital levels had been going down for many years as had not increased with inflation. It was noted that this could appear as a future challenge.

The Finance Department was thanked for the report and their work of planning and protecting the Council's interests.