Issue - meetings

Purpose of report

To provide details of the General Fund provisional outturn position for the Financial Year 2024/25, covering the Revenue Budget, Capital Programmes and a Reserves Overview.

Decision

Cabinet noted the provisional General Fund Revenue and Capital Outturn position and the supporting appendices for the financial year 2024/25.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Cabinet should have oversight of the Council’s budgets and therefore, the option of not producing a provisional outturn report was discounted.

Reasons for the decision

It was important that members were aware of the financial position of the General Fund to ensure they could make informed decisions that were affordable and financially sustainable. Effective budget management was critical to ensuring financial resources were spent in line with the budget and were targeted towards the Council’s priorities.

During the financial year, the Council had managed budgets prudently and had been able to redirect funding where necessary to support the objectives set out in the Corporate Plan. A combination of savings and the generation of additional income had enabled the Council to boost its financial resilience.

The Council had delivered a number of key projects in recent months. Alongside this, Governance and Audit Committee, in considering this report agreed to create a Leisure Investment Reserve for leisure centres in Bourne and Grantham, as well as the SK Stadium in Grantham.

This report had also been considered by Finance and Economic OSC prior to the summer recess.