Issue - meetings

To present the Council’s year end forecast as at the end of September. The report covers the General Fund Revenue Budget, the Housing Revenue Account Budget, and the Capital Programmes for the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account

Purpose of report

To present the Council’s forecasted 2025/26 financial position as at the end of September 2025 with specific regard to the General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Programme.

Decision

Cabinet noted the Finance Update.

Alternative options considered and rejected

The option of not producing a monitoring report was discounted because Cabinet should have oversight of the Council’s budgets.

Reasons for the decision

Members should be kept up-to-date on the financial position of the Authority, because effective budget management was critical to ensuring financial resources were targeted towards the Council’s priorities. Regular monitoring enabled early identification of variations against the plan and timely corrective action.

There was a forecasted surplus of £499,000 within General Fund (GF) Revenue. This was due in part to:

-       Reduced inflation on fuel

-       Utilities being purchased at a lower unit rate than budgeted

-       Projected growth in car parking sales at the Cattlemarket Car Park, Stamford

-       Higher than anticipated green waste income

There was no current cause for concern for the collection of Council Tax and Business Rates.

The Council’s current position was to internally finance the majority of its capital projects such as the new depot project and St. Martin’s Park in Stamford due to the high cost of borrowing from the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB). However, if the capital programme were to become more ambitious then it would be less likely that the Council’s cash balances could be relied upon.

The Business Rates reset would be difficult for some Councils to absorb; however, it was hoped that South Kesteven District Council would be resilient to most of the reset.

This report would also be presented to the Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 18 November 2025.