COUNCILLORS have been alerted to an "urgent requirement" to implement measures to minimise financial risks due to increasing demand.

A financial monitoring report for 2021-22 came before full council at its meeting on Wednesday.

Councillors noted the resolutions of the cabinet, which included noting the latest revised budget and forecast revenue position for 2021-22, noting the latest position over the implementation of the 2021-22 budget savings and approving a revised capital programme.

It is the second quarterly financial monitoring report of 2021-22 and covers the period from April 2021 to September 2021.

In the report, it states: “There is an urgent requirement for mitigating actions to be implemented by management to minimise the financial risk to the council this year and in future years from increasing demand, non-delivery of savings and other prevailing budget pressures.”

Overspend

It confirmed there is currently a forecast service overspend of £4.041 million against the current revenue budget of £146.7 million.

However, "corporate variances" will offset this by £2.528 million, resulting in a net budget overspend variation of £1.513 million.

But the report states that this position excludes Covid-19 additional spending and commercial income losses, which will be offset by an emergency grant and other Covid-related grants.

It also excludes "fees and charges" income losses compensated under the sales fees and charges compensation scheme, but it includes 2021-22 saving plans that are ‘at risk’ of not being delivered during the year.

The report adds: “It is recognised that the financial environment within which the council operates presents significant financial challenges, particularly as the economy looks to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and council finances remain uncertain.

“In addition to the key risk from the non-delivery of savings, other financial risks include pressures arising from demand led expenditure budgets, particularly within integrated care and health, and also the potential for volatility within some income budgets.

“With uncertainty over the mechanism and timetable of how funding for local government will change, as well as the continuing impact of Covid-19, the financial outlook remains challenging and uncertain.”