My Report to Council

Posted By: Greg Couzens
Date Posted: 10/02/2009

REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR FINANCE TO THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL ON 4th February 2009



Thank you Mr Mayor for the opportunity to report to the Council the latest developments on various matters relating to the Finance and Highways Portfolio.


Since the last report to Council, the Cabinet has approved for recommendation its revenue and capital budget as part of the 2009/10 budget process.

There have been some changes to assumptions following the detailed work which is required to finalise the budget, but the position for the next financial year remains balanced.

There will be some pressures and risks in the coming year and these will be closely monitored. The most significant of these are:

* The need for the adult care service to achieve its modernisation plans and manage service delivery within its existing resources
* The outcome of the pay and grading review which is still subject to consultation

The impact of the economic situation remains uncertain. Pay and price inflation is now forecast to be much lower than anticipated in October but there are likely to be increasing demands on council services and income targets may be more difficult to achieve.

To support this financially we plan to continue with a budget pressures fund and will also be proposing the retention of funding to support investment in the coming year. We have also created £1.6m of headroom in the area based grant that will contribute to supporting issues such as Jobs and Prosperity. These measures aim to create a degree of financial resilience that will help manage the economic uncertainty in the year ahead. Further details on the full budget will be presented to budget fixing council on the 25th February.

The financial position for the current year, taking into account the budget pressures fund, is a deficit of £1.3m. Portfolio holder meetings are being held to continue to scrutinise and challenge the budget position. The main risks continue to be within the adult care service with an over achievement of treasury management income offsetting this pressure.

The Audit Commission has recently completed its report to provide a view on how well the Council manages its resources. The council has retained its overall 3 star “performing well” status as part of the judgement. We have also received for the first time the maximum 4 star rating for managing performance against budgets and for our systems of internal control. The commission has increased the score to 3 stars for how we manage and improve value for money but wants to see more progress in services delivering good value for money and in how we manage our assets.

Despite significant budget pressures forecast due to the current economic climate and reduced retail activity, we have not increased the car parking charges for the second year, local businesses are struggling and I feel this will go a long way to help businesses within the borough. We remain cheaper than our nearest neighbours, and many other districts in the region.

Highways officers have made significant progress in developing a Highways Asset Management Plan which will help provide better information on future investment on our roads and footways. This is similar to the work Impact have been doing on Property Asset Management which has been reported to members recently. Working closely with John Barber and Janet Butterworth we now have documented evidence to manage all our assets.

Members will be aware that the three major junction improvement schemes are now substantially complete. Early indications are that the schemes are working reasonably well and that the expected outcomes are being achieved. There is still some monitoring and optimisation work to do at the Townhead junction, and the public realm area on the north side of the church is still to be completed.

We are now working on how to take forward the borough's Transport Strategy in light of the rejection of the TIF proposal.

The additional investment of £120k for gully cleaning is on target to clean every gully in the borough by the end of the year. An additional investment of £50k has been included in the budget next year to repair damaged gullies which have been found to be not working after cleaning; this work will be prioritised to the damaged gullies where there is the highest risk of flooding. A progress report is available on request.

Highways Officers are also concluding the procurement of the joint Rochdale and Oldham Street Lighting PFI project, and will be reporting the outcome of the bidding process to members in early March to commence the investment in June this year. The outcome of the procurement process for the new Highway Maintenance works contract will also be reported to members in early March so that the start of both contracts can be co-ordinated.

The recession is having a profound effect but rest assured that I will be closely monitoring all officers to make sure that spending is kept within budget and efficiencies are achieved.

A huge Thankyou must go to Ruth Hunter and the financial team for achieving a 4 star rating, especially in such turbulent times.

Greg Couzens Portfolio Holder for Finance