Decision details

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.           Note the General Fund is projecting a net favourable movement of £0.828m from Month 7. Service directorates are indicating a £2.203m overspend (Month 7 £3.030m) with this being netted of as in the past seven months against the release of a one off Covid Grant (£3.451m released = 31% of the gran t) confirmed to Croydon Council for 21/22 by DLUHC  as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement;

2.           Note that a further number of risks and compensating opportunities may materialise which would see the forecast year-end variance change and these are reported within Section 3 of this report.

3.           Note the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is projecting a £1.634m (Month 7 £0.786m) overspend for 2021/22. If no further mitigations are found to reduce this overspend the HRA will need to drawdown reserves from HRA balances. There are sufficient balances to cover this expenditure.

4.           Note the capital spend to date for the General Fund of £13.271m (against a budget of £190.581m) and for the HRA of £8.128m (against a budget of £183.209m), with a projected forecast variance of £58.683m on the General Fund against budget and £110.570m forecast variance against budget for the Housing Revenue Account;

5.           Note, the above figures are predicated on forecasts from Month 8 to the year end and therefore could be subject to change as forecasts are refined and new and updated information is provided on a monthly basis. Forecasts are made based on the best available information at this time.

6.           Note that whilst the Section 114 notice has formally been lifted, the internal controls established as part of the S114, such as the Spend Control Panel and Social Care Placement Panels remain.  Restrictions have been lifted for ring-fenced accounts such as the Pension Fund, Housing Revenue Account and Coroner’s Expenditure as these are directly outside of the General Fund’s control. The Spending Control Panel which was set up at the beginning of November 2020 continues to meet on a twice daily basis.

7.           Note that, Croydon Borough has taken on c1000 asylum seekers who have been placed in eight hotels by the Home Office without consultation with the Council. The hotel costs are funded by the Home Office, however the Council is be responsible for further ancillary services particularly around safeguarding, public health, children & youth provision and broader community support. These additional costs, which are currently being calculated have been flagged within the unquantified risks section of this report, and could clearly result in further financial pressures for the Council.

8.           Note the Council has now renegotiated a revised loan agreement with Boxpark Croydon Ltd and to date Boxpark have ensured that they have paid the Council according to the terms of the revised agreement. The Council continues to monitor this repayment and will take necessary actions in the event of delays.