Meeting documents

Members received a report which presented the Statement of Accounts for 2017/18, which could be seen at Appendix 1 of the agenda pack. The date for finalising the accounts had changed from 30 September to 31 July and Members congratulated officers for meeting this new deadline.

The first section in the report provided information on the costs of the Council’s different operations, net of specific grants and income from fees and charges, to give the net cost of services of £10,411,000. The second section comprised items of income and expenditure relation to the Council as a whole i.e. not service specific – primarily the Parish Precepts of £2,241,000. The third section shows Financing and Investment Income and Expenditure and the fourth section - income from local taxation and general government grants, including Council Tax of £7,240,000.

The Principal Accountant went through the statement on page 172 of the agenda pack which showed the movement in the year of the different reserves held by the Authority, analysed into ‘usable reserves’ (i.e. those that can be applied to fund expenditure or reduce local taxation) and other reserves. Key points raised were as follows:

·       The General Fund Balance decreased by £539,000 to £2,400,000. This was mainly due to adjustments relating to retained income from Non-Domestic Rates.

·       Earmarked reserves decreased by £1,387,000 to £5,241,000. This was mainly due to use of reserves to finance new capital expenditure.

·       The Authority’s Capital Receipts Reserve decreased by £497,000 to £359,000. This was because receipts were used to fund the capital investment programme.

The key movement in the Council’s unusable reserves were as follows:

·       The Pensions deficit decreased by £1,255,000. The accumulated estimated pension fund deficit now stood at £30,229,000.

·       The Revaluation Reserve balance decreased by £791,000 due to revaluation of the Authority’s Property, Plant and Equipment.

There had been a difference in the estimated value and the actual value of the Buckinghamshire Pension Fund, of which the Council’s share was £531,000. This amount was considered immaterial in the context of the overall Accounts and was not adjusted for.

Members welcomed the growth in business rates. A Member asked a question in relation to page 165 of the agenda pack in relation to non domestic rates and the collection fund. The Principal Accountant commented that the accounting for business rates was complex and the amount taken to the general fund was set before the year commenced and this was adjusted for later in the accounts.

A Member asked what accountability there was for Portfolio Holders to balance their budget as some of the budgets had been overspent by a small amount. The Principal Accountant reported that reasons were given for any budget variance and this could be related to non-controllable costs. An example was given for homelessness which was a statutory duty that had to be fulfilled with limited ability to manage numbers. This had been overspend by £0.25 million. Homelessness had been identified as a financial risk. The Director of Resources reported that the Council was looking at areas to expand the supply of affordable housing and using sites such as Bath Road to use as temporary accommodation. The new Homelessness Prevention Act had added pressure on council resources.

RESOLVED that the final 2017/18 Statement of Accounts be approved by the Audit and Standards Committee and signed by the Chairman in accordance with the Accounts and Audit Regulations.