Report of the Assistant Director Resources / Treasurer

The Fire Authority considered the report of the Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer (ADR/T) reporting on issues arising from the monitoring of the 2019/20 Revenue Budget and Capital Programme as at 31 July 2019.  At this early stage in the financial year with the delayed completion of the audit of the 2018/19 accounts this report focused principally on the risks to the revenue and capital budgets.

The report stated that the Revenue Budget was forecast to be £36,000 underspent, reflecting where forecasts could be made with some certainty.  The overall Capital Programme is projected to be £90,000 underspent, the current year’s Capital Programme was projected to be underspent by £952,000 (comprising of slippage of £862,000 and £90,000 underspend).

The Authority maintained Reserves in order to assist in managing its spending plans across the financial year (Earmarked Reserves) and making provisions for the financial risks it faces (General Reserves).  A summary of the current planned use of Reserves, updated with the latest operational position was presented in Appendix 4 to the report.

Members queried whether ESFRS compared suppliers of vehicles with other Fire & Rescue Services.  The ADR/T confirmed that ESFRS was a participant in national work on vehicle provision and a member of a national framework through which purchases could be made.  Members were informed that the vehicle purchase programme had been paused to ensure that all new purchases were locally appropriate.

The Authority asked whether the projected overtime bill was deemed to be reasonable.  The ADR/T explained that the projected overtime spend of approximately £300,000 should to be considered in context of the overall budget for that department of £20.6m.  The amount was not of immediate concern and the use of overtime provided flexibility but that it would continue to be monitored closely.  The CFO outlined to Members some of the uses for overtime, including for crews going over shift on an incident and provision of whole-time sickness cover.  Members were reminded that the use of overtime was an operational matter, and reassured that it was managed correctly.

Members requested a brief update on the progress of the estates project at Preston Circus.  The ADR/T confirmed that the project was progressing well.  Following extensive consultation with the employee representatives stage 2 of the design had been signed off and Architects appointed for stage 3.  A Major Projects Manager had been appointed to work on Preston Circus, Lewes and Uckfield and was due to start in early November.  All stages of each project would be undertaken with the appropriate level of engagement with stakeholders. 

Members asked the ADR/T to explain why the average return on investments remained at 1%.  The ADR/T confirmed that ESFRS had commissioned ORBIS to research alternative investment options, the results of which would be presented to Members at a future meeting.

RESOLVED – The Authority:

1.     Noted:

             i.    the risks to and the projected Revenue Budget underspend;

            ii.    the risks to and the projected underspend in the Capital Programme;

          iii.    the use of reserves;

          iv.    the monitoring of savings taken in 2019/20; and

           v.    the current year investments.

2.     The Authority agreed to vary the Capital Programme to reintroduce the purchase of an Animal Rescue Vehicle.