Report of the Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer

The Panel considered a report of the Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer (ADR/T) on the findings of the month 11 monitoring undertaken on the Revenue and Capital Budget 2021/22 and Capital Programme 2021/22 to 2025/26.

The Panel noted that with regard to the revenue budget, an underspend to the sum of £264,000 had been identified which was a reduction in underspend of £124,000 from the position identified in the last report to the Panel.  This was mainly due to vacancies across the Service, the identification of underspends within Information Technology Governance, Finance and Operational Support & Resilience, offset by overspends in relation to being over establishment in wholetime staff, overtime, Deputy Chief Fire Officer recruitment, additional allowances for Logistics & Control Support staff, ill health retirements, firefighter recruitment, occupational health and the staff pay award.  Section 31 and Tax Income Guarantee grants received had been higher than anticipated and the transfer of £136,000 from reserves to cover budgetary pressures was no longer required.  The Capital plans for 2021/22 had been reviewed and slippage on the delivery of projects to the value of £511,000 (19.2%) was reported. This was primarily due to further delays within Engineering due to the global supply issues.  Additionally, an underspend of £40,000 was expected against capital schemes which comprised £55,000 underspend in Engineering and £15,000 (spend in advance) overspend in Estates. Further details on the Revenue and Capital programme risks were detailed in the report.

The Panel queried whether further action could be taken to help mitigate and manage the capital programme slippage, accepting that there were national supply chain issues which were beyond the Service’s control.  The ADR/T agreed that the delays were very frustrating, especially given that some projects had reached the point of delivery.  The tender for the first design guide project at Hove Fire Station had come in over budget but options had been identified through a process of value engineering and additional consultation was taking place on these options.  There was a degree of risk and uncertainty with regard to the outcome of tenders and lessons were being learnt for projects at Eastbourne, Roedean and Bohemia Road stations.  It was important that all projects were phased appropriately and carried out within the capacity of operational requirements.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) added that the delivery targets were ambitious targets and there may be a need to rebaseline some projects, for example, there were long delays in vehicles build times.  He added that it was important to manage expectations and engage with staff to make sure the challenges were fully understood.

RESOLVED: That the Policy and Resources Panel noted:

(i)            the risks to Revenue Budget and the projected underspend;

(ii)          the risks to the Capital Programme;

(iii)         the reduced net forecast drawdown from reserves;

(iv)         the grants available and spending plans;

(v)          the monitoring of savings taken in 2021/22; and

(vi)         the current year investments and borrowing.