To receive a presentation from the Executive Member for Finance and Governance.

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance went through the presentation that had been provided to the Committee as part of the Agenda.He informed the Committee that there was a remaining gap of £4.6m and £11m in 2022/23 and 2023/24 respectively that needed to be addressed. Part of the budget gap was due to the pay award for staff, the national living wage, and the loss of dividend from Manchester Airport.   The asset investment strategy was down on the projected revenue by around £1M which the Executive Member was happy to provide more detail about to the Committee. 

The Director of Finance and Systems delivered the remainder of the presentation. The Committee were told that the Council were on target to achieve the savings projected within the budget set in March 2021. The Director of Finance and Systems informed the Committee that the Council had introduced a rag rated performance monitoring system for savings targets, with exception reports produced when concerns arose. Inflation was expected to have an impact on the budget although the size of impact was still unknown as demonstrated by the recent reports where inflation was higher than predicted. He then drew the Committees attention to the dates of the Budget Scrutiny sessions where the Committee would have an opportunity to dive deeper into the proposed budget.

The Director of Finance and Systems had hoped for more information to be available regarding the spending review, but it was still undecided. The Council were among a group of authorities lobbying for a funding floor to be set to guarantee a minimum level of funding for all authorities, which would benefit the Council by around £5M. 

Following the presentation Councillor Procter asked about the level of reserves held by the Council. The Executive Member for Finance and Governance responded that reserves had looked very large at start of the year but most of those were earmarked for upcoming expenditure. A review was ongoing to see if the Council could ease the pressure on reserves.

Councillor Axford asked how much government funding Trafford received compared with other authorities. The Executive Member for Finance and Governance responded that Trafford was a very lean Council and had come together with other low funded Councils to lobby to receive 90% of the average funding received by Councils per capita. If the lobbying was successful Trafford receive an additional £5M. The Director of Finance and Systems added that the Government had kept putting back the review of the funding formula and this lobbying was to help the low funded Councils until the review was completed.

Councillor Thompson noted the inflation rate put forward in the presentation of 2.5% and asked when that would be updated with the current inflation figures. The Executive Member for Finance and Governance agreed that 2.5% did not seem likely and informed the Committee that the level was continuously under review, but things changed so quickly it was difficult to give a clear answer as to what the level would be.

Councillor Carter asked about the 3.99% Council tax increase and what the impact having less than that would be for the Council. The Executive Member for Finance and Governance responded that it looked as though the increase would be set to 2.99% which would mean a £1M loss for the Council.

Councillor Newgrosh asked what the impact on the Council of each one percent rise in inflation. The Director of Finance and Systems responded that he would have to work out the answer and get back to the Committee. The Director of Finance and Systems added that the larger impact was the 6.5% increase to the national living wage.

Councillor Newgrosh asked whether Council was of fixed price energy supply. The Executive Member for Finance and Governance believed so but would check and respond to the Committee via email. He informed the Committee that the Council were looking to decarbonise and move towards renewable energy, which would reduce costs and the impact of changes in oil and gas prices.

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance concluded by stating that he was happy to come back to Scrutiny after the budget sessions to provide further information when more details were known.

RESOLVED: That the presentation be noted.