Agenda item

The report presented the year end position for the Authority’s capital programme including how this had been financed.  The year end position for the Authority’s capital programme showed total expenditure of £2.4m compared with the budget of £4.2m, with the difference being slippage of £1.8m. It was noted that slippage was a timing issue dependent on the progress of capital schemes and not an indication of future underspends.

The programme had been financed in year, from a combination of revenue contributions (£2.0m), the drawdown of earmarked reserves (£0.03m) and the drawdown of capital reserves (£0.4m), as detailed in appendix 1 of the report.

Prudential Indicators 2018/19

Under the prudential framework the Authority was required to identify various indicators to determine whether the capital programme was affordable, prudent and sustainable.

The revised indicators, after allowing for the various changes to the capital programme, were set out in the report alongside the actual outturn figures confirmed that performance had been within approved limits.

The Impact of Slippage from the 2018/19 Capital Programme into the 2019/20 Programme

The original approved capital programme for 2019/20 was £11.4m. This had been updated to reflect the final level of slippage of £1.8m.

In addition the resultant budget had been reviewed for any changes in timing assumptions since budget setting, and the following changes had been made:

·        Vehicles £0.7m, the majority of which related to replacement pumping appliances, whereby we need to undertake a new procurement exercise prior to ordering replacement appliances, and the change in cab specification had led to a delay in undertaking this exercise;

·        Building Modifications £4.0m, which related to delays on the Fleet workshop project, pending Polices decision re training requirements, and on Preston Station where design work was still on-going;

·        ICT £1.1m – the majority of this related to the replacement Vehicle Mounted Data System hardware, which had been put on hold pending delivery of the national ESMCP project and therefore will not be progressed during 2019/20.  The remainder related to various systems which were not expected to be replaced in the year.

Therefore the final proposed capital programme for 2019/20 was £7.5m, funded from capital grant, revenue contributions, and capital reserves. The revised programme and its funding were set out in appendix 2 and considered by Members. 

Revised prudential indicators for 2019/20-2021/22 showed that the revised programme remained affordable, prudent and sustainable.

Capital Reserves

As set out in the report, capital programme over the next 5 financial years would leave a balance of £2.9m in capital reserves.

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Wilkins regarding the impact of slippage into the 2019/20 programme relating to ICT, the Head of Finance confirmed that while we waited for the national ESMCP project to be progressed, assurance had been received that the vehicle mounted data system hardware could be put on hold however, some parts of the software were being replaced.

In response to a question raised by Councillor Williams the Director of Corporate Services confirmed that other Fire Services were facing the same delay although Services were not all at the same point depending on their systems; some may have replaced their vehicle mounted data system hardware already.

In response to a concern raised by County Councillor O’Toole for the need to be tighter on forecast expenditure the Director of Corporate Services confirmed the monies would be spent however, the difficulty was in estimating the timing of the spend.  For example, the manufacture of a second water tower vehicle and the replacement of the Service wide area network had both been delayed which resulted in the expenditure slipping into 2019/20.

RESOLVED: - That the Committee: -

i)     Noted the capital  outturn position, the financing of capital expenditure 2018/19 and the prudential indicators; and

ii)    Approved the revised 2019/20 capital programme, and the financing of this and the prudential indicators.