To consider the submitted revenue outturn report which provides a summary of the Council’s expenditure for the financial year 2014/15 and the recommendations from the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 8 July 2015.

The Council considered the submitted report on the provisional revenue outturn for 2014/2015 which provided a summary of the Council’s expenditure throughout the financial year and recommendations on the use of any uncommitted resources.  It was noted that the submitted report had been updated to respond to the comments made by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

It was proposed by the Mayor and seconded by Councillor Mills:

that it be recommended to the Council that:

(i)         a sum of £0.253m is approved as carry forward into 2015/16 to the Crisis Support Fund to support vulnerable members of the community;

(ii)        the revenue underspend of £14,000 is transferred to the Council's general fund reserve; and

(iii)       Members to note that the transfers outlined in (i) to (ii) are subject to the final audit of the Council’s accounts.

On being put to the vote, the motion was declared carried (unanimous).

To consider the provisional outturn position for the 2014/2015 revenue budget and to make any recommendations to Council.

The Board considered the provisional outturn position for the 2014/15 Revenue Budget.  It was noted that a balanced budget had been achieved.  The Mayor reported that it would be recommended to Council that a sum of £253,000 be carried forward in the 2015/16 financial year for the Crisis Support Fund and Hardship Fund and that the revenue underspend of £14,000 be transferred to the Council’s General Fund reserve.

The Board questioned how the gap between Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 had been bridged in order to achieve a balanced budget.  The Board was advised that the budget is re-profiled throughout the year taking into account budget variance across all departments.

Questions were also raised in relation to the impact of the Deprivation of Liberty and Safeguarding (DOLS) statutory duty and the pension liability, specifically in relation to the Council’s subsidiaries.

Resolved:  (i)  that additional information be prepared and presented to the Council in its consideration of the Provisional Outturn 2014/2015 report in relation to the pension liability of Torbay's subsidiary companies; and 

(ii)        that a statement is prepared and an additional column presented in the table in the report which demonstrates the financial situation of all subsidiaries prior to the pension liability.