Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Community and Children's Services.

Members received a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Community and Children's Services which compared the outturn for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) in 2013/14 with the final agreed budget for the year. Officers reported that the total net transfer to reserves for the year was £0.910m, against the final agreed budget of £0.541m. This represented a reduced requirement of £0.369m due to a better performance on rent collection than had been expected. Members noted a £0.183m reduction in the requirement from the Major Repairs Reserve, which was largely due to the re-phasing of capital projects.

In response to a Member’s question concerning the benefits changes, officers advised that, in addition to those put into collection, extra resources had been put into services regarding debt prevention and money management. Members queried the overspend on heating, and officers responded this was due to increasing in energy costs, which were anticipated to outstrip rent in the next five years. Members were advised that this was one of the aspects covered in the Asset Management Strategy.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.