Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain concerning revenue budget monitoring to August 2021.

In response to a query regarding the extent of the reduction in rental income due to the pandemic, the Chamberlain, whilst emphasising that the contingencies put in place to mitigate the reductions had yet to be exhausted, proposed that a Report come back to the Committee outlining the long-term outlook for rental income post-pandemic. The Chairman welcomed this suggestion and asked that the Report was worked up in consultation with the Property Investment Board (PIB).

In response to a query, the Chairman asked that, in the interests of clarity, future iterations of this Report included reference in the annex to those City institutions which operate with a reserve fund (e.g. the independent schools and GSMD).

In response to a query concerning the progress made by departments on securing their savings target, the Chairman emphasised that several departments had only recently appointed new chief officers, and, whilst progress was being made, they would need time to finalise their plans. The Chairman reassured Members that all departments were timetabled to submit their reports by the end of the year. The Chief Operating Officer added that officers were working as quickly as they can on this, however, with the recent structural and leadership changes, a lot of work and consultation was still required over the coming weeks before we could come to a final, fully worked through set of proposals for Members to consider.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.