Meeting documents
Regeneration & Housing Overview & Scrutiny Panel
Monday, 18th March, 2013 10.00 am
|
Agenda Item No. 10 |
|
18th March 2013 |
To the Chair and
Members of the
Regeneration & Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel
Finance &
Performance Improvement Report: 2012/13 Quarter 3
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
1.
This report presents the Regeneration &
Environment Directorate financial and performance information for quarter 3 of
this financial year 2012/13.
2.
The Directorate is projecting an underspend
of £1.61m; this is an improvement on the Q2 projection of a £266k underspend.
3.
The forecast Capital spend for 2012/13 is
£104.20m, a decrease of £21.43m from the Quarter 2 projection. This is mainly due to the re-profiling to
2013/14 of a number of projects. The
White Rose Way and CCQ Schemes are progressing well and the FARRRS expenditure
profile has been revised resulting in a £15.3m reduction in the planned 12/13
expenditure and increased costs in later years.
Overall costs remain broadly similar
4.
Progress against
Corporate Plan objectives continues the positive trend of the previous quarter.
5.
Further details on the projected year-end
position for revenue and capital and performance progress against the Council’s
Corporate Plan objectives are provided in the remainder of this report and in
Appendix A
Exempt
Report
6.
This report is not exempt
Recommendations
7.
That Members note the Quarter 3 Finance and
Performance information.
BACKGROUND
Financial Position
8.
The Revenue Budgets for the Regeneration and
Environment Directorate are projected to underspend by £1.61m. The main underspends for Development are Major
Projects £138k, Invest in Doncaster £142k, Development Management £171k and
Town Centre Manager £146k Environment, Waste and Recycling £420k and Street
Scene £114k; for Trading and Support Services the main underspend is in Energy
& Sustainability £76k although this is reduced by overspends in Bentley
Training Centre, Bereavement Services and Schools Catering. The main underspend for the Trading Accounts
is Markets £249k with the main overspend being Metroclean - £285k.
9.
A summary of the variances for Quarter 3 for
2012/13 for the Regeneration and Environment Directorate are provided below,
further detail on all the variances is provided at Appendices A.
|
|
Gross Budget £m |
Net Budget £m |
Year-end
Variance £m |
Variance
as a % of Gross Budget |
|
Regeneration
& Environment |
79.91 |
47.04 |
-1.61 |
-2.0% |
10.
Other
significant variances (over £250k) are outlined below:
|
Significant variances at Quarter 3 |
£m |
|
Following
underspends: |
|
|
·
Regeneration &
Environment – Numerous underspends across the service including
waste & recycling £0.42m, greater planning fee income than anticipated
£0.25m and staffing underspends across the service (non-trading) £0.85m. |
-1.61 |
|
These are offset by
overspends in the following areas: |
|
|
· Transport &
Technical Services - Work has commenced to achieve the savings but they will
not be delivered in 12/13 and a £0.67m shortfall is projected. |
0.67 |
Housing Revenue
Account
11.
The
Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget is projecting a surplus of £2.6m at the
end of Quarter 3, which is an underspend of £3.9m compared to the revised
budget deficit of £1.3m. The main
reasons for this variance are £1.6m surplus from SLHD, £1.9m in reduced capital
charges and a £0.6m reduction in the amount needed for revenue contribution to
capital (RCCO) as the cost of decanting and demolishing sheltered schemes is
less than budgeted. The additional
surplus from SLHD is above the budget savings from the management fee in
2012/13 of circa £2m. At Quarter 2 the
projected surplus was £2.0m, the major variance between Quarter 2 and Quarter 3
is the projected saving in RCCO of £0.6m.
12.
This
in year surplus of £2.6m less the appropriation of £1.8m to support the capital
programme in Quarter 2 will increase the HRA balance from £6.7m as at 1st April
2012 to £7.5m as at 31st March 2013.
Capital
13.
A
summary of the Capital Programme outturn position is below.
|
Directorate |
2012/13 Revised
Base Budget |
2012/13 Revised
Estimates Qtr. 3 |
2012/13 Actual
Spend to 31/12/12 |
Variance Quarter 3
from Qtr. 2 |
|
|
£m |
£m |
£m |
£m |
|
Regeneration
& Environment |
129.99 |
104.20 |
55.25 |
(21.43) |
14.
The
forecast Capital spend for 2012/13 is £104.20m, a decrease of £21.43m from the
Quarter 2 projection.
15.
Scheme
updates at Quarter 3 are:-
·
White Rose Way – Phase 1 and 2 of
the scheme are making good progress and are on schedule for completion in June 2013;
·
FARRRS - A contractor has been selected and initial works
have been completed. The main phase of
the contract is now expected to start by the end of this financial year. The expenditure profile has been updated and
has resulted in an £15.3m reduction in planned 12/13 expenditure and increased
costs in later years. Overall costs
remain broadly similar;
·
CCQ - The projects are progressing largely in line
with projections and at the end of Quarter 3 over half of the moves into the new
Civic Office have been completed;
·
Waste PFI –The Council, together with Barnsley and Rotherham
Councils, has entered into a twenty five year contract with 3SE to dispose of
the Councils’ residual waste.
Construction is scheduled to commence in January 2013, with the facility
due to be operational in July 2015;
·
Mercury Abatement £1.50m – the original
project for the installation of mercury abatement equipment and three new
cremators has reached practical completion at lower than budgeted cost,
additional access and canopy works £0.21m have been undertaken from the
remaining funds;
·
The LEGI Managed Workspace Programme is drawing
to a close, after which investment of £1.39m will have been made in providing
workspace accommodation in the Borough.
This has left £1.37m of funding no longer required by this programme
that has been transferred to a Markets and Town Centres Investment Scheme due
to commence spending in 2013/14.
·
Transport Projects - The Government has
announced additional funding for transport projects (highways maintenance and
other initiatives) as part of the 2012 Autumn Statement. Further announcements/guidance is awaited to
identify whether Doncaster will benefit from a share of the funding (either on
a local or regional basis).
PERFORMANCE
16.
The Regeneration
and Environment Directorate has 15 priorities spread across 4 themes. At the end of quarter three, thirteen of
these priorities are on track with the remaining two priorities continuing to
be mostly on track but with some concerns, which if not addressed could affect
delivery. This demonstrates a consistent
performance for the Directorate.
17.
Major Projects –the new Civic Building opened to staff in November
2012 and is now open the public (from 14th January). White Rose Way is progressing very well and
the BDR Waste PFI project is on track.
18.
North Bridge-the North Bridge was opened to outbound traffic
ahead of schedule
19.
Jobs Created - Good progress is evident in the number of jobs
created through the work and skills programmes and the Invest in Doncaster
team. This measure although under target
at quarter one continues the progress made at quarter two and now exceeds the
target by a considerable margin.
20.
Overall Investments Gained - This continues to exceed expectations at the
beginning of the year, however we must be mindful that some of this investment
is unique to the current year and it would be unwise to allow any target
setting based on the current year results.
21.
Category 1 Hazards – While I am pleased that there has been
improvement in resolving of Category 1 hazards, there is an expectation of
continued improvement which needs to be managed.
It is recognised that performance
needs to improve in the following areas:
22.
PDRs –although there has been a certain amount of improvement in the figure
from quarter two, it is disappointing that we were unable to achieve target for
quarter three. Assistant Directors will
continue to follow up with the Heads of Service so that we achieve the year-end target;
23.
Sickness – Currently standing at 11.81 days per employee for
Regeneration and Environment Directorate, which is higher than quarter two
(11.18 days per employee) and also higher than this time last year (11.38 days
per employee). While this is
traditionally the time of year when sickness is likely to be worse, we will
continue to work with HR and to do everything we can to improve our position by
the year end. We will be especially
focussing and scrutinising those areas with high sickness figures.
24.
Empty Properties – even though the target for this measure is very
close to being achieved, the significant work undertaken by the Empty
Properties team needs to continue to bring more properties back into use.
25.
FARRRS: - Planning approval is in place, the tender process is complete, grant
approval with BIS agreed and funding agreements with the 3 developer is almost
finalised. It is expected that work will
commence on site before the year end as profiled.
26.
In addition to the above, it is also noted that the
Don Valley Power Park has not been shortlisted for Central Government
Funding. This has been a surprise to all
the stakeholders. The Mayor is taking up
this decision with various Government officials, including the Secretary of
State for Energy and Climate Change, and other sources of funding are being
applied to.
IMPACT ON THE COUNCIL’S KEY
PRIORITIES
27.
|
Priority
Theme |
Mayor’s
Priorities for 2011/12 |
Implications
of this initiative |
|
1. Creating a strong, connected and inclusive
economy |
·
Drive forward the Doncaster economy ·
Get the balance of public and private transport right ·
Promote Doncaster as a tourist destination ·
Regenerate Doncaster's town centres |
Council
budget and performance monitoring impacts on all of these priorities |
|
3. Increasing and improving housing |
·
Raise housing standards |
|
|
6. Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour |
·
Reduce crime and all forms of anti-social behaviour |
|
|
7. Creating a cleaner and better environment |
·
Continue to protect the environment from developers,
decay and architectural vandalism |
|
|
8. Internal Transformation |
·
Ensure local people get value for money from council
services |
RISKS & ASSUMPTIONS
28.
Specific
risks and assumptions are included in the Performance Improvement Report at
Appendix A that also contains a specific section on strategic risks.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
29.
There
are no legal implications of this report.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
30.
Financial
implications are contained in the body of the report.
CONSULTATION
31.
Consultation
has taken place with key managers and Directors at the Directorate Finance
& Performance Challenge meetings and Capital Monitoring meetings.
32.
This
report has significant implications in terms of the following:-
|
Procurement |
|
Crime
& Disorder |
ü |
|
Human
Resources |
|
Human
Rights & Equalities |
|
Buildings,
Land and Occupiers
|
ü |
Environment
& Sustainability |
ü |
|
ICT |
|
Capital
Programme
|
ü |
Background
Papers
33.
Council
Report – Revenue Budget & Council Tax 2012/13, February, 2012.
Council
Report – Financial Strategy: Capital Budget 2012/13 – 2015/16, February, 2012.
Council Report – Treasury Management Strategy Statement,
Annual Investment Strategy 2012/13, and the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy,
February, 2012.
Council Report – Housing Revenue Account Estimates
2012/13
Finance & Performance
Improvement Report: Quarter 4
2011/12, June, 2012.
REPORT
AUTHOR & CONTRIBUTORS
Report Author &
Contributors
Alan Lowther,
Corporate Policy & Performance Manager
Tel: 01302
737647, E-mail: Alan.Lowther@doncaster.gov.uk
Peter Dale
Director of Regeneration
& Environment
Understanding the Quarter 3
Performance Report
Symbols
are used within this report to give a visual representation of
performance. These symbols, and what
they represent, are detailed below.
Status
Status
gives and overall rating for the objective taking into account the progress
against activity, performance indicators and mitigating risks
|
|
|
|
|
Corporate Objective on track with minimal, if any, concern about
delivery |
Corporate Objective mostly on track but some concerns that if not
addressed could affect delivery |
Corporate Objective currently off track with significant concerns
about delivery |
Milestones
This
shows what progress has been made against the delivery dates for milestones
linked to the objective and is demonstrated with the following symbols
|
|
|
|
|
Progressing and on track |
Check progress on milestone dates |
Milestone dates have been missed |
Performance Indicators
Performance
indicators (PI) have been structured on Covalent with red, amber and green
thresholds being personalised for each PI
|
Performance |
Finance |
|
|
|
OK – Performance on target – denotes current value is
between the amber/green threshold and the best value If the data
value is equal to the amber threshold, and the amber threshold is equal to
the target, the PI status will be green |
An underspend of
< 3% or an overspend of <0.5% |
|
|
Warning – Performance below target – denotes current value
is between the amber/red threshold and the amber/green threshold If the data
value is equal to the amber threshold, and the amber threshold is not equal to
the target, the PI status will be amber |
An underspend of
< 5% or an overspend of < 1% |
|
|
Alert – Performance significantly below target – denotes
current value is between the amber/red threshold and the worst value If the data
value is equal to the red threshold, the PI status will be red. |
An underspend of
> 5% or an overspend of >1% |
Risk Profiles
Risks
are profiled in line with the Corporate Risk Management Framework and the risk
profile score determines the overall status.
|
|
|
|
|
Low level risks with a profile score between 1 and 4 |
Medium level risks with a profile score between 5 and 19 |
High level risks with a profile score between 20 and 25 |
Direction of Travel
The
direction of travel looks at whether things have improved stayed the same or
become worse when we compare performance with data reported in the previous
quarter
|
↑ |
↔ |
↓ |
|
Getting better |
Exactly the same as previously |
Getting worse |
Regeneration & Environment Performance Profile
|
Objective Status |
PI Profile |
Risk Profile |
|
|
|
|
|
Direction of travel |
Status |
Corporate
Plan Objective |
Milestones |
PIs |
Data
Only |
Risks |
||||
|
↔ |
|
Creating the conditions for Economic
Engagement |
|
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
↔ |
|
Promoting Economic Engagement |
|
No PIs |
4 |
1 |
|
|||
|
↔ |
|
Supporting strong partnerships |
|
No PIs |
|
3 |
|
|||
|
↓ |
|
Increasing inward investment |
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
↔ |
|
Promotion of our key cultural assets |
|
1 |
|
|
|
No Risks |
||
|
↔ |
|
Engage with the private sector to ensure
business influences improvements to the economy |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
↔ |
|
Seek to rebalance the priority given to
public transport over other modes by making greater use of road space
currently being used solely for buses |
|
|
|
|
|
No Risks |
||
|
↑ |
|
Achieve Better Quality Homes by
improving housing standards in Doncaster |
… |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
↔ |
|
Achieve Better Places to live by
increasing supply & affordability of housing & promoting housing
investment in Doncaster |
|
4 |
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
|
|
↔ |
|
Achieve Better Housing Choices for
People by taking into account the housing implications in the Localism Act
and by contributing to corporate work to improve universal services/life chances |
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
↔ |
|
Deliver a stakeholder-engaged VFM
service by supporting the SCR Housing & Regeneration Board &
responding to any legacy recommendations arising from the ceasing of the
Housing Improving Board |
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
↔ |
|
Effectively enforce against
environmental offences (including noise nuisance, littering & fly
tipping) |
|
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
↔ |
|
Effectively progress the Barnsley,
Doncaster and Rotherham (BDR) waste PFI project |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
↔ |
|
Implementation of the Local Development
Framework |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
↔ |
|
Implement Doncaster's Environment
Strategy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
Governance Indicators
|
Days lost due to sickness |
Implementation of Critical and Major Audit Actions |
Performance Development Reviews |
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Regeneration & Environment Revenue
Report 2012/2013
Services with a red profile |
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Development Revenue Variance |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Assumed that Review and Release of
Assets saving will be achieved. The
main underspends are Major Projects £138k, Business and Commerce £142k,
Development Management £171k and Town Centre Manager £146k (includes £100k of
High Street Innovation Fund grant that may be required next year subject to
carry forward approval). |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Strategic Housing Revenue Variance |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
The projected overspend has reduced
following realignment of budgets.
Further action will be taken to improve this position for 2013/14. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Regeneration & Environment Capital
Report 2012/13 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Regeneration & Environment Total |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
FARRRS is expected to commence before
the end of March and there is a risk attached for an element of the WRW
funding. Aside from these, there are
no significant issues for this area of the programme at Quarter 3. A significant value of spend is normally
recorded for capital schemes during Quarter 4 and the estimates are expected
to be met. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
There are no services with a red
profile.
|
Director’s Comment Quarter
three has seen a continuation of the quarter two trend with some good
progress against our Corporate Plan objectives. The
Regeneration and Environment Directorate has 15 priorities spread across 4
themes. At the end of quarter three,
thirteen of these priorities are on track with the remaining two priorities
continuing to be mostly on track but with some concerns, which if not
addressed could affect delivery. This
demonstrates a consistent performance for the Directorate. Of
particular note are: - Major Projects –the new Civic Building opened
to staff in November 2012 and is now open the public (from 14th
January). White Rose Way is progressing very well and the BDR Waste PFI
project is on track. North
Bridge-the North Bridge was opened to outbound traffic ahead of schedule Jobs Created - Good progress is evident in
the number of jobs created through the work and skills programmes and the
Invest in Doncaster team. This measure
although under target at quarter one continues the progress made at quarter
two and now exceeds the target by a considerable margin. Overall Investments Gained - This continues to exceed
expectations at the beginning of the year, however we must be mindful that
some of this investment is unique to the current year and it would be unwise
to allow any target setting based on the current year results. Category 1 Hazards – While I am pleased that there
has been improvement in resolving of Category 1 hazards, there is an
expectation of continued improvement which needs to be managed. However,
I recognise that performance needs to improve in the following areas:
Also to Note: Don Valley Power Park - The Don Valley Power Park has
not been shortlisted for Central Government Funding. This has been a surprise to all the
stakeholders. The Mayor is taking up
this decision with various Government officials, including the Secretary of
State for Energy and Climate Change, and other sources of funding are being
applied to. |