Hyndburn Council Underspend

gynn · 12-01-2011, 09:03

Hyndburn council tax freeze ?likely? (From Lancashire Telegraph)

The Council predicts a 750,000 underspend on the current year, which puts it in a good position to face the savage cuts needed to meet government requirements in the next twelve months.

I agree with Councillor Marlene Haworth that the position is due to good financial management, and officers deserve credit for that.

The only problem with "vacancy management", whereby jobs that become vacant are not filled, is that frontline jobs dont get any protection. So a vital bin collection job is left unfilled, while a back room pen pusher is safe as long as he keeps his head down.

....and don't lets be fooled by the Leaders attempts to take any credit for zero council tax increases. That is a government dictat that no self respecting Conservative council will defy, and even if it did it would lose the first two and a half percent increase in reduced grant income.

jaysay · 12-01-2011, 09:28

Well at least something is right at HBC, but I'm sure Cllr Moss will be quick to point out that I'm wrong

shillelagh · 12-01-2011, 13:39

does that mean then the government will say £750,000 underspend .. mmm they dont need as much money in grants etc ..... and cut even more from hyndburns budget .....

gynn · 12-01-2011, 14:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by shillelagh

does that mean then the government will say £750,000 underspend .. mmm they dont need as much money in grants etc ..... and cut even more from hyndburns budget .....

I know the government looks closely at all the councils' actual expenditure compared to estimate, and the external auditors have a statutory duty to report if they feel that the budget was deliberately misleading.

In Hyndburn's case, it seems the underspend has been achieved by careful monitoring of spending and taking every opportunity to make a saving if it became available. I think they'll be praised for that, rather than penalised.

Neil · 12-01-2011, 14:05

I am sure there are lots of things they could do with £750k. Will it be used to pay off any debts or for projects/services/expenses?

Ken Moss · 12-01-2011, 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

I am sure there are lots of things they could do with £750k. Will it be used to pay off any debts or for projects/services/expenses?

Hyndburn Borough Council currently has around £12m in debts, which includes £9m of long-term debts that are unlikely to be paid off in the next 40 years.

Personally speaking, I would be looking to reduce the amount of short-term debt we have by transferring to variable rate loans. Current predictions are estimating that interest rates will not hit 3% again before 2013 and we are paying over 4% interest at the moment on loans.

We have an excellent gentleman in charge of finances at HBC but the amount currently sitting in reserves is amazingly small and I would be looking to boost that with any underspend.

Ken Moss · 12-01-2011, 14:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysay

Well at least something is right at HBC, but I'm sure Cllr Moss will be quick to point out that I'm wrong

Not quite, John.

What I will say is that the months up to the local elections in May will more than likely see a rash of 'good news' stories in The Observer dishing out large chunks of what is left instead of saving it.

The spending which annoys me (and which the public doesn't get to know about) is the 'little' amounts of between a few hundred and a few thousand on meaningless things that are forgotten about immediately. I have asked for a comprehensive list of all spending from every department so that I can try to identify where savings could be made.

It won't be much fun to read but I firmly believe that we could trim the excess without harming staff levels too much if we put our minds to it.

garinda · 12-01-2011, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

I am sure there are lots of things they could do with £750k. Will it be used to pay off any debts or for projects/services/expenses?

They might decide to invest the whole amount in something worthwhile...

like 'community art'.

lancsdave · 12-01-2011, 15:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

The spending which annoys me (and which the public doesn't get to know about) is the 'little' amounts of between a few hundred and a few thousand on meaningless things that are forgotten about immediately. I have asked for a comprehensive list of all spending from every department so that I can try to identify where savings could be made.

It won't be much fun to read but I firmly believe that we could trim the excess without harming staff levels too much if we put our minds to it.

I've noticed that HBC do not yet publish the figures on the website for public scrutiny, unlike neighbouring councils. Are there any plans to do that or will it have to wait until after May ?

jaysay · 12-01-2011, 17:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by lancsdave

I've noticed that HBC do not yet publish the figures on the website for public scrutiny, unlike neighbouring councils. Are there any plans to do that or will it have to wait until after May ?

Then we'd only get the figures THEY want us to see

lancsdave · 12-01-2011, 17:57

Well I can only agree with Eric Pickles that if they don't do it then they have something to hide

Quote:

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said:

"New Year is traditionally a time when the country sets its goals for the year ahead. In 2011 I would like to see every council make their New Year's resolution to cut more waste and fully open their books up to public scrutiny.
"I've started by calling for all expenditure over £500 to be put online by the end of the month but councils should not stop there. They should also be willing to show senior and middle management salaries, councillor expenses, job recruitment, and minutes of council meetings.
"One hundred and forty four councils have shown they're not afraid to be transparent and I applaud them, but that's less than half, the slow-coach councils only have a month to go before serious questions will be asked about what they've got to hide. Openness is an essential part of a proper modern democracy. The taxpayer has a right to see where their money is being spent, to point out waste and decide local priorities."

gynn · 12-01-2011, 20:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

I firmly believe that we could trim the excess without harming staff levels too much if we put our minds to it.

If I close my eyes, I can see George Slynn saying those words exactly. That was 15 years ago, and as far as I know the Council is still putting its mind to it.

Neil · 12-01-2011, 22:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by gynn

If I close my eyes, I can see George Slynn saying those words exactly. That was 15 years ago, and as far as I know the Council is still putting its mind to it.

You make the Council sound like a hive mind

garinda · 12-01-2011, 23:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

You make the Council sound like a hive mind

Yes, and every hive has a big, fat Queen in it.

Ken Moss · 13-01-2011, 07:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by gynn

If I close my eyes, I can see George Slynn saying those words exactly. That was 15 years ago, and as far as I know the Council is still putting its mind to it.

I'm afraid I never met George but when May comes around we'll probably be hearing proclamations of 11 years of glorious rule by Lord Britcliffe, Earl of Oswaldtwistle. Some might just say that he's had a good opportunity to reduce wasteful spending in that time...

I've just had the budget through and it's a fairly weighty tome but I will be asking questions about it. From a quick glance it seems that the main area of interest will be Policy and Corporate Governance.