The report explains that in September 2023 we first reported a forecast revenue overspend for 2023-24 of £46.4 million and details how this was reduced to less than half the original forecast.
The forecast overspend was due to external forces beyond our control which are still affecting our budget, including higher than anticipated inflation, higher fuel, energy and material costs and an increasing demand for services, particularly in adults’ and children’s social care.
The report, which is now available online, details how a combination of the strict cost-control measures, additional income and grant funding, departmental savings and use of reserves resulted in an improvement of £24.7 million on the overspend sum originally forecast.
The final end-of-year revenue overspend of £21.7 million will be met from reserves.
Read our news release on the year end report.