Budget 'under control' with £14m revenue underspend

Wiltshire Council's overview and scrutiny management committee

Wiltshire Council’s cabinet members have been quizzed on their reported £14m revenue underspend for the last financial year.

The figure represents a £5.7m improvement on the council’s quarter three position and the additional money is set to go towards further highways improvements and other projects.

This is in stark contrast to many other councils struggling to stay afloat amid a crisis in local government funding.

When presenting the financial report to the overview and scrutiny management committee on Tuesday, cabinet member for finance Nick Botterill described it as “very good news” and noted that all areas of the budget were “under control.”

'Managing well'

Councillor Christopher Williams challenged: "There has got to be something underlying somewhere that says, 'Hang on a tick, this could all go pear-shaped - and what have we got in place to mitigate those circumstances?'”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), director of finance Lizzie Watkin called the forecast £6m overspend in adult social care “an area of concern” but considered the trajectory of the dedicated schools grant’s forecast £3.6m overspend the biggest risk in the budget.

She concluded: “We are on top of our finances, we are managing well".

According to the council, alongside the underspend total, a further £5m of community infrastructure levy contributions will also be added, meaning the total additional investment into highways will stand at £10.7m.

Over the course of 2023/24, a total of over £20m additional investment has been identified and allocated to highway improvements, including road surfacing, road safety and highways flooding alleviation works.

Councillor Botterrill said: “Our focus remains on running an efficient and effective council that delivers for residents and spends their money as wisely and prudently as possible.

He continued: “We will continue to identify the areas of upward cost pressures as well as ensure that our highly effective preventative approach is maintained.”