Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey – Decision Making Record
Report Title: 2nd Quarter 2021/22 Financial Performance and Budget Virements
Decision number: 44/2021
Author and Job Role: Kelvin Menon – Treasurer
Protective Marking: OFFICIAL
Executive Summary:
The Financial Monitoring report for the 2nd Quarter of the financial year shows that Surrey Police Group is predicted to be £0.3m under budget by the end of March 2022 based on performance so far. This is based on an approved budget of £261.7m for the year. Capital is predicted to be £5.6m underspent due to slippage of various projects.
Financial Regulations state that all budget virements over £0.5m must be approved by the PCC. These are set out in at the end of this report.
Background
Revenue Forecast
The total budget for Surrey is £261.7m for 2021/22, against this the forecast outturn position is £261.7m resulting in an underspend of £0.3m. This is an improvement of £0.8m when compared with the previous quarter and shows that steps taken to reduce the projected overspend at the end of qtr 1 have been successful.
| Surrey | 2021/22 PCC Budget £m | 2021/22 Operational Budget
£m |
2021/22
Total Budget £m |
2021/22 Projected Outturn
£m |
2021/22
Projected Variance £m |
| Month 3 | 2.1 | 259.6 | 261.7 | 262.2 | 0.5 |
| Month 6 | 2.1 | 259.6 | 261.7 | 261.4 | (0.3) |
Savings are predicted in payroll as recruitment has been pushed to later in the year and vacancies managed. In addition, the Force has done better than predicted on secondments and postings to regional units. However, pressures are building in areas such as petrol and utility costs as well as the impact of inflation.
It is forecast that 150.4 posts created as a result of Uplift and the Precept will all be in place by the end of the year. In addition, all the £6.4m, bar £30k, has been identified and removed from budgets. Whilst there is confidence that the savings for 21/22 will be delivered there is still uncertainty over £20m+ savings required for the next 3 years.
Capital Forecast
The capital plan is forecast to underspend by £5.6m. This is mainly due to slippage in projects rather than savings. Projects included within the 21/22 capital budget, whether they have passed gateway approval or not, relating to estates, firing range and ICT are unlikely to take place this year and so have led to the underspend. The decision as to whether these will be allowed to be rolled over in to 2022/23 will be taken later in the year.
| Surrey | 2021/22 Capital Budget £m | 2021/22 Capital Actual £m | Variance £m |
| Month 6 | 27.0 | 21.4 | (5.6) |
Revenue Virements
Per financial regulations only virements over £500k need approval from the PCC. This is done on a quarterly basis and so virements relating to this period are shown below. The rest can be approved by the Chief Constables Chief Finance Officer.
Month 4 Virements
The two virements requested over £0.5m relate to the transfer of Uplift and Precept funding to Operational Policing Budgets
Month 6 Virements
The two virements over £0.5m relate firstly to the transfer of Precept funding for staff to Operational Policing and secondly the transfer of Precept funding to the PCC to fund PCC Commissioned Services
Recommendation:
Police and Crime Commissioner Approval
I note the financial performance as at the 30th September 2021 and approve the virements set out above.
Signature: Lisa Townsend (wet signature copy held in OPCC)
Date: 11th November 2021
All decisions must be added to the decision register.
Areas of consideration
Consultation
None
Financial implications
These are set out in the paper
Legal
None
Risks
Although half the year has now elapsed it should be easier to predict the financial outturn for the year. However, risks remain, and the budget remains very finely balanced. There is a risk that the predicted financial outturn could change as the year progresses
Equality and diversity
None
Risks to human rights
None