Budget Likely To 'Break Even' In Brighton & Hove

Brighton and Hove City Council looks likely to break even in the current financial year despite earlier concerns that a £15 million overspend was in prospect.

Budget papers going before councillors on Thursday (8 February) forecast “a virtual break-even” with a £21,000 overspend in the council’s “general fund revenue budget” – a budget of almost £250 million.

The forecast was made in a report about the council’s financial position at the end of December, with the 2023-24 financial year due to end at the end of March.

The position is an improvement even from two months earlier when the forecast was a £2.8 million overspend, down from the £15 million overspend predicted in the summer.

Labour deputy leader Jacob Taylor told a meeting of the full council at Hove Town Hall on Thursday (1 February) that he was pleased with the improved position.

Councillor Taylor, who speaks for his party on finance, said that – unlike many other councils across the country – Brighton and Hove City Council was not facing bankruptcy.

He said that the council started the current year in a difficult financial situation because of a £3.5 million overspend in 2022-23 – before Labour took over from the Greens.

Councillor Taylor said:

“I’m really pleased the papers show we are breaking even on our in-year budget. That’s not by luck.

“That was done because very early on in our administration we put in place spending controls, recruitment controls (and) we got hold of agency spend across the organisation.

“We managed it really tightly and now we’re coming in on budget and we perhaps might even underspend on this year’s annual budget.”

Some “demand-led” budgets are harder to manage such as arrangements for children in care, whether through an agency or in-house. Community care and emergency and temporary housing budgets can also prove challenging.

In the current financial year, children’s care placements are now forecast to come in under budget by £1.2 million. The budget is £26.3 million and the predicted spend is £25.1 million.

A report to councillors said that the number of children with complex needs – and problems with recruiting foster carers – had meant more children staying in residential homes or expensive semi-independent placements.

The council said that it was working to recruit more foster carers, early help and alternative family support.

But the community care budget for 2023-24 is expected to go about £800,000 over its allocated £72.7 million.

Temporary housing is also expected to overspend, with a forecast spend of £5.9 million compared with a budget of £4.8 million.

The latest financial report said that home to school transport could overspend by almost £590,000 and the PFI (private finance initiative) budget for schools by more than £370,000.

PFI funding in 2003 paid for premises work at Dorothy Stringer, Patcham High and Varndean as well as at Comart – previously known as Marina High and, before that, Stanley Deason.

Comart (the East Brighton College of Media Arts) closed in August 2005, with the council paying £4.5 million to the PFI contractor.

The scheme runs for 25 years and is due to end in 2028, with the overspend this year being down to the high level of inflation and its effect on contractor costs.

The finance report is due to be presented to the council’s Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 8 February. The meeting is scheduled to start at 4pm and to be webcast on the council’s website.