Falkirk budget: £5m underspend and mild winter puts cash back into reserves

Members of Falkirk Council’s executive heard on Tuesday that the net expenditure at March 31 is forecast to be £389 million – £4.7 million below the resources available.

The welcome news puts some much-needed cash back into the council’s reserves, taking them up to around £12 million – a figure that will almost certainly come into play next week as the council sets its budget.

Finance chief Bryan Smail said in his report to members that all departments had made great efforts to keep their spending low.

One of the factors was the relatively mild winter, which offset the fact that costs of roads work has risen due to increased material costs and higher than estimated spend on sub-contractors.

Thanks to extended furlough support and better than expected income as things opened up, Falkirk Community Trust is also expected to return £1.3 million to the council’s coffers.

And councillors also heard there has been a better than expected levels of council tax, with the yield £0.2 million above budget.

This is due to a combination of new build properties being slightly higher than forecast but also recent targeted reviews of Council Tax Reduction awards.

The final projection also includes a pay award for council staff, although the teachers’ pay award is still to be determined.

Councillors will set this year’s budget next Wednesday, March 2.

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