To approve the Statement of Accounts 2015/16. 

22.1           The report of the Finance and Asset Management Group Manager, circulated at Pages No. 58-163, asked Members to approve the Statement of Accounts for 2015/16 as attached at Appendix A to the report.

22.2           The Finance Manager explained that the Statement of Accounts was a statutory document which demonstrated the Council’s financial position at the end of the financial year.  In line with the revised Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2011 guidelines, approval of the accounts was now made by the Section 151 Officer by 30 June, the accounts were then audited and amended, if necessary, before the Section 151 Officer signed the accounts again.  Those accounts were then approved by the Audit Committee and signed by the Chair by 30 September.

22.3           In terms of income and expenditure, Members were advised that working balances had remained at £450,000 and the Council had underspent against its net budget by £289,000 in the year.  With regard to overspends, there had been a series of business rate revaluations on various properties within the Borough, and the write-off of several debts which had proven to be irrecoverable, which had resulted in a deficit; housing benefit overpayments had continued to be over budget thereby reducing the recovery of subsidy; there had been a delay in obtaining a property for investment which was now scheduled for the end of the month; and only £126,000 salary savings had been made against a target of £182,000 leaving a £56,000 shortfall.  With regard to underspends, additional income had been generated from garden waste; a provision from 2014/15 had been released back into the base budget; and, significantly, an additional £592,000 had been received from planning and land charges fees.

22.4           The Finance Manager went on to explain that the total net worth of the Council had increased from £1.869M to £8.9M.  The increase in net worth was summarised in the Movement in Reserves Statement, contained within the Statement of Accounts.  One of the main factors was an increase of £6M on long term assets largely due to the expenditure on the new leisure centre; however, this did mean that there had been a decrease in investments due to the use of monies to fund its construction.  Total provisions had decreased due to successful business rates appeals and other rate reductions in year.  Other adjustments included a reduction in the Capital Receipts Reserve and a decrease in the pension deficit, mainly due to an increase in the net discount rate over the period.  The balance on the collection fund for Council Tax was a deficit of £1.331M at year end which was very positive.  Any balance would be redistributed amongst the precepting bodies of Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucestershire Police and Tewkesbury Borough Council based on a proportion of the total precept demand from each body.  The balance on the collection fund for business rates was a deficit of £10.646M at year end as a result of collecting less than estimated before the start of the financial year and due to the need to set aside funds to cover future appeals. Central government was allocated 50% of the deficit; Tewkesbury Borough Council was allocated 40% and Gloucestershire County Council 10%.  In terms of capital resources, the total balance was £5.684M, including capital grants; however, after allowing for commitments, the unallocated budget available for new capital grant projects was £500,000.  Expenditure on capital projects in 2015/16 had amounted to £7.864M and included £6M on the new leisure centre, £103,000 on photovoltaics for the Public Services Centre, £207,000 on community grants and £98,000 on IT software and other equipment.

22.5           A Member questioned what the Council’s capital commitments would be for the next five years and was informed that the majority related to the leisure centre which had opened in April; other commitments included vehicles to support the waste and recycling fleet and an estimated amount to support Disabled Facilities Grants.  In response to a query regarding the performance of the photovoltaics installed on the Public Services Centre, the Asset Manager advised that, whilst no payments had been received as yet due to Ofgem being flooded with applications in January prior to the drop in the feed-in tariff, it was estimated that £4,800 had been saved in energy costs to date.  The photovoltaics were divided into four areas on the roof and could produce as much as 80kw of energy; 40kw in winter.  Members were informed that the feed-in tariff was £7,000per year and it was expected that the Council would save £15,000 per year through a combination of the tariff and energy saving.  In response to a further query, the Asset Manager explained that the panels worked best on very bright days, however, it did not necessarily need to be warm; less energy was generated in winter due to the reduced hours of daylight, not due to temperature.  Clarification was provided that the Council did not give any energy back to the National Grid.  Whilst energy could be exported, it was currently all being used internally and Officers were looking at potential options for the future. 

22.6           Having considered the information provided, it was

RESOLVED          That the Statement of Accounts 2015/16 be APPROVED.