Agenda item

This report seeks guidance from the Panel on the preparation of the draft capital programme for 2016/17 and on funding to be released for capital investment.

A report was presented to the Panel which sought guidance on the preparation of the draft capital programme for 2016/17 and on funding to be released for capital investment.

The capital programme presented within the report was based on the guidance given by the Capital Member Group (CMG).  Throughout the process the Capital Member Group had reviewed schemes totalling £2.2m and was suggesting a capital programme of £1m.  A summary of all the schemes reviewed by the Group and whether CMG recommended them for inclusion or not in the draft Capital Programme was set out in Annexe 3 to the report before the Panel.

The £1.0m worth of schemes recommended for inclusion would be funded by £0.7m of capital reserves and £0.3m from grant funding (Disabled Facilities Grant).  The uncommitted level of capital reserves as at the end of this year (based on full delivery of this years’ programme) would be £2.8m.  The proposed programme for 2016/17 would reduce this by £0.7m which resulted in a forecast level of capital receipts at the end of 2016/17 of £2.1m.

The Capital Member Group had also reiterated that externally funded schemes should only proceed subject to receipt of external funds and the identification of funding to cover any revenue costs associated with the scheme.  This included disabled facilities schemes which would be subject to receipt of the relevant Government Disabled Facilities Grant (£286K).  It was further noted that, to support business continuity, the Council replaced broken bins and the container replacement programme was the built in contingency for this.  Similarly, it was recognised that the Epsom Cemetery was close to capacity and therefore the CMG supported a bid for its extension.  Full details of all supported bids in the draft Capital Programme would be reported to the appropriate policy committee in January 2016.

With limited capital receipts available to fund investment, the CMGs proposals tried to balance the risk by measuring essential investment needs against resource limitations.  If a matter became a health and safety issue or it could be demonstrated that capital investment would generate income, then such a project would have to be considered for inclusion in the on-going capital programme.  In the long term the Council would need to consider alternative funding sources to finance capital investment or the further sale of Council assets.  The Council could borrow to finance capital projects but only if it would generate an income.

The Panel agreed that, based on the advice of the Capital Member Group, the following capital programme for 2016/17 to be considered by Council in February:

(1)          Prioritised schemes totalling £745,000 to be added to the capital programme and funded from capital reserves (£695,000) and revenue reserves (£50,000), subject to the relevant policy committees receiving and approving project appraisals;

(2)          Schemes totalling £286,000 to be included in the capital programme, subject to external funding sources and subject to support for scheme appraisals by the relevant policy committees;

Note: Councillor Omer Kokou-Tchri declared that section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 currently applied to him and that he would not therefore be voting on any question in relation to this item. No vote was required.