A report considered by Monmouthshire County Council’s Cabinet today suggests that the financial position for the current year (2010/11) is on-track with the latest forecasts suggesting a modest under-spend compared to the approved budget for the year.
Individual service areas are experiencing cost and spending pressures with chief officers expected to develop proposals to compensate for these pressures.
Councillor Phil Murphy, Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance Improvement, said:
“The figures considered by cabinet are a forecast, based on our spending up to the end of June. We monitor our spending very closely and we are taking action to address these forecast overspends.
“Monmouthshire County Council has an excellent record on financial compliance and I am confident that we will adhere to our budget this year.
“The challenges confronting the council, in common with the rest of public service in the years ahead are well documented.
“Whilst we wont receive any indication of our budget settlement from the Wales Assembly Government until November at the earliest, we know it is going to be tough and we are anticipating that Monmouthshire will continue to receive the lowest per capita settlement of any council in Wales.
“This makes it all the more important that we have strong financial discipline. We are keen to achieve an underspend this year which we will set aside to help with difficult decisions that we will be faced with for future years.”
