Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Financial Services, setting out the Council’s projected financial outturn position for 2017/18. In addition, the report reviews the position of the budget and highlights the key variations which have determined the projected outturn position.

The Chief Officer, Financial Services, submitted a report which set out the Council’s projected financial outturn position for 2017/18. In addition, the report reviewed the position of the budget and highlighted the key variations which had determined the projected outturn position. 

In response to a Member’s questions regarding the reimbursement of £7.3m from HMRC of sport VAT income following a legal ruling regarding sports admission charges, the Board was provided with further information on the timescales as to when the Council began classifying the relevant charges as being exempt from VAT, and when the Council’s retrospective claim was submitted to HMRC. Linked to this, it was noted that the reimbursement from HMRC was not included within the 2018/19 budget proposals, as the Council were not sufficiently certain of the outcome of the retrospective claim at the time at which the 2018/19 budget was considered.

In addition, the Board was advised that although the annual sums arising from this matter were not included within the original 2017/18 budget, they were included within the directorate’s year end budget projections once the outcome of the related London Borough of Ealing versus HMRC court case was known in June 2017.

Members noted that there was no reason to suggest that there should be any liability upon the Council to provide rebates to customers in this instance, although it was also noted that many Bodyline charges had been recently reduced.

Also, responding to a Member’s enquiry on how the reimbursement from HMRC was proposed to be utilised, the Board discussed the factors which were taken into consideration when determining such matters, and how any such actions needed to be consistent with the Council’s medium term financial strategy.

In conclusion, the Board extended its thanks to the Council’s tax team, whose foresight and hard work had enabled the Council’s claim to be successfully backdated to June 2012.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the Authority’s provisional outturn position for 2017/18, as detailed within the submitted report, be noted;

(b)  That the creation of a £0.7m earmarked reserve for the purposes of contributing towards addressing the backlog maintenance requirements at the Council’s sports facilities, be approved;

(c)  That the transfer of the balance of the backdated Sports admissions VAT receipt to the Council’s general reserve, be approved;

(d)  That the receipt of a letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) informing the Council of a £1.1m error in the calculation of the S31 business rate grant for 2018-19, be noted, together with the intention to write to the Minister in response.