Report Summary
This report provides members of the Forensic Services Committee with an overview of the P11 Finance Report.
Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Forensic Services Committee - 7 May 2024
Date : 07 May 2024
Location : Online
Further Detail on the Report Topic
Appendix A provides the detailed finance report as at the end of period 11 (28 February 2024).
Revenue
• Q3 net expenditure forecast was for an underspend vs budget of £0.5m, with lower pay costs offsetting higher non-pay costs.
• Lower pay spend reflects the challenges in recruitment that Forensic Services has faced throughout 2023/24.
• £0.4m of the non-pay increase relates to Postmortem toxicology outsourcing costs not budgeted for.
• Actual spend to end of P11 (end of February 2024) was £0.1m higher than Q3 forecast, driven by non-pay overspends.
Capital
• The Q3 forecast was for a reduction from the budget of £1m due to spend being paused if not legally committed by Police Scotland in order to help manage the capital spend in 2023/24 alongside slippage in projects and spend that is no longer required.
• Actual spend to end of P11 (end of February 2024) was in line with forecast at £0.5m. However, some deliveries are expected to slip into next year with spend expected to come in at circa £700k.
Reform
• Overall spend is forecasted to be £0.4m under budget. This reflects less staff resources being used during the year than budgeted as some projects have come to a close. Spend YTD on Forensic Services projects and the full year Q3 forecast is in line.
