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.