Report Summary
This report provides members of the Resources Committee with an update on the financial outturn position of the SPA and Police Scotland for FY 2023/24. Members are also asked to approve the following 2023/24 budget revisions:
£5.2m reduction in the revenue budget to reflect the impact of IFRS16 leases; and
£8.4m increase in the capital budget to reflect the impact of IFRS16 leases.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Resources Committee -19 June 2024
Date : 19 June 2024
Location : online
Background
The Authority approved the revenue and capital budget for 2023/24 on 23 March 2023. The Authority received a core revenue funding increase of £80m (6.4%) in 2023-24, £37m of which was required to meet the additional cost of the 2022-23 pay award, leaving a true figure of £43m for allocation in 2023-24.
In order to live within the budget settlement and deliver a balanced budget, over £50m of savings were included in the 2023/24 budget. Plans included reducing the workforce through a reduction in officer and staff numbers and options to reduce non-pay expenditure.
Pay award budgeting was in line with Public Sector Pay Strategy (PSPS). Pay awards through negotiation at both Police Negotiating Board (PNB) and Trade Unions were agreed in September. As part of the pay negotiations, the additional funding required (£18.3m) to support the process was underwritten by the Scottish Government. A budget adjustment has been approved to reflect this change in the 2023/24 revenue budget.
The Scottish Government (SG) supports the Police Authority in delivering certain initiatives / projects within the Justice Portfolio. These items were not allocated funding by SG in the core grant in aid allocation and was therefore not included as part of the original budget approved on 23 March 2023. SG have now agreed Spring Budget Revisions (SBR) of £6.3m to support these GiA funded initiatives / projects, and a budget adjustment was approved to reflect this additional funding.
A flat capital funding allocation of £53m (including capital receipts) was provided for 2023-24 and reform funding to support change and the transformation was baselined at £20m, representing a 20% reduction in reform from previous years.
IFRS 16 Leases is effective from 1 April 2022 in the public sector. Technical accounting adjustments during financial year 2023/24 are required that impacts both Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (RDEL) and Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL) budgets. A budget adjustment has been proposed for both capital and revenue to reflect the impact of IFRS 16 – See Appendix B.
