Issue 5 - East Cambridgeshire District Council

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feature accounts Spending wisely So… where is your Council Tax money going? Here, we put three council priorities in the spotlight Meeting needs in a growing district Our town planners have identified areas around the main towns and villages as the best places to take this growth. They are working closely with developers to ensure the house designs are in keeping with the existing buildings and fenland landscape. During 2006/07, 681 new houses were built, at an average of 39 for every hectare of land. In consultation with local housing associations, 193 of these have been allocated for affordable housing, to meet the needs of families that cannot afford market prices. This is a great achievement against the local target of building 110 low-cost homes. We are actively promoting the district for new retail and other employment opportunities. More than 22,000 square metres of new business premises was created in 2006/07. The rate of growth in population and in businesses is creating many pressures on local services, especially in the Ely area. The Council has listened to public concern about the urgent need for better parking arrangements in the city. Having carefully considered the options available, a new pay and display ‘commuter’ car park near the station was identified as right for Ely. This opened in December and has helped to take pressure off the city-centre car parks, leaving more space for visitors and shoppers. Affordable housing targets have been exceeded. Listening to the public Last year we tried out a new Neighbourhood Panel in the Soham area. This is a meeting of local parish, district and county councillors – and other people who know what needs doing in your area. Four times a year, they hold a public meeting with the Police, local housing association and other public services. Members of the public say what is concerning them, and the panel agree what are the most important actions to improve life in the local community. 28 east cambridgeshire magazine summer 2008 As a result of the first few meetings, the Soham area has seen more Police speed checks, resulting in speeding tickets and a drink-driving prosecution. There has been a clean-up action day to deal with graffiti, litter and abandoned vehicles. And increased Police patrols have cut the number of anti-social behaviour incidents to just seven in target areas over last summer’s hol iday period. Because of their success, we are now providing Neighbourhood Panels in every area of the district. Sport and leisure The Council has been successful in a bid for £200,000 from the National Lottery to improve play and leisure facilities for young people. Recent new projects include an outdoor meeting area for teenagers in Ely, and new play areas for Isleham, Stetchworth and Swaffham Prior. Additionally, we have appointed a Play Officer who is co-ordinating the introduction of activity clubs in local primary schools. These help to ensure that young children have opportunities to enjoy the benefit of structured play and physical exercise. The Council’s good work in this area has been underlined by the results of a recent survey by Sport England, which indicated that East Cambridgeshire residents have good access to sport and leisure facilities and they are also heavily involved in volunteering with local sports clubs. With the London Olympics just around the corner this is positive news and we are already planning for an increasing need for leisure opportunities for all ages, including the possibility of a new leisure centre. The Council is committed to listening to the voice of a growing community and giving you a range of modern services we can all be proud of. A National Lottery grant has improved play and leisure facilities in East Cambridgeshire. Statement from the Executive Director, Finance The following statement by the Executive Director, Finance describes some of the key points from the Council’s stewardship of public funds. “The Council budgeted to make a small surplus in 2007/08 with a contribution of £116,000 to General Reserves in line with its medium term financial strategy.The year-end position produced a contribution of £46,000 to reserves.The revenue reserve balance was £1.62 million at 31 March 2008 in line with prudent financial management guidelines. “The Council’s Statement of Accounts has been prepared in accordance with the Accounting Code of Practice.The figures in this summary were originally compiled having regard to proper accounting practice. For the purposes of this statement some modifications were made to provide more meaningful information. “The Council’s 2007/08 accounts are currently being audited by an auditor appointed by the Audit Commission.The auditor is expected to publish his opinion on the accounts by the end of September 2008. “A full copy of the Council’s 2007/08 accounts is available for examination on request. Please telephone Tony Grzybek (Principal Accountant) on 01353 616269 for more details or to obtain a copy. Alternatively, visit www.eastcambs.gov.uk where the full document can be found online.” Alex Colyer FCCA Executive Director, Finance The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely CB7 4PL East Cambridgeshire District Council is committed to openness and transparency in its dealings with customers subject to the need to preserve confidentiality as required by relevant legislation.
Summary of 2007/08 accounts Details of the Council’s spending during 2007/08 including Planning, Economic Development, Recreation and Tourism, Environmental Health, Refuse Collection and Recycling and Housing The cost of Council services Revenue Account for the year ended 31 March 2008 The Revenue Account presents the costs of running Council services between April 2007 and March 2008 and where the money came from to finance these costs along with the impact on the Council’s reserves. Gross Exp Gross Inc Net Exp £’000s £’000s £’000s Central services to the public 4,976 4,170 806 Cultural and related services 1,742 252 1,490 Environmental Services 5,029 639 4,390 Planning & Econ Development 3,413 2,005 1,408 Transport 673 73 600 Housing 13,404 12,448 956 Corporate & Democratic Core 2,568 914 1,654 Net Cost of services 31,805 20,501 11,304 Plus: Interest payable 31 Less: Interest receivable (817) Less:Appropriations and other internal accounting (721) Amount to be met from Government grants and local taxpayers 9,797 Financed by Revenue support grant (937) Business Rates (5,585) Council Tax (3,321) Total Income (9,843) Net General Fund (Surplus) for the year (46) General Fund at the end of March 2007 (1,580) General Fund at the end of March 2008 (1,626) Income East Cambridgeshire had a total income in 2007/08 of £9.8 million. Just over two-thirds of this comes from central government as grants and redistributed business rates.Total council tax income for East Cambridgeshire accounts for just over a third of total expenditure. Last year the Council had a surplus of £46,000. Balance Sheet What the Council owned and was owed on 31 March 2008 £’000s Buildings and Land 14,761 Stock 69 Cash in bank and Investments 10,791 Money owed to the Council 2,293 Money owed by the Council (14,404) 13,510 Financed by Non distributable reserves 9,124 Distributable reserves (*) 4,386 13,510 feature accounts (*) Distributable reserves comprise the following balances: General Fund Balance Surplus for the year 46 Balance at March 2007 1,580 Useable capital receipts 1,911 Other reserves 849 4,386 The Council has a duty under legislation to maintain a prudent level of general reserves. The Council has targeted this level to be around £1.7 million.The balance of £1.63 million is, therefore, slightly lower than this objective. The Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy provides for reserves to be brought up to the target level over the next three years. Cash Flow = Cash in bank (at end of March 2007) £ 7.272 m + Cash in £ 76.017 m – Cash out £ 72.661 m = Cash in bank (at end of March 2008) £ 10.628 m How has the finance service performed? 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Population of the District (Mid year ONS Estimate) 78,500 79,600 81,100 Households liable to pay council tax 32,871 33,100 34,340 Band D equivalents 27,000 27,250 27,650 Council Tax collected in Year 98.53% 97.92% 98.45% (English District Council Average) 97.90% 98.00% n/a Business rates collected in Year 99.19% 99.02% 99.40% (English District Council Average) 98.79% 98.90% n/a Creditors % of invoices paid within 30 days 97.44% 99.33% 98.43% (English Average) 92.04% 93.06 n/a Employee numbers 213 208 201 Average rate generated on investments 4.64% 4.87% 5.79% Average benchmark rate for investments 4.67% 4.99% 5.77% Financial Management Annual Accounts prepared on time Yes Yes Yes Number of Audit Qualifications (*) 0 0 n/a (*) The Council’s external auditors are required to give an opinion on the financial statements and this opinion should be “unqualified”.Where the opinion is qualified, each qualification identifies an area where the financial statements are unreliable.At the date of production of this summarised statement the Council’s audit had not been completed and so no opinion was available. Some statistics for 2007/08 were not available at the date of production of this summarised statement (marked “n/a”). Capital expenditure in 2007/08 Capital expenditure generally represents money spent by the Council on purchasing, upgrading and improving assets such as vehicles and buildings, or giving grants to third parties for these purposes.The distinction from revenue expenditure is that the Council or the grant recipient receives the benefit from capital expenditure over a longer period of time.The Council spent just over £2.2 million during the year financed from Central Government grants and receipts from the sale of assets. summer 2008 east cambridgeshire magazine 29
Page 1: east cambridgeshire ISSUE 5 SUMMER
Page 4 and 5: feature Oliver Cromwell’s House D
Page 6 and 7: feature Oliver Cromwell’s House O
Page 8 and 9: feature new recycling centre Recycl
Page 10 and 11: feature conservation areas Past mod
Page 12 and 13: feature conservation areas not repe
Page 14 and 15: focus noise pollution Turning it do
Page 16 and 17: feature sport for youngsters Star-s
Page 18 and 19: feature sport for youngsters “Chi
Page 20 and 21: photo focus strawberry growing 20 e
Page 22 and 23: feature days out A summer of fun Da
Page 24 and 25: feature days out Haddenham Steam En
Page 26: news from east cambs Maltings close
Page 31 and 32: REFUSE Your weekly collection dates

Issue 5 - East Cambridgeshire District Council

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