Improved Financial Position
Elected Members welcomed news earlier this week that the Council’s financial position has improved with the projected overspend for the current financial year reducing from £20m to £14m.
This improved position demonstrates the significant work undertaken by services to manage the challenging financial position faced by the Council and recognises that work is taking place to further improve the position.
At a meeting of Cabinet, officers outlined the interventions that were put in place at the end of the summer to return the budget to balance. Members also heard about the additional financial monitoring measures that have been put in place and the Recovery Plans that are being developed by services to bring budgets back into balance.
Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council advised: “The fiscal challenges facing the public sector have been well documented in recent weeks and East Ayrshire Council is not immune to these.
“It’s very reassuring to learn today that the measures Cabinet put in place are being effective in reducing the anticipated overspend which has predominantly been caused by higher costs and increased demand for our services. We’ve always been proud of our sound and rigorous financial management arrangements and we will continue to manage these effectively.”