Archived decisions

Hampshire County Council

Executive Member, Policy & Resources Item 1

11 April 2002

Capital Repairs, Revenue Maintenance Budgets 2002/03

Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

Contact: Andrew Smith Ext: 7826

1. Summary

1.1 The following decisions are sought:

That approval be given to:

1. the allocation of revenue and capital provision as set out in the report


2. the transfer of the £1.05m, currently held as a contingency for repairs and maintenance, to the revenue budget to fund term engineering contracts and other works.

2. Reason

2.1 To meet the objectives as detailed in the Strategy for the Built Estate Annual
Plan.

3. Other options considered and rejected

3.1 None.

4. Conflicts of interest declared by the decision-maker or a member for
officer consulted

4.1 Not applicable

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee

5.1 Not applicable





6. Reason(s) for the matter being deal with if urgent

6.1 Not applicable

Approved by: ..................................... Date of decision: ...................

Councillor T K Thornber

Contact: Karen Murray Extension: 7876

1. Introduction

1.1 This report is concerned with the resources available for both revenue and Capital repairs and maintenance to the County Council's Built Estate. In 2000/01 the County Council agreed a £1m increase in revenue repairs and maintenance to be held as a contingency for pressures that arose during the year. This report recommends the transfer of these funds and seeks approval to:

· the proposed allocation of the relevant budgets for 2002-03

· the transfer of the £1.05 m currently held in contingencies for repair and maintenance purposes to term engineering contracts and other works

The allocation of resources and recommended programmes are in line with the objectives outlined in the Strategy for the Built Estate Annual Plan.

2. Repair and Maintenance 2002/03

2.1 The revenue budget and capital programme approved by the County Council include the following (including fees):

£'000

· Revenue Repair and Maintenance 9,878*

· Traditional Capital Repairs 4,602

· Major Capital Repairs (formerly revenue budget) 8,041

* £7.3 is devolved to schools

This section of the report contains recommendations for the allocation of the above budget allocations, enhanced by the use of contingency funds proposed in the following section of the report.

Transfer of funding from contingencies

3.2 The budget for 2000/2001 included an additional £1m for repair and maintenance. This was initially added to contingencies and has been used for the following purposes over the last two years:

£m

Revenue Repairs 0.5

SCOLA recladding 1.0

External Decorations 0.5

Now that the new term maintenance contracts are in place, it is appropriate to consider the permanent allocation of this contingency (which, with inflation, now stands at £1.05m). Taking into account the estimated full year costs of the new contracts, it is proposed to allocate the sum of £750,000 to term contracts and the remainder to other revenue spending, recognising the budget pressure to come throughout the year. As previously reported, the new term maintenance contracts are more expensive than the previous arrangements due in the main to high engineering costs and service enhancements. The benefits include an improved service - including customer care - and greater certainty as to the level of financial commitment.

3.3 Revenue Maintenance Budgets

The proposed allocation of the revenue maintenance budget for 2002/03 is shown in Appendix 1. The main change is the increase of almost £960,000 in the fair funding delegation to schools brought about by the transfer of £750,000 to revenue (detailed above) and inflation. All Community schools have recently renewed their buy-back arrangements for repair and maintenance (the major part of which relates to engineering). This 100% buy-back maintains the necessary critical mass and ability to act strategically across the estate.

3.4 Traditional Capital Repairs

The proposed allocation of traditional capital repairs is shown below and compared to the allocation for 2001/02. The total available in 2001/02 included the £0.5m made available from contingencies for SCOLA re-cladding. In the new financial year, it will be possible to fund this work from the NDS Condition Fund. This should both help to reduce the pressure on day-to-day repairs of ageing components. It has also proven possible to maintain the resources available for Access initiatives, which will help to enable the Council to comply with its DDA responsibilities. A separate report on access appears elsewhere on the agenda.

3.5 The proposed programme of capital repairs is currently being drafted. It is usual at this stage to retain some budget flexibility with further projects being brought to a later meeting for approval.

3.6 Major Repairs

Appendix 2 presents the proposed allocation of major repairs for 2002/03. Again, this shows a reduction from the previous year's provision owing to the proposed new application of the contingency sum. This affects in particular external decoration schemes which in the short-term can also be accommodated from the NDS Condition Fund.

4. Conclusion

The proposed allocation of £750,000 from central contingencies to term maintenance contracts should address the main pressures in 2002/03. This would normally be at the expense of the capital provisions for SCOLA recladding and redecorations: however, these pressures can be addressed in the short-term via the NDS Condition Funding.

5. Recommendations

5.1 It is recommended that:

1. The proposed transfer to revenue of the £1.05m held in central contingencies for repairs purposes be approved.

2. The proposed allocations of the revenue and capital provisions be approved.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Papers:

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

File Location

None.

EMP&R0402L

APPENDIX 1

REVENUE MAINTENANCE BUDGET 2002/03

Note:

The delegated budgets to schools do not reflect the adjustments to reflect the changes in arrangements for Aided Schools

APPENDIX 2

Proposed Budget Distribution - Major Repairs 2002/03

EMP&R0402L