Contact: Bevis Ingram, 01962 847508, email: [email protected]

1 Introduction

1.1 This report presents the outturn for the 2005/06 financial year (year ended 31 March 2006). The report also shows in Appendix D, for information, the revenue budget for 2006/07 as agreed by the JMC in November 2005, with the reserves position adjusted for the actual 2005/06 outturn.

1 Overall Financial outturn

1.1 The revised budget agreed in November was for the Park to make a very small surplus - slightly more than break even. This has been achieved.

1.2 Appendix A gives the overall 2005/06 outturn summary for the Park's operations. Appendix B summarises the outturn by cost centre. Appendix C summarises the revised budget by cost centre. The outturn is an improvement of £248 on the revised budget reported to the November committee meeting. While most of the cost centres returned figures very close to the budgeted position, there were a few minor variations. Significant variations (comparing appendices B and C) are as follows:

· Management (+£5,199) - public utility costs were £7,800 over budget, and the premises maintenance budget was overspent by £2,300. Increased expenditure on office expenses, promotions and advertising was partially offset by savings across other headings. The income budget was exceeded by £6,300 due to several small grants and contributions for a variety of projects.

· Gardens and Glasshouses (-£6,881) - the overall expenditure is lower than budgeted (by £7,400) due to in-house resources being used rather than being bought in for the lottery funded improvements. Income received was as budgeted.

· Gift Shop (+£3,464) - slightly under on profit is due to lower than expected turnover particularly at the Coach House café.

1.3 Overall the operating surplus of £1,130 made by the Park was more than that allowed for in the revised budget by £248 and can be summarised as follows:

	Revised budget	Outturn
	2005/06	2005/06
Expenditure	844,000	832,880
Income	625,800	614,928
Net Expenditure	218,200	217,952
Funding from Local Authority Partners	219,082	219,082
Surplus	882	1,130

2 Reserves

2.1 As has been previously reported, at the end of 2004/05 the Park's reserves were overdrawn by £16,672. After paying interest on the overdrawn account and adding in the revenue surplus the deficit has been reduced to £16,230.

2.2 The budget for the current year, 2006/07, that was set in November 2005 plans to make a surplus of £10,500. Although this is insufficient to pay off all the current deficit, it is now anticipated that the Park will move back into the black in 2007/08 and then start to rebuild the Park's reserves in future years.

2.3 The deficit is being held with Hampshire County Council who act as Treasurer for the JMC; the JMC will continue to rely on the County Council's goodwill to allow the deficit to be incurred and now not be paid off until 2007/08.

3 Financial Summary

3.1 The Park had a good year in 2005/06,which will provide a solid base for the future. The new financial management reporting structure operated for the first time in 2005/06, and will be refined over the coming years. The single disappointment has been the slow take up for the conference facilities, but this was taken into account at the revised budget stage, and appears to be standard for this business sector. More effort will be allocated in 2006/07 to attract more bookings.

3.2 The financial year 2006/07 is seen as a time of consolidation as the management team maximise the enhanced facilities in Leigh Park Gardens, control expenditure and make a determined effort to significantly reduce the deficit in the reserves.

3.3 The Park Manager's report elsewhere on the agenda covers the analysis of visitor numbers. The visitor numbers in 2005/06 were the highest ever recorded.

Recommendations

1 That the financial outturn for 2005/06 be approved.

Section 100 D - 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:

Published works.

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

TITLE FILE

Appendix A

Sir George Staunton Country Park Final Accounts 2005/06