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    Technical Notes 2024, Issue 159 - Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Monitoring at Period 4 of the 2024/25 Financial Year.

    • Report by:

      Jamie Robertson, Chief Finance Officer

    • TN Number:

      159-24

    • Subject:

      Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Monitoring at Period 4 of the 2024/25 Financial Year.

    • Responsible Officer:

      Gail Morrison, Principal Accountant

    • Publication:

      This Technical Note will be published on the Council’s website following circulation to Members. Its contents may be disclosed or shared outwith the Council.

    Section

    1. The purpose of this note is to provide a consolidated HRA monitoring position as at the end of accounting Period 4.  This represents HRA expenditure from 1 April 2024 to 28 July 2024.
       
    2. The HRA budget of £18.395m for 2024/25, was approved by a meeting of the Council on 22 February 2024 (Report EDC/002/24/JR).  This note presents an update to that position.
       
    3. Financial projections are based on budget monitoring discussions as at Period 4, updated with the latest financial and management information at that time.  The forecast outturn for 2024/25 is a projected underspend of £0.169m.
       
    4. This analysis is provided over a number of reporting areas, including employee costs, housing repair charges, recharges from other services and capital financing costs.  At this time, employee costs are forecast to be under budget due to vacancies within the HRA structure.  This is and will continue to be monitored as the year proceeds in line with vacancy control.  Property costs are also forecast to be under budget due to a programme of close painting not expected to fully complete this year.
       
    5. The Housing Service continues to recover from economic events with related costs impacting on the service.  These are reducing, however.  Reductions in income due to voids has reduced and re-let timescales were met within the last quarter.  Such progress needs to be balanced against the potential impacts of new requirements within the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill.  This could have implications for rental income and rent arrears.
    6. Report PNCA/098/23/JR to the Place Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets Committee meeting on 9 November 2023 highlighted the HRA reserves position as being £9.270m.  This balance represents the 2022/23 unaudited outturn position and is a reduction on the previous year’s reserves position of £10.421m.  Work is currently under way to determine the reserves position as per the 2023/24 unaudited outturn position.  This will be kept under review.
       
    7. It is the intention of Officers to review the sufficiency of the carried forward surpluses and the overall position, ensuring that they remain at a level to support ongoing initiatives.  This review will also consider whether those elements that have previously been earmarked, continue to be required at those levels and could therefore be returned to HRA reserves to support future planning.  Any changes arising from this review will be reported at the next available Place Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets Committee.