Issue - meetings

1.  That the revenue position at the end of the third quarter and the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position where significant variances have been identified be noted; and

2.  That Officers be requested to provide a monthly update on the financial position of the Mote Park Café to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee.

The Director of Finance and Business Improvement presented a report on the Third Quarter Budget Monitoring for 2016/17.

The Committee noted that there was an increase in the projected adverse variance from Quarter 2 to Quarter 3.  This was mainly due to the expected £197,000 overspend for Mote Park Café.

The Director of Finance and Business Improvement advised that steps had been taken to mitigate the situation and a third party operator would be sought to operate the Café.  However, for the interim period it was proposed that the current in-house operator would continue to run it until the end of the Summer season. 

In response to questions from Members, the following points were noted:-

·  The Council was confident that an operator would come forward from the open market who would be willing to take over the Café.  The current provider would still be able to submit an in-house bid.

·  That the Council had not considered closing the Café as it provided a service to visitors to Mote Park and it would have incurred redundancy costs.

The Committee was disappointed to note the projected loss for the Café and requested that Officers provided a monthly update to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman in order that they are kept fully appraised of the situation.

In response to a question from a Member about the projected loss for the Leisure Centre, the Director of Finance and Business Improvement advised that this was due to unrealised budget savings as negotiations with the energy provider had taken longer than expected.

RESOLVED:

1.  That the revenue position at the end of the third quarter and the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position where significant variances have been identified be noted; and

2.  That Officers be requested to provide a monthly update on the financial position of the Mote Park Café to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee.

Voting:  For:  9  Against:  0  Abstentions: 0