Council budget ends up with a £367,000 surplus

A new report on the final outcome for the 2013/14 financial year, which ended in the spring, resulted in the coffers finishing with a surplus of £367,000.

During the year the council underspent on staffing by £149,000, partly by leaving vacancies open for lengthy periods once workers leave.

An improving income also boosted the situation, with money from fees and charges coming in £57,000 above the budget, including areas like car parking.

The report also shows how the construction industry is also helping the overall picture, as planning application fees also rocketed to nearly half a million, up £118,000 on the targets originally set.

Departments across the council reported various "underspends" on their final figures, keeping a tight handle on everything from stationary costs to IT and electricity.

The accounts are now on the verge of being formally signed off by external auditors after they were reviewed in recent weeks.

The figures were debated during a meeting of the council's watchdog-style audit committee on Thursday night, with some politicians saying they would rather see any underspends eliminated.

Councillor Pat Agar, who chairs the committee, said: "For me, underspends are just as concerning as overspends.

"We do need to keep an eye on it, it may be that service heads are just looking ahead to next year.

"But I think it's something we need to monitor carefully."

Experts from Grant Thornton turned up to say the accounts for 2013/14 deserve a clean bill of health.

Avtar Sohal, from the firm, said: "It's a good result, we are all aware of the pressures local authorities are under and the challenges over the horizon."

The council needs to slash around £1 million from spending this year, having approved a budget of £9.9 million back in February.

But it is aiming to cut around £4.1 million by 2019 in response to huge reductions in Government funding, which plunged 15 per cent this year.