Underspend frees up money for highways and other Wiltshire Council projects

Wiltshire Council says its sound and effective financial management continues, with a £14m revenue underspend formally reported for 2023/24.

This is a £5.705m improvement on the quarter three position, and this additional money will be channelled into further additional highways enhancements and other projects.

Alongside this underspend total, a further £5m of Community Infrastructure Levy contributions will also be added, meaning the total additional investment into highways stands at £10.7m.

Over the course of 2023/24, a total of over £20m additional investment has now been identified and allocated to highway improvements, including road surfacing, road safety, and highway flooding alleviation works.

When including the amounts allocated from the council’s Business Plan Priority Reserve, an additional total investment of over £25m has been made available to be spent on delivering against its priorities.

Overall, the revenue outturn position for 2023/24, presented to Cabinet on 15th July, shows a robust and sustainable financial position for the council that allows the authority to invest in its services rather than simply maintain them.

Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Nick Botterill, said: “We have sought to run the finances of Wiltshire Council as soundly and responsibly as possible. In this we are mindful of the major problems experienced by other councils including some of those neighbouring us.

“In order to balance the books, we have had to set very challenging budgets and ensure that a range of savings and efficiencies have been achieved year on year as well as provide sufficient reserves to guard against any unforeseen emergencies or issues. All of the reported underspend will go straight into our service delivery budgets, ensuring we can continue to invest more money into our key services such as highways.

“We don’t take our positive financial position for granted and it hasn’t just happened of its own accord but can be attributed to all the hard work both council staff and the administration have put in. There are still challenges to be faced, but due to how we work, potential problems can be identified very early which means we can seek to mitigate the risk as much as possible in a timely way.

“Our focus remains on running an efficient and effective council that delivers for residents and spends their money as wisely and prudently as possible. I’m pleased with our progress and we’re working hard to see that continue. We will continue to identify the areas of upward cost pressures as well as ensure that our highly effective preventative approach is maintained.”