Council Meeting
13 October 2022
BUDGET MONITOR 2022/23 Q2

1. All Committees
By the end of Q2 the Council had spent 30% of its budget for 2022/23. The bulk of
the expenditure has been on regular items with only one big ticket purchase (see
SPF below).

2. RFF (General)
This committee continues to spend very little of its allocated budget save for the
regular costs of litter picking. In this regard, the Sudbury Town Council service for
which there is budgetary provision has now been restored following a
misunderstanding with the contractor.

3. RFF (Car Park and toilets)
With largely regular payments this committee has spent some 54% of it budget and
is more or less on course for break even if similar spending is continued during the
second half of the financial year. However significant unplanned expenditure is
likely in Q3 following the demolition of the wall adjacent to the toilets.

4. Playing Fields
Although the first two quarters have seen only modest expenditure, it is likely that
more significant expenditure will occur in Q3 and a better gauge of budgetary
progress may be possible at the end of the next quarter.

5. Burial Grounds
The majority of the expenditure in Q2 has been the cost of the groundsman, some
tree works and mower repairs. Cemetery fee income has continued the trend in Q1
and remained low. Even so, having spent 41% of its budget by the end of Q2 the
committee is on track to break even by the year end.

6. EBNP
The only expenditure in Q2 has been for survey distribution and large budgets
remain available for the EBNP Review work and for EBNP Projects in respect of
which there has been no expenditure in this financial year.

7. SPF (Grants)
More grants have been awarded in Q2 than in Q1 though there remains around
80% of the grants budget available for the second half of the year. Despite periodic
reminders to local organisations the number of grant applications continues to be
low.

8. SPF (General)
This committee’s expenditure is largely regular (monthly, quarterly, annual) and
predictable, in view of which the budget has been tailored to the anticipated spend
and Q2 has followed the pattern for all budget heads except for contingencies. The
unbudgeted expenditure of just over £6,000 for the cinema projector has been
‘parked’ temporarily under the committee’s contingencies to save a call on reserves
when it is likely that the expenditure can be accommodated within the council’s
overall budget. However it is likely that the committee will overspend in Q4 and at
that stage may require a virement from an underspent budget head in order to
break even.

9. Other Income
This quarter has seen receipt of the second half of the precept and the Q2
Cleansing Grant, both from Babergh DC, as normal. In addition a bequest of £1000
from a local resident has been received and will be used to provide a
commemorative bench at an appropriate location.

Graham White
Parish Clerk
5 October 2022