This is how much Mid Sussex District Council underspent by in 2024/25

Figures in the budget management report were shared during a meeting of the cabinet on Monday (June 30), with officers saying the underspend was due in part to ‘effective investment decisions and effective treasury management’.

A report to the meeting said there had been a £624,000 underspend on service budgets and a net overspend of £37,000 on other budgets. Some of the underspend was due to unfilled staff vacancies.

As well as being in a somewhat comfortable position when it came to spending, high interest rates helped to provide additional treasury management income, meaning the council has been able to reduce its reliance on reserves to keep things steady.

Looking at the authority’s performance over the past year, 80% (36) of its targets were green, 13% (6) were amber, and 6% (3) were red.

The red ratings, which need further work to bring up to scratch, related to the speed of processing changes of circumstances for Council Tax Support, the timeliness of Freedom of Information responses, and the levels of detritus on council land.

Looking at the council’s capital programme, in 2024/25 £14.33m was invested – £6.85m on the Centre for Outdoor Sports, in Burgess Hill, which is scheduled for completion shortly.

Another £4.69m was spent on buying temporary accommodation, part-funded by the first two tranches of the government’s Local Authority Housing Funding.

And £1.32m was awarded in Disabled Facilities Grants, which allow residents to stay in their own homes.

The Capital Programme is very much a rolling programme, and £5.16m of projects have been carried forward into 25/26.

They include £879,000 for the Simpler Recycling programme, £693,000 for temporary accommodation, and £828,000 for the Burgess Hill Place & Connectivity scheme.