Annual financial report 2005/06

During the year 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006, the Council spent nearly £55 million - over £ 6million more than in the previous year., mainly on housing benefits and major developments

	£
General Fund - Revenue expenditure	50,028,000
Capital spending on major developments	4,762,000
Total spending	54,790,000

Capital spending on major developments - 2005/06

This is expenditure by the Council on the purchase or improvement of land, buildings, vehicles and equipme

	£
New housing developments	1,771,000
Home improvement grants	831,000
Computer projects	358,000
Leisure facilities	376,000
Sewerage schemes	110,000
Green bins	661,000
Vehicles and equipment	273,000
Offices and depots	65,000
Land development	133,000
Cemeteries	35,000
Grants	61,000
Hostel improvements	35,000
Other	53,000
Total	4,762,000

Paid for by:

	£
Sale of assets	3,314,000
Government grants	542,000
Contributions	831,000
Revenue and other funds	75,000
Total	4,762,000

General Fund

	£
Expenditure (employees, running costs, housing benefits, depreciation)	50,028,000
Income (fees, grants, government subsidies, interest)	( 33,520,000)
Other adjustments	( 4,265,000)
Contribution to reserves	213,000
Total net spending	12,456,000

Expenditure and income on services was;

	Expenditure	Income	Net
	£	£	£
Central services to the public (Elections, Council Tax collection, Land Charges)	7,045,000	(6,641,000)	404,000
Cultural, Environmental and Planning Services (Leisure Centres, Parks, Cemeteries, Planning, Street Cleansing Refuse Collection, Public Conveniences, Environmenmtal Health)	13,317,000	(2,733,000)	10,584,000
Highways, Roads and Transport Services (Car parks, Street Naming,Concessionary bus fares)	1,065,000	(822,000)	243,000
Housing Services (Housing Benefits, Homelessness, Housing Grants)	25,439,000	(21,396,000)	4,043,000
Corporate and Democratic Core (Strategic Management of the Council)	1,986,000	(4,000)	1,982,000
Non-distributed costs (Costs not attributable to specific services)	51,000	(4,000)	47,000
Net cost of services	48,903,000	(31,600,000)	17,303,000
Trading Account (Surpluses) / Deficits (Commercial Properties, Work for other organisations)	1,125,000	(1,238.000)	(113,000)
Interest (Interest from money invested)		(591,000)	(591,000)
Other Government grants (Business Growth incentive scheme)		(91,000)	(91,000)
Adjustments (To offset depreciation and pension costs included in cost of services)			(4,265,000)
Contribution to reserves (Amounts set aside to fund specific projects)			213,000
Total			12,456,000

Paid for by

:

	£
Council tax	6,019,000
Business rates	3,520,000
Government grant	2,843,000
Reserves	74,000
Total	12,456,000

Spotlight on your council tax

Your council tax last year paid for the services provided by Wiltshire County Council, Wiltshire Police Authority, Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority  and your parish/town council, as well as the District Council. For the average taxpayer in a Band D property the amount paid to each authority was;

	£  p
Wiltshire County Council	885.42
West Wiltshire District Council	127.88
Wiltshire Police Authority	126.63
Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority	50.30
Town/Parish Council (average)	53.10
Total	1,243.33

In Trowbridge, the District Council charged an additional £13.55 for the town museum. This has been included in the calculation of the average town/parish amount.

Balance Sheet

This gives a snapshot of the Council's position at 31 March 2006. It shows the Council's assets (what it owns or is owed), its liabilities (what it owes or what it must pay for in future years) and its reserves.

	£
Buildings, land and equipment owned by the Council	23,477,000
Investments	8,406,000
Stocks	19,000
Money owed to the Council	6,977,000
Money owed by the Council	( 5,893,000)
Borrowing	( 2,000,000)
Cash overdrawn	( 145,000)
Amounts the Council must fund in future years	( 25,557,000)
	5,284,000
Long term reserves	( 1,137,000)
Capital reserves	4,198,000
Revenue reserves	2,223,000
	5,284,000

Reserves

Like similar organisations, the Council needs to ensure that its reserves are adequate to tide it over in case of problems in future years. At the close of the 2005/06 financial year, our reserves were as follows:

	£
General Fund	1,385,000
Specific Reserves	838,000
Total	2,223,000

Further Information

The Council’s full audited financial statements for 2005/06 can be found in the booklet "Financial Statements - 2005-06 ". This summary is presented in accordance with Best Accounting Practice. (The 'Final Accounts' publication is a pdf file and will open in a new window).

To view pdf files you need Acrobat Reader which is installed on most PCs and is freely available to download from the Adobe website. If you do not already have this on your PC please click the icon below.

Information on the other organisations for which the Council collects revenue is available on their websites, as follows:

• Wiltshire County Council - www.wiltshire.gov.uk
• Police - www.wiltshire.police.uk
• Fire - www.wfb.org.uk

Contact Us

If you have any questions, please contact the Finance Department - telephone 01225 776655 or e-mail accountancy@westwiltshire.gov.uk

This summary is presented in accordance with Best Accounting Practice, for further details please visit the CIPFA website.

For information the Council's planned spending for the year 2005/ 2006 please refer to the Performance Plan.