Report Summary
This report provides members of the Forensic Services Committee with an overview of Financial Monitoring Report Q2.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Forensic Services Committee - 30 October 2025
Date : 30 October 2025
Location : Online
Further Detail
Appendix A provides the detailed finance report.
Revenue
• Q2 net expenditure forecast is an underspend position to budget by £0.4m to £47.4m (2025/26 budget £47.8m), with lower pay costs offsetting higher non-pay costs.
• Lower pay spend reflects lower staff numbers than budget. It is forecast that this gap will continue to grow to year end. It has been forecasted that as forensics moves through the remainder of the year, they will not close the gap to budget. At the year-end (31 March 2026) the gap is expected to be 7 FTE.
• There are pressures included in the non-pay forecast mainly due to higher demand on forensic toxicology outsourcing and additional property and equipment maintenance costs. These additional costs can be met due to underspends in staff costs. This will be monitored closely and updated at the next financial forecast. The recurring cost implications also required to be considered for future years.
Capital
• Full year forecast is flat to budget at £2.7m.
• Most projects are now locked in for delivery in 2025/26 with governance timelines now understood. With multi-year contracts in place there are projects within the background which can be brought forward if there are delays. Any movements will be incorporated into further forecasts.
• Actual spend to end of P6 (end of October 2025) was ahead of budget at £0.3m versus £0.2m budgeted. The phasing of the remaining spend is mostly from P10 (January 2025) onwards which remains unchanged from budget and Q1 phasing.
Reform
• Overall spend is forecasted to be £0.5m under budget. This reflects less staff resources being needed during the year than budgeted. Spend YTD on Forensic Services projects and the full year Q2 forecast is in line.
