Report Summary
This report provides members of the Forensic Services Committee with an overview of Forensic Services Financial Monitoring Report Q1.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Forensic Services Committee - 7 August 2025
Date : 07 August 2025
Location : Online
Revenue
Q1 net expenditure forecast was an overspend position to budget by £0.1m to £47.5m (2025/26 budget £47.4m), with higher non-pay costs offset by lower pay costs.
There are pressures included in the forecast mainly due to higher demand on forensic toxicology outsourcing and additional property and maintenance costs. These additional costs can be met due to underspends in staff costs. However, any further increases would be financially unsustainable for Forensics within its current funding allocation. This will be monitored closely and updated at the next financial forecast. The recurring cost implications also required to be considered for future years.
Lower pay spend reflects the gap between FTE actuals and their budgeted FTE figure. It has been forecasted that as forensics moves through the year, they are expected to close the gap to nil by P6 (October 2025).
Actual spend to end of P3 (end of June 2025) was £0.4m lower than budgeted, driven by pay costs being lower due to vacancies within Forensic Services.
Finance is confident that the overspend can be brought down and that Forensic Services will deliver full year spend within their budgeted funding allocation.
