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CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY
FINANCE COMMITTEE

FOR INFORMATION

Title: REVIEW OF TEN MONTHS TO 31st JANUARY 2010

Prepared by: Alistair Highet, Finance Manager

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a summary review of income & expenditure for the
10 months to 31st January 2010 and a projection of the financial outcome for the year to
31st March 2010. The paper also reviews net Operational Plan expenditure over the same
period.

Recommendations

The Finance Committee is requested to:

a) Note the results for the 10 months to the end of January 2010 and the projected
outcome for the 12 months to 31st March 2010.
b) Note the further analysis of net Operational Plan expenditure by programme for the
10 months to 31st January 2010 and the projected outcome, by programme, for the
year to 31st March 2010.

Executive Summary

a) Table 1 shows the financial results for the CNPA over the ten months to 31st January
2010. This period resulted in a gain of £132k against a planned gain of £67k (the
£65k variance representing 1.5% of income).
b) The £65k surplus is reflected mainly in savings of £56k on core salary costs.
c) The projected outcome for the year to 31st March 2010 is a surplus of £13k, which
represents a positive variance of £59k against the revised budget for the year.
d) The budget figures for the year to date and outcome for the current 12 months
represent the result of the Park Authority’s mid-term budget review. This review
ensured that budgets were suitably allocated to programme activities and that any
planned over spend was reduced to manageable levels.
e) £50k of additional core cost savings, above required efficiency levels, are included in
the year’s Core Operating Costs budget. This means efficiency savings of £140k are
being targeted, rather than the required £93k.
f) Programme activity will be monitored over the last 2 months of the year, with any
slippage being covered by suitably identified expenditure from 2010/11 planned
expenditure being brought forward where possible.

REVIEW OF TEN MONTHS TO 31/01/2010 – FOR INFORMATION

Note: Copy in this section forms part of a table and cannot be laid out in text. Please see PDF. 

Table 1. Results for the 10 months to 31st January 2010:

CNPA 10 12
2009/10 Jan-10 Jan-10 Jan-10 Mar-10 Mar-10 Mar-10
Operating Cost Statement Actual Budget Variance Projected Budget Variance
£000's Ytd Ytd Ytd 12 mths 12 mths 12 mths
Income
Grant in Aid and Other income a) 3,810 3,815 -5 4,836 4,862 -26
Operational Plan income f) 495 517 -22 671 671 0
Total Income a) 4,305 4,332 -27 5,507 5,533 -26
Expenditure
Board and Staff Salary costs b) 1,922 1,978 56 2,342 2,398 56
Other Board and Staff costs c) 188 201 13 230 243 13
Office Running costs d) 181 174 -7 216 209 -7
IT and Professional Support 107 109 2 129 131 2
Core Operating Costs 2,398 2,462 64 2,917 2,981 64
Operational Plan Expenditure f) 1,727 1,756 29 2,520 2,541 21
Depreciation 48 47 -1 57 57 0
Total Expenditure 4,173 4,265 92 5,494 5,579 85
Recognised Gain/-Loss e) 132 67 65 13 -46 59

Notes
a) Planning fee income for the year is projected to be £20k
below target, with bank interest received a further £6k less.
b) The current saving of £56k on Salary costs is projected to
remain for the year. £49k of this saving is on Staff Salaries
with £7k relating to Board costs.
c) £8k of the current saving comes from Other Board costs with
the remaining £5k relating to Staff recruitment costs. These
are expected to remain for the year.
d) The £7k currently over spent is from higher than budgeted
Office Maintenance costs which are not likely to be recovered
during the year. These costs include reception refurbishment,
document storage and office caretaker costs.
e) As at 31/01/10, a small surplus of £13k is projected. This
position is being monitored over the last 2 months of the year
to ensure budgets are spent as expected and that any possible
slippage is managed appropriately.
f) See Table 2 analysis.

Note: Copy in this section forms part of a table and cannot be laid out in text. Please see PDF. 

Table 2. Net Operational Plan expenditure for the 10 months to 31st January 2010:

CNPA Operational Plan 10 12
2009/10 Jan-10 Jan-10 Jan-10 Mar-10 Mar-10 Mar-10
Expenditure Summary Actual Budget Variance Projected Budget Variance
£000's Ytd Ytd Ytd 12 mths 12 mths 12 mths
Operating Cost Statement
Operational Plan Income f) 495 517 -22 671 671 0
Operational Plan Expenditure f) 1,727 1,756 29 2,520 2,541 21
1,232 1,239 7 1,849 1,870 21
Operational Plan Programmes
1. Biodiversity and Landscapes g) 120 114 -6 175 170 -5
2. Land Management Support h) 120 149 29 170 190 20
3. Sustainable Deer Management 4 4 0 12 12 0
4. Outdoor Access 215 207 -8 300 295 -5
5. Sustainable Tourism & Business i) 220 214 -6 350 362 12
6. Affordable Sustainable Housing l) 30 29 -1 42 42 0
7. Awareness and Understanding j) 200 214 14 418 438 20
8. Communications g) 62 81 19 101 113 12
9. Planning k) 67 49 -18 83 66 -17
10. Corporate Services 0 0 0 4 4 0
Exceptional Local Plan costs l) 194 178 -16 194 178 -16
Net Operating Cost 1,232 1,239 7 1,849 1,870 21

Notes
g) £5k vired from Communications budget to fund LBAP leaflet
publication.
h) Business case for £20k further contribution to Clim-ATIC
project currently being developed for approval.
i) 2009/10 Visitor Survey final report due in June 2010, £12k
contract balance remaining.
j) Under spends are currently projected of £10k in Visitor
Information work and the same in Brand Usage. Alternatives
for this budget spend are being investigated.
k) Costs associated with the Aviemore Design Framework are
expected to result in an over spend of £17k.
l) Local plan costs are shown separately as additional budget has
been taken from all other programmes to cover this
expenditure. Local Plan costs are normally budgeted for within
Affordable Sustainable Housing.

Alistair Highet
9 February 2010
alistairhighet@cairngorms.co.uk

END