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CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY 
Paper 4 30/10/09 

CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY 


FOR INFORMATION 


Title: 
LONG TERM RESOURCE PLANNING 

Prepared by: 
David Cameron, Head of Corporate Services 

Purpose 
To outline the current work being undertaken by the Authority’s Management Team, 
coordinated by Corporate Services, on the long-term resource planning for the Authority. 

Recommendations 
The Board is asked to note the report, and to raise any questions on the update provided. 

Executive Summary 
There is considerable current uncertainty around public sector funding, both in the short 
and longer term. This paper outlines, for information, the preparatory work being 
undertaken by the Authority’s Management Team in order that the resource planning for 
2010/11 and future years is able to adapt to future financial settlements that the Authority is 
required to operate within. 

2010/11 Resource Planning 

1. The Authority’s Management Team has been reviewing its resourcing position over 
the course of the summer period in anticipation of potential funding reductions in 
2010/11. The current budget position has been stripped back to analyse finance 
across contractual commitments already in place; service commitments where 
approval in principle has been given by the Board and/or Finance Committee; and 
other uncommitted delivery plans. This work has allowed initial development of the 
operational plan for 2010/11 on a basis that is able to adapt to variations in funding 
levels. 

2. The draft budget announced by Scottish Government on 17 September holds 
current funding broadly in line with previously announced levels. Total funding for 
both NPAs is set at £12.9m for 2010/11 compared with £12.7m for 2009/10. 

3. Initial impressions are, therefore, that we seem unlikely to have to deal with 
significant reductions in funding in the forthcoming year, and the budget process for 
2010/11 referred to above can concentrate on getting the balance of resource 
allocation across the organisation correct. 

4. This budget process also complements the Authority’s current review of the delivery 
of the National Park Plan and the re-assessment of the priority areas for delivery 


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over the second half of the current 5 year priorities for action. In revisiting budget 
allocations across the organisation, the Management Team will be able to review the 
priority areas and determine where future investment may be needed. 

5. The Scottish Government’s budget for 2010/11 still requires Parliamentary approval, 
and this will not happen for some months. Until Parliament approves a budget we 
will not have the CNPA actual allocation confirmed. There does, of course, remain 
a potential for current budget proposals to be varied prior to the Parliamentary 
approval. 

Longer-term Budget Planning 

6. The budget process is also being revised to ensure we begin to look forward beyond 
2010/11 to future years. 

7. There remains considerable uncertainty on the level of public sector finances and 
over the distribution of these between various areas of the public sector in the 
longer-term. Indeed, there remains some expectation that future funding allocations 
may reduce in future Comprehensive Spending Review periods. 

8. The work on the budget for 2010/11 is also, therefore, being used as a base on 
which to plan and retain flexibility in resource allocation over the longer-term. 

9. We aim to maintain a close control over levels of future commitments, including 
total staff numbers through managing vacancies as they arise, to ensure our position 
remains as flexible as possible and allow the Authority to adapt to changes in funding 
levels and/or priorities. 

Staffing 

10. Scottish Ministers have given a commitment to there being no compulsory 
redundancies in the Scottish Government and in NDPBs until March 2011. We have 
recently received a letter confirming this remains the case. All staff of the Authority 
therefore remain covered by this assurance until March 2011. 

Next Steps 

11. The work undertaken by Management Team in reviewing resource allocations is 
aimed at presenting a proposed Operational Plan for 2010/11 to Finance Committee 
and Board in January 2010. 

12. In the meantime, Corporate Services staff will continue to coordinate the work on 
future resource planning and will engage the Finance, Audit and Staffing and 
Recruitment Committees at appropriate points in this process. 


DAVID CAMERON 
13 October 2009 

davidcameron@cairngorms.co.uk