Summary balance sheet 2023-24

The balance sheet shows the value of the authority’s assets and liabilities at the financial year-end. It shows what the authority owns, the money the authority is owed, and money that the authority owes to others.

Assets

Assets are things that provide a potential benefit to the authority.

Physical assets owned by the authority

• Land and buildings: owned by the Authority taking into account any fall or rise in value and any change in costs and condition, as well as any sales or purchases made.
• Vehicles, plant, and equipment: the value of these items, taking into account any drop in their value due to wear and tear, and age (depreciation) or those that have been sold, or purchased.
• Assets under construction: this means things we own that are currently being built or undergoing major works before they can be used and includes new fire engine chassis which we have bought and are being built into working fire engines.
• Surplus assets: are items that are not needed and will be repurposed or sold.
   

Stocks

Supplies and equipment that are available for use and distribution, this includes items such as fuel and smoke alarms, but which have not been used in 2023-24.

Amounts owed to the authority

Money that is due to us which includes the remaining balance of the Pension Fund top-up grant we receive, outstanding Council Tax, and business rate money that Medway and district councils have still to collect and pay over.

Deposits of money

This is money we put in low risk deposits including treasury bills (money deposited with the government), fixed deposits with banks, Money Market Funds and government Debt Management Office accounts.

Liabilities

Liabilities are what we owe to suppliers for goods and services we have received.

Amounts owed by the authority

These are the amounts owed to suppliers that provide us with services and goods. There has been a small decrease in the amount we owe in the short term.

Loans from the Public Works Loan Board

The authority has access to the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB), which is where most authorities will borrow their money from. A loan of £0.3m has repaid during this year.

Provisions

We set money aside to cover business rate appeals and existing insurance claims.

Pension long-term liabilities

We have an obligation (liability) and commitment to pay retirement benefits in relation to firefighters’ pensions, which reduced during the year. We also have an obligation (liability) to pay pensions under the Local Government Pension Scheme for retirees, which has increased during the year.

Net assets

Net assets are the total assets minus total liabilities.

• Net assets for the year ended 31 March 2023 are -£480m (total assets of £177.8m minus total liabilities of £657.8m)
• Net assets for the year ended 31 March 2024 are -£482.1m (total assets of £174.7m minus total liabilities of £656.8m)

Reserves

A reserve is money set aside to cover future expenses.

General reserves

This is money we hold to meet the cost of exceptional unforeseen costs that arise but that cannot be met by any other budget.

Earmarked reserves

This is money we hold for specific purposes and includes such things as future station improvements, the replacement of large items of equipment, the purchase of vehicles, and information technology improvements.

Capital receipts reserve

This is money raised from the sale of assets. For example, the sale of the land at Medway and the houses and land at Faversham.

Unusable reserves

This reserve reflects accounting adjustments that the authority undertakes in relation to assets and liabilities so as not to affect Council Tax payers. This is not a cashable reserve and therefore is not available to cover expenditure.