Form

Changes and key points to note - Revenue Account 2024-25 form

Updated 15 February 2024

Applies to England

A. Data items and the form

1. There are no changes to the data items required in the return this year.

2. We have added a few further validation checks to the DELTA form and to the Excel data preparation template, notably to the Investment Properties memorandum section.

3. As usual, we have populated grant allocations where these were available in time, e.g. from the final local government finance settlement, public health grant, homelessness prevention grant and police grants. When you select your authority’s name in the template, these will feed into the relevant cells.

4. Please do not alter the cells that are shaded in purple in the Excel data preparation template. These are formulae that must not be changed.

5. All figures must be rounded to the nearest £ thousand upon input. Where pasting in data from other software, which may include decimals, please check resulting totals and adjust individual entries to achieve expected rounded results.

6. We have changed the formulae in the cells relating to reserves.

Previously there were formulae that calculated the levels of reserves at the end for the year (31 March) by adding the level at the 1 April to the appropriations to/from each reserve.

Now the form requires instead that you enter reserves levels into the relevant categories and sub-categories of reserves. Appropriations are calculated from the value at the end of the year value minus the value at the start of the year.

This change was made since a few authorities have submitted figures in the last couple of year without putting any figures into the sub-categories for levels of ‘other earmarked reserves’. The change will ensure that the form is completed correctly when first submitted, and thus reduce the need for these figures to be re-examined.

We have pre-populated the reserves levels values from 31/3/2024 from your authority’s RA budget 2023-24 into the cells for 1/4/2024 in the RA2024-25 excel template. You must check these and update these figures with any updates.

B. Accounting standard IFRS16

The new International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 16 makes significant changes to the reporting of leases, abolishing, for lessees, the distinction between finance and operating leases (with very few exceptions). There are consequential impacts on the recording of service expenditure. For lessors, IFRS 16 is similar to IAS17. 

Implementation of IFRS 16 is required to take effect by 1 April 2024.

C. Exclusion of the finances of academies

Please be sure that expenditure and financing of academies are excluded from this return (also from other related data returns to DLUHC). These must be excluded starting from the date when a maintained school converts to become an academy.

D. Other guidance on scope and definitions

For further guidance on scope, see the RA General Guidance.

Please note that:

• the RA (budget) return is defined on the same basis as the Revenue Outturn returns
• the RA (budget) return requires figures to be reported as ‘net current expenditure’. This is defined in relation to SERCOP groups in Section 3 of the RA General Guidance.

E. Guidance note on requirement for comments and explanations

Following requests for guidance on what details are expected in explanation comment boxes in the forms, we developed a short guidance note on what is required for a validation explanation to be adequate. Providing specific explanations will reduce the need for the department to contact you again for this information.