Form

Points to note and changes to the revenue outturn forms

Updated 25 April 2025

Applies to England

This document highlights key points to note and outlines changes in the RO suite of forms for 2024-25.

A. General

1. The deadline for return of the RO suite of forms is Friday 25 July 2025. MHCLG’s Director of Local Government Finance will write to CEOs shortly to emphasise the importance of submitting high quality figures by this deadline.

2. The 25 July deadline is for provisional data, and you should resubmit your return once updated data becomes available.

3. Formal certification of Revenue Outturn is required by the deadline of Friday 10 October 2025. Certification is carried out by completing the relevant section at the foot of the form’s first worksheet (named ‘contact details’). When submitting your certified return, it is necessary that the certifier is a copy recipient of the email.

4. Please always:

i) provide the best figures you have to hand by the deadline, estimating wherever necessary

ii) provide figures for all relevant lines. NB The general guidance states “Where the authority’s service analysis is not sufficiently detailed to provide an accurate breakdown between certain lines of a form, an estimated breakdown must be given; entries on lines cannot be coupled together.”

5. Updated general and item-specific guidance documents are also attached to the launch email alongside the form and this note. They will be updated online at RO general guidance and RO specific guidance notes shortly. Following focus group discussions with a number of authorities, a dedicated guidance document is being developed to illustrate the required approach to recharging management and support services. This will be shared later in the collection period to support authorities with this section of their return. 

6. If you have any questions, please first consult the guidance documents. If you have any other issues or questions, contact us via: lgf1.revenue@communities.gov.uk.

B. Updated list of grants and pre-populated values

7. The list of named grants has been updated. Please be sure to enter all amounts only within the cells that are formatted in a bordered cell, and note that multiple grants can be grouped together into a single line, where appropriate or necessary.

8. Amounts have been pre-populated into data items where figures were available and where it was proportionate to do this. You should check these figures and you should type over the pre-populated amount if you have an updated figure.

C. Lines that have been removed

9. The following lines have been removed from the RO suite of forms:

• RS 815a and RS 815d (other earmarked reserves appropriations) – appropriations to/from other earmarked financial reserves are now automatically calculated in line 815 only
• RS 1028-1030 (exceptional elements related to Covid business rates relief grants) – exceptional elements within other earmarked reserves should be reported in line 1027 only
• RS 915b – this item showed adjusted other earmarked financial reserves levels but is no longer required as lines 1028-1029 have been removed
• TSR 596 (Investment Properties)
• RO3 8 (Disbursement payments to care providers)
• RO3 9 (Other payments to care providers)
• RO3 91 (Test, track, trace and outbreak planning)
• RO3 92 (Other public health spend relating to Covid-19)

D. Reporting of debt costs

To improve the clarity and quality of the data collected on debt management costs, a new memorandum table has been added to the RSm form. The new table consists of six cells which requires local authorities to report on ‘interest costs’, ‘finance cost of credit arrangements’ and ‘revenue cost of the repayment of the principal of debt’ under the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account. Further details can be found in the Specific Guidance document. Please note that completion of the table is optional this year.  

E. Reserves

10. Reserves levels for 1/4/2024 have been pre-populated with figures provided for 31/3/2024 in your authority’s RO2023-24. (Please note that these reflect the latest published figures for RO2023-24, and thus are as provided by November 2024.) You should check and update these figures by typing over the pre-populated amount, if appropriate.

11. As well as checking the reserves levels figures (rows 911-914, 1023-1027 & 916) for 1 April 2024, you need to enter the reserve levels for 31 March 2025. The change in reserves levels from each row feeds into the relevant appropriations lines (797, 811-816).

12. Please note that you must not enter figures directly into row 915. The cells in this row contain formulae adding the ‘other earmarked reserves’ sub-category rows 1023-1027. This means that you must allocate ‘other earmarked reserves’ levels among the following sub-categories.

1023 Other earmarked reserves: Contractual commitments
1024 Other earmarked reserves: Planned future revenue and capital spending
1025 Other earmarked reserves: Specific risks
1026 Other earmarked reserves: Budget stabilisation
1027 Other earmarked reserves: other exceptional elements

MHCLG Local Government Finance Data Collection Team
25 April 2025