Decisions

Approved the procedure and timetable to construct the 2021/22 Budget, while
noting that financial planning is extremely challenging, and therefore if there is
a funding gap to balance the 2021/22 budget, that the Council will use
contingencies and reserves to mitigate resource losses in the short term.

To accept the information in the report that confirms the outcome of the monitoring work and the success of the Voluntary Code for the management of to let signs in Bangor, adopted by the Cabinet on 16 October 2018.

¾    To approve the allocation of up to £375,000 of a one-off resource (analysed in the table in section 4 of the report) to the Adults Department 2020/21 budget, together with a further one-off resource of £390,000 to the 2021/22 budget, with the exact sum of the allocations to be reviewed at the end of the relevant two financial years.

¾    To support the proposal to spend the above additional
budget on the cost of employing the workforce beyond the normal
staffing budget levels, in response to the inevitable increase in demand
for a social care service to safeguard the people of Gwynedd and to fill
staffing gaps that occur as a result of Covid19. 

1)    To authorise the Head of Legal Services, subject to the confirmation of the Chief Coroner and the Lord Chancellor, to determine conditions and to appoint Kate Sutherland, the existing Assistant Coroner of the North West Wales Area to act as a Senior Coroner until the authority has addressed the question of merging areas and until a permanent Senior Coroner has been appointed.

2)    To authorise the Head of Legal Services to hold a review to consider the propriety of merging the North West Wales Coroner area with other areas, including commencing discussions with the North Wales Councils, along with any other relevant stakeholders, the Chief Coroner and the Ministry of Justice, and to emphasise the importance of having a Senior Coroner that can maintain the service through the medium of Welsh and await a report back on the findings and the way forward.   

Permission was granted to conduct a statutory consultation, in accordance with the requirements of section 48 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013, on the proposal to increase the capacity of Ysgol Treferthyr to 150 and to relocate the school to an alternative site, referred to as the A497 site, on 1 September 2023, reporting back to the Cabinet following the completion of the consultation.

¾    To accept the information in the report and to note the progress towards realising the savings schemes for 2020/21, 2019/20 and previous years.

¾     To approve the alternative plans outlined in Section 6 and Appendix 5 to replace the historic schemes that cannot be delivered.

¾     It was noted that the impact of Covid-19 has contributed to a slippage in the savings programme, as the Council has given the utmost priority to safeguarding the health and lives of the people of Gwynedd in response to the crisis, which means that it was not possible to continue with the performance challenging and savings arrangements during the crisis period.

¾     To support the intention of the Chief Executive and Head of Finance Department to meet with each Cabinet Member and their Head of Department, to discuss how it will be possible to resume the procedure of delivering the proposed savings, so that the Council can proceed with a proportion of the savings programme, despite the crisis. 

¾    To accept the report on the end of August review (31 August 2020 position) of the capital programme.

¾     To approve funding the revisions as shown in part 4 of the report, namely:

·         use of various sources, worth a total of £3,646,000, to fund actual slippages
from 2019/20,

·         a decrease of £558,000 in the use of borrowing,

·         an increase of £7,105,000 in the use of grants and contributions,

·         no change in the use of capital receipts,

·         an increase of £53,000 in the use of revenue contributions,

·         no change in the use of the capital reserve, and

·         an increase of £283,000 in the use of renewal funds and others. 

¾    To accept the report on the end of August 2020 review of the Revenue Budget, and consider the latest financial situation regarding the budgets of each department/service.

¾     To note the financial impact of Covid-19, which is a combination of additional costs, income losses and slippage in the savings programme, as the Council has given the utmost priority to safeguarding the health and lives of the people of Gwynedd in response to the crisis, which means that it was not possible to continue with the performance challenging and savings arrangements during the crisis period.

¾     To support the intention of the Chief Executive and Head of Finance Department to meet with each Cabinet Member and their Head of Department, to discuss how it will be possible to resume the procedure of delivering the proposed savings, so that the Council can proceed with a proportion of the savings programme, despite the crisis.

¾     To note that there is significant overspend by the Adults, Health and Well-being Department this year, as complex details need to be clarified in Adult care; the Chief Executive has already commissioned work to obtain a better understanding of the matters and a clear response programme.

¾     To note that the Chief Executive has commissioned the Children's Budget Taskforce to address serious financial matters within the Children and Families Department to get to the root of the Department's overspend, with the intention of submitting a report to the Cabinet that will detail the response plan.

¾     To approve the following recommendations and financial virements (as outlined in Appendix 2). 

·         On Corporate budgets, that:

¾     (£250k) relating to capital costs has been transferred to a capital programme fund. - the net underspend of (£1,127k) on Corporate budgets will go towards the Council's general balances to assist in facing the financial challenge that lies ahead for the Council, especially in light of the Covid-19 crisis.- 

¾     That grant receipts from the Government to compensate for additional expenditure and loss of income in relation to the Covid-19 crisis will be allocated to the relevant departments in accordance with what is noted in Appendix 1.

To accept the update on the arrangements that are in place in preparation for a possible second wave of Covid-19.

To elect Councillor Elwyn Jones as Vice-chair of this committee for 2020/21.

To elect Councillor Paul Rowlinson as Chair of this committee for 2020/21.

That the scrutiny committee remained concerned about the situation and, therefore, refers the matter back to the Cabinet for reconsideration for the following reasons:

·         Owing to the COVID situation and legal guidelines and the Education Department's policies, it is not possible to hold meetings in the usual manner and it is impossible to hold meetings with some individuals who have a keen interest in the matter. It is also impossible to hold public meetings in the usual manner in the community to discuss and respond to the consultation.

·         The Head was off work during this period, and continues to be off work.  As the permanent head knows the school’s situation best, continuing with the process while she remains off work would be unfair to the school and the community.

·         Some believe that small schools should not be closed without scrutinising the decision.

That the applicant is a fit and proper person to be issued with a hackney vehicle/private hire driver's licence from Gwynedd Council.