Issue - meetings

Dewi Morgan, Head of Finance, and Sian Pugh, Assistant Head of Finance, to present the report.

1.     To note and accept the revenue end of December 2025, including the reserves position.

2.     To note and accept the Growth Deal’s revised capital expenditure profile.

The report was presented by the Assistant Head of Finance.

DECISION

1.     To note the end of December 2025 revenue review, including the reserves position.

2.     To note and accept the Growth Deal’s revised capital expenditure profile.

REASONS FOR THE DECISION

An underspend of £618,025 was projected against the Economic Well-being Sub-committee's revenue budget for 2025/26. The final underspend at the end of the financial year would be used to reduce the amount claimed from the North Wales Growth Deal grant and resource fund, and approval would be sought when the out-turn report was submitted to the CJC.

To note a slippage on the capital programme, with an estimated expenditure of £22.15m  in 2025/26 compared with the approved budget of £29.61m for the year. 

DISCUSSION

Members were reminded that this review of the revenue and capital position for 2025/26 had been approved as part of the '2025/26 Review' report which had been submitted to the Corporate Joint Committee at its meeting on 23 January 2026.

An estimate of the financial position of the Growth Deal had been provided, confirming that an underspend of £618,000 was projected by the end of the current financial year. It was noted that the review in July 2025 had predicted an underspend of £281,000, explaining that this increase was mainly due to further underspending in employee spending as well as additional government roles, accountable body Support services and projects.

An estimated balance of the Growth Deal funds was shared as of 31 March 2026 for information.

A revised capital profile for the Growth Deal was reported, explaining that there had been a net reduction of £7.46 million in the expected expenditure for 2025/26. This was noted to be due to slippages in some projects. However, it was confirmed that the development of projects such as Cydnerth, Environmental Biotechnology Centre and the Glynllifon Rural Economy Hub had contributed to reducing this underspend.

During the discussion, the following observations were made:

In response to comments about an underspend in employee spending, the Assistant Head of Finance confirmed that it was an underspend as it was not possible to appoint individuals to some posts until later in the year. It was elaborated that options on what to do with this underspend funding would be presented to Members at the end of the financial year. The Monitoring Officer noted that some budgets had been protected following the transfer arrangement of the Growth Deal in 2025.

There was concern that there was an underspend of approximately £618,000 within the Growth Deal, as Local Authorities were under pressure from a lack of effective budgeting. In response, the Chief Executive noted that Ambition North Wales did not have a regular and consistent core income and emphasised that its financial position was different from that of the Local Authorities.

Gratitude was expressed for the report.