Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Bethan Adams 01286 679020
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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillor Huw G. Wyn Jones |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so they may be considered. Minutes: None to note |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held on 17th October 2019, be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair signed
the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee, that
took place on 17 October 2019, as a true record. |
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A REVIEW OF SCRUTINY ARRANGEMENTS PDF 1 MB To consider the
report Minutes: A
report was submitted by the Head of Democratic Services and the Democracy and
Language Services Manager, outlining the results of a recent review of the
Council's scrutiny arrangements. It was explained that a working group had
been set up which consisted of Members and Officers, in order to review the
existing scrutiny arrangements following observations that scrutiny did not add
value, that the arrangements were slow in achieving results, and a feeling that
things could be done better. It was reiterated that
striving for continuous improvement through reviewing and challenging the
system contributed to driving improvement in services to the people of Gwynedd. Originally, the
Working Group drew up three options, and following consultation work with members
and the Scrutiny Forum, these options were amended for
the consideration of the Committee. -
Three Scrutiny Committees (minor amendments to the
current arrangements) -
One Principal Scrutiny Committee -
Two Scrutiny Committees The options were discussed, and reference was made to the advantages and
disadvantages of each individual option. The Committee was
asked to consider whether one option predominated and to submit the
preferred option as a recommendation to the Full Council on 19.12.19. Observations arising
from the ensuing discussion from individual Members: -
One Member did not have the capacity to chair one
Committee - a concern that this would be too much responsibility for one Chair -
The need to review the system was acknowledged -
Concern that matters on a specific subject would
not be recorded in informal meetings / information sharing -
There was a need to consider how information would
be submitted -
There was a need to look at items more
strategically, rather than at general matters across the County. -
Whichever system or option that was selected, it
did not mean that scrutiny would improve - needed to refine arrangements and
priorities better -
The option of One Committee excluded too many
Members -
The option of One Committee - this gave the
opportunity for some Members to develop expertise through leadership -
Was it scrutiny that was defective, or a failure on
members’ part to identify their role? Needed to consider educating Councillors
of their responsibilities In response to an
observation with regard to who would Chair the Scrutiny Committee should the
option of One Scrutiny Committee predominate, the Monitoring Officer expressed
that a statutory formula was in place to determine this in the context of the
political balance. The formula would also be used if
the option of Two Scrutiny Committees predominated. Option 1 was
proposed and seconded, namely Three Scrutiny Committees. A request was also made for the Committee to consider which scrutiny committee should scrutinise matters of the Housing and Property Department following the reorganisation of the Adults, Health and Well-being Department. It was highlighted that discussions had been held in the Scrutiny Forum, in the informal meeting of the Care Scrutiny Committee and with the Chairs and Vice-chairs of the Communities and Care Scrutiny Committees. It was ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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Cabinet Members – Councillors Nia Jeffreys and Ioan
Thomas To consider the
report Minutes: A report was submitted, detailing the savings
proposals that would contribute towards the potential financial deficit in the
2020/21 budget. The Members were reminded of the fact
that the annual grant received from Welsh Government had not been sufficient
for the past 12 years and, consequently, had led to a situation where the
Council had had to plan to fill the financial deficit. For 2020/21, it was decided to plan for a £2m deficit, requesting that all
Departments find their share of the sum. The Committee was
asked to consider the proposals of the Corporate Support Department,
Finance Department and the Corporate Management Team and Legal as well as the
implications. The Cabinet Member
and Heads of Department expanded on the content of the report, and also responded to questions/observations by the Members. Savings of the
Corporate Support Department In response to a
comment regarding a reduction in expenditure for printing corporate documents
and the suggestion that Councillors should be going paperless, it was reported
that savings had already been made by issuing Councillors with information
technology equipment, but that more could have been done. It was
reiterated that there was a need to better promote the use of
technology, raise confidence in its use and address the problems of using video
conferencing / remote attendance. In response to a
comment that the Department had been underspending historically and the need
for a realistic budget in future, it was expressed
that the Department was planning and preparing in advance for cuts/savings and
that this was mainly responsible for any underspend from one year to the
next. Savings of the
Finance Department In response to an
observation with regard to attracting income through new agreements as a host /
lead authority, it was noted that this was something
to take pride in due to the trust of other authorities in the quality of
Gwynedd Council's work. Savings of the
Corporate Management Team and Legal In response to a
question regarding coping with two members of the Management Team rather than
three, it was expressed that the post was currently
being kept vacant, and the situation was being monitored in terms of its
impact. It was reiterated that should the savings
scheme go ahead, it would be possible to consider the post as a saving for the
future. General
observations: -
That the sum should be estimated to the nearest
hundred rather than to the pound -
It was welcomed that the savings did not create an
impact on the residents of Gwynedd - That the proposals were sensible RESOLVED to accept the report and approve the
proposals of the Departments to meet their share of relevant savings |
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ANNUAL AUDIT LETTER – GWYNEDD COUNCIL 2018-19 PDF 186 KB To note and accept the Annual Audit Letter for 2018-19 Additional documents: Minutes: The Head of
Finance Department submitted a report which summarised
the main key messages deriving from the statutory responsibilities of the
Auditor under the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 and the reporting
responsibilities under the Code of Audit Practice. In September 2019, the
Auditor General issued an unqualified audit opinion on Gwynedd Council's
2018/2019 accounting statements, confirming that they gave an accurate and fair
illustration of the Council's financial situation and transactions. The Cabinet Member
for Finance highlighted that the content of the letter was positive. All staff were thanked and congratulated for their work. RESOLVED to accept the Audit Letter for 2018 - 2019 |
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FINANCIAL STRATEGY - 2020/21 BUDGET REMIT PDF 192 KB To consider the
report Additional documents:
Minutes: The Head of
Finance Department submitted a report outlining the process of drawing up a
budget for the year 2020/2021, in accordance with the Committee's forward work
programme. It was highlighted that planning the budget had been challenging as Welsh Government's budget had not been
announced, and that there was no intention to do so until the UK general
election (the announcement date of the 2020/21 draft settlement was 16.12.19).
Consequently, as the details of the settlement were unavailable, savings of £2m
were estimated when planning the budget, however it
was forewarned that this could change. The Cabinet Member
highlighted that Budget Seminars for Members were being organised in January to
share and discuss the information in more detail, and he emphasised the need
for all Members to attend. In response to a question, it was
confirmed that the invite was also open to the lay member. RESOLVED to accept
the timetable for the 2020/21 financial planning |
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TREASURY MANAGEMENT 2019/20 - MID-YEAR REVIEW PDF 283 KB To consider the
report Minutes: The Head of
Finance Department submitted a report, detailing the Council's actual Treasury
Management activity in the current financial year. It was
explained that between 1 April and 30 September 2019, the Council's
borrowing activity remained within the constraints originally set. There were no banks where the Council had deposited money that had
failed to repay and it was estimated that the Council's actual
investment income would exceed the expected income in the 2019/20 budget. Reference was made
to the Borrowing Strategy, as well as providing a brief update on the certainty
rates of the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). It was noted
that in October 2019, the standard interest rate had increased by 1% and the
Council did not currently anticipate any need for PWLB borrowing. In referring
to the investment activities, it was highlighted that
the Council invested in pooled funds where short-term security and liquidity
was less of a consideration, and rather, the aims were regular revenue income
and long-term price stability. In the context of compliance, it was confirmed that all activities of the treasury management
that were held during the period fully complied with the CIPFA code of practice
as well as the Council's Treasury Management Strategy Statement. In terms of forecasts for the rest of 2019/20, it was
noted that the growth in the market was slowing down in light of the
uncertainty with Brexit. Nevertheless, no significant
impact was anticipated. Gratitude was expressed for the accurate and
positive report. In response to a
question regarding where to borrow if needed, the Head of Finance Department
noted that although the interest rate had increased in October, the Treasury
advisors did not anticipate interest rates increasing any further. The Council
was not currently in a position to need to borrow. In response to a
suggestion that the Council could be in a position to offer mortgages / loan
money to buy a house, it was noted that the Council
was currently supporting a number of Housing schemes. One plan was to allocate
the Council's premium tax funds for a range of opportunities and plans to bring
vacant houses back into use. It was reiterated that
running mortgages was not currently a priority. RESOLVED to accept
the information. |
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RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVEMENT FROM EXTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS PDF 82 KB To consider the Head of Corporate Support’s report Additional documents: Minutes: The Head of
Corporate Support Department submitted a report, highlighting the actions
created in response to realising the recommendations of audit reports. The
Members were reminded that they had a responsibility to consider external audit
reports (national, and local to Gwynedd), the recommendations included in them,
and the implications of these to governance, managing risk or management. The
Committee had to satisfy itself that arrangements and
processes were in operation in order to ensure that the improvement proposals
were considered and implemented. Observations
arising from the ensuing discussion on the improvement proposals of the reports
of the external auditors 2013 - 19 (part 1) ·
There was a need to consider a more effective
format to report on the recommendations in future - more details were included
in some reports ·
A request to expose bias ·
There was a need to cross-reference reports and
decisions that had been taken to other Committees (e.g. Scrutiny Committees) ·
There was too much information about processes -
needed to focus on the outputs and what had been completed ·
A suggestion to set a timetable and to highlight
the main milestones ·
There was a need to focus on progress Each of the
improvement proposals were discussed in turn, and some
of the conclusions were challenged. ·
It was proposed to amend
the conclusion of the 'Annual Performance Appraisal of the Care and Social
Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) 2013/14' to 'in progress' rather than
'completed' as it was noted that 'performance had deteriorated due to failing
to reach all requirements within the statutory timetables'. ·
It was proposed to amend the conclusion of 'Asset
Management [Land and Buildings]' to 'in progress' rather than 'completed' as it
was noted that 'there was a need to reopen discussions with local and regional
partners with regard to developing a systematic method of jointly planning
assets...'. Subject to the
above proposals, the Committee was satisfied with the conclusions of the
improvement proposals of local or regional reports that assessed the work of
Gwynedd Council (part 1) In the context of
national or general reports that were relevant to Local Government (part 2), an
observation was made with regard to the 'Good Scrutiny? Good Question!' report
and, given Gwynedd Council's current review on Scrutiny arrangements, should the audit be noted as 'in progress'? It was noted
that the 'Good Scrutiny? Good Question!' report was now outdated and the work
had transferred to a report called 'Scrutiny Overview' and therefore, it was
agreed that the conclusion 'completed' was acceptable. RESOLVED to accept
the report. The Committee was satisfied that the actions created in response to
the recommendations were correct, subject to the amendments proposed to the
conclusions of the Annual Performance Appraisal of the Care and Social Services
Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) 2013/14 and 'Asset Management [Land and
Buildings]'. |
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COUNTER FRAUD, ANTI-CORRUPTION AND ANTI-BRIBERY ARRANGEMENTS PDF 140 KB To consider the report of the Assistant Head of Finance (Revenues and Risk) Minutes: A report was submitted by the Assistant Head of Finance (Revenue and
Risk) that updated the Committee on the Council's anti-fraud and anti-corruption
arrangements, progress on the work programme for the next three years, together
with national developments in the context of fraud against the public sector.
The Members were reminded of the fact that Gwynedd Council's
Anti-fraud, Anti-corruption and Anti-bribery Strategy 2019 - 2022 work
programme had been adopted by the Committee on 14 February 2019. It was emphasised
that Council officers were not currently investigating allegations of fraud
against it. Nevertheless, since 1 April 2019, it was reported
that the Benefits Service had referred 22 Housing Benefit cases to the
Department of Work and Pensions (UK Government) for further investigation. It was noted that the Department for Work and Pensions did not
investigate any Council Tax Relief fraud, and therefore definite steps had been
taken to develop skills internally to investigate this fraud. It was reiterated that three benefits officers and three
taxation officers were currently working on the CIPFA Accredited Counter
Fraud Technician qualification, which was a significant investment for the
Council’s fraud prevention processes. In the context of
data use, reference was made to the act of assessing
the possibility of improved use of data in order to identify and investigate
fraud. It was reiterated that the current plan to
identify and investigate fraud was the Taxation Service's practice to review
some of the discounts and exceptions permitted to the County's Council Tax
accounts. In a research investigation, it was highlighted
that the third most common type of fraud committed by adults in Wales was false
claims for a Single Person Discount. It was noted that 18,000 Gwynedd homes
received a Council Tax single person discount and, in order to ensure that
every exception and discount granted was accurate, Gwynedd Council would work
with the Datatank company to
review discount claimants. If inaccurate claims were discovered, the Council
would terminate the claims, write to the tax-payers
and attempt to recover the discount. Attention was
drawn to the report of the Auditor General which was
published in June 2019, which provided an illustration of the types of fraud
that could be committed against the public sector in Wales. It was noted that the report was provided at the request of the
National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee, so that it was possible to
report on the arrangements in place within the different types of public
bodies. The Auditor General's proposal to carry out a further review (stage 2)
to investigate how effective fraud prevention arrangements were in practice was approved, as well as making recommendations for
improvement. It was reported that it was intended to
publish stage 2 of the review in June 2020, with a suggestion that the
Committee should receive a report on the outcome of the work and any matters
that were specific to Gwynedd. In response to a question regarding fraud relating to the transfer of self-serviced property out of the Council Tax ... view the full minutes text for item 11. |
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OUTPUT OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT SECTION PDF 160 KB To consider the
report of the Audit Manager Minutes: The report of the Audit Manager was submitted
for information, which provided the Committee with an update on the internal
audit work for the period between 7 October and 15 November 2019. It was noted that eight of the plan's audits had been
completed. Attention was drawn to the relevant assurance
level of the plan's audits, and it was noted that the outcomes were positive,
and that they all fell into the two highest categories, namely satisfactory
(controls are in place to achieve their objectives but there are aspects of the
arrangements that need tightening to further mitigate the risks) and high
(certainty of propriety can be stated as internal controls can be relied upon
to achieve objectives). Reference was made to the Section 106 Agreement
Plan - adequate assurance level. An audit was carried out
on suitable arrangements that were in place when imposing section 106 planning
obligations in order to mitigate the negative impacts of developments. A sample
of financial obligations and contributions for e.g. educational provision, open
spaces and transportation were selected, as well as a
sample where there had been no financial contributions. It was
highlighted that in some situations, funds received for many
developments had not been spent despite the efforts of the Planning Authority
to encourage organisations such as Community Councils to spend it. It was reiterated that this could create a risk of having to
repay money to the developer with interest. Reference was made to the Bed and Breakfast
Costs Plan - adequate assurance level. The purpose of the audit was to ensure
that suitable arrangements were in place to administrate homelessness
applications where applicants were placed in bed and
breakfast accommodation. It was reported that there
had been a 36% increase in the demand for the service since 2014/15, and more
recently the side effect of universal credit. It was noted
that the budget had reduced in the past three years due to cuts within the
Council to save money, as well as losing staff, specifically in Arfon, the area with the largest percentage of applicants
and a lack of available locations. Reference was made to the Plan of the Plas Pengwaith, Bryn Blodau and Llys Cadfan homes - adequate assurance level. The purpose of the
audits was to ensure that the management and maintenance arrangements of the
homes were appropriate and in accordance with relevant regulations and
standards. It was noted that the homes had committed
to implement the steps to mitigate the risks highlighted by the Auditors. In response to an observation regarding the need to ensure that the Homes were being managed effectively, it was expressed that there had been an improvement in the management, with measures in place for improvement. It was noted that work was being done to ensure that evidence and records were available on matters such as staff training. It was reiterated that the situation was still being monitored, and if there was no progress, 'lack of action' could be noted. ... view the full minutes text for item 12. |
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INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN 2019/20 PDF 120 KB To consider the
report of the Audit Manager Minutes: The report of the
Audit Manager was submitted, providing an update on
the current situation in terms of completing the 2019/20 internal audit plan.
It was noted that 18 schemes out of the 54 audits
included in the plan had been released in a final version. In order to reflect
the impact on further amendments and additions to the plan, the work was prioritised on a risk basis, and a conclusion was
reached to cancel seven further audits. In accordance with a request made in a
meeting in October 2019, brief logic was provided for
the decision for each cancelled audit. In response to an
observation that the number of audits that were cancelled
appeared high, it was noted that the entire procedure and the annual plan had
been considered in conjunction with the Assistant Head - Revenue and Risk. It was added that the 14 audits would not 'drop out' of the
medium-term plan, as they would be a priority within the 2020/21 Internal Audit
plan. It was also noted that 40 days' work had been
allocated for Byw'n Iach and
that this was an additional requirement that would, in due course, create an
impact on the number of audits held for Gwynedd Council. RESOLVED to accept the report. |