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Contact: Lowri Haf Evans 01286 679878
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ELECT CHAIR To elect a Chair for 2020/21. Decision: To elect Councillor John Brynmor
Hughes as Chair of this committee for 2020/21. Minutes: To elect Councillor John Brynmor
Hughes as Chair of this committee for 2020/21. |
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ELECT VICE CHAIR To elect a Vice Chair for 2020/2021 Decision: To elect Councillor John Pughe
Roberts as Vice-chair of this committee for 2020/21. Minutes: To elect Councillor John Pughe
Roberts as Vice-chair of this committee for 2020/21. |
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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies
were received from Councillor Charles W. 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 30 July 2020, be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous
meeting of this committee held on 30 July, 2020 as a true record. |
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FINAL ACCOUNTS - GWYNEDD COUNCIL PDF 214 KB a) To submit the revised statutory
financial statements b) (i) To submit the formal “ISA 260”
report for Gwynedd Council b) (ii)
To authorise the Committee Chairman and the Head of Finance to sign the “letter
of representation” (the Council) Additional documents: Decision: (a) To approve the
Statement of Accounts 2019/20 (post-audit), subject to further minor
adjustments, in accordance to what was reported verbally at the meeting, and to
delegate powers to the Chair and Head of Finance Department, in consultation
with the Vice-chair and the Cabinet Member for Finance, to certify the
Statement of Accounts 2019/20 and the Letter of Representation (Appendix 1 to
the Deloitte report) following undertaking minor amendments to the Accounts. (b) To note and accept
the 'ISA260' report by Deloitte on the Gwynedd Council accounts 2019/20. Minutes: Submitted – the
report of the Head of Finance Department, requesting that the Committee
consider and approve the Statement of Accounts 2019/20 (post-audit), Deloitte's
'ISA260' report and the Letter of Representation (Appendix 1 to the Deloitte
report), before authorising the Chair to certify the letter. The Head of
Finance Department noted that the committee had received the pre-audit accounts
on 23 July, but Deloitte had advised late in the day that a minor change was
needed to two figures relating to the revaluation of the pension fund
commitments - this meant changing the figures from estimated to actual, and a
corresponding adjustment to the unusable reserves. With this, the committee was
asked to approve the accounts, and delegate the right to the Chair and himself
as Head of Finance Department, in consultation with the Vice-chair and the
Cabinet Member for Finance, to certify the Statement of Accounts 2019/20 and
the Letter of Representation, after making the minor necessary amendments to
the accounts. Ian Howse was then invited to present Deloitte's 'ISA260'
report on behalf of the Auditor General for Wales. He noted that the auditors
intended to issue an unqualified audit opinion on the accounts this year, once
the Letter of Representation had been signed. He provided details on:- ·
The
effects of Covid-19 on this year's audit ·
Proposed
Audit Opinion ·
Significant
issues arising from the audit, including corrected and uncorrected misstatements
and other significant matters ·
Recommendations During the
discussion members raised the following matters:- ·
They enquired whether the matters of pricing the
value of investments in property funds and the effect on the Pension Fund was a
unique issue to Gwynedd. In response, it was explained that the adjustment was
common to the pricing of the value of investments in all Welsh authorities'
property funds, with the effect on the value of assets in the accounts
dependent on the materiality level of the investments in property funds. ·
Referring to Part 3 of Appendix 3 to the accounts –
Governance Arrangements and their Effectiveness – Stakeholders (page 112 of the
agenda), it was suggested that the weak relationship with the institutional
stakeholders should bear a much higher risk score than 9, especially given the
impact of Covid-19. In response, it was explained that the committee had
already approved and committed to this part of the governance statement,
therefore the score could not be revised in this meeting. The member asked that this be reconsidered
for next year. RESOLVED (a) To
approve the Statement of Accounts 2019/20 (post-audit), subject to further
minor adjustments in accordance with what was reported verbally at the meeting,
and to delegate powers to the Chair and Head of Finance Department, in
consultation with the Vice-chair and the Cabinet Member for Finance, to certify
the Statement of Accounts 2019/20 and the Letter of Representation (Appendix 1
to the Deloitte report) after making the minor adjustments to the
Accounts. (b) To
note and accept the 'ISA260' report by Deloitte on the Gwynedd Council accounts
2019/20. |
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FINAL ACCOUNTS - GWYNEDD PENSION FUND PDF 205 KB a)
To submit the revised statutory financial statements b) (i) To submit the formal “ISA 260”
report for the Pension Fund b) (ii)
To authorise the Committee Chairman and the Head of Finance to sign the “letter
of representation” (Pension Fund) Additional documents:
Decision: (a) To approve the
Gwynedd Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2019/20 (post-audit) (b) To note and accept
the 'ISA260' Report by Deloitte on the Gwynedd Council Pension Fund accounts
2019/20. (c) To authorise the
Chairman and the Head of Finance Department to certify the Letter of
Representation (Appendix 1 to the Deloitte report). Minutes: Submitted – the
report of the Head of Finance Department, requesting that the Committee
consider and approve the Gwynedd Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2019/20
(post-audit), note and accept Deloitte's 'ISA260' report and the Letter of
Representation (Appendix 1 to the Deloitte report), before authorising the
Chair and Head of Finance to certify the letter. The Head of Finance Department noted
that the committee had received the pre-audit accounts on 23 July, and although
some minor changes had been made to the narrative following Deloitte's audit,
there was no change to the figures. The
Pensions Committee had also discussed the accounts at its meeting on 14
October, and had had a taste of the auditors' report. Ian Howse was then invited to present Deloitte's 'ISA260'
report on behalf of the Auditor General for Wales. He noted that the auditors
intended to issue an unqualified audit opinion on the accounts this year, to
include a paragraph on 'emphasis of matter' – material uncertainty related to
the valuation of UK property funds on the financial statements. He provided details on:- ·
The
effects of Covid-19 on this year's audit ·
Proposed
Audit Opinion ·
Significant
issues arising from the audit, including uncorrected misstatements, corrected
misstatements, significant risks and other areas being addressed by audit, and
other significant issues ·
Recommendations It
was noted that the members were delighted to have received such an excellent
report by the auditors this year, and they noted that much of this thanks was
owed to the work by the Investment Manager and her team. In
response to a question, it was confirmed that it was not currently a
requirement to disclose environmental, social and governance factors in the
statutory official accounts, but they did intend to refer to this in the annual
report which would be submitted with the accounts to the Fund's Annual General
Meeting on 19 November. RESOLVED (a) To approve the Gwynedd Pension Fund Statement
of Accounts 2019/20 (post-audit) (b) To note and accept the 'ISA260' Report by
Deloitte on the Gwynedd Council Pension Fund accounts 2019/20. (c) To authorise the Chairman and the Head of
Finance Department to certify the Letter of Representation (Appendix 1 to the
Deloitte report). The Head of Finance
Department thanked Ian Howse and Lauren Parsons for
leading the work on behalf of Deloitte again this year. He added that this
would be the last time that Ian Howse would submit
the report on the accounts in his current role as external auditor for Gwynedd
in this contract, as the work would be undertaken internally from next year
onwards, and he thanked him for this work over the past five years. |
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SAVINGS OVERVIEW - PROGRESS REPORT ON REALISING SAVINGS SCHEMES PDF 187 KB To consider the
report Additional documents:
Decision: To accept the information,
consider the general risks arising from slippages with some of the savings
schemes, and support the Cabinet's relevant decisions. Minutes: Submitted – the
report of the Cabinet Member for Finance requesting that the Committee notes
the position and relevant risks in respect of the Savings Overview, considers
the Cabinet's decisions of 13 October, 2020 and provides comments as required. As a general point
at the beginning, the Cabinet Member for Finance noted:- ·
In implementing the savings and innovation
strategy, that the Council had been very fortunate e.g. before the pandemic,
138 users were able to work from home, but by March this year, 1,292 were using
equipment from home. He thanked everyone in the Information Technology Service
for their work in ensuring that all the work required for the items under
consideration at this meeting could be completed. ·
He wished to thank all the staff for the incredible
work that had been achieved in a very tight timescale. The Cabinet Member
for Finance then set out the context for the report in question and noted:- ·
That there were clear signs of difficulties in
achieving the savings, and that there was concern about the Children and
Supporting Families Department and the End to End scheme specifically. ·
Although realising that these were challenging
times, it was essential that the process of achieving savings was resumed soon. He noted that the
Cabinet had considered the report at its meeting on 13 October, and had
resolved as follows:- ·
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. ·
To approve the alternative
schemes outlined in Section 6 and Appendix 5 to replace the historical schemes
that cannot be delivered. ·
To note that the impact of
Covid-19 has contributed to a slippage in the savings programme, as the Council
has given complete precedence to safeguarding the health and lives of the
people of Gwynedd in response to the crisis, which has meant that we were
unable to continue with the performance challenging and savings arrangements
during the crisis period. ·
To support the intention of
the Chief Executive and Head of Finance Department to arrange to meet each
Cabinet Member with their Head of Department, to discuss how the procedure of
delivering the proposed savings can be resumed, so that the Council can proceed
with a proportion of the savings programme, despite the crisis. During the
discussion, members raised the following matters:- · It was noted that it was very difficult to realise the savings required of the Children and Supporting Families Department and the Flying Start Scheme. The member enquired whether a timetable had been drawn up for the review that was taking place. In response it was explained that although the Children's Budget Taskforce had begun looking at the savings, they had had to postpone the work as the officers had been drawn into other priorities during the crisis. However, they now intended to move forward and try to come to a conclusion on this. It was noted further that the numbers and the pressure on the Children and Supporting Families Department ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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REVENUE BUDGET 2019/20 - END OF AUGUST REVIEW PDF 190 KB To consider the
report Additional documents:
Decision: To accept the information,
note the risks arising from the forecast expenditure against the budget, and
support the Cabinet's decisions in the context of the budgets of the Council
and its departments. Minutes: Submitted – the
report of the Cabinet Member for Finance requesting that the Committee notes
the position and relevant risks in respect of the Council's budgets and those
of its departments, considers the Cabinet's decisions of 13 October, 2020 and
provides comments as required. The Cabinet Member
for Finance set out the context for the report, noting the following:- ·
This report again demonstrated the impact of the
pandemic and the pressure on the departments. ·
Appendix 1 to the report was important, as it showed
the receipts received from the Welsh Government per department, and illustrated
the situation clearly to the members. He noted that the
Cabinet had considered the report at its meeting on 13 October, and had
resolved as follows:- ·
To accept the report on the
end of August 2020 review of the Revenue Budget, and consider the latest
financial position regarding the budgets of each department/service. ·
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 complete
precedence to safeguarding the health and lives of the people of Gwynedd in
response to the crisis, which has meant that it was not possible to continue
with the performance challenging and savings arrangements during the crisis
period. ·
To support the intention of
the Chief Executive and Head of Finance Department to arrange to meet each
Cabinet Member with their Head of Department, to discuss how the procedure of
delivering the proposed savings can be resumed, so that the Council can proceed
with a proportion of the savings programme, despite the crisis. ·
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. ·
To note that a Children's
Budget Taskforce has been commissioned by the Chief Executive to address the
complex financial issues of the Children and Families Department in order to
get to the root of the overspend, with the aim of presenting a report to the
Cabinet which will detail the response plan. ·
To approve the following
recommendations and financial virements (as outlined
in Appendix 2). o On Corporate budgets, that: ¾ (£250k) relating to capital costs is transferred to the capital
programme fund. ¾ a net underspend of (£1,127k) on Corporate budgets will go to the
Council's general balances to assist in facing the financial challenge ahead of
the Council, particularly so in light of the Covid-19 crisis. ·
That grant receipts from
the Government to compensate for added expenditure and income losses related to
the Covid-19 crisis are allocated to the relevant departments in accordance
with what is noted in Appendix 1. During the
discussion, members raised the following matters:- · Referring to the table on page 221 of the Agenda, there was a £1m difference between the total grant applied for from the Welsh Government's hardship ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |
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CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2019/20 - END OF AUGUST REVIEW PDF 188 KB To consider the
report Additional documents: Decision: To accept the information,
note the risks in the context of the Council's capital programme, and support
the Cabinet's relevant decisions. Minutes: Submitted – the report
of the Cabinet Member for Finance requesting that the Committee notes the
position and any risks in respect of the Council's capital programme,
scrutinises the Cabinet's decisions of 13 October, 2020 and provides comments
as required. The Cabinet Member
for Finance set out the context for the report, noting the following:- ·
The main point in this report again was the impact
of Covid-19 on schemes, but he emphasised that although there was some
re-profiling, there was no loss of funding. ·
The table in part 3 on page 224 of the capital
programme showed an investment of over £100m in the county's communities over
the next three years. He noted that the
Cabinet had considered the report at its meeting on 13 October, and had
resolved as follows:- 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 ·
a reduction 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. During the
discussion, members raised the following matters:- ·
The departments were congratulated on attracting
substantial grants to Gwynedd. ·
In response to a question, it was explained that a
large proportion of the £11m housing and property capital programme would go
towards the Housing Action Plan. It had originally been intended for the plan
to be operational by now, but the pandemic had delayed the process. The plan
would be submitted to the Cabinet in November.
Evidently, the total amount would not be spent this year, as the
pandemic had resulted in having to defer some of the schemes. ·
It was noted that the Housing Action Plan was an
encouraging and ambitious report, and members greatly hoped that it would come
into fruition. RESOLVED to accept the information, note the risks
in respect of the Council's capital programme, and support the Cabinet's
relevant decisions. |
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BUDGET STRATEGY - 2021/22 PDF 3 KB To consider the
report Additional documents:
Decision: To accept the information, to note the uncertainty in the context of
the Council's budget for 2021/22, and support the strategy to balance the
budget by using contingencies and reserves to mitigate resource losses in the
short term, rather than to give thorough and unnecessary consideration to the
lists of potential savings and service cuts during the likely second wave of
the Covid-19 pandemic. Minutes: Submitted – the
report of the Cabinet Member for Finance requesting that the Committee notes
the uncertainty in relation to the Council's budget for 2021/22, and provides
comments on the strategy. The Cabinet Member
for Finance set out the context for the report. He emphasised the importance of
the virtual seminars on the budget for members in January, and he pressed on
everyone to attend the sessions. He noted that the
Cabinet had considered the report at its meeting on 13 October, and had
resolved as follows:- To approve the procedure
and timetable for producing the 2021/22 Budget, while also The Head of the
Finance Department noted that, further to what was contained in the report, he
had pleaded with the Welsh Government in the past few days to stick to this
year's draft budget, otherwise it would be impossible to plan for 2021/22. During the
discussion, members raised the following matters:- ·
In response to a question on the Council's policy
with regard to balances, it was explained that keeping reserves was part of a
bigger picture. It depended on how much risk was incorporated into budgets in
terms of things like provision for inflation and unknown issues. Many of the
reserves had been committed to specific purposes, but the Council did have
general balances of £8m, which basically reflected the risk of a possible cut
in the Council's grant. Over the past two years, the Council had stuck to this
amount, in case it found itself in a situation of having to buy time to deal
with the need to find savings and cuts. ·
A member enquired whether consideration had been
given to borrowing money to fill the gap in the short term, since interest
rates were so low at present. In response, it was explained that the
regulations did not permit borrowing for revenue purposes, unless the Welsh
Government permitted a Capitalisation Direction. Some other councils had been
calling for this in Wales, but no statement had been made on this to date. Also, in keeping with the spirit of the
Future Generations Act, the Council did not wish to pass on problems to the
next generation, and preferred to try to address the problem from the reserves
available. ·
It was noted that should the reserves be used, the
Council should ensure that the funds were replenished in the following years,
and it was emphasised that the current crisis had underlined the importance of
the reserves. · It was noted that the UK Government had caused difficulties in setting a budget by cancelling the Autumn Budget, although we understood the reasons for doing so in the circumstances. However, this had ... view the full minutes text for item 12. |
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AUDIT AND GOVERNANCE WORK PROGRAMME PDF 212 KB To consider the
report. Additional documents: Decision: To accept the forward
programme, and ask the officers to consider the observations noted during the
meeting that the 11 February 2021 programme was too bulky, that evidence had to
be secured prior to discussing self-assessments, and the possibility of
borrowing should be considered in the annual presentation of the Treasury
Management Advisers on 27 January, 2021. Minutes: Submitted – the
report of the Assistant Head (Revenue and Risk), outlining the work programme
of the committee for the year ahead, up to July 2021. During the
discussion, members raised the following matters:- ·
It was noted that Savings Overview was down twice
on the forward-programme (February and May meetings) ·
A member enquired whether it was intended for the
committee to receive a report in due course on the Children and Adults Taskforce
schemes specifically, depending on the timetable for the work. In response, it
was noted that we would have to check where exactly this fell between this
committee and scrutiny of the relevant department, but the member was assured
that this would be addressed. Even if it
was not a stand-alone item, it would be duly addressed in the Savings Overview
report. ·
It was noticed that the February meeting was very
heavy. In response, it was noted that
the agenda was heavy because of the annual procedure, but consideration could
be given to rescheduling the self-assessments. ·
A member enquired whether the committee could
receive evidence before discussing the self-assessments. In response, it was
agreed to give consideration to this, and the member who raised the issue was
asked to pass on any suggestions to the officers. ·
It was suggested that the committee did not discuss
policies generally e.g. the borrowing policy. In response, it was explained
that borrowing came under Treasury Management, and that borrowing would form
part of the annual presentation with the Treasury Management Advisors in
January. RESOLVED to accept the forward programme, and ask
the officers to consider the observations made during the meeting that the 11
February 2021 programme was too bulky, that evidence must be secured prior to
discussing self-assessments, and that the possibility of borrowing should be
considered in the annual presentation of the Treasury Management Advisors on 27
January, 2021. |