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Contact: Lowri Haf Evans 01286 679878
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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Meryl Roberts,
Angela Russell and Richard Glyn Roberts |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: None to note |
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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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IMPLEMENTING THE DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE To consider the report and offer comments. Decision: DECISION: ·
To accept the contents of the report Note: Two vacant seats for Lay
Members on the Committee. The Head of Finance, the Democracy Manager and the
Propriety and Elections Manager to discuss and try to motivate interest Minutes: A report was submitted providing an outline of how the Council's
departments had responded to the decisions of the Governance and Audit
Committee so that Members could be assured that their decisions were being
addressed. It was noted that the report gave Members an opportunity to consider
the decision made with the intention of removing the item / decision when the
action had been completed. Matters arising from the ensuing discussion and responses to requests
for updates: Annual Performance Report and Cyngor Gwynedd Self-assessment (draft) -
the Committee needed to be included earlier in the process – it was suggested
that a workshop was held with the Members so that they have input and a better
opportunity to offer recommendations - it was noted that work was
progressing in an attempt to identify best practice - needed to consider the
Committee's role here and whether it was appropriate to offer input and
scrutinise the self-assessment later? It was reiterated that it was possible to
present a draft version of the self-assessment at a Members' workshop Ffordd Gwynedd Training - the Committee's desire to receive Ffordd
Gwynedd training - it was noted that Ffordd Gwynedd training had been
reviewed and amended recently and that a date for the Cabinet to receive
training had been earmarked by the Learning and Development Department.
Subsequently, a similar session would be arranged for the Governance and Audit
Committee to receive training. In response to a concern that there were two empty Lay Member seats on
the Committee, it was noted that there was a permanent advertisement on the
website, but no response had been received. A further comment was made, should
the problem continue, that consideration should be given to reviewing the
number of Members on the Committee - 18 members seemed high compared with other
Counties. RESOLVED ·
To accept the contents of
the report Note: Two empty seats for Lay Members on the Committee. The Head of Finance,
the Democracy and Language Manager and the Propriety and Elections Manager to
discuss and try to motivate interest. |
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To scrutinise the information before the Cabinet considers
approving the Savings Plan in its meeting on February 11th 2025 Additional documents:
Decision: DECISION: ·
Reasonable steps, under challenging circumstances, had
been taken to draw up the Savings Plan ·
That the savings proposed were reasonable and
achievable ·
That the risks and implications of the decision were
clear ·
That the report was adequate to enable the Cabinet to
make a decision on the Savings Plan ·
To submit observations from the discussion on the
report to the Cabinet for their consideration when discussing the 2025/26
Savings Plan at its meeting on 11/02/25 ·
Welcomed an invitation for the workshops to share
information Note: To consider
reviewing the public consultation in the future to seek the view of residents
about the council tax level. To
encourage more effort to rationalise services Minutes: A report was submitted by the Leader of the
Council, asking the Committee to consider the propriety of the process of
identifying the savings, and submitting observations to the Cabinet for
consideration, before coming to a decision at their meeting on 11-02-25. It was
reported that it was not the Committee's role to express an opinion on what the
size of the savings should be, or the features of individual proposals being
recommended as savings, but rather to ensure that the Cabinet was clear of the
facts that were presented to them, so that the decision taken was based on
robust information. When introducing
the background to the work, it was noted that the Council had been delivering
savings for many years now and the challenge of delivering those savings
without harming services for the County's residents, was more difficult. It was
explained that the Council was now aware of the Revenue Maintenance Grant (RMG)
level from the Welsh Government for 2025/26 (a 3.2% increase), and that it
would be substantially lower than what would be needed to maintain existing
service levels. It was noted that detailed work had been done with all Council
Departments to identify savings and cuts schemes. The Chief
Executive added that the Council also faced a situation where departments were
overspending, mainly due to a continued increase in the demand for their
services; it was now impossible for some services, such as homelessness,
children care services, adults care services and school transport, to be able
to operate within their current budget. This would lead to overspending this
year of approximately £8m and a vast part of this deficit derived from the lack
of budget to meet the higher demand for services and in most cases, deciding
not to provide those services was not an option. As a result, reserves would
need to be used to cope with the situation.
Reference was
made to the substantial increase in staffing costs as a result of a Westminster
policy change to increase employer National Insurance contributions. As an
employer of 6,000 staff, this would add up to £4.5M to staffing costs. Although
the Council would meet the cost, the Welsh Government (as a result of the
consequential provision in the Westminster Government's announcement to meet
additional costs for National Insurance employer contributions in the public
sector in England), may possibly contribute
around £3.5m. As a result of
providing a higher budget for the Departments that could not cope with their
current budget and the low Revenue Maintenance Grant amount from the
Government, the 2025/26 financial deficit would be around £8.77m. In order to identify savings, 39 proposals were submitted by the Council's Departments (worth £1.89m). Cuts panels were held with every Department where the information submitted was challenged in the context of staff, function, expenditure and income. At these meetings, it was highlighted that very few could not be completely implemented as a whole. Every proposal had been assessed by the Chief Executive or by one of the ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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To scrutinise the information before the Cabinet recommends the 2025/26 budget to
the Full Council Additional documents:
Decision: DECISION: ·
To accept the report and note the content ·
To accept the financial propriety of the proposals and
the relevant risks ·
To submit observations from the discussion on the report
to the Cabinet for their consideration when discussing and approving the
2025/26 Budget at its meeting on 11/02/25 ·
To thank the Finance Department for their thorough
work in preparing the Budget. Note: The over
expenditure situation was concerning - there was a need to ensure less use was
made of the reserves. Minutes: Submitted - a
report by the Cabinet Member for Finance, noting that the Council had received
a Government grant increase of 3.1% for 2025/26, which equated to an increase
worth £7.5m in external funding. It was reported that many factors would create
additional spending pressures on the Council's services in 2025/26, with the
need to increase spending by £24.2m to meet the pressures on the services'
budgets. As well as addressing
the demand on services and the high level of inflation, there would be a need
to consider a combination of a Council Tax increase and a new programme of
savings and cuts. With a recommendation of an 8.66% increase in Council Tax, more
savings and cuts would be required to set a balanced budget, with projections
suggesting that there would be further pressures in aiming to set a balanced
budget for 2026/27. It was highlighted that the Committee's role
was to scrutinise the information and ensure that the Cabinet and Council were
clear of the facts presented to them so that the decision was based on robust
information. The Head of Finance Department was invited
in his role as statutory finance officer to present the information, express
his views and provide details on the robustness of the estimates that formed
the basis to the budget, along with the potential risks and mitigation
measures. He highlighted that the Cabinet (meeting on
11/02/25) would recommend to the Full Council (06/03/25) that a budget of
£355,243,800 should be established for 2025/26 to be funded by a £246,818,190
Government Grant and £108,425,610 of Council Tax income (which was an increase
of 8.66% to an individual residence's tax), and establishing a capital
programme of £53,736,190 in 2025/26. It was explained that Additional Expenditure
Requirements had been considered in the budget, and those areas were
highlighted; ·
Salary Inflation of £8.6m - the budget
earmarked a pay agreement for 2025/26 of 3.5% for the whole workforce and
teachers ·
Adjustment to the threshold and rate of national insurance paid by the
employer. ·
A budget of £4.6m had been set on the grounds that the cost would be
funded in part by the Government, i.e., a value of £3.5 million ·
Increase in Levies to relevant bodies - £506k ·
Demography - reduction in pupil numbers at
the schools - £643k ·
Pressures on Services - recommend approving bids totalling £7.7m for
additional permanent resources submitted by Council departments to meet
unavoidable pressures on their services.
It was noted that the bids submitted had been thoroughly challenged by
the Leadership Team, prior to recommending their approval by the Cabinet. ·
Further considerations - £2.2m (adjustments
to various budgets across the Council, which included the impact of a reduction
in interest receipts of £2.3m in returns when investing the Council's balances
and cash flow. Reference was
made to the 2024/25 Overspend Projections in the Adults, Health and Well-being
Department and Children and Families Department, noting the proposal to fund
the overspend through the use of reserves (worth £8,294m). In the context of the ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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CAPITAL STRATEGY 2025/26 (INCLUDES INVESTMENT AND BORROWING STRATEGIES) To receive the report, note the relevant
information and risks, and support the Cabinet Member for Finance’s intention
to submit the strategy to full Council for approval Additional documents:
Decision: Minutes: A report was submitted by the Investment Manager
providing an overview of the Council's Capital and treasury
management activity, and as noted above,
the Members had received a presentation from the financial advisers, Arlingclose, explaining the details behind the strategy in a comprehensive
and easy-to-understand manner. Reference
was made to the capital activities and attention was drawn to the fact that the Council intended to make capital expenditure of £53.7m in 25/26 with the main plans listed in
the report regarding funding sources. It was noted that the main external resources were the Welsh Government, and the funds were
Cyngor Gwynedd resources. The remainder
of the funding came from loans that
would be repaid over a number of years, normally from revenue resources
or from income from the sale of assets, which was consistent with the actions of previous years. This meant
that the indicator - the Council's Capital Funding Requirement, would be £191.7 million by the end of the 25/26 financial year, namely the level below which
the Council's long-term borrowing
should remain. In the context
of the Borrowing Strategy,
it had been highlighted recently that there
had been no long-term borrowing requirement, only a low-cost, short-term requirement over the end of the financial year; this would continue
with no long-term borrowing anticipated for Cyngor Gwynedd activities, and that the Council's
debt would remain below the Capital Funding Requirement. The Manager referred to the Liability Benchmark which was now reported to the Committee on a quarterly basis. The Council expected its borrowing to remain above its
liability benchmark up until 2025, since the Council had a high level of reserves. With regard
to the Investment Strategy, it was noted that the Council's policy was to prioritise security and liquidity over
yield in order to ensure that money was available to pay for the Council's services. It was noted that sums were
always kept to ensure liquidity. Reference was made
to risk management and governance, together with details
of the Council's long-term liabilities
e.g. to cover the deficit in the Pension Fund, and
the impact of the funding costs on cash
flow where the percentage appeared low and fairly
consistent with previous years. It was also confirmed that officers had the relevant knowledge and skills, and
that Arlingclose provided a financial advisory service to the Council. The members thanked the officer for the report RESOLVED: ·
To accept the report
and to note the information and relevant risks To support the Cabinet Member for Finance's intention to submit the Strategy to the Full Council for approval on 6 March 2025 |
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OUTPUT OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT SECTION To receive the report, comment on the contents and support the actions that have already been agreed with the relevant services Decision: Minutes: Submitted, for
information, the report of the Audit Manager Leader updating the Committee on
the internal audit work for the period from 1 October 2024 up to 27 January
2025. It was highlighted that nine 2024/2025 Action Plan audits had been
completed, with five of them showing an adequate assurance level and four
showing a limited assurance level. It was reiterated that there were 17 schemes
in progress. The members thanked the officer for the
report During the ensuing discussion, the following
observations were made by Members: ·
SCHOOL ORGANISATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT - need to ensure that DBS checks
were carried out. ·
WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY - Concern
about a reduction in the number of staff who are aware of the Whistleblowing
Policy. Need to ensure that the policy is strong and robust. -
Need to restore the confidence of employees in the policy and consider
matters of concern to staff. In response, it was noted that there was a desire to improve the policy
and that Ffordd Gwynedd Training reflected that - culture and staff trust was
essential to the Ffordd Gwynedd way of working. Results of the Voice of Staff
Survey to be published soon, with important messages certain to derive from the
survey. ·
CAR PARKS -
Lack of enforcement staff. How can the situation be supported? ·
2022/23 HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION GRANT -
Important that grant claims
were submitted promptly In response to a question on whether the grant was substantial, it was
noted that there were two certificates to complete and that this was as a
result of staffing changes. It was noted that discussions were being held as
there was a risk here of failing to adhere to the terms of the grant. ·
MAINTAINING THE HOUSING WAITING LIST -
A positive report ·
GENERAL -
That a lack of resources was impacting services. - That
there was a need to continue to monitor the plans. -
Accepted the recommendations, but an update was needed on progress /
improvements. - That
there was a need for a follow-up to the information being submitted,
particularly for those schemes with a limited assurance level. -
A timetable needed to be set for the high-risk plans. - That
some actions were poor; Internal Audit needed to respond if the steps were
insufficient to avoid further risks. In response, it was noted that the actions were owned by the
Departments, and that Internal Audit's work was to highlight the risks and
evidence that arrangements were in place to receive assurance. Bleddyn Rhys and Eva Williams were thanked
for leading the service over the Audit Manager's period of sickness absence. RESOLVED: ·
To accept the report and support the actions
that that have already been agreed with the relevant services. ·
That a schedule needed to be included for the
actions. ·
There was a need for a follow-up report on what had been delivered. |
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INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN 2024/25 To note the contents of this report as an update on progress
against the 2024/25 audit plan, offer comments thereon and accept the report. Decision: DECISION: ·
To accept and note the contents of the report Minutes: Submitted, for
information, a report from the Audit Manager updating the Committee on the current situation in terms of completing
the 2024/25 Internal Audit
Plan. Reference was made to
the status of the work as
well as the time spent on each audit.
It was highlighted that 54%
of the 37 individual audits
in the plan, i.e., 20 audits, had been released in final
form, or had been closed. The
members thanked the officer for the report In response
to a question regarding the
13 audits that had been cancelled for 2024/25, and whether they would
be re-profiled for 2025/26,
it was noted that a review of the 2025/26 audits was being implemented and if there
was a high risk to the audits that were
cancelled, then those areas with
the greatest risk would be prioritised. RESOLVED: ·
To accept and note the contents
of the report |
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SPECIAL AUDIT REPORT - HOME CARE To consider
the report Additional documents: Decision: DECISION: ·
To accept and note the progress on the findings of the
Internal Audit review of the Council's Home Care arrangements · The thorough Work Programme
that was in place to improve the provision was welcomed. · Further updates would be
required in 12 months on the progress and the success of the work programme. Minutes: Following
on from the findings of a Special Internal Audit commissioned by the Chief
Executive into domiciliary care in Cyngor Gwynedd, an update was received from
the Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department on the detailed work
programme that had been drawn up to prioritise and strengthen the provision,
and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Council's arrangements
in the domiciliary care field. It was noted that the work programme included 63
Sub-projects within the work-streams of the Domiciliary Care Project Group
(which had been established under the leadership of the Head of Department, to
address the work and address the issues requiring attention in order to give
confidence that the model of providing domiciliary care worked effectively). It
was reiterated that there were three main streams to the work programme, which
included internal provisions (15), systems and processes (22) and embedding the
new model (26). Those sub-projects relating to the WAO Audit were submitted to
the Committee only, i.e. waiting list, spending / financing and contract
monitoring, and a progress report was provided on those projects. In
response to the Committee's observations in asking for assurances that the Care
Scrutiny Committee had considered aspects of the domiciliary care field, the
new model in general and its impact on residents, it was noted that a report
had been submitted to the Scrutiny Committee in September 2024 to support the
desire of the members of the Care Scrutiny Committee to weigh-up the
effectiveness of the domiciliary care provision across the County, particularly
in terms of maintaining and improving services for residents. In
response to the internal audit, it was noted that there were assurances and
clarity from addressing the matters raised, and that there was an open
invitation for internal audit to attend Project Group meetings. In
the context of the block hours, it was noted that the hours were regularly
reviewed jointly with the Finance Department and that the risk register had now
been simplified to reflect priorities and effort. It appeared that the waiting
lists highlighted a trend / pattern of reduction, which gave the impression
that the new model was going in the right direction. It
was reported that the Care Inspectorate Wales Inspection was keeping an eye on
the quality and standards of the Service, and Audit Wales was publishing their
findings on the arrangements for Domiciliary Care 06-02-25 - the
recommendations of these inspections would also highlight matters to improve,
which would need to be coordinated with the work programme. The Head of Adults, Health and Well-being
Department expressed that the domiciliary care field was volatile and
challenging, and the issue was being given substantial attention and investment
in order to improve. It was reiterated that the Department was taking the
matter seriously and improvement priorities had been set. The Chief Executive took the opportunity to reiterate that the efforts to seek order had derived from a response to a concern in the domiciliary care expenditure monitoring procedure and Internal Audit had ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |
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RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPROVEMENT PROPOSALS OF EXTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS To consider the report
Additional documents: Decision: DECISION: ·
To accept and note that the arrangements and processes
were in place to ensure that the improvement proposals were being implemented. ·
To welcome the new arrangements to report on the
external audit reports every six months to the Committee. · To welcome the decision that
responses to the reports are submitted to the Challenge and Support Performance
meetings of the relevant Department. Minutes: Members
were reminded that the item was to be considered as a governing role and not as
a scrutiny role with a request that the Committee should be satisfied that
there were appropriate arrangements in place to ensure that improvement
proposals arising from external audits would be realised. It
was noted that the work of responding to most improvement proposals was ongoing
work and that the Governance Group being chaired by the Corporate Director
addressed the improvement proposals and the progress made with recommendations.
Those audits that had been completed would be removed and would not receive
further attention by the Committee. Reference
was made to response arrangements, noting that the organisation's response form
(which included actions and a schedule), was being completed and that this had
simplified the process. Consequently, and considering the substantial number of
audits being submitted to the Committee, that there was an intention to report
to the Committee on the progress of external audit reports every six months. In
addition, responses to the reports would be submitted to the Performance
Challenge and Support meetings of the relevant Department, with the intention
of providing added assurances to the Committee that appropriate arrangements
were in place. Audit
Wales reiterated that the arrangements had been amended with the response
forms, time-frame and closing date being shared with the responsible officer
who would respond to the audit's recommendation. It was reiterated that they
welcomed the arrangement of challenging the progress at performance challenge
meetings. The
members thanked the officer for the report. In
response to a question as to whether the new arrangements followed the patterns
of other Councils, it was noted, in general, that responses were discussed
around twice a year, with audit recommendations being discussed alongside the
response. It was reiterated that this meant that the programme was easy to
follow, with the response and completion dates set - milestones that were
critical to the process. The fact that opportunities to refine the current
arrangements were being taken, was welcomed. RESOLVED: ·
To accept and note that the arrangements and
processes were in place to ensure that the improvement proposals were being
implemented. ·
To welcome the new arrangements to report on
the external audit reports every six months to the Committee. ·
To welcome the decision that responses to the
reports are submitted to the Challenge and Support Performance meetings of the
relevant Department. |
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CONTRACT PROCEDURE RULES To consider
the report Additional documents: Decision: DECISION: To accept the amended Contract Procedure Rules taking place as a result of the Procurement Act 2023 Minutes: The report was submitted by the Monitoring Officer to update the Committee on
changes to the Contract Procedure Rules, taking place as a
result of the Procurement Act 2023.
It was explained that since the UK had left the European Union, the
Government (UK) had seen this as an opportunity to review the legislation
relating to public sector procurement. The 2023 Procurement Act was passed with the
intention for the Act to come into effect in October 2024, but now it would
come into force in February 2025. It was reiterated that the Welsh Government
had passed the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023,
which placed more responsibilities and duties on public sector organisations
in Wales, which were also related to procurement. It was noted that the main objective of the work was to change the
Council's Constitution and central arrangements to address the changes in the
Act. It was reported that regional collaboration had taken place to address the
changes and the Council's Procurement Department had been preparing for the
change - failing to review and amend the Rules would give rise to a substantial
risk for the Council; the Council would be open to a legal challenge for
failing to comply with the legislation, and also
likely to be criticised by auditors and regulators. It was highlighted that the
work was an opportunity to ensure that the Contract Procedure Rules were
flexible enough to allow officers to undertake a procurement exercise in the
most efficient and effective way. In addition, the new legislation would ensure
that there were controls in any procurement exercise and would ensure value for
money for the Council. Further work would be to change the Council's
constitution and central arrangements to meet the Act. The members
thanked the officer for the report. RESOLVED ·
To accept the
amended Contract Procedure Rules taking place as a result of
the Procurement Act 2023. |
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FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME To consider
the work programme Decision: DECISION: To accept the Work Programme for May 2025 -
February 2026 Minutes: A forward work programme of items were
submitted for the Committee meetings up to February 2026. RESOLVED: To
accept the Work Programme for May 2025 - February 2026. The meeting commenced at 10:00 and concluded at 13:10. ________________________ |