Agenda item

(a)   To recommend to the Council (at its meeting on 7 March 2019) that:  

 

1.      A budget of £248,013,890 should be established for 2019/20, funded by a £176,551,790
Government Grant and £71,462,100 Council Tax income, that has been increased by 5.8%.

 

2.      £18,316,130 should be added to the capital programme for spending in 2019/20 in order to establish a capital programme with a value of £34,991,250 by 2019/20 to be funded from the sources noted in Appendix 4 of the report.

 

(b)   To approve proceeding to implement the saving schemes list in Appendix 3, with the exception of eight schemes, namely:

-        Scheme 4.4 - Free parking over Christmas

-        Scheme 4.19 - Charge a fee for damaged bins

-        Scheme 6.2 - Libraries Service for Schools 

-        Scheme 6.11 - Reduce the Mobile Library

-        Scheme 6.16 - Grants to the Arts

-        Scheme 6.17 - Libraries' Books Fund

-        Scheme 6.22 - Women's Aid

-        Scheme 6.25 - Youth Justice Service

        in order to set up the budget recommended to the full Council.

 

(c)   Note the Medium Term Financial Strategy

 

The item was submitted by Cllr Peredur Jenkins

 

DECISION

 

1.     To recommend to the Council (at its meeting on 7 March 2019) that:  

 

1.    A budget of £248,013,890 should be established for 2019/20, funded by a £176,551,790 Government Grant and £71,462,100 Council Tax income, that has been increased by 5.8%.

 

2.    £18,316,130 should be added to the capital programme for spending in 2019/20 in order to establish a capital programme with a value of £34,991,250 by 2019/20 to be funded from the sources noted in Appendix 4 of the report.

 

2.     To approve proceeding to implement the saving schemes list in Appendix 3, with the exception of eight schemes, namely:

(a)  Scheme 4.4 - Free parking over Christmas

(b)  Scheme 4.19 - Charge a fee for damaged bins

(c)   Scheme 6.2 - Libraries Service for Schools 

(d)  Scheme 6.11 - Reduce the Mobile Library

(e)  Scheme 6.16 - Grants to the Arts

(f)    Scheme 6.17 - Libraries' Books Fund

(g)  Scheme 6.22 - Women's Aid

(h)  Scheme 6.25 - Youth Justice Service

        in order to set up the budget recommended to the full Council.

 

3.     Note the Medium Term Financial Strategy

 

DISCUSSION

 

The report was submitted noting that the context of the budget was the desperately poor settlement that all authorities had received from the Government. It was added that the British Government's austerity policy was ongoing, and ensuring tight control and careful financial planning were critical in ensuring services for the residents of Gwynedd.

 

It was expressed that it was becoming increasingly difficult to submit a financial balance sheet annually, and it was added that a budget that imposed savings and increased the Council Tax was not something to be proud of. However, it was added that pride could be taken in having one of the best financial arrangements in Wales, as this ensured that the impact of all this on the residents of Gwynedd was kept to a minimum. It was expressed that the Council had two main incomes, namely Welsh Government's Grant and the Council Tax. It was expressed that there was a £13million financial deficit, and two elements would be required to address the deficit, namely a Council Tax increase and savings. It was expressed that the savings had been scrutinised and had received thorough consideration by the members through a series of workshops, and by the public via consultation.

 

The Head of Finance Department reiterated the reasons for the £13 million financial deficit. It was expressed that Welsh Government's grant increase to local authorities was insufficient to meet the inflation increase of £7.m, and the unavoidable demand on services, which was at £4m. Details were given on the bids, included within Appendix 2, that had a total value of £2.5m, and it was noted that a discussion had been held on these bids, where members agreed that the expenditure was unavoidable.

The savings were discussed, noting that the Cabinet needed to determine whether all proposed saving schemes (included in Appendix 3) were to be implemented. Details were given on the savings figures to address the the financial deficit, noting that £2.48m in savings had already been approved, there were £2.45m of proposed savings, a further £0.5m in efficiency savings, which brought a total of £5.4m in savings to reduce the deficit. It was added that in order to meet the deficit, the tax would need to increase by 5.5%.

 

It was explained that in January, a public consultation had been held on the Financial Strategy, and it was added that the responses could be seen in Appendix 11.

 

Attention was drawn to the budget summary, noting that the budget had been scrutinised by the Audit and Governance Committee. Some responses from the Audit Committee and the Workshops held with members were elaborated upon, noting concerns about the impact of implementing savings and increasing tax for the residents of Gwynedd. Concern was expressed about the tax increase of 5.5% or higher, noting that the people of Gwynedd would need to be assisted to claim tax relief when appropriate. Concerns about the situation the Council would face in a year’s time were emphasised, and the need to press Welsh Government to fund local authorities appropriately was noted. It was expressed that the Audit Committee had discussed and noted the risks, but that they were satisfied that the budget should be submitted to the Cabinet and then to the Full Council.

 

Observations arising from the discussion

-    Attention was drawn to a letter that was received from the Federation of Small Businesses noting their concerns about some of the savings that could potentially affect businesses within Gwynedd. It was expressed that these included free parking over the Christmas period and the concern about Barmouth Bridge. It was added that the letter also noted that they thanked the Council for keeping the cuts to the Business Support field to the absolute minimum.

-        Attention was drawn to the outcome of the members' workshop and the public consultation on the savings, noting that it was a good idea to revisit some saving schemes. The opinion was expressed that the schemes included in Appendix 12 should certainly not be realised this year, namely -

·         Reducing the Women’s Aid budget

·         Reducing the Council's contribution to the Youth Justice Service

·         Charging residents a fee for damaged bins

·         Including free parking over Christmas

·         Reducing the Strategic Grants to the Arts

In addition to this, it was proposed that the saving schemes for the Libraries service should not be carried out, namely

·         Abolishing the Libraries Service for Schools

·         Reducing the Mobile Library Service

·         Reduce the library’s books fund budget.

The proposal was discussed, noting that if three schemes from the Libraries Service were saved this year, in addition to the five savings in Appendix 12, the Council Tax would need to be increased by 5.8%, rather than 5.5%.

-        The amendment was seconded, noting that it was difficult to strike the right balance between savings and increasing the Council Tax. The importance of listening to the residents of Gwynedd was expressed.

-        Support was expressed to the fact that the Women's Aid budget would not be reduced this year, in addition to the contribution to the Youth Justice Service. It was reiterated that it provided an opportunity to reorganise and look at ways of working more efficiently in order to face the future financial challenge.

-        The inflation in teachers' pensions was discussed, and it was noted that a consultation on the matter was being held in England. It was added that there was a need to wait and see the outcomes of this consultation.

-        The proposal not to implement some of the saving schemes for the Libraries service was welcomed, specifically the service for Schools, as it extended the choice and packages available to pupils.

-        Concern was expressed regarding next year's budgets. It was noted that there was a need to ensure that the economy was thriving.

-        The Chief Executive, the Head of Finance Department and the Finance Department were thanked for the work of navigating the Council through the storm it was facing