Agenda item
Cyflwynwyd gan:Cyng/Cllr Ioan Thomas
Decision:
Resolved
to:
a)
Recommend to the Council (at its meeting on 5 March 2020) that:
1.
A budget of £261,837,750 should be set for 2020/21, to be funded by
£187,579,040 of Government Grant and £74,258,710 Council Tax income, with an
increase of 3.9%.
2.
A capital programme of £44,247,260 should be established in 2020/21, to
be funded from the sources noted in Appendix 4 of the report.
b)
Approve moving forward with implementing the list of savings schemes in
Appendix 3, in order to establish the budget recommended to the full Council.
Minutes:
Submitted by
Cllr Ioan Thomas
DECISION
Resolved to:
a)
Recommend to the Council (at its meeting on 5 March 2020) that:
1. A budget of £261,837,750 should
be set for 2020/21, to be funded by £187,579,040 of Government Grant and
£74,258,710 Council Tax income, with an increase of 3.9%.
2. A capital programme of
£44,247,260 should be established in 2020/21, to be funded from the sources
noted in Appendix 4 of the report.
b)
Approve moving forward with implementing the list of savings schemes in
Appendix 3, in order to establish the budget recommended to the full Council.
DISCUSSION
The report was submitted and it was noted that the budget
would be submitted to the Full Council at the beginning of March. It was
explained that Gwynedd's draft settlement was one of the highest in Wales and
better than what had been anticipated. However, it was stated that the draft
settlement was insufficient to meet inflation and additional demand on
services. It was noted that the settlement in full would be announced by the
Government on 25 February.
Revenue expenditure was discussed drawing attention to the
Discontinuation of Specific Grants and noting that the Government funded
schemes with grants and then noted that grants would not continue in the
following year and that the money would not be transferred to the settlement
either. As a result, it was noted that the Council needed to provide the funding.
Attention was drawn to the bids seen under the Pressures on Services heading
and the Chief Executive was thanked for his work to examine all bids. It was
stated that the budget noted that staff collective agreement adjustments would
be abolished completely this year. It was noted that the Pension Fund had
received better than expected returns in recent years and, as a result, the
Council would not need to add as much into the fund next year.
It was explained that savings schemes had been discussed at
the Scrutiny Committees over the past few months and it was emphasised that a
number of them were contentious. Following these discussions, it was stated
that the number of savings schemes had reduced. Attention was drawn to the
budget setting table which highlighted the Council's spending needs and that
the financial deficit would be met by raising Council tax by 3.9%. As the
future was currently so unclear, it was added that there was no need to look
further this year and it was recommended for the report to be discussed at the
Full Council meeting.
Should the settlement be lower than what had been published,
the Head of Finance Department added that there were plans to use reserves in
order to manage risk. It was stated that balances would not need to be used
this year. It was emphasised that there was a lot of uncertainty regarding the
future and a budget was needed by the Chancellor. It was stated that the
department would return to the Cabinet in May or June to discuss the 2021/22
budget and it would be possible to use reserves if required. However, it was
emphasised that the budget was balanced and that the savings proposed would
have the least impact on residents.
Observations arising from the
discussion
¾
It was noted that the Council had been protecting
the Education Department over the past few years noting that this would also
continue this year.
¾
It was stated that the settlement was better
than what had been anticipated but it was emphasised that it was a better
settlement, not a good one. It was added that savings continued to be made and
over the past ten years it was highlighted that the Council had made savings of
£68 million. It was elaborated that Cabinet Members were eager to be in a
situation where consideration could be given to investing in services for
Gwynedd residents instead of looking at savings on an annual basis.
¾
It was explained that the Council had good
financial management and while some authorities were closer to the edge in
financial terms, contrary to what had recently been suggested in the Guardian,
this was not this Council's case. It was added that the Wales Audit Office was
currently undertaking an investigation on how financially sustainable Local
Government was.
¾
The department was thanked for the seminars for
members. A bid for Charging Points by the Highways department was elaborated
upon. It was noted that the period prior to the end of the financial year was a
period where it was possible to apply for many grants by the Government but
these had a very tight timetable. It was emphasised that it did not give
departments the opportunity to plan their work in the long term.
¾
Attention was drawn to the bid for Bodfael
bridge noting that the bid was for the construction of a new bridge and that
this would improve provision for Gwynedd residents.
Awdur:Dafydd L Edwards
Supporting documents:
- 2020-21 Budget Report, item 8. PDF 230 KB
- Appendix 1 - Proposed Budgets, item 8. PDF 590 KB
- Appendix 2 - Bids Summary, item 8. PDF 147 KB
- Appendix 2a - Permanent Revenue Bids, item 8. PDF 15 KB
- Appendix 2b - One-off Revenue Bids, item 8. PDF 66 KB
- Appendix 2c - Capital Bids, item 8. PDF 115 KB
- Appendix 3 - Savings, item 8. PDF 157 KB
- Appendix 3a - Savings List, item 8. PDF 165 KB
- Appendix 4 - Capital, item 8. PDF 157 KB
- Appendix 5 - Dealing with the Schools Budget, item 8. PDF 139 KB
- Appendix 6 - Council Tax, item 8. PDF 153 KB
- Appendix 7 - Balances, item 8. PDF 148 KB
- Appendix 8 - Equality Impact Assessment, item 8. PDF 310 KB
- Appendix 9 - Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, item 8. PDF 153 KB
- Appendix 10 - Robustness of Estimates, item 8. PDF 148 KB