To consider the
report
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 had increased,
and perhaps the assumptions made at the time when setting the savings target
for the service had now changed, but the taskforce review would confirm the
situation regardless.
·
It was noted that the entire care budget was very
difficult, and there was concern that there was a genuine risk to children and
also adults if we considered further cuts in these fields, particularly during
the crisis. In response, the officer referred to the Cabinet's decision to
support the intention of the Chief Executive and Head of Finance Department to
meet with the responsible Cabinet Member and Head of Department in the five
departments where there are risks to the delivery of the historical
savings. The pandemic was not the only
obstruction, the Council had been battling to find savings for almost 15 years,
and the situation grew continually more difficult as time went by. The nature
of the demand had shifted in terms of the intensity of the requirements of
children and families in need, and had intensified further during the crisis.
When discussing with the Cabinet Members and the heads of department, we would
have to balance the need to find savings against the needs of the service and
the people of Gwynedd, and to do so sympathetically. Also, because of the
pressures on the services to cope during the crisis, the Cabinet had not
supported the aim to list savings and cuts yet during this period, preferring
to wait and see what the draft settlement would be in December.
·
A member expressed concern that the second wave of
Covid-19 would be very hard on families, with many people losing their jobs.
·
In response to a question regarding a Highways and
Municipal scheme to transfer playgrounds to others (page 191 of the agenda), it
was explained that although some of the schemes were progressing, the pandemic
had stalled this process.
·
Reference was made to the scheme for changing the
operating arrangements of recycling centres and charge fees (page 193 of the
agenda), and it was emphasised how important the recycling centres were for the
residents. In response, it was explained that the scheme to change the
recycling centres' operations replaced two historical schemes to charge traders
and to charge a fee for the disposal of DIY waste.
·
The members welcomed the Chief Executive and Head
of Finance Department's intention to look at the savings with the Cabinet
Members and heads of department, and they hoped that the situation would be
examined carefully before considering ending any resource or service. It was
also noted that should the Council find in due course that it needed to
re-establish a resource, the cost of doing so would be high.
·
It was noted that any proposal to charge for using
recycling centres would lead to decreased use of the resource, and increased
fly-tipping. In response, it was noted that the finance officers could not
respond in full on every scheme, and that the Cabinet Members and heads of
department were meeting with the Chief Executive, or Corporate Director, and
the relevant scrutiny members. The savings were being scrutinised in different
ways, and the members were asked to trust the officers to have the right
balance in moving forward with this. The Cabinet Member for Finance added that
there was no reference here to a cut to the Highways and Municipal Department,
and that savings should not affect the service for the citizen. It was a
challenging time for everyone, but he assured the members that he would look at
the departments' situation sympathetically.
RESOLVED to accept the information, to note the
risks arising from slippages with some of the savings schemes, and support the
Cabinet's relevant decisions.
Supporting documents: