Cyflwynwyd gan:Cyng / Cllr Ioan Thomas
Decision:
·
The
report on the end of November 2020 review of the Revenue Budget was accepted,
and the latest financial situation regarding the budgets of each department /
service was considered.
·
The
financial impact of Covid-19, which is a combination of additional costs,
income losses and a slippage in the savings programme, was noted as the Council
had given the utmost priority to safeguarding the health and lives of the
people of Gwynedd in response to the crisis.
·
It
was noted that there was a significant overspend in the Adults, Health and
Well-being Department and the Children and Families Department this year. The
work of gaining a better understanding of these matters is ongoing.
·
The
following recommendations and financial virements (as outlined in Appendix 2)
were approved.
·
On
Corporate budgets, that:
¾ An underspend of (£613k) relating to
capital costs was transferred to the capital programme fund.
¾ The net underspend of (£1,177k) on
Corporate budgets will go towards the Council's general balances to assist in
facing the financial challenge ahead of the Council at the end of 2020/21,
especially in light of the Covid-19 crisis.
·
That grant receipts from the Government to
compensate for additional expenditure and loss of income in relation to the
Covid-19 crisis will be allocated to the relevant departments in accordance
with what is noted in Appendix 1.
Minutes:
The report was submitted by Cllr Ioan Thomas
DECISION
·
The report on the end
of November 2020 review of
the Revenue Budget was accepted, and the latest financial situation regarding the budgets of each department / service was considered.
· The financial impact of Covid-19, which is a combination of additional costs, income losses and a slippage in the savings programme, was noted as the Council had given the utmost priority to safeguarding the health and lives of the people of Gwynedd in response to the crisis.
·
It was noted that there
was a significant overspend
in the Adults, Health and Well-being Department and the Children and Families Department
this year. The work of gaining a better understanding of these matters is ongoing.
·
The following recommendations and financial virements
(as outlined in Appendix 2) were approved.
·
On Corporate budgets, that:
¾
An underspend of (£478k) relating to
capital costs was transferred to the capital programme fund.
¾
The net
underspend of (£1,312k) on Corporate budgets will go towards the Council's general balances to assist in facing the financial
challenge ahead of the Council at the end of 2020/21, especially in light
of the Covid-19 crisis.
That grant receipts from the Government to compensate for additional expenditure and loss of income
in relation to the Covid-19
crisis will be allocated to the relevant departments in accordance with what is noted in
Appendix 1.
DISCUSSION
The report was submitted, noting that the report detailed the latest review of the Council's revenue budget, along with
the projections for the end of the financial year. It was emphasised that the report highlighted the substantial financial impact of Covid-19 on the Council, noting that it was a combination of additional costs, income losses and
a slippage in the savings programme as there were other
priorities during the crisis. It was stated that the Council had now received nearly
£6 million from the Welsh Government's hardship fund and that
monthly claims valued at over £7.1 million had been received.
In
terms of the loss of income, it was noted that claims for
the first half of the financial year were over £5.1 million, with £4.8 million having already been received
from Welsh Government. It
was explained that work on quarter
3 had just been completed and had been submitted to Welsh Government.
The pressures that had been on departments
this year were highlighted, noting that problems
with realising savings had become increasingly prominent this year and
a factor that had contributed to the overspend in the Children, Adults and Highways
and Municipal fields. Attention was drawn to the summary
of the position of all departments
with the projections expressed including and excluding the Government's Covid-19 grant.
Attention
was drawn to the substantial difficulties
in some departments,
noting that the Adults Department had had a significant impact as a result of Covid-19 with the department anticipating an overspend of £3.3 million this year, with
a failure to realise savings worth £1.8 million. In the Children and Adults
Department, it was stated that failure to realise £668k of savings had contributed towards an overspend of £2.5 million. It was added that the latest statistics confirmed a further increase in demand for
services, especially in the fields of placements and Post-16.
It was stated that overspending
problems in the waste collection and disposal field
continued in the Highways and Municipal Department, along with difficulties in realising savings
in a number of areas to the value of £811k. It
was emphasised that the department was also facing an additional
cost to comply with
Covid-19 regulations. It was added
that the Government had compensated the department for the initial months and it was expected that they
would continue to compensate until the end of the year.
In
the Corporate Department,
it was noted that prudent assumptions when setting the 2021/22 budget were responsible
for additional tax yields from
Council Tax and that it contributed
to the underspend on Council Tax Reductions.
Observations
arising from the discussion
¾ It
was noted that the Children's Department could not blame Covid entirely; however, it was noted that the department was stable. It was stated that there had been an increase
in fostering placements and that fostering allowances had reduced as a result of savings. It was noted that an
increase in placements was a regional and national problem. Despite the cuts, it was emphasised that the department had not undertaken any cuts on
their work to ensure safeguarding matters for children
and young people in the county.
¾
In terms
of the Highways and
Municipal Department, it was noted
that the report had highlighted the main challenges
of the department, noting that it was one of the departments that had received a number of cuts when it offered
an essentially important service for Gwynedd residents. It was noted that a piece
of work was currently underway to examine the real running costs of the department.
¾
In terms
of the Environment department,
it was noted that the department had achieved its work and
had responded positively to
the work of leading
Covid-19 plans.
¾
The maturity of the Council was highlighted, noting that the Council could face
overspend and that it highlighted the financial robustness of the Council. It was stressed that the Council could use its
balances to ensure services for Gwynedd residents.
¾
It was noted that it was difficult to make a positive decision while the Council was continuing to undertake cuts. It was noted that Councillors
and the Council were there to serve
the public and not the budget. The need to maintain services was emphasised and for the Government to ensure budgets to do so.
Awdur:Ffion Madog Evans
Supporting documents: