Cyflwynwyd gan:Cllr. Ioan Thomas
Decision:
To accept the report on the end of
August 2021 review of the Revenue Budget, and consider the latest financial
position regarding the budgets of each department / service.
It was noted that the financial
impact of Covid-19 remained in 2021/22, which was a combination of additional
costs, income losses and a slippage in the savings programme, as the Council
had given priority to protecting the health and lives of the people of Gwynedd
in response to the crisis.
It was noted that the Welsh
Government's Covid support system via the hardship
fund continued, but this did not address overspend because of slippage in the
savings programme.
It was noted that there was significant
overspend in the Adults, Health and Well-being
Department and the Highways and
Municipal Department this year, whilst there was a marked improvement in the
projections for the Children and Families Department.
The following recommendations and
financial virements (as outlined in Appendix 2) were approved.
• On Corporate budgets, that:
¾ An underspend of (£285k) relating to
capital costs is earmarked to a fund to finance the capital programme.
¾ A net underspend of (£1,957k) on
Corporate budgets goes to the Financial Strategy Support Fund to assist in
dealing with the financial challenges facing the Council, particularly so due
to the Covid crisis.
Minutes:
The item was presented by Cllr Ioan Thomas.
RESOLVED
To accept the report on the end of August 2021 review of the
Revenue Budget, and consider the latest financial situation regarding the
budgets of each department/service.
It was noted that the financial impact of Covid-19
continued in 2021/22, which was a combination of additional costs, income
losses and a slippage in the savings programme, as the Council had given
priority to safeguarding the health and lives of the people of Gwynedd in
response to the crisis.
It was noted that the Welsh Government's Covid support system
via the hardship fund was continuing, however, it did not address overspend due
to a slippage in the savings programme.
It was noted that there was significant overspend in the
Adults, Health and Well-being Department and the Highways and Municipal
Department this year, whilst there was a significant improvement in the
projections of the Children and Families Department.
The following recommendations and financial virements (as
outlined in Appendix 2) were approved.
• On Corporate budgets, that:
¾
An underspend of (£285k) relating to
capital costs was earmarked to a fund to finance the capital programme.
¾
A net underspend of (£1,957k) on
Corporate budgets to go to the Financial Strategy Support Fund to assist with
the financial challenges facing the Council, particularly due to the Covid
crisis.
DISCUSSION
The report was submitted, noting that it detailed the
latest review of the Council's revenue budget, along with the projections for
the end of the financial year. It was
highlighted that there had been a significant financial impact on the Council
as a result of Covid-19, with a combination of additional costs together with
income losses. It was explained that the
Council made monthly applications to reclaim costs from the Welsh Government's
Hardship Fund.
Back in January it was stated that measures had been
taken to draft an amended programme of savings for 2021/22, however, it was
explained that a delay in realising savings continued in some areas, with a
delay as a result of the crisis an evident factor.
Attention was drawn to the principal matters and it was
noted that the department anticipated an overspend of £1.4 million in the
Adults Department, with a failure to realise savings worth £855k being an obvious
factor of the overspend. It was stated that Covid had had a substantial impact
on the department and £1.3 million had already been claimed from the Welsh
Government towards the additional costs for the period.
It was explained following the Council's decision to
allocate £1.8 million in additional funding to the Children's Department in the
2021/22 funding cycle as well as abolish savings schemes to the value of £1.1
million it was highlighted that the current financial projections for the department
were very promising. It was stated that overspending problems in the waste
collection and disposal field continued in the Highways and Municipal
Department. It was noted that there had been difficulties to realise savings in
a number of areas to the value of £673k and the department had also faced
additional costs responding to Covid, however, the Welsh Government had already
provided compensation and it was expected that they would continue to provide
compensation for the rest of the year.
It was noted that corporately there were prudent
projections when setting the 2021/22 budget that were responsible for
additional tax outputs and contributed to the underspend on Council Tax
Reductions. The decision was noted.
Observations arising from the discussion:
¾
The Head of the Finance
Department explained that Government grant funding had not been predicted last
year, however, this had been done this year, and as a result on the whole the
situation was generally satisfactory.
¾
The Head of the Finance Department
added that savings needed to be delivered, however the situation of two
departments were difficult this year.
¾
It was stated that in terms of
the Adults Department the department had been under pressure as a result of
intensive care cases together with working under the conditions of Covid. It
was noted that work had been undertaken last year to claim costs, together with
the receipt of late grants.
¾
It was stated that in the
Highways and Municipal field there had been an increase in the waste collected
together with adaptations to the service as a result of Covid regulations. Concern was highlighted about staff sickness,
together with loss of income for the department, and it was noted that work was
being undertaken to find a substantial sum of money.
¾
Gratitude was expressed on
behalf of the Children and Families Department that the End to End savings
scheme had been abolished, and as a result the department's financial position
was satisfactory this year.
¾
It was highlighted that there
was concern regarding the Education Department's transport costs, and the
post-16 provision needed to be looked at.
Awdur:Ffion Madog Evans
Supporting documents: