Agenda item

·         The report on the end of November 2021 review of the Revenue Budget was accepted, and the latest financial situation regarding the budgets of each department / service was considered.

·         It was noted that the financial impact of Covid continues in 2021/22, which is a combination of additional costs, income losses and a slippage in the savings programme, as the Council has 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.

·         The following recommendations and financial virements on Corporate budgets were approved, that:

¾    An underspend of (£20k) relating to capital costs is earmarked to a fund to
finance the capital programme.

¾    A net underspend of (£1,846k) on Corporate budgets goes to the Financial Strategy Support Fund to assist with the financial challenges facing the Council, particularly due to the Covid crisis.

The item was presented by Cllr Ioan Thomas.

RESOLVED

·         The report on the end of November 2021 review of the Revenue Budget was accepted, and the latest financial situation regarding the budgets of each department / service was considered.

·         It was noted that the financial impact of Covid continues in 2021/22, which is a combination of additional costs, income losses and a slippage in the savings programme, as the Council has 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 is continuing, however, it does 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.

·         The following recommendations and financial virements on Corporate budgets were approved, that:

¾     An underspend of (£20k) relating to capital costs is earmarked to a fund to finance the capital programme.

¾     A net underspend of (£1,846k) on Corporate budgets goes 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 explained that previous reports had highlighted that the financial impact of the pandemic had been substantial for the Council with a combination of additional costs and income losses to the value of over £20 million in 2020/21, and £10 million to date this year. It was explained that the Council made monthly applications to reclaim costs from the Welsh Government's Hardship Fund.

It was expressed that despite creating an amended programme of savings for 2021/22 by abolishing, slipping and re-profiling savings schemes in January 2021, there remained a delay in implementing savings in some fields, with a delay as a result of the crisis an evident factor. Attention was drawn to the main fields where there were substantial differences.

It was expressed that an overspend of £1.4 million was forecast in the Adults, Health and Well-being Department this year, with a failure to realise savings worth £855k being an obvious factor of the overspend. The main overspend fields were the older people, learning disabilities and community care services. It was emphasised that the pandemic had had a substantial impact on the department, with over £3 million already claimed from the Welsh Government towards the additional costs for the period.

It was explained that after the Council had allocated £1.8 million in additional funding to the Children and Families Department in the 2021/22 funding cycle in order to meet the increasing pressure, as well as abolish savings schemes to the value of £1.1 million, the current financial projections for the department were very promising. Attention was drawn to the ongoing overspend problems in the fields of waste collection and disposal in the Highways and Municipal Department. It was explained that the department was facing additional pandemic-related costs but that the department was confident that the Government would continue to compensate the money for the rest of the year.

Corporately, it was noted that 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. Consequently, it was expressed that the Council's financial plans were balanced as a result of an underspend on Corporate budgets, as well as the majority of departments.

Observations arising from the discussion

¾    It was noted that the overspend in the Adults, Health and Well-being Department derived from historical savings that were difficult to realise, but it was explained that work was progressing to deal with savings.

¾    It was expressed that research was currently being done, specifically to look at the overspend in the Waste Collection field in the Highways Department. It was explained that the new routes were yet to take root, and the additional costs incurred as a result of the pandemic were highlighted.

¾    Concern was expressed about the use of the word 'overspend' as these costs were not an overspend, but rather the real cost of running services that assist people; consequently, it was expressed that there was a need to ask for more support from the Westminster Government to fund local authorities to support the residents of Gwynedd.

¾    Welsh Government were thanked for the support to keep Gwynedd leisure centres, Byw'n Iach, open over the course of the pandemic. It was expressed that the centres were now open with safety measures in place and people were encouraged to go and use them.