Agenda item

Verbal Report by Dewi A Morgan, (Head of Finance)

A presentation was given by the Head of Finance Department, which confirmed that a great deal of the information changed continuously, and that the Authority's Financial Settlement figure would not be available until 14 December.  The Head of Finance Department noted that it appeared that the settlement would be slightly better than what he had feared, and he shared slides with the Forum.  He referred to matters that would affect the settlement such as general inflation of 10/11%, and that homelessness had increased in the county.

 

In terms of the financial position of the current year (2022/23), it was confirmed that there would be no additional grants, and an overspend of £7.1 million was expected against the Council's budget.  As additional grants could not be used this year, the deficit would have to be filled by using Council balances. The Head of Finance Department referred to a letter that had already been sent to Heads of Department regarding the financial deficit, but it was noted that the deficit may come down slightly.

 

It was noted that the 2021 census figures were also starting to feed through, and there was some hope that the settlement would be slightly better than what he had anticipated.  It was confirmed that it may be possible to buy time in 2023/24 but, of course, this depended on the Minister's announcement.

 

Reference was made to options to close the deficit, but there was balancing work to be carried out, especially as the financial position had changed so unexpectedly since the beginning of the current financial year.

 

Reference was made to the prioritisation system, confirming that the Chief Executive and the Director were examining the individual proposals from each Department, and this would be followed with every Head of Department attending a meeting with the Leadership Team on 19 and 20 December for further discussion. 

 

The Head of Finance Department referred to modelling cuts from 1% to 6% for schools, and although time could be bought, this was only possible for a period of time.

 

The Head of Finance Department referred to the procedure and indicative figures with a clear cut across all sectors.  He noted that 6% equated to £4.8 million, but it was emphasised that these were indicative figures.

 

The need for another meeting at the end of January/beginning of February, depending on

diaries, was noted. 

 

It was emphasised that these were the worst figures.

 

The Head of Education Department thanked him for a good and clear presentation, noting that every Department had to prepare, but it was not possible to predict the situation at present.

 

The meeting was opened for questions / observations:

 

The Chair noted that showing figures was one thing, but the figures did not reflect the situation and the vulnerability of children who were getting over Covid.  The Head of Education Department noted that work was needed to recover from the impact of Covid on children.  In addition, the Head of Education Department confirmed that he had had to illustrate the impact on Gwynedd residents when submitting proposals to the Leadership Team.  The Head of Education noted the need to consider general cuts across the three sectors, although the demographic dip had affected the primary sector, which would soon affect the secondary sector. 

 

The Head of Finance confirmed that each proposal would be considered across the Council.

 

The Union Representative raised a question regarding the Council's reserves, along with any earmarked funding, asking whether this was also on the table, as it was important to consider. The Head of Finance confirmed that there were reserves and it would be possible to consider them to fill the deficit and to buy as much time as possible.  He added that there were reserves for specific projects and decisions on projects had been made for some time, but any withdrawals would be completely transparent.  It was noted that preventative work was the way to meet the requirements of some projects.

 

Whatever the percentage, one Secondary School Headteacher questioned that some schools were already under protection. The impact of this would involve higher cuts for some schools and he noted the need to keep the situation of each school separate.

 

The Union Representative noted his concern about the recruitment and retention situation, along with his concern about circulating messages.  He noted the need to catch up immediately after Covid and that this was very bad timing.  It was noted that there were three clear ways to save money, namely larger classrooms, energy reduction and staff cuts, and it was questioned whether or not schools were suitable for this? 

 

The Head of Finance referred to schemes that were sometimes identified to bring in more funding, along with the Asset Management Plan and the Invest to Save Scheme, which was under discussion in this cycle.

 

One Secondary School Headteacher enquired whether or not Invest to Save was open to individual schools, and the Head of Finance noted that he would check and report back on this.

 

One Primary School Headteacher noted that savings were unavoidable, but that she was concerned about the children, and the responsibility towards staff, which put a strain on schools, and the side effect of losing Headteachers and teachers.

 

The Chair made an observation that if schools admitted fewer pupils, fewer classrooms would be needed and this would rationalise schools. The Head of Education confirmed that the Council had had to make difficult decisions and that demography would have to be examined and offer value for money.

 

It was questioned whether or not funding outside schools was being cut in the same way (e.g. GwE and ALN), and it was confirmed that it was.

 

It was confirmed that more clarity would be available at the meeting, which would be arranged for the end of January/beginning of February, in terms of the Authority's expenditure for 2022/23, along with the settlement.

 

The Head of Education confirmed that the purpose of the meeting was to share information and that the situation would be more mature by January/February.  He urged Forum Members to take the opportunity between now and the next meeting to discuss with fellow headteachers.

 

RESOLVED to accept the report and arrange a meeting as soon as possible to discuss further, when figures were available.