Agenda item

To consider the the Statutory Statement of Accounts (subject to audit draft) for information

DECISION:

 

To accept the report

To approve:

·         Revenue Income and Expenditure Account 2023/24.

·         Annual Return for the Year ending 31 March 2024, subject to audit by Audit Wales.

 

Staff were thanked for completing the accounts accurately and in a timely manner.

 

DECISION: The Assistant Head of Finance Department - Accountancy and Pensions explained that the accounts had been completed and released for audit by Wales Audit, our external auditors, since mid-June. It was added that there had been an extension again this year to the statutory timetable to audit accounts, with the intention of completing the audit and this Committee approving the accounts on 28 November 2024. ⁠

 

Members were reminded that the end of year financial position for 2023/24 had been submitted to the Committee o 23 May in the form of a simple out-turn report, but the Statement of Accounts, for external and governance purposes, had to be completed in CIPFA standard form. It now appeared as a lengthy and technically complex document.

 

The content of the report was reported upon explaining that six sets of accounts for 2023/24 were being completed:

1.      Gwynedd Council

2.      Gwynedd Pension Fund

3.      GwE (substantially-sized joint committee and therefore Full Statements had been prepared)

4.      North Wales Ambition Board (substantially-sized joint committee and therefore Full Statements had been prepared)

5.      Gwynedd Harbours and

6.      North Wales Corporate Joint Committee

 

Reference was made to the Narrative Report that provided information about the Accounts and on the vision and priorities of Gwynedd, the Financial Strategy and the financial performance measures. Members were guided through the report and details were provided on some elements:

·       Summary of capital expenditure. Expenditure amounted to £57 million during the year compared to £37 million in the previous year.

·       The main financial statements included Income and Expenditure Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash-flow etc.

·       Movement in Reserves Statement which was an important statement and summarised the Council's financial position. It was highlighted that the Council's general balances were £7.9 million at the end of March 2024, namely the same level as March 2023 and March 2022. That Reserves highlighted a reduction in the £104 million funds at the end of March 2023 to £102 million by the end of March 2024.

·       School balances where a reduction was seen in school balances - £17 million at the end of March 2024 compared to £12 million by the end of March 2023 and £9 million by the end of 2024 which highlighted a picture that was nearer to pre-Covid balance levels. It was explained that this was the general picture in Wales as school balances had been high due to a number of grants provided in light of Covid.

·       In relation to the balance sheet and the change in pension figures, it was noted that 2022 / 23 was a year where a situation of pension asset rather than commitment was seen, an unprecedented situation, due to market conditions and high inflation. It was explained that the actuary's valuation used corporate bonds, and because these had yielded high, it had led to high accounting discount rates, which made the pension liability values substantially less. It was reiterated that the situation was not unique to Gwynedd but meant there had been considerable discussions on its treatment in last year's accounts, and therefore guidance had been sought from CIPFA and Audit Wales' Technical Team.  It was noted that this year, the Actuary had provided more guidance on the handling of the situation and Wales Audit had provided a confirmation of the preferred calculation method. Consequently, the accounts would be amended to reflect this with the change affecting the main statements and the associated notes.

 

Reference was made to Note 10 - Detailed information about earmarked contingency funds, including Reserves: ⁠ ⁠School Balances, Earmarked Reserves including analysis of the £102 million reserves (including the principal reserves, namely capital reserves, the Council plan reserve, supporting the financial strategy reserve and the Council's Tax Premium reserve).

 

Reference was made to Note 15 - Property, Plant and Equipment which presented an analysis per category: land and buildings, vehicles, plant and equipment etc. Capital Liabilities which included capital work at Ysgol Treferthyr, Cricieth - the amounts and payments so far.

 

Note 22 Provisions related to Waste Sites and insurance claims and Note 32 details on Grant Income receipts (over $145 million in 2023/24 compared with £108 million in 2022/23). ⁠

 

The Chair thanked the Department for the detailed work and invited questions and observations from members.  During the discussion, the following matters were raised:-

·       The Assistant Head of Finance was congratulated on submitting the report in an interesting and coherent manner. ⁠ ⁠ The report was comprehensive.

·       Congratulated the Department on completing the work within a tight schedule.

 

In response to a question regarding what else the applicant needed to deal with the situation, the Assistant Head noted, in accordance with relevant standards to preserve trees, that an appropriate arrangement would enable suitable pruning methods to protect the health of the trees. It was reiterated, should this debt continue to increase, we would have to look at the situation in greater detail.

 

In response to a question regarding contingent liabilities and a suggestion that a note should be included about compensation claims here, the Head of Finance Department noted that the insurance liabilities were relevant to the insurance procedures of former Authorities (pre 1996), but should a case be brought against the Council, it would be referred to the Insurance Company.  It was reiterated if there was protection in place, it would be addressed through the insurance policy or funded through a fund set up for this purpose. In response to a supplementary question regarding claims of compensation claims made against the Council and whether or not this would be identified as a risk, the Head of Finance Department noted that discussions had been held and that he did not anticipate the matter as a matter of risk for now and that the insurance protection included public liability.

 

In response to a request for background information for the Capital grants and whether these grants had been identified by the Council in response to Council priorities, it was noted that some of the grants were made available by Welsh Government for specific fields and that the Council received a certain amount earmarked by the Government, while other grants were selected by the Local Authorities to apply for an allocation and there was an element of competition between authorities, ⁠It was reiterated, in discussions with the Government, there was a wish to see more grants included in the annual settlement, and that the grants to some extent were a response to decisions the government had made rather than responding to local need and priorities.

 

In response to a question regarding insurance for the implications of the Article 4 challenge appeal, it was noted that the Council had not prepared a note for the Article 4 element as it did not currently anticipate any costs. It Wales Audit were to view the situation differently, contingency liabilities would be considered.

 

RESOLVED:

 

To accept the report

To approve:

·       Revenue Income and Expenditure Account 2023/24.

·       Annual Return for the Year ending 31 March 2024, subject to audit by Audit Wales.

 

Staff were thanked for completing the accounts accurately and in a timely manner.

 

 

To accept the report

To approve:

·       Revenue Income and Expenditure Account 2023/24.

·       Annual Return for the Year ending 31 March 2024, subject to audit by Audit Wales.

 

Staff were thanked for completing the accounts accurately and in a timely manner.