Agenda item

To note the situation and the relevant risks regarding the budgets of the Council and its departments, consider the decisions for the Cabinet and comment as necessary.

DECISION:

 

·        To accept the report on the end of August 2025 review of the Revenue Budget

·        To note the latest financial position regarding the budgets of each department / service.

 

Note:

Request for a timetable for the arrangements to restructure the Highways Department and the Environment Department (by the January 2026 meeting)

 

A report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for Finance asking the committee to scrutinise the situation and relevant risks in relation to the Council's budgets and its departments. It was explained that the report detailed the latest review of the Council's revenue budget for 2025/26, and the projections towards the end of the financial year.

 

 

 

Following the end of August review, it was noted that the projections suggested an overspend of £6.3 million by Council departments, with 75% of it in the adults and children care field. It was explained, following on from a trend in previous years, that there was a substantial overspend in the waste, highways and municipal field also, but an underspend on corporate budgets, which means that this reduces the overspend projections as a whole to £2.5 million.

 

Attention was drawn to the main issues:

 

·       Adults, Health and Well-being Department - latest projections suggest that if there are no changes in the actions during the year, there will be a financial deficit of £3.1, by the end of the year. £3 million worth of permanent funding was allocated to the field for 2025/26, but a £1 million worth of savings and cuts had not been achieved to date.

 

In the context of older people services, an increase was seen in the demand for older people residential care and an unexpected and unusual increase for residential care due to mental health issues; the pressure on the domiciliary care provision also continued.

 

·       Children and Families Department - project a budgetary deficit of £1.5 million, after giving over £2 million in bids to the department for 2025/26. The main fields facing pressures are out-of-county placement, and the provision for children with disabilities in the Derwen and Hafan y Sêr service.

 

·       Byw'n Iach – over the past few years, Byw'n Iach has received annual financial support from the Council above the contracted payment of the provider contract, to enable them to sustain their services. It was reported that the financial support continued this year, and the required sum was £219k.

 

·       Highways, Engineering and YGC Department - a financial deficit of £522k is projected, a reduction was seen in the work being commissioned from external agencies which consequently has a negative income on highways services. In the Municipal Unit, a combination of factors is seen, which includes added pressures on street cleaning and public toilet cleaning staff; income losses are issues in land maintenance and public toilets.

 

·       Environment Department - a budgetary deficit of £740k is projected, with an annual trend of overspend in the waste collection and recycling field continuing and responsible for £662k of the overspend.

 

Attention was drawn to considerations on how to fund the costs of safeguarding the Corbett Arms Hotel building in Tywyn (Grade II listed building), which has been a cause for concern for Cyngor Gwynedd and the local community for years as it is in a dangerous structural condition. This meant that the Council had had to act to safeguard and protect the public and the potential final cost could be somewhere between £1m and £1.5m. A report would be submitted in due course to consider the options to meet the cost.

 

·       Housing and Property - a trend of substantial pressures on the emergency accommodation service continued, with expenditure projections of £6.7 million in the field this year, compared with £6 million last year. The financial situation included an additional budget of £3m which had been allocated from the council tax premium and an additional one-off budget allocated as a part of the bids process to assist with the added pressures. It is anticipated that the department as a whole will overspend by £167k.

 

·       Corporate - an underspend of £3.8 million on several corporate headings.

 

The members expressed their thanks for the report:

 

During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by members:

·        That there was an increase in the use of private homes as in-house residential care services were facing staffing challenges - was this an example where delivering savings had failed?

·        Accepted that the increasing demand on social services led to an overspend, but what were the reasons of the Highways Department and Environment Department? If there was a suggestion to restructure these departments in response, a formal timeframe for the work was needed so that the budget could be better reviewed.

·        That the situation was challenging and changed continuously - and increasing demand created new situations.

·        The situation needed to be monitored.

 

In response to a question on the latest situation with the Corbett Arms Hotel in Tywyn, the Head of Finance noted that the situation was complex as the Council did not own the hotel. The building owner was responsible for ensuring that the building was maintained to the required standard, but despite efforts to contact the owner, the Council, due to the statutory duty to protect public health and safety, had to step in to safeguard the Grade II listed building, which had continued to deteriorate and now it was in a dangerous structural condition. It was noted that this was expensive and that discussions would be held to consider the potential options to meet the cost.

 

RESOLVED

 

·       To accept the report on the end of August 2025 review of the Revenue Budget

·        To note the latest financial position regarding the budgets of each department / service. 

 

Note:

Request for a timetable for the arrangements to restructure the Highways Department and the Environment Department (by January 2026 meeting).