Agenda item

To submit:

·        GwE Revenue Income and Expenditure Account for 2025/26 (in the form of an out-turn report)

·        GwE Statement of Accounts 2025/26 (subject to audit)

·        GwE Annual Governance Statement 2025/26

DECISION:

·       To note and accept the GwE Revenue Income and Expenditure Account 2025/26 in the form of an out-turn report for the period of two months to 31 May 2025.

·       To note and accept the GwE Statement of Accounts 2025/26 (subject to audit) for the two months to 31 May 2025.

·       To approve to extend the period of the Annual Governance statement for 2024/25 to cover the first two months of 2025/26 to 31 May 2025, in order to comply with statutory requirements.

The Assistant Head of Finance Department - Accounting and Pensions explained that Cyngor Gwynedd, as the host Council, was responsible for carrying out the accounting responsibilities and reporting on the financial matters of the GwE Joint Committee. GwE ended on 31 May 2025, and as the Joint Committee did not meet after this date, the decision made was to submit the accounts for the two-month period 2025/26 to the Governance and Audit Committee.

It was reported that Audit Wales had received the accounts since the beginning of April and the accounts had been subject to audit since then. Like the Gwynedd accounts, Audit Wales intended to complete the audit before the end of September 2026 so that they could receive final approval at the Committee meeting on 29 September 2026.

Reference was made to the out-turn position, which was a breakdown of the final position. It was noted that there had been expenditure of £1.1 million during the two months and it was noted that the relevant contributions to fund the costs had been collected from North Wales Councils and other relevant sources.

In the context of the Statement of Accounts, it was highlighted that the Accounts and Audit Regulations required each Joint Committee to prepare annual accounts, and as GwE's turnover in a normal year had exceeded £2.5 million, a statement of accounts had to be prepared in accordance with the CIPFA code.

It was also noted that as part of the GwE governance process, at the last meeting of the GwE Joint Committee on 21 May 2025, an Annual Governance Statement for 2024/25 was submitted and received, ten days before the GwE Joint Committee was due to end. There was no change in the operation of GwE during the last two months of its existence, and therefore a request was made to the Committee for approval to extend the period of the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement for the first two months of the 2025/26 financial year up to 31 May 2025, in order to comply with statutory requirements.

In line with following GwE's termination arrangements on 31 May from 2025, and to comply with the regulations as an entity ceases to be an active member of the pension fund, it was clarified that the Pension Fund was required to carry out a termination valuation (assisted by the Fund's Actuary) and determine whether a related severance payment applied. The value of the surplus at GwE's termination date was identified as almost £9.4 million. With the value of the employer's contributions at 55% of the overall surplus, equivalent to £5.1 million, this amount was distributed to the authorities based on their contributions to the GwE budget since it was established. Reference was made to the amounts that had been distributed at the end of the financial year to North Wales Councils with a figure for Cyngor Gwynedd at £908 thousand.

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

RESOLVED:

·        To note and accept the GwE Revenue Income and Expenditure Account 2025/26 in the form of an “out-turn” report for the period of two months to 31 May 2025.

·        To note and accept the GwE Statement of Accounts 2025/26 (subject to audit) for the two months to 31 May 2025.

·        To approve to extend the period of the Annual Governance Statement for 2024/25 to cover the first two months of the 2025/26 financial year to 31 May 2025, to comply with statutory requirements.