Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chair welcomed all Members and Officers to this meeting of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee which would be considering the initial proposals for setting the 2021/22 capital and revenue budgets.

To receive any declaration of interest by any Member or Officer in respect of any item of business.

No declaration of interest was received.

To present the minutes of the previous meetings of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee held on the following dates –

·         17 November, 2020

·         10 December, 2020 (extraordinary)

·         17 December, 2020 (extraordinary)

The minutes of the previous meetings of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee held on the following dates were presented and confirmed as correct –

17 November, 2020

10 December, 2020 (extraordinary)

17 December, 2020 (extraordinary)

To present the joint report of the Scrutiny Manager and  the Director of Function (Resources) and Section 151 Officer.

The report of the Scrutiny Manager was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The report outlined the context to the 2021/22 Budget setting process along with the key issues and questions for Scrutiny in evaluating the Executive’s initial revenue budget proposals taking into consideration the key messages from the public consultation exercise. The following documentation was appended to the report –

3.1       The report of the Director of Function (Resources) and Section 151 Officer on the initial proposals for the 2021/2022 revenue budget which was presented to the Executive on 18 January, 2020  and which included a position statement with regard to the Executive’s initial budget proposals;  Welsh Government’s provisional settlement for Local Government; the initial budget position for 2021/22; Council Tax; the Council’s reserves and balances; savings proposals; budget pressures; risks and the impact on the Medium Term Financial Plan.

The Portfolio Member for Finance introduced the budget report and proposals by saying that they come at the end of an unprecedented year of challenges. The Council has to balance its desire to keep Council Tax increases to a minimum with the need to build resilience into the budget in readiness for future challenges. He recognised that Council Tax is a contentious issue there being an expectation that it will rise annually; personally he found it an unfair and inappropriate system for the twenty-first century. But in light of a better than forecasted Welsh Government provisional settlement for Anglesey for 2021/22 the Council was able to go out to public consultation on the basis of a proposed 3.75% increase in Council Tax for 2021/22. However, the timing of Welsh Government’s settlement  remains an issue and is an unsatisfactory way of funding local councils with the final budget settlement not due to be announced until  2 March, 2021 - a week only before the Council is expected to finalise and set its budget for 2021/22. The budget report sets out a number of considerations in setting the 2021/22 budget with one of the key elements being the new Refuse Collection and Street Cleansing Contract effective from 1 April, 2021. The cost of the new contract is significantly higher than the current budget and in itself equates to 3% on the Council Tax. Also the Executive has identified as a priority area the need to ensure a supply of suitably qualified and experienced labour for the future and is keen to reinstate the Professional Trainee Programme to help address any potential skills shortage that the Council may face.  

The Director of Function (Resources) and Section 151 Officer provided an overview of the revenue budget process and context by way of a visual presentation and he highlighted the key aspects and considerations impacting on the level of Council Tax as follows   –

•           The initial budget for 2021/22 as projected in the Medium Term Financial Plan foresaw an increase of £6.680m based on additional provision being made for the higher cost of the new Waste and Street Cleansing Contract, investment in the Council’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To present the joint report of the Scrutiny Manager and the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer.

The report of the Scrutiny Manager was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The report outlined the context to the 2019/20 Capital Budget setting process along with the key issues and questions for Scrutiny in evaluating the Executive’s initial capital budget proposals taking into consideration the key messages from the public consultation exercise. The following documentation was appended to the report –

4.1   The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer on the initial proposals for the 2021/22 capital budget which was presented to the Executive on 18 January, 2021 and which included a position statement with regard to the Executive’s initial capital budget position for 2021/22; the level of capital expenditure; borrowing impact on the revenue budget due to capital financing costs; ongoing revenue costs (e.g. maintenance); budget pressures and risks and impact on the Medium Term Financial Plan and Council Plan.

Councillor Robin Williams, Portfolio Member for Finance reported that a capital programme of £36.155m is proposed for 2021/22; as unlike in previous years the capital budget for 2021/22 falls short by approximately £900k the intention is to utilise the projected underspend on the revenue account in 2020/21 to bridge the gap and enable the planned programme to be delivered. The greater part of the capital expenditure in 2021/22 is linked to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which maintains and develops the Council’s housing stock.

The Director of Function (Resources) and Section 151 Officer provided an overview of the capital budget process by way of a visual presentation which he expanded upon orally with the key points highlighted as follows -  

•           That the level of funding under the Welsh Government’s General Capital Grant and Supported Borrowing has not increased for a number of years and is not expected to change significantly between the provisional and final settlement.

•           That the Council’s capital strategy provides for funding to be allocated annually to invest in existing assets. Hence the programme includes £1m for refurbishing school buildings; £60k for other Council buildings; £1.25m for Highways; £195k for replacement vehicles and £292k to upgrade IT assets. A £50k allocation for the Disabled Facilities Grant is also included in the programme the grant being a statutory obligation.

•           Capital investment of £6.6m is planned for new schools (Llangefni area – subject to the final decision) in line with the Council’s commitment to the 21st Century Schools Programme.

•           The capital programme will be funded by a combination of external grants, the General Capital Grant, and supported and unsupported borrowing (details as at Table 1 paragraph 3.1 of the report). HRA projects are to be financed through HRA funding which is ring-fenced for the purpose.

•           New one-off capital projects to the value of £1.105m are included in the capital programme for 2021/22 and these encompass chrome books for schools, resurfacing two play areas in Holyhead High School, flood relief schemes and match funding for economic development and environmental wellbeing projects. These projects will be financed from general reserves provided the predicted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Chair of the Panel will report verbally.

Councillor Dafydd Roberts reported that the Panel at its meeting held on 12 February, 2021 had examined the proposals for the 2021/22 Revenue and Capital Budgets and that the feedback was as reported under items 3 and 4 above.

To present the report of the Scrutiny Manager.

The report of the Scrutiny Manager incorporating the Committee’s Forward Work Programme to April, 2021 was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

The Chair requested that the two matters to be followed up from the Committee’s scrutiny of the Council’s response to Covid-19 with regard to the well-being of Council staff and communities, and monitoring the effectiveness of the track and trace system be scheduled to a meeting of the Committee in April, 2021.

It was resolved –

•           To agree to the current version of the forward work programme subject to scheduling the two follow up items relating to the Council’s response to Covid-19 to an April meeting of the Committee.

•           To note progress thus far in implementing the forward work programme

ACTION: Scrutiny Manager to update the Forward Work Programme accordingly.