Issue - meetings

To submit a report by the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer.

It was resolved to note the contents of the report.

The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer setting out the estimated financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the County Council’s finances in 2020/21 as well as its longer term implications for the Council’s financial position was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

The Portfolio Member for Finance reported that the Covid-19 pandemic has created a significant level of uncertainty in the 2020/21 budget and also for the future funding for local government in Wales. The report presented is based on a number of assumptions and estimates and the final outcome may change from this initial impact assessment. The report will feed into the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan which will be presented to the Executive in September, 2020 and will set out the financial strategy for the 2021/22 revenue budget. The financial position will also influence the Council’s recovery planning approach and activities.

The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer advised that the report sets out  the areas where the financial impact of the Covid-19 crisis is likely to be felt the greatest and seeks to provide an estimation of the scale of the problem. In summary –

•           Preparing for the Pandemic – a risk of a global pandemic has been on the Council’s risk register and is one of the issues which required the Council to maintain adequate financial reserves (£7.06m in general reserves as at 31 March, 2020). Section 2 of the report shows how decisions made  in relation to maintaining financial reserves, treasury management and Council Tax (by sending bills out as lockdown began thereby ensuring a flow of income from those who could pay) has helped the Council’s day to day cash flow positon thus enabling it to meet the additional costs of the crisis.

•           Short-term Expenditure to deal with the Pandemic – section 3 of the report sets out the areas where the Council has incurred additional costs in dealing with the pandemic crisis.  The vast majority of these costs have been covered by the Welsh Government which has made a total of £120m available to Welsh Councils to meet the additional expenditure. To date, Anglesey Council has claimed £858k for costs incurred in March, April and May. A further claim for June will be submitted in July which is likely to be in excess of the May claim of £526k

•           Loss of Income from Fees and Charges – the Council generates over £5m in income annually from fees and charges for services provided. Where services have been withdrawn – Leisure Centres, school meals, car parks, school care clubs, libraries, Oriel Ynys Môn – the income normally generated is lost. Some services -  Planning, Building Control, Registrars, Recycling and Bulky Waste Collection, Land Charges and Highways Street works - that have not been operating may have had their income delayed although the income may be received when the lockdown is eased. It is difficult to accurately estimate the loss of income as it is dependent on the number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6