Agenda item

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

The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer incorporating the draft Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement (CIES) for 2024/25 and the draft Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Robin Williams, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance and Housing presented the report outlining the draft main financial statements for the 2024/25 financial year. The report included a summary of the Council’s general balances, earmarked reserves, school balances and HRA reserve and their proposed use in 2025/26 and subsequent years. The report also set out the opinion of the Council’s Section 151 Officer  on the adequacy of the reserves and whether they offer sufficient financial resilience and cover for the risks facing the Council. As risks can change, the level of general balances and earmarked reserves will be kept under review over the coming months. Councillor Robin Williams noted that the figures are unaudited and may change following the audit process. A report on the final Statement of the Accounts will be presented to the Governance and Audit Committee and the Full Council upon completion of the audit.

The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer explained  that the Statement of the Accounts is a complex technical document which is prepared  in accordance with accounting standards and regulations. While it may not be the most accessible source of information for taxpayers regarding  how the Council manages public funds, some sections   such as the notes can prove useful. In terms of the timeline, the Council published its draft Statement at the end of June, meeting the revised deadline of 30 June which supersedes the original 31 May deadline now considered impractical. The draft accounts have been submitted for audit with the aim of achieving sign off by the end of October, 2025. The Section 151 Officer expressed appreciation for the Accountancy Service’s staff whose efforts made compliance with the timeline possible.

While the CIES shows that the Council has made a surplus of £45m on the cost of services, this reflects the accounting cost rather than the amount funded from grants and taxation and when the necessary adjustments have been made the true surplus is reduced to £3.74m and has been added to the General Balances. Table 2 of the report summarises the various reserves and balances held by the Council including movements in and out of those reserves which are detailed more fully in Appendix 4. Earmarked reserves are summarised in Table 5 with further details provided  in Appendix 5. New earmarked reserves requested and their purpose are listed in Table 4 of the report. The Section 151 Officer referred to the reduction in school balances for 2024/25 but confirmed that the schools sector remains financially stable overall and compares well with schools in other local authorities. Only four primary schools are in a deficit position, three of which have minor shortfalls with each of the four schools with plans in place to address the deficits.

The Chief Executive along with the Executive thanked the Accountancy Service’s staff for their commitment and diligence in completing the draft accounts within the required timeframe.

It was resolved –

• To note the draft unaudited financial statements for the financial year 2024/25.The full Draft Statement of Accounts 2024/25 is published on the following link - https://www.anglesey.gov.wales/documents/Docs-en/Finance/Statement-of-Accounts/2024-to-2025/draft-statement-of-accounts-2024-to-2025.pdf?nocache=1
• To note the position of the Council’s general balances of £15.705m.
• To note the balance of earmarked reserves of £18.295m and approve the creation of £1.958m of new earmarked reserves.
• To formally approve the transfer of £0.094m of earmarked reserves back to the Council’s General Balances.
• To note the balance of school reserves of £5.074m.
• To note the balance of the HRA reserve of £7.978m.