Agenda item

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

•  To submit the report of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee on scrutiny feedback.

•           The report of the Head of Resources and Section 151 Officer incorporating the Medium Term Financial Plan and 2016/17 Revenue Budget was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

The Portfolio Member for Finance reported that the Welsh Government’s provisional settlement figure which showed a reduction in funding of 2% equating to just under £2m  was received in December and is expected to be confirmed on 9 March, 2016. The Council’s services are also facing additional pressures for example in the form of an increase of 1% in salaries and also an increase in National Insurance contributions as from April, 2016 which is a permanent additional cost in this and future years. Although the process of identifying savings in 2016/17 has therefore been a challenging one, the Council has successfully met its savings target over and above the requirement for 2016/17. The proposals formulated have taken account of the public consultation process the outcome of which is summarised under Appendix 1 as well as the view of the SLT. The budget proposals further recognise the increasing demand on Children’s Services and rising cost pressures within Adults’ Services which it is proposed are met by an increase in the budgets of both services of £500k and £300k respectively. The views of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee have also been considered – the proposed reduced increase of 3.5% in the Council Tax reflects feedback from both the Committee and the public. The impact of the reduction in the schools budget for 2016/17 is also being lessened as referred to in paragraph 10.3 of the report.

The Head of Resources and Section 151 Officer highlighted the risks in terms of the deliverability of the budget as set out in paragraph 8 of the report and confirmed that he was satisfied that the budgets are robust and can be delivered. He referred to the Medium Term Financial Strategy as per paragraph 12 of the report and pointed out factors which make completing the Strategy with any degree of certainty and accuracy very difficult. Table 9 of the report indicate the likely savings requirements over the course of the medium term to 2019/20 based on assumptions that reflect a cautious interpretation of possible future outcomes meaning that further work in terms of delivering savings will be necessary.

The Officer further referred to a meeting of the Schools Forum held on 29 February following which three options had been formulated based on the discussions of the Forum taking into account that the cut in the Post 16 grant falls on the secondary sector only. The Head of Resources provided a brief outline of each of the three options presented and said that in his professional opinion, Option 2 was the preferred option, namely to split the cut on the basis of school balances as at 31 March, 2015 (primary, secondary and special schools). The Officer’s view was endorsed and proposed by the Portfolio Member for Finance.

The Executive acknowledged the contribution made by both officers and elected members alike over the course of several months to the process of formulating the budget proposals and commended the process as having been a thorough and inclusive one commencing with the budget workshops held in the summer of 2015 at which much of the critical preparatory work was undertaken.

It was resolved –

•           To note the formal consultation meetings on the budget and the resulting feedback as outlined in Section 2 and Appendix 1 of the report.

•           To note the equalities implications summary on the budget proposals in Section 11 of the report.

•           To agree that within the proposed budget, schools are given an increase in budget which meets the Welsh Government’s pledge for schools funding as detailed in paragraph 4.3 of the report.

•           To agree the final details of the Council’s proposed budget, investments, pressures and savings as shown in paragraph 10 and Appendix 5 of the report.

•           To note the Section 151 Officer’s recommendation that the minimum General Fund Balances be maintained at £5m, the confirmation of the robustness of the estimates underlying the proposals and the adequacy of the General Reserves in the context of other earmarked reserves.

•           To recommend a net budget for the County Council and resulting Tax to Council, noting that a formal resolution, including the North Wales Police and Community Council Precepts, will be presented to the Council on 10th March, 2016.

•           To authorise the Section 151 Officer to make such changes as may be necessary before the submission to the Council.

•           To agree that any unforeseen pressures on demand led budgets during the financial year will be able to draw upon funding from the general contingencies budgets.

•           To recommend a 3.5% Council Tax increase to full Council.

•           That with regard to implementing the cut to schools in 2016/17 to recommend that Option 2 be adopted, namely to split the cut on the basis of school balances as at 31 March, 2015 (primary, secondary and special schools).

•           The report of the Head of Democratic Services summarising the views of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee from its meetings held on 16 November, 2015 and 1 February, 2016 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor R. Meirion Jones, Chair of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee elaborated on the Scrutiny review of the revenue budget proposals as carried out over the two meetings.

It was resolved to note the views of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee from its meetings held on 16 November, 2015 and 1 February, 2016.