Cyflwynwyd gan:Cyng / Cllr Peredur Jenkins
Decision:
To accept and note the information in the report.
Minutes:
The item was submitted by Cllr Peredur Jenkins
RESOLVED
To accept and note the information
in the report.
DISCUSSION
The report was submitted, noting
that the Cabinet member was happy with the department's performance and that
appropriate steps had been taken to improve performance. It was explained that
the period of the current Information Technology Strategy was coming to an end
and that discussions were being held to plan a new strategy. In addition, it
was noted that the department was collaborating with Education Department
officers to develop a new strategy that would focus on providing the best
Information Technology support service for Gwynedd schools.
It was noted that the department's
performance was generally good, but attention was drawn to some problems that
had arisen. It was noted that some of the schools' auxiliary staff had received
the wrong salary in April. It was added that the problem had been identified
immediately and that the Service had responded appropriately to it. It was
explained that steps were now in place to ensure that the same problem would
not happen again.
It was expressed that three
occasions had arisen during the year where a significant disruption was caused
to the ability of Council staff to act due to the loss of access to the
Information Technology service. It was reiterated that this had led to the department
commissioning an independent assessment to consider the architecture of the IT
network and they would report back on the findings in due course.
Observations arising from the
discussion
- It was noted that the graph shown
for the Payroll Unit showed the Ffordd Gwynedd Culture within the Department in
the fact that they were open about their performance and that they learnt from
the problems arising. It was added that clear explanations could be seen and
that steps had been taken to ensure that the same problems would not arise
again.
- The Cabinet Member for Education
noted that a delay had occurred over the years before schools would pay
invoices, as a result of school holidays, but now the Education Department had
changed their systems and consequently the figures were much improved.
- It was noted that there were no
figures for Investment and Treasury Management for the quarter, as they were
unavailable for the performance challenging meeting. It was noted that much better returns than
expected were seen on the investments of the Pension Fund and it was hoped that
a reduction in the pension contributions of some employers could be offered by
2020.
- A discussion was held on the
uncertainty of Brexit and its impact on the Pension Fund. It was noted that the
majority of the Fund's assets had been invested overseas, and that the slump of
the pound against the US dollar following the vote to leave the European Union
had meant that the value of overseas assets had increased as the pound weakened.
The Head of Finance Department had asked for an analysis from the Fund's
actuary of how much of an increase had been seen in the value of the Pension
Fund due to an actual increase in asset value between 2015 and 2018, and how
much was due to the change in exchange rates, and he would report on this to
the Pension Fund's Annual General Meeting on 10 October. It was reiterated that
the Pension Fund was now fully funded. A discussion was held on the Wales
Pension Partnership and it was noted that a joint-investment partnership had
been formed, and not a single Fund for Wales.
Awdur:Dilwyn Williams
Supporting documents: