Decision:
To accept the report
on the end of year review (31 March 2017 position) of the capital programme,
and approve the revised financing as shown in part 4 of the report, that is:
·
an increase of £136,000 in the use of unsupported
borrowing
·
an increase of £190,000 in the use of grants and
contributions
·
an increase of £319,000 in the use of capital
receipts
·
an increase of £136,000 in the use of revenue
contributions
·
a reduction of £297,000 in the use of renewal
reserves
To approve the allocation of
£100,000 for the preliminary and planning work to review the provision of
education in the Bangor area, to be financed from a contribution that has
already been received from section 106 payments from Redrow,
in connection to a housing development site in Bangor. This will result in an increase of £100,000
in the 2017/18 capital programme.
Minutes:
RESOLVED
To accept the report on the end of year review
(31 March 2017 position) of the capital programme, and approve the revised
financing as shown in part 4 of the report, that is:
1 an increase of £136,000 in the use of unsupported borrowing
2
an
increase of £190,000 in the use of grants and contributions
3
an
increase of £319,000 in the use of capital receipts
4
an
increase of £136,000 in the use of revenue contributions
5
a
reduction of £297,000 in the use of renewal reserves
To approve the allocation of £100,000 for the
preliminary and planning work to review the provision of education in the
Bangor area, to be financed from a contribution that has already been received
from section 106 payments from Redrow, in connection to a housing development
site in Bangor. This will result in an increase of £100,000 in the 2017/18
capital programme.
DISCUSSION
The report was submitted to the Cabinet noting that the submission of the
report was a part of the process of closing the 2016/17 accounts. It was noted that the Council had spent over
£29m on capital schemes with over £11m of it funded by attracting specific
grants. It was emphasised that the departments were exceptionally good at
attracting major financial grants and that this boosted the local economy. It
was noted that £9.4m of the expenditure budget would slip from 2016/17 but it
was noted that the Council did not incur any grant funding losses as a result
of a slippage in plans.
When considering point 5 in the report, it was noted that there was an
intention to maximise the expenditure in the current financial year as a result
of the Government's strict timetable as part of the Twenty First Century
Schools Programme. It was also emphasised that the item had been submitted to
the Audit Committee that morning and that it was satisfied with the report. It
was also noted that the Finance Department's officers would implement the
recommendations and proceed to publish the financial statements by the end of
June.
Observations from the discussion
-
A question was asked in relation to the re-profiling
and grant funding - was there potential that the grant funding could be removed
from the Council for failing to spend it and should the slippage from 2016/17
to 2017/18 be cause for concern? It was
emphasised that there were no problems in relation to spending the money during
this financial year at present.
-
Also in response it was noted that it would be a
matter for individual Cabinet members during performance challenging meetings
to consider whether or not any slipping scheme would have an unacceptable
impact on the residents of Gwynedd, and that Cabinet members needed to be aware
of that during their performance challenging meetings.
-
It
was noted that it was important to underline that £29m had been invested
locally - however, there was a need to bear in mind that there was a risk in
the future as a result to changes in grant/loans arrangements, and a potential
loss of European funding.
Supporting documents: