Agenda and minutes

None

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 30 October 2020 were accepted as a true and accurate record.

2021-22 Budget and Medium Term Financial Projections (MTFP)

Invitees

-       Meirion Rushworth – Head of Finance

-       Amie Garwood-Pask – Senior Finance Business Partner (Budget Strategy)

-       Rhys Cornwall – Head of People and Business Change

The Head of Finance gave an overview of the budget position, which had followed a similar process to previous years. The budget gap was £4.1 million in September of last year. Officers had then looked at planning savings down to half a million by the time the settlement was brought forward, and so the budget was almost balanced at this point. Grant funding received just before Christmas was £9 million better than expected. Population numbers were used as a large part of this calculation and the numbers being used for Newport historically had been too low. This had now been corrected and so we had received more money this year. Also, rather than it being phased in, the grant was made in full which had made it significantly better for the council this year. The final budget would be set in February following feedback received and considered.

Members asked the following:

·         Members were pleased with the optimistic report and thanked the team for preparing the Budget through the ongoing pandemic. They also welcomed the Welsh Government settlement. It was then asked in terms of the settlement, how does it differ from last year?

The Head of Finance advised that he did not have that level of detail to hand, but advised we were planning on a 1% general increase and a proportion of the population increase. The Senior Finance Business Partner explained that in terms of the profile, the list that was assumed, based on the phased approach, it was £1.6 million in 2021-22, which was £3.8 million over the three years. However, the decision was made for the entire population correction to be paid in one financial year without any other uplifts in the settlement.

The Head of Finance added that the average settle across Wales was just over 3%, we were planning on 1%. However, the additional payment from the population correction was much more than was expected and caught everyone by surprise. This made Newport’s settlement the best in Wales.

·         Members made comment that the increase due to the population correction is deserved due to the growth of the city, and it would be unfair not to have an increase in line of the increased population.

The Head of Service agreed that the increased payment is deserved and is what the city needs.

·         Do we know how often these population corrections are going to occur in the future?

It was explained that the Welsh Government uses data to forecast the population number across each council area, one being population data, which is updated each year. Every 10 years we have a Census, in which a real figure can be given at that point. The Office for National Statistics forecasts by using births and deaths figures.  The population is an estimate between  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

a)      Forward Work Programme Update (Appendix 1)

Attendees:

·                Neil Barnett (Scrutiny Adviser)

a)         Forward Work Programme Update

The Scrutiny Adviser presented the Forward Work Programme, and informed the Committee of the topics due to be discussed at the next committee meeting:

Friday 19 February 2021, the agenda items;

·               Responding to the New Normal