Agenda item

(a)       That the draft Statement of Accounts 2014/15 (including the Annual Governance Statement), together with the underlying policies, be noted;

(b)       That the planned provision of ‘drop-in’ sessions over the summer period be noted.

The Corporate Finance Manager presented the Statement of Accounts 2014/15 (subject to audit) for Members’ information only at this stage.  To meet the statutory deadline, the accounts would be submitted to the Committee on 24 September for approval and recommendation to County Council on the same day, ready to be published on 30 September.  This was a corporate document owned by every Member and officer of the Council and was the result of significant work across the Authority, in particular the Technical Accounting team in Corporate Finance.

A presentation was made covering the main areas:

·         Purpose and Background

·         Key Dates

·         Responsibility

·         Contents and Overview

·         Links to Budget Monitoring

·         Headlines - Council Fund, Reserves at Year End, Capital and Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

·         Principal Statements

·         Changes

·         Progress on Action Plan

·         Next Steps

The Finance Manager provided explanation on changes to the accounts in respect of new guidance on accounting for schools and the Council-owned North East Wales (NEW) Homes.  Following national guidance on simplifying Local Authority accounts for the reader, a judgement had been taken that neither of the changes were material and therefore explanation had been set out in the accounts in disclosure Notes 39 and 30 respectively rather than the inclusion of a third balance sheet and a full set of group accounts.  All Members would be notified in writing of the drop-in session in September which provided an opportunity to raise any queries on the accounts with Finance officers prior to final approval at County Council.  An updated response was also given on actions taken to address the issues raised by Wales Audit Office (WAO) on the 2013/14 accounts following the action plan shared with the Committee earlier in the year.

Councillor Alison Halford referred to the increase in the precept for the North Wales Police & Crime Commissioner and felt that information should be shared with the public on use of these public funds.  The Chief Executive said that this detail was not included in the accounts as the Police & Crime Commissioner role was entirely funded by central government and not subsidised from the precept.  He advised that Mr. Roddick’s presentation at the County Council meeting the following week would include this type of information, and that Members would have an opportunity to raise further questions.

In response to a question on remuneration for Cabinet Members, the Chief Officer (Governance) advised that the annual report on the Schedule of Member Remuneration would be submitted to the next County Council meeting.  The Chief Executive gave a reminder that the model in Flintshire comprised eight Cabinet Members (out of a maximum of ten permitted) and was therefore more cost-effective than some other councils.

On usable reserves, Councillor Haydn Bateman queried the transfer-in figure for Single Status.  The Chief Executive said that the closing report on Single Status, as submitted to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee earlier in the week, would be forwarded to Committee members for information.  He advised that the remaining balance of reserves set aside would fund any future liabilities arising from incomplete workstreams together with future exit costs as part of the next phase of the business plan.

Councillor Halford requested details of the legal fees incurred by the Council in defending planning appeals together with any legal advice obtained externally on matters where this was not available in-house.  The Finance Manager explained that the information was included in the accounts but not required by the Code of Practice as a headline figure.  She agreed to extract this from the various budgets and respond to Members.

On officers’ remuneration, Mr. Paul Williams queried the total exit packages for 2014/15.  The Finance Manager explained how redundancies had been classified into compulsory and voluntary.  The Chief Executive explained that the Council’s policy was for all redundancies, whether voluntary or compulsory, to receive reimbursement against salary up to a maximum of 45 weeks, depending on the respective length of service.  It was also pointed out that costs included the redundancy payment to the individual and additional pension ‘strain’ costs for the employer.  Following comments from Mr. Williams that this should be qualified in some way within the accounts, the Chief Executive said that the Pay Policy Statement and Redundancy Policy could be referenced as part of the publication of the final accounts.

In response to questions from Councillor Glyn Banks, the Finance Manager provided information on the Council’s borrowing for the HRA subsidy buyout which took place on 2 April and was therefore in the 2015/16 financial year.  Note 23 had been included to inform the reader however no adjustment was needed to the accounts.  When asked about NEW Homes, the Finance Manager explained that the income and expenditure at this early stage of the company was not considered to be material to the reader in comparison to that of the Council.  This decision would be considered by WAO colleagues as part of the audit.  In response to formatting issues raised by Councillor Banks, the Finance Manager noted these but said that careful consideration had been given to the presentation of the accounts including the cross-referencing of notes.

Councillor Bateman commented on the decrease in Council dwellings and was advised that this was a combination of Council properties being purchased by individuals and the demolishment of the Flint maisonettes.

Mr. Williams referred to the increase in rent arrears written off during the period and sought assurance that the process of decision-making was being scrutinised.  He was advised that this was under the remit of the Community & Enterprise Overview & Scrutiny Committee.  To give assurance, the Chief Executive said that this could be considered by Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee in the next budget monitoring report.

In response to a query by Mr. Williams on the increase in Net Fund Management Fees on the Clwyd Pension Fund, it was agreed that this would be raised at the next meeting of the Clwyd Pension Fund Committee.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the draft Statement of Accounts 2014/15 (including the Annual Governance Statement), together with the underlying policies, be noted;

(b)       That the planned provision of ‘drop-in’ sessions over the summer period be noted.