Wrthi'n llwytho
Bu'r Pwyllgor yn craffu ar alldro cyllideb 2025/26 cyn i'r Cabinet ei ystyried ar 18 Mehefin 2026. Cytunodd y bydd y Cadeirydd yn ysgrifennu at Aelod y Cabinet gyda sylwadau ac argymhellion y Pwyllgor. Nododd hefyd ei bapurau busnes pwyllgor a'r ffordd ymlaen ar gyfer ei raglen waith 2026/27, a bydd y rhaglen derfynol yn dod yn ôl ym mis Medi 2026.
Apologies were received from Cllr Carter and Christopher Lee (Corporate Director Resources).
Cllr Bowen-Thomson declared a personal interest in item 6 as she was employed by a third sector organisation in Cardiff.
The minutes of the 16th April meeting were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
The Chair advised Members that this item provided papers to support pre-decision scrutiny of the Budget Outturn position for 2025/26 prior to Cabinet on 18th June 2026. The Chair reminded Members that Appendix 7 was not for publication as it contained exempt information of the description in paragraphs 14 and 21 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and any discussion of it would need to take place in exempt session. For the item the Chair welcomed Cllr Leo Thomson (Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation & Performance) and Ian Allwood (Chief Finance and Deputy S151 Officer). The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which she explained that the outturn report looked back at the previous financial year, when a balanced budget had been delivered. The officer summarised the positions of various directorates and highlighted overspends, predominantly in Children’s Services, Adult Services, Economic Development and Planning, Transport & Environment, and underspends in Education and Housing & Communities. Officers noted other accounts reported in Appendix 2 that were not included in the outturn because they were ringfenced, including Civil Parking Enforcement, the Housing Revenue Account and the Harbour Authority. Civil Parking Enforcement had generated £10.615m to fund new and existing transport infrastructure costs, while the HRA reported an overall balanced position after a net contribution to reserves of £2.747m. The officer highlighted additional grant funding for the General Fund and HRA, and new housing and schools including the new Fairwater campus. The Chair welcomed Cllr Thomson to her new role, and invited questions and comments from Members. Members queried the underspend in Adult Services given the national situation in this area. Officers explained that there were three factors at play: the first being a number of vacancies in Cardiff, and the second being that pressures had been carefully built in across the last few years in key areas like education, children’s social care and adult social care, and of those adult social care was the most predictable. They had not needed to use their contingency this year but the pressures were still there. The last factor was grant funding, which had a tendency to come in late in the financial year and bolster the budgetary position. Members explored the topic of reserves, and heard that these had increased overall although the school balances reserve had decreased. Members queried whether this increase was intended, which officers explained was the case in some areas. They had sought to plan ahead with prudency, which meant making assumptions of grant support which then came in and bolstered reserves. In particular areas such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for environmental plastic, they hadn’t spent all their money this year so that was carried forward. Members queried a particular sum of £8.9m in the capital program reserve from the Welsh government for town centre regeneration, and heard that officers believed this was fully spent, but would get a more detailed response from the service area. Members noted that it seemed to have been a relatively smooth budget year, thanks in part to corrective measures taken throughout the year, and welcomed the minimal impact on services. The Cabinet Member highlighted the work of officers in delivering this, and noted the continuous pressure to assess potential savings and factor in cost pressures. Members also noted greater spend on commissioned services in comparison to internal provision. Members queried a figure within the Resources directorate covering transition to methods of operation required, and heard that this related to the ERP financial management system, for which the Committee had viewed the business case this year. The move from DigiGov and SAP to Oracle would be paid for through a combination of earmarked reserves and the Resources reserve, with elements of the treasury management reserve used too. Members noted the underspend on capital and asked whether there was a risk of underspending on school asset renewal. Officers explained that the SOP program had focused on ALN provision in the last year, and adapting classrooms to suit ALN placements took time, but both existing assets and new assets were priorities in the capital program, and delays tended to have a purpose. Members noted the large number of schools running deficit budgets. Members asked whether the figures for capital spend were a factor in the interest accumulated, and heard that they were. They had borrowed less than intended, and investment income played a role too, as did the timing of grant funding from the Welsh government. Members asked whether the interest accumulated had an impact on the funding formula and heard that it did, although this was only really felt when there were major fluctuations in big spend areas like schools or social care. Members discussed the use of funds gained through Civil Parking Enforcement, noting the backlog of pavement repairs, and asked whether HRA funds could be used to support community wellbeing, through parks and libraries. Officers explained that HRA spending had to follow rules but these were constantly reviewed, with a balance of contributions to ensure fairness. Civil Parking Enforcement funds followed the same principle, with highways generally within regulations allowing money to be used, and there was a contribution towards transport infrastructure every year. Members explored children’s placements and heard that the Welsh government’s not for profit agenda outlined a number of activities that Children’s Services sought to avoid. It was generally more reactive than adult social care or education, and they were continuing work on pathways like the Young Person’s Gateway to get young people into housing earlier. The area had seen a £1m overspend but this was significantly better than in previous years. They were unlikely to get rid of all costly placements, but keeping them down was a key focus. Members asked about the timing of grant income, and heard that there had been unforeseen grants in a number of areas, particularly in the youth service which very actively bid for funding. As this wasn’t foreshadowed when the budget was set, officers had made assumptions that the council would be funding those areas. Officers had generally been able to deliver what they intended, but it could be difficult to spend money quickly when it arrived late in the financial year. Members queried the overspend in Economic Development and heard that this was largely ascribed to the Core Office building closing. Officers explained that they had overestimated how much money this would save, in particular in terms of energy and maintenance. It was still good news that they had found a saving of more than £1m, the issue was that at month 9 they had believed it would be £2m. It had not had an impact in terms of weakening the position for 2026/27. Members noted the expectation of increased digital advertising income next year, and asked whether expectations for revenue streams had been recalibrated based on the last year. Officers explained that the 2026/27 budget looked at the 2025/26 outturn figures and asks whether they needed to put money back in. They could not guarantee that there wouldn’t be any overspends next year, but they had done everything possible to try and resolve issues, AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED: 1. That the agreed dates of Policy Review & Performance Scrutiny Committee meetings up to March 2027 be noted; 2. That the draft Policy Review & Performance Scrutiny Committee pages for the Scrutiny Annual Report, attached at Appendix 1, be noted; 3. That correspondence between the Committee and the Cabinet for meetings between December 2025 – April 2026 be noted.
The Chair advised that the Committee Business report was comprised of three matters: the programmed committee dates for 2026/27, agreement of the Committee’s key achievements over the last year to be listed in the Scrutiny Annual Report 2025/26, and an update on correspondence arising from PRAP meetings between December 2025 and April 2026. He added that they had received a response to their scrutiny of the Workplace Strategy since the papers had been published. The Chair added that correspondence would become a standing agenda item to provide more regular updates to Members, and that responses be requested within six weeks. AGREED: 1. That the agreed dates of Policy Review & Performance Scrutiny Committee meetings up to March 2027 be noted; 2. That the draft Policy Review & Performance Scrutiny Committee pages for the Scrutiny Annual Report, attached at Appendix 1, be noted; 3. That correspondence between the Committee and the Cabinet for meetings between December 2025 – April 2026 be noted.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED: 1. That the way forward for setting the Committee’s outline work programme for 2026/27 be noted, with a final version of the programme to be brought back to the Committee for formal approval in September 2026.
The Chair advised that the report outlined the scrutiny work programming process and sought to agree the way forward for developing and agreeing the Committee’s work programme for 2026/27. Members discussed ways of streamlining the work programme, which the Chair would consider and bring back to the Committee. The Chair also highlighted a number of potential areas for scrutiny, including guidance on the Supreme Court ruling and the Trust implications of Cardiff parks. Members also suggested scrutinising the council’s customer service. AGREED: 1. That the way forward for setting the Committee’s outline work programme for 2026/27 be noted, with a final version of the programme to be brought back to the Committee for formal approval in September 2026.
Rhan o fater a ddilynwyd ar draws 2 cyfarfod
There were none.
Wednesday 1st July at 4.30pm.
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
Bowen-Thomson: Buddiant personol ar Work Programming 2026/27
Mae'n cael ei chyflogi gan sefydliad trydydd sector yng Nghaerdydd.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.