Councillor Dyfed Wyn Edwards
Gwynedd council’s savings strategy for the 2010/11 – 2012/13 period will be presented to the council’s Board on December 1.
Due to the significant government funding shortfall which is expected to hit all Welsh councils, it is anticipated that Gwynedd will need to deliver at least £16 million of further savings over the next three years.
Over the past six months work has been carried out to consider which possible options for savings should be included in the council’s Savings Strategy for the 2010/11 – 2012/13 period.
As part of the scrutiny process, Gwynedd councillors recently took part in two detailed seminars where all major savings options identified were considered. At these day-long seminars – held at Caernarfon and Trawsfynydd – councillors considered more than 70 possible options for savings.
Gwynedd Council Chief Executive, Harry Thomas said:
“No decisions were made at these seminars but councillors were able to consider the impact assessment of each option produced by a small group of councillors who had earlier studied proposals in detail. They were also able to question service heads on the effect of each option and provide the council with an early indication regarding the suitability of the individual proposals.
“A series of meetings were also held to obtain the views of a sample of residents, the county’s voluntary sector and council staff on some of the more difficult proposals.
“The leadership of the council have considered the results of the consultative process and their recommendations will be considered by the Council Board on December 1. Should the full council accept these proposals the proportion of savings expected from schools and social services will be substantially lower when compared to other council services.”
Gwynedd Council Leader, Councillor Dyfed Edwards added:
“Over the past six months, the council has undertaken a detailed process to ensure a proactive and strategic approach to this extremely challenging situation.
“The fact that a range of possible options have been presented to councillors – which amount to a total sum far in excess of the £16 million savings target – means that we can fully and carefully assess the impact of each and every savings decision we will be taking.
“Whilst there is no doubt that we are facing the most difficult decisions in the council’s history, it is imperative that we act now to put in place a comprehensive savings strategy to minimise the effect of the funding shortfall on key front line services.
“As a council we are determined to ensure that our spending goes hand in hand with our priorities and what we are trying to achieve for the people of Gwynedd, despite these challenging times.”
Following consideration by the Council Board, the Savings Strategy will be considered by the council’s Savings Scrutiny Working Group on December 3 and Principle Scrutiny Committee on December 8 before it is presented to the full council on December 10.
