R HYBUDD O GYFARFOD / NOTICE OF M EETING
Awdurdod Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri Snowdonia National Park Authority
Emyr Williams Emyr Williams Prif Weithredwr Chief Executive Awdurdod Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri Snowdonia National Park Authority Penrhyndeudraeth Penrhyndeudraeth Gwynedd LL48 6LF Gwynedd LL48 6LF Ffôn/Phone (01766) 770274 Ffacs/Fax (01766)771211 E.bost/E.mail : [email protected] Gwefan/Website: : www.eryri.llyw.cymru
Cyfarfod Arbennig: Awdurdod Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri
Dyddiad: Dydd Mercher 15 Gorffennaf 2020
Amser: Ar ddiwedd y Pwyllgor Perfformiad ac Adnoddau
Anfonir cyfarwyddiadau ymuno at yr Aelodau ar wahân
Special Meeting: Snowdonia National Park Authority
Date: Wednesday 15 July 2020
Time: On the rising of the Performance & Resources Committee
Joining instructions will be sent to Members separately
Aelodau wedi’u penodi gan Gyngor Gwynedd Members appointed by Gwynedd Council Y Cynghorydd / Councillor : Freya Hannah Bentham, Elwyn Edwards, Alwyn Gruffydd, Annwen Hughes, Judith Mary Humphreys, Edgar Wyn Owen, Elfed Powell Roberts, John Pughe Roberts, Gethin Glyn Williams;
Aelodau wedi’u penodi gan Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy Members appointed by Conwy County Borough Council Y Cynghorydd / Councillor : Philip Capper, Wyn Ellis-Jones, Ifor Glyn Lloyd;
Aelodau wedi’u penodi gan Llywodraeth Cymru Members appointed by The Welsh Government Mr. Brian Angell, Ms. Tracey Evans, Ms. Elinor Gwynn, Mr. Tim Jones, Mr. Neil Martinson, Mr Owain Wyn.
A G E N D A
1. Apologies for absence and Chairman’s Announcements
2. Declaration of Interest To receive any disclosure of interest by members or officers in respect of any item of business.
3. Minutes of the Authority The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meetings of this Authority held on the 20th May and 3rd June 2020, be signed as true records (copies herewith) and to receive matters arising, for information.
4. Revenue and Capital Outturn Report 2019/20 To submit a report by the Chief Finance Officer. (Copy herewith)
5. Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) 2020 Regulations To submit a report by the Chief Executive. (Copy herewith)
6. Strategic Objectives and Well-being Objectives and Corporate Plan 2021- 2026 To submit a report by the Chief Executive. (Copy herewith)
7. Working Group Report To submit the report of the Members Working Group meeting held on 11th May 2020. (Copy herewith)
8. Meetings of other Organisations To receive oral reports from Members on any recent meetings which they have attended as representatives of the Authority.
9. Schedule 12A Local Government Act 1972: Exemption from disclosure of documents Plas Tan y Bwlch To submit a report by the Director of Corporate Services. (Copy herewith)
PART II
10. Plas Tan y Bwlch To submit a report by the Director of Corporate Services. (Copy herewith) ITEM NO. 3
SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY WEDNESDAY 20th MAY 2020
Mr. Owain Wyn (Chairman) (Welsh Government)
PRESENT:
Members appointed by Gwynedd Council Councillors Freya Bentham, Elwyn Edwards, Alwyn Gruffydd, Annwen Hughes, Edgar Wyn Owen, Elfed Powell Roberts, John Pughe Roberts, Gethin Glyn Williams;
Members appointed by Conwy County Borough Council Councillors Philip Capper, Wyn Ellis Jones, Ifor Glyn Lloyd;
Members appointed by the Welsh Government Mr. Brian Angell, Ms. Tracey Evans, Ms. Elinor Gwynn, Mr. Tim Jones, Mr. Neil Martinson;
Officers Mr. E. Williams, Mr. G.I. Jones, Mr. J. Cawley, Mr. D. Edwards, Mr. E. Roberts, Ms B. Hughes, Mrs. A. Gaffey.
In attendance Mr. Nick Selwyn, Mr. Euros Lake and Ms. Philippa Dixon – Wales Audit Office.
Apology Cllr. Judith Humphreys.
1. Chairman’s Announcements (i) The Chairman advised that although a Notice of the Meeting had been published and the Agenda and reports were available on the Authority’s website, the meeting was not open to the public. He reported that the meeting was being recorded to assist in verifying the minutes and also advised that following the decision to delay the Authority’s Annual General Meeting, which should have taken place on the 3rd of June, further discussions on the appointment of members to various Committees, would take place at the Members’ Working Group on 1st July 2020. (ii) The Chairman welcomed Mr. Tim Jones, the newly appointed Welsh Government Member, to his first Authority meeting and also congratulated Ms. Tracey Evans on her re-appointment to the Authority for a further term of 4 years. (iii) The Chairman was pleased to welcome Mr. Brian Angell and Mr. Dafydd Edwards, who were both continuing to recover following recent illnesses, to the meeting. (iv) Covid-19 The Chairman did not wish to repeat the detailed update provided by the Chief Executive at the recent Working Group meeting but gave an outline of the main points:- - Regulations: Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) 2020, have allowed the Authority to take steps to close car parks and restrict access to Snowdon, Ogwen, Cadair Idris, Aran Benllyn and Aran Fawddwy, which represents 11% of the area of the Snowdonia National Park. The regulations will remain in place until 26th September 2020. A recent review by officers did not extend the present restrictions at Llyn Tegid, which remains open to people who can reach it. 3 - the English National Parks have no such legislation and the recent relaxation of the rules in England had caused problems for the National Parks in the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and the Lake District. - The Chairman thanked the staff from all three Welsh National Parks for their work. The media campaign had been effective with only a few incidents reported, mainly outside National Park boundaries. A joint statement would be issued by the Welsh National Park Authorities before the next Bank Holiday weekend. - The Chairman thanked Members for volunteering and supporting their local communities and thanked the Authority’s staff for their work. - The Chairman referred to the First Minister’s statement for “Unlocking our society and economy: continuing the conversation” released on Friday 15th May 2020 and outlined the main points as follows:- we can only move forward with care the choices were limited for easing the current restrictions, so difficult decisions need to be made a traffic light system will define how restrictions on various aspects of life can begin to be eased and will outline steps on how to relax the restrictions from red, to amber to green. the traffic light system will be based on different categories, which will include seeing family and friends, reopening schools and childcare, working or running a business, playing sport games and relaxing. decisions will be made on a step by step basis subject to evidence that the virus was being managed. Welsh Government will be developing further advice in the next 10 days in consultation with partners, although the Welsh National Park Authorities were not included in these discussions at present. further guidance on agriculture and woodlands will be considered in due course. - the Chairman confirmed that the First Minister would be releasing his next statement on the 29th May 2020. - the Chairman invited Members’ views on two questions before he presents a discussion paper to Members on the challenges of Covid-19 for Eryri. Question 1 – what, in your opinion, will be the likely changes in attitude, behaviour, and activities of people, whether they live in or are visiting, the Snowdonia National Park and the challenges this presents in the context of the climate crisis? Question 2 – how can the Authority respond to the long term implications of the “New Normal” when:- fulfilling our statutory purposes and duty. conserving and enhancing our nine special qualities. reviewing our corporate aims and priorities and ways of working. - the Chairman will circulate the discussion paper by the end of the week, to facilitate either online discussions or comments by email, in order to prepare a report to the next meeting of the Members’ Working Group on the 1st July 2020. - the Chairman welcomed the paper circulated by Neil Martinson which had raised a number of questions and issues for lifting the restrictions. He advised that the Chief Executive would be circulating an update for members, staff and the community on the implications of the Welsh Government paper “Unlocking our Society and Economy” to address some, if not most, of these questions. The Chairman advised that the Welsh 4 National Park Authorities had little or no influence on the timetable and that Members should focus their attention on longer term questions.
Members noted the Chairman’s report and discussed the following in detail:- - a Member stated that according to Statutory Instruments, National Park Authorities were authorised to make the decision on when to lift the restrictions. He asked the Director of Corporate Services to clarify this matter. Also, as this was clearly not business as usual, current processes, including how the Authority communicates, will need to change to deal with situations that will emerge over the coming months and years. - in response, the Director of Corporate Services clarified the Regulations which state that the restrictions should stay in place until such time as the Authority feels they are no longer necessary. Any future decision taken by the Authority to lift restrictions, would be in consultation with Gwynedd Council, Conwy County Borough Council, Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government. - a Member asked whether staff were working on an internal post Covid-19 recovery plan and whether Members would be asked for their input? Many organisations had individual recovery plans and the Authority needed to be prepared for future statements from the Welsh Government. - the Chief Executive, in response, explained that there were many levels to the Authority’s Recovery Plan. The Authority was proceeding on a regional basis and there was also a technical risk assessment procedure in place for officers to meet on a weekly basis to consider the evidence. The Chief Executive advised that Natural Resources Wales, who have a statutory role in advising the Welsh Government on access to the countryside, were also preparing a document, a copy of which will be circulated to Members when available. - a Member suggested that a clear process should be established to ensure that Member input to the Chairman’s discussion paper is linked to the work undertaken by staff, who were looking at recovery in their own specialist areas, in order to draw all sources of evidence together. The Chairman, in response, asked Members to focus on the long term, the “new normal”, which will provide the opportunity to feed in the expertise of staff. The Chief Executive agreed, but was concerned that advice could change at any time, as had happened to the National Parks in England, and that currently officers were working on practical issues in the short term, whilst continuing to accumulate all the necessary information for the future. - a Member asked whether the Police Authorities were involved in discussions with regard to lifting restrictions, and also asked about a timescale for the Authority to put in place its priorities for the future whilst noting that a delay could cause the Authority to lose momentum in achieving a directional shift. In response, the Chief Executive confirmed that it was vital that the North Wales Police Authority and the Authority’s contacts in Public Health Wales were involved in any decisions to lift restrictions and the Chairman advised that the timescale was linked to Members responding to his discussion paper by 15th June in order to present a report to Members’ Working Group on the 1st July 2020.
2. Declarations of Interest No declarations of Personal Interests were made in respect of any item.
5 3. Review of Involvement – Snowdonia National Park Authority Submitted – A report by the Audit Wales.
Reported – The Chairman welcomed Nick Selwyn, Philippa Dixon and Euros Lake, of Audit Wales, to the meeting. Mr. Selwyn provided Members with a brief introduction to the report and advised that Audit Wales were charged with reviewing how public bodies in Wales give consideration to the long-term impact of their decisions on their communities, as required under the Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015. The Review of Involvement focusses on how the Authority shapes its priorities based on local communication, which was a challenging demand, but overall, Audit Wales findings concluded that the Authority had established an effective partnership-led approach when developing Cynllun Eryri and was well placed to build on this going forward.
Euros Lake, presented findings on areas where the Authority could improve and drew Members’ attention to some key areas:- - the overall findings were positive but going forward the Authority would need to address financial and capacity challenges. - the Authority had met the challenge of involvement by allowing partners to take the lead in the production of Cynllun Eryri and the consultation matrix developed to identify and prioritise key stakeholders and interested parties had been a success. However, the Authority still needed to improve its communication with the wider public, which could be locally, nationally or internationally and involve the full range of potential users and stakeholders. - para. 24 of the report outlines the challenges that short-term project work creates for staff undertaking involvement activity and that the Authority runs the risk of losing its corporate identity by becoming too project led. - another challenge for the Authority was how to sustain its current performance.
Nick Selwyn summarised that:- - the impact of austerity remains a significant challenge, alongside changing legislation and the ability to plan long term due to the short-term nature of Welsh Government funding and allocation of additional monies close to the year end. - staff capacity issues, and succession planning to address recruitment difficulties, were being addressed by the Authority by investing in and developing its staff and was a positive way forward. - the Authority’s successes in gaining project funding was also to be commended. - the Park Management Plan (Cynllun Eryri) provides a framework for the Authority to move forward and strengthen its golden thread despite external risks and challenges. - Audit Wales, rather than listing proposals for improvement, have produced a self-assessment form for the Authority’s staff and members to use to evaluate current performance and identify how to improve and ensure that involvement is mainstreamed and sustainable.
Members and officers considered the report and made the following observations:- - Members discussed social media and the speed at which the technology was changing. The Director of Corporate Services confirmed that the Authority has a social media strategy and the Head of Engagement would be able to provide further details on how the Authority makes use of it. - a Member thanked Audit Wales for their objective assessment and positive report which had also given rise to a number of challenges for the Authority to
6 further improve and gain an understanding of what constitutes good participation. One of the actions in the self-assessment matrix table on page 15 states “we have a mature and trusting relationship with all our stakeholders”. How can the Authority ensure that everyone, both internally and externally, understands this concept and would Audit Wales be able to provide examples of organisations who had succeeded in improving their involvement? - in response, Nick Selwyn advised that a recent publication presented to the Welsh Government by The Future Generations Commissioner, provided extensive information on organisations identified as engaging well with stakeholders. The Chairman recommended that this should be included when the Authority considers its “new normal”. - Proposals for Improvement (para. 28) – a Member felt the self-assessment matrix was very challenging and asked whether it could be scheduled into a Members’ Workshop to assist longer term planning for the future.
RESOLVED to welcome the report by the Wales Audit Office.
4. Financial Impact of COVID-19 on the Snowdonia National Park Authority Submitted – A report by the Chief Finance Officer to inform Members of the possible effect of the crisis on the Authority’s 2020/21 budget, to facilitate responsible governance.
Reported – The Chief Finance Officer presented his report and gave a Power Point presentation.
The Chief Finance Officer stated that as a result of “lockdown” the Authority’s Information Centres, Plas Tan y Bwlch, Yr Ysgwrn and the car parks were now closed to the public. These represented the Authority’s main income generating sources and estimates had been prepared of the possible financial impact of the crisis on the Authority, per quarter, in 2020/21. In the first quarter, the net effect would be a potential loss of approximately £500k and if the lockdown were to continue until the end of September, the deficit would be closer to £1 million. If it lasted until the end of the financial year, taking account of seasonal reduction in income, the Authority may face a potential loss of approximately £1.3 million. As a percentage, the net loss being faced by the Authority was approx. 20% of the overall budget, compared to Gwynedd Council and Conwy County Borough Council, who face losses of around 10%. He advised that the Chairman and officers were seeking additional funds from Welsh Government although, whilst there were some positive signals, no assurances that they would contribute towards the funding gap had been given. The Chief Finance Officer stated that if no additional grant was received from the Welsh Government, the Authority had uncommitted reserves of approx. £800k available in the first instance, but once this had been committed there would be a need to consider future cuts to services and priorities.
Members were also provided with details of the current Furlough scheme, which applies to 37 of the Authority’s staff, and allows the Authority to reclaim up to 80% of rested staff’s employment costs from HMRC whilst staff receive 100% of their salaries. However, the scheme covers only 3% of the pension costs, which reduces the actual contribution to 67%. The headline figure of 80% will be reduced to 60% at the end of June, which means that the Authority will have to bear even more of the cost.
7 The Chief Executive advised that the Welsh National Park Authorities have a good working relationship with the current Welsh Government staff, and whilst he was hopeful that some losses could be reclaimed, he was not in a position to confirm anything at this time.
The Chair of Plas Tan y Bwlch Management Board raised concerns that the “New Normal” was unlikely to be good news for Plas Tan y Bwlch, and that the current Business Plan would not apply for some time, if at all. There was a need to look at future options for the Centre, and the Chief Executive agreed there were difficult decisions ahead which will be taken in consultation with Plas Tan y Bwlch Management Board.
The Chair of the Performance and Resources Committee asked the Chief Executive to pass on Members’ appreciation to the Authority’s staff for their work. He also noted that the staff retention scheme was not sustainable over the long term, and asked whether the Authority had sought the support of the Trade Unions to put pressure on the Government? The Chief Executive confirmed there had been consultation with the Trade Unions but advised that as the furlough scheme is reduced, the business case weakens and the Authority’s position will not improve unless compensation for the loss of income is guaranteed.
RESOLVED 1. to note the report and the anticipated funding gap resulting from the Covid-19 crisis in 2020/21. 2. to support all efforts by the Chairman and Officers to secure appropriate funding options from the Welsh Government.
5. Annual Governance Statement 2019/20 Submitted – A report by the Head of Administration and Customer Care to approve the Annual Governance Statement for signature by the Chairman and the Chief Executive.
Reported – The Head of Administration and Customer Care presented the report and asked Members to note that:- Broadcasting Committees (page 47): the first line of the 3rd paragraph will be amended to read “As part of the Chairman’s governance review, and following earlier discussions at the Members Working Group, Members agreed at the Performance and Resources Committee on the 24th of July 2019 not to proceed with broadcasting committees”.
The Head of Administration and Customer Care advised that she would also update the following:- Para. 6. Significant Governance Issues: 1. (page 48) if possible, to include the Annual Improvement Report 2019/20 when it is received from the Wales Audit Office. 2. (page 49) to add a paragraph on Examination under the Well-being of Future Generation Act 2015 to reflect the Wales Audit Office’s report presented to the Authority today. 3. (page 50) the Risk Profile will be amended to reflect the current situation as the report refers to the risks reported to the Authority on 5th February 2020.
8 Arising thereon, Members made the following observations:- - a Member asked whether in future, the report could be strengthened in the way it responds to the headline principle of good governance. There was a need to tie in the strategic context when responding to the headings. - in response, officers explained that this was an annual statement, but agreed that these were areas that would be looked at for future reports. - Members noted that although it had been agreed that the Authority would not be broadcasting its Committees at the present time, officers were continuing to consider all available options. - as a matter of interest, a Member advised that Conwy County Borough Council had recently live-streamed their Planning Committee on Zoom. It may have been a different version of the software, but officers agreed to discuss this with their counterparts at Conwy County Borough Council.
RESOLVED 1. to note the report. 2. subject to including the amendments as outlined, to approve the Annual Governance Statement incorporating the Snowdonia National Park Authority’s Statement on Internal Control for the 2019/20 financial year.
6. Calendar of Meetings 2020/21 Submitted – A timetable of meetings for the period 2020/2021.
Arising thereon, the Director of Corporate Services presented the timetable of meetings 2020/21 for adoption, with a caveat that under present circumstances some changes to the meeting schedule may become necessary.
RESOLVED to approve the timetable for 2020/21 which may be subject to further amendment.
7. Annual Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales Submitted – A report by the Director of Corporate Services to discuss the Annual Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales.
Reported – The Director of Corporate Services presented the report and confirmed that the Independent Remuneration Panel had not changed any aspect of the draft report, previously presented to the Performance & Resources Committee on the 20th November 2019, insofar as it related to the National Park Authorities.
RESOLVED to note the report and accept the recommendations, as submitted.
The meeting ended at 15.25
9 SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY WEDNESDAY 3rd JUNE 2020
Mr. Owain Wyn (Chairman) (Welsh Government)
PRESENT:
Members appointed by Gwynedd Council Councillors Elwyn Edwards, Alwyn Gruffydd, Annwen Hughes, Judith Humphreys, Edgar Wyn Owen, Elfed Powell Roberts, John Pughe Roberts, Gethin Glyn Williams;
Members appointed by Conwy County Borough Council Councillors Philip Capper, Wyn Ellis Jones, Ifor Glyn Lloyd;
Members appointed by the Welsh Government Mr. Brian Angell, Ms. Tracey Evans, Ms. Elinor Gwynn, Mr. Tim Jones, Mr. Neil Martinson;
Officers Mr. E. Williams, Mr. G.I. Jones, Mr. J. Cawley, Mr. D. Edwards, Mr. E. Roberts, Mrs. A. Gaffey.
In attendance Mr. Matthew Edwards, Mr. Alan Hughes – Audit Wales.
Apology Councillor Freya Bentham.
1. Chairman’s Announcements (1) The Chairman, on behalf of Members, sympathised with Councillor John Pughe Roberts, whose partner was very seriously ill. (2) The Chairman conveyed best wishes to Councillor Freya Bentham who was expecting a baby very soon. (3) The Chairman advised, that although today’s meeting had been scheduled in the calendar of meetings, it was subject to the new Covid-19 Regulations on how the Authority conducts its business, and that:- - a Notice of the Meeting had been published, and the Agenda and reports were available on the Authority’s website. - the meeting was not open to the public. - the meeting was being recorded only to assist in verifying the minutes. (4) The Chairman reminded Members of the main rules of debate:- - Members were asked to keep their comments short and to the point. - Members should make every effort to speak once only on any particular agenda item, except with the Chairman’s consent. (5) The Chairman outlined the main points of the First Minister’s recent review (28th May 2020). - the ‘R’ rate remains too close to 1, which limits the ability to make many changes. - there were some minor changes to outdoor activities e.g. meeting members of other households and "staying local" rather than "staying home". - an early signal was given to non-essential retailers to make use of the next three weeks to begin the process of preparing to re-open. - relaxation of access to some areas was likely and Natural Resources Wales had published guidance on how this could happen. (6) The Chairman advised that he had circulated his discussion paper, “Snowdonia and the New Normality” to Members, and he would be grateful to receive any submissions by 15th June 2020. The paper asked 3 specific 10 questions and Members were encouraged to focus on the impact of Covid-19 on the Authority’s 3 long term plans, Cynllun Eryri, Eryri Local Development Plan and the Corporate Plan. (7) Members were told that the Chief Executive and his staff were continuing to plan and respond to the rapidly changing situation alongside key partners. (8) The Authority’s staff (planning, conservation, forestry and agriculture) had now re-commenced site visits etc. (9) All of the Carneddau project staff had now been appointed, with the last of these taking up their posts on the 22nd June 2020. (10) Members, at the special Authority Meeting on the 20th May, were advised that an application for financial support had been submitted to the Welsh Government on behalf of the 3 Welsh National Park Authorities, seeking compensation for loss of commercial income. The Chief Executive had now been advised that the application (for the first quarter) had not been supported. The Chairman asked the Chief Executive to provide further details on the setback.
The Chief Executive confirmed that the bid had not been approved as it had not met the £1 million threshold for the quarter. At a recent meeting with officers from the Welsh Government the Chief Executive was asked why the Authority had not furloughed more staff and what money saving measures had been put in place. The Chief Executive advised that the Authority had furloughed 37 staff and had identified £800k of savings by closing down the commercial element of its business. He confirmed that further bids were now being prepared and a meeting had been arranged between the Chairs and Chief Executives of the 3 Welsh National Park Authorities and the Deputy Minister, who was aware of the seriousness of the situation. Members noted that the Welsh Government had already spent £2 billion in response to Covid- 19 and that future funding would be limited. The Chief Executive explained that he had reminded Welsh Government officers that the Authority’s baseline budget was already -5% less than it should be and they had agreed to review the matter.
The Chief Executive also stated that the published guidance by Natural Resources Wales to allow access to the countryside was not available in the Welsh language until tomorrow, and that Members would be provided with copies of the document once it became available.
The Chief Finance Officer confirmed that the application for financial support had not been wholly refused and that further discussions were underway. He reiterated that as a percentage, the net loss of income faced by the Authority was approx. 20% of the overall budget compared to Local Authorities, who face losses of around 10%. Local Authorities have now been awarded £78m which will meet approx. 60% of their losses. Should the National Park Authorities receive a similar amount, this would certainly ease the financial burden.
Arising thereon, the Chief Executive recommended that as there were no assurances that the Authority would be compensated for loss of income, a meeting of the Plas Tan y Bwlch Management Board would be convened. He explained that the Authority generates income from five main areas, the Planning Service, Information Centres, Car Parks, Yr Ysgwrn and Plas Tan y Bwlch, and as the first three areas were expected to recover in time and Yr Ysgwrn had a different staffing model, and could make savings by not
11 employing seasonal staff, it had now become apparent that urgent decisions would need to be made on how to proceed at Plas Tan y Bwlch.
Members were disappointed that the amount of funding required to support the National Park Authorities was not forthcoming as it would be a relatively small amount for the Welsh Government.
2. Declarations of Interest No declarations of personal interest were made in respect of any item.
3. Minutes The minutes of the Authority meeting held on 5th February 2020 were accepted and the Chairman signed them (electronically) as a true record.
4. 2020 Audit Plan Submitted –The Audit Wales 2020 Audit Plan.
Reported – The Chairman welcomed Mr. Matthew Edwards and Mr. Alan Hughes from Audit Wales to the meeting to present their report.
Mr. Matthew Edwards addressed the meeting and advised that the Wales Audit Office had been rebranded, and in future would be known as Audit Wales. He advised that the 2020 Audit Plan made reference to the impact of Covid-19 throughout.
Mr. Alan Hughes presented the 2020 Audit Plan and the Audit of Financial Statements in detail. He confirmed there were no factors which were specific to the Snowdonia National Park Authority and that the statements applied to all public bodies.
The Head of Finance confirmed that a notice had been placed on the Authority’s website advising of the delay in completing the 2019/20 statement of accounts due to Covid-19 which he anticipated would be finalised by the end of the month.
The Chief Executive expressed his disappointment that performance audit work, scheduled for this year, had been suspended. The National Park Authorities, as early adopters of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, had agreed that the performance Audit Programme 2020 should focus on evaluating performance in line with the sustainable development “Five Ways of Working” element. Reviewing “Resilience of Service” was not what the Authority, as a fee paying customer, had agreed in 2018. The level of fees was further discussed and Audit Wales stated that the fee had remained the same as it was previously - there was no profit element, and it was challenging to accomplish the work at this price.
The Chief Finance Officer provided Members with further details of the McCloud judgement which had required a review of public sector pensions. He confirmed it was no longer a concern as it was already built into Actuaries’ figures.
The Chairman, on behalf of the Authority, thanked Matthew Edwards and Alan Hughes for attending to present the 2020 Audit Plan. The Chairman also thanked the Authority’s Head of Finance and his team for their work.
RESOLVED to note the contents of the 2020 Audit Plan.
12 5. Revenue and Capital Outturn Report 2019/20 This item was deferred and will be presented to the next meeting of the Authority for approval.
6. Corporate Plan 2020/21 Submitted – A report by the Director of Corporate Services together with a copy of the Corporate Plan 2020/21, for adoption.
Reported – The Director of Corporate Services presented the report and Corporate Plan 2020/21 and advised that the report was normally submitted to Members before the end of April each year, but was being presented later this year due to Covid-19.
The Director of Corporate Services provided background and advised that, although the Authority’s core well-being objectives remained unchanged, the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in the need to make changes to service priorities and some of the well-being objectives and corresponding activities, which he outlined to Members in detail.
Members considered the Corporate Plan 2020/21 and made the following observations:- - in response to a question, the Director of Corporate Services advised that the Authority was required to adopt the Corporate Plan on an annual basis. - a Member emphasised that the Plan should strike a balance between protecting its staff and the public, with the benefits of being able to go outdoors to make safe use of the National Park for the future. The Director of Corporate Services explained that making reference in the Corporate Plan to the aim of protecting staff and residents, recreational users and the NHS against the spread of Covid-19 was intended to reflect that this was not business as usual and that a different approach was needed. The need to work with key partners to manage the area to deal with Covid-19 was now included as part of the Plan for the future. - a Member said the Authority needs to be mindful of tensions that have developed in communities across the National Park when easing out of lockdown. - the Authority’s response to the virus was commended by Members, and the challenge now was to plan carefully for a new future and not just to reflect the old order. Where there are challenges there are also opportunities and biodiversity was one area which had benefitted. - the Chief Executive stated that Members will be given the opportunity to present their aspirations and advise officers on their priorities for the future at the next meeting of the Members’ Working Group when they consider the Chairman’s discussion paper “Eryri and the New Normality”. - the Chief Executive reassured Members that work to attract external funding was not a new objective and was already being done, but agreed that this was an area which needs to be revisited in the future. - a Member raised a general point relating to sourcing of new income streams which tied in with how the National Park Authority markets itself. He felt that individual members of staff undertaking marketing work was poor practice and the Authority should adopt a single marketing framework. - the Chief Executive reminded Members that the Authority also needs to meet the challenges presented by Brexit. - the Chief Executive agreed that the new objectives and service priorities being developed should better reflect the Welsh Government’s objectives for designated landscapes.
13 - Members were asked to note that the draft Improvement and Well-being Objectives and the draft Corporate Plan would be adopted by the “Authority” and not by a “Committee” as stated in the Welsh report. - RESOLVED 1. to adopt the draft Improvement and Well-being Objectives, as submitted. 2. to adopt the Corporate Plan 2020/21 and approve its publication.
7. Corporate Work Programme 2020/21 Submitted – A report by the Director of Corporate Services to present the Authority’s Corporate Work Programme for 2020-21.
Reported – The Director of Corporate Services presented the report and Corporate Work Programme which outlines the projects, initiatives and specific actions that will be undertaken in order to fulfil the Authority’s Improvement and Well-being Objectives and Service Priorities. The Director of Corporate Services reminded Members that they had agreed to extend the current objectives with some revisions being made to the work programme to mitigate the implications of Covid-19 on the Authority’s work.
Members considered the Corporate Work Programme 2020/21 in detail and made the following observations:- - a Member advised upon some local opportunities available which contribute to health and wellbeing such as “Go Gwynedd Girls” who encourage physical activity for girls, and that “Gloywi Iaith” courses were also available locally to enhance the use of the Welsh language. - a Member noted that the Authority’s volunteering approach was similar to its marketing approach, where there seemed to be a range of different ways for volunteers to interact with the Authority – a more integrated approach should be taken with a single point of entry for every form of volunteering. - on the same point, a Member reported that Natural Resources Wales had suffered the same difficulties but had since created a successful one-way contact system which could also be of benefit to the Authority. It was suggested that officers could discuss this further with NRW. - a Member asked whether the Authority had considered what it would no longer be able to deliver? - whilst noting it was going to be a difficult year for scrutiny and for delivery, a Member asked whether the Corporate Work Programme could, in future, be more specific, as there was a great variation in how work was described, and also, that Members should receive a copy of the draft Corporate Work Programme much earlier in the year to get a better feel for annual work programmes and how resources are allocated.
RESOLVED 1. to note the report. 2. to formally adopt the Corporate Work Programme as a working document for 2020-21.
14 8. Annual Report on Actual Treasury Management Activity 2019/20 Submitted – A report by the Chief Finance Officer detailing the Authority’s Treasury Management activity during 2019/2020, for information.
Reported – The Chief Finance Officer presented the report and confirmed that the Authority’s funds and investments continued to be secure.
Arising thereon, a Member asked for clarification on the authorisation process should borrowing need to take place. The Chief Finance Officer outlined the procedure, which was approved by the Authority at its meeting in February 2020 when limits were adopted. Currently, there was no expectation that the Authority would need to borrow, but if Covid-19 continued and the Welsh Government do not provide additional funding, then a report would be presented to the Authority either in July or September to advise of any borrowing intentions.
RESOLVED to note the report, for information.
9. The Authority’s Risk Profile Submitted – A report by the Director of Corporate Services to update Members on the Authority’s Risk Profile taking into consideration the effect of COVID-19, and to remove one completed risk from the register.
Reported – The Director of Corporate Services presented the report and the risk register and outlined the main changes.
Members and officers discussed the following in detail:- - Risk Ref 2 - Income Generation Target (Plas Tan y Bwlch) the risk remained High but the score had now been increased further as a result of closing the Centre due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Members were advised that arrangements were in place for the Plas Tan y Bwlch Management Board to meet on the 1st July, and a report with recommended options for the future would be presented to either the Performance and Resources Committee or the Authority on the 15th July 2020.
The Chair of Plas Tan y Bwlch Board asked whether Consultants had been engaged to prepare a Business Plan for Plas Tan y Bwlch with the aim of breaking even at the end of two years. He felt this was no longer feasible bearing in mind the effect of the pandemic on accommodation, education and the learning sectors. In response, the Director of Corporate Services advised that Consultants had not been appointed and that the Board would be provided with detailed information on the 1st July to consider options for Plas Tan y Bwlch over the next 6 months, 12 months and 2 years. A report, with recommendations, would then be presented to either the Performance and Resources Committee or the Authority on the 15th July 2020.
Arising thereon, Members noted that the problems faced by Yr Ysgwrn were easier to manage because the staff burden could be reduced in the short term, but still felt that in future, Yr Ysgwrn, the Information Centres and the Planning Service should be included on the risk register as their income streams were also going to be reduced by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Risk Ref 3 – Income Generation Target (Car Parks). Members noted that the risk has risen from Low to High as all car parks remain closed following the Covid-19 lockdown measures implemented by the UK and Welsh Governments.
15 - Risk Ref 7 – Carneddau Landscape Partnership. A Member noted concerns that the risk was shown as reduced whilst the main aim of the partnership was to connect local people with the landscape. The Director of Planning and Land Management advised that this had been looked at from a financial perspective only and that the interpretation and engagement element had not been included as a risk. He agreed to discuss the matter further with officers.
- Risk Ref 14 – The Effect of Covid-19 on the Authority’s Work. In response to a concern from a Member, the Chief Executive advised that measures were in place to support the well-being and resilience of the Authority’s staff. He stated that Microsoft Team meetings and one to one meetings were being held regularly, What’s App groups had been established, and officers have telephone conversations with external staff. The Authority provides a free counselling service (Medra), allows more flexible working arrangements, and staff have social interaction and provide support for each other.
RESOLVED 1. to note the report. 2. to remove the “completed” risk relating to completion of the Partnership Agreement for the LIFE Celtic Rainforests project from the Register. 3. subject to including Yr Ysgwrn, Tourist Information Centres and the Planning Service on the register, to approve the Authority’s Risk Profile, as submitted.
10. Members’ Working Group Reports Submitted – Reports of the Members’ Working Group meetings held on 22nd January and 4th March 2020.
Arising thereon, Minutes dated 22nd January 2020 4. Well-being Objectives The Chief Executive stated that he would provide Members with a copy of the reports prepared by Grant Peisley and Abigail Tweed, and also the report prepared by Dafydd Thomas. Additionally, the Chief Executive will present a short report to the Performance and Resources Committee on the 15th July to identify 5 or 6 areas which can be put forward for consultation. Members could then further consider well-being objectives towards the end of the year, subject to having a clearer understanding of the Authority’s position with regard to Brexit and Covid-19.
RESOLVED to note the reports.
11. Meetings of other Organisations Submitted – An oral update on recent meetings of organisations which Members have attended as representatives of the Authority.
Mr. Owain Wyn - Europarc Webinar The Chairman had recently joined an Europarc Webinar and encouraged Members to participate in similar events, as development opportunities were now limited.
The meeting ended at 11.45
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ITEM NO. 4
MEETING Snowdonia National Park Authority
DATE 15 July 2020
TITLE REVENUE AND CAPITAL OUTTURN 2019/20
REPORT BY Chief Finance Officer
PURPOSE i. To approve the virements, transfers and carry-forward of revenue and capital budgets as outlined in the report. ii. To approve the Capital Financing Statement. iii. To consider the departmental performance with regard to budgetary control. iv. To approve the proposed changes to reserves.
1. SUMMARY
1.1 The National Park base revenue grant from Welsh Government for 2019/20 was maintained at the same level as 2018/19.
1.2 A total of £1,858,540 “one off” capital grant was allocated to the Authority by Welsh Government in January 2020 with the condition that this finance was to be either spent or at least begun to be committed before 31/3/2020. See appendix 3 for the grant sums remaining at 31/3/2020. As the grant was allocated for 2019/20 the remainder is held in the Authority reserves as opposed to a creditor in the Authority balance sheet.
1.4 The final financial position for services for 2019/20 confirms that the Authority has once again succeeded to stay within its financial budgets with a net underspend of £350,882. (see appendix 2).
1.5 Due to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of local authorities, a one-time extension has been given for completing and approving the annual Statement of Accounts. The Authority, therefore, is requested to approve the 2019/20 financial outturn (and relevant financial transfers), as part of the process of producing the statutory financial statements (to be approved by the Chief Finance Officer by 31 August, and approved by the Authority by 30 November 2020).
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2. INTRODUCTION
2.1 This report provides a comparison, at service area level, between the Authority’s budgeted revenue and capital spending plans and the actual outturn expenditure for 2019/20.
2.2 The total net revenue expenditure for the year was £2,616,329 i.e. £3,999,570 under the revised net budget of £6,615,899. This figure includes the effect of a substantial sum of grants received in advance. The total gross capital expenditure for the year was £1,416,764.
2.3 As in the table in paragraph 3.2 the £3,999,570 is before net transfers of £3,294,522 to specific “cash” reserves, and also slippages and commitments (to 2020/21) of some of the 2019/20 budget allocations worth £354,166. (The Management Team has instructed that this money is not to be spent, until the Authority's financial position is clearer). This brings the remaining balance available for re-allocation to £350,882.
2.4 It should be noted that some figures in this report may be adjusted during the accounts closure process (between now and 31/8/2020) and that all figures are subject to audit (between now and 31/11 2020). Any significant adjustments made in the statement of accounts and following completion of the audit will be reported to the Authority.
3. FINAL REVENUE SUMMARY 2019/20
Original Net Revised Net Actual Under / Virements Budget Budget spend (over) Service Area ££ £ ££ Planning and Land Management 2,381,940 -12,553 2,369,387 991,037 1,378,350 Corporate 3,053,510 537,989 3,591,499 3,100,998 490,501 Balances 10,000 -10,000 0 0 0 5,445,450 515,436 5,960,886 4,092,035 1,868,851 Interest Earned -8,000 -21,200 -29,200 -48,077 18,877 Capital financed from revenue 998,485 265,208 1,263,693 -848,149 2,111,842 Capital Charges Adjustment -579,480 0 -579,480 -579,480 0 TOTAL 5,856,455 759,444 6,615,899 2,616,329 3,999,570
3.1 NET BUDGET for 2019/20
The increase of £759,444 in the net base revenue budget rom £5,856,455 to £6,615,899 represents the following additions:
£6,500 slippage 2017/18 £402,423 slippage 2018/19 £54,183 from the match funding reserve (including an adjustment of - £1,380 on the amounts included in the original budget). £ 71,000 from the asset management fund £268,692 from the project fund £181,210 from the revenue grants fund
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£14,415 from the capital grants fund - £19,728 net adjustment on the amounts from the capital grant fund included in the original budget. £23,250 contribution from the capital receipts fund towards the purchase of an electric car for Planning use. - £100,000 Snowdonia Partnership Fund contribution to the Carneddau scheme £4,999 NRW grant received in 2018/19 for use re footpath work - £47,500 to fund future employment of the Partnerships Officer - £100,000 to repay the funding for HQ boiler works to the capital receipts reserve because a grant has been received for this purpose.
The Authority has already been notified of the above except for the last movement of -£100,000.
Appendix 1 provides further details of the reported transfers to the Authority in December (since there was no Performance and Resources Committee meeting held in March), and those that have been implemented since.
3.2 Transfers from and to Reserves and Other Specific Costs There is a balance of £3,999,570 before transfers to and from reserves. A breakdown of the transfers is shown in the table below, along with other specific costs:
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££ £ Total balances available 2019/20 3,999,570
Transfers from Reserves
Planning and Land Management Caer Gai 8,182 Ysgwrn (outside HLF grant scheme) 18,162 Wealth of our Marshlands 1,189 27,533
Corporate Welsh government grant scheme (capital) 79,284 79,284
Transfer to Reserves
Planning and Land Management Cultural Heritage Projects -50,200 Ysgwrn (HLF grant scheme) -2,482 Dolgellau town Heritage Scheme - SNPA matched funding -89,973 Welsh Government grant schemes (capital) -1,079,629 Open Call (SNPA contribution) -27,278 ENRaW scheme -14,894 Dark Skies -44,441 SMS grant scheme - Welsh Peatlands -12,097 National Grid grant scheme - Maentwrog (2) -138,145 SMS grant scheme - Uwch Gwyrfai -3,330 SMS grant scheme - Afon Eden -16,119 Celtic Rainforests (LIFE grant scheme) -812,377 Archaeology -11,048 Carneddau - SNPA contribution -8,169 Cader idris - BMC and NRW grants -70,000 Planning - section 106 funding -10,000 Welsh Government grant schemes (revenue) -25,402 -2,415,584
Corporate Maes Newyddion Net sale proceeds -34,218 TAIS grant schemes -18,998 Welsh Government grant schemes (capital) -744,542 New website -14,060 Snowdonia Partnership Fund -75,933 Snowdonia Partnership - Cyngor Gwynedd grant -8,000 Welsh Government grant schemes (revenue) -90,004 -985,755 -3,294,522 Slippage and other costs (see appendix 4) -354,166 -354,166
Balance available for reallocation 350,882
3.3 Departmental Outturn Essential transfers to and from reserves within specific programmes or otherwise earmarked have already been set out in point 3.2.
The table below shows the position of each directorate level after taking into account the reserved and specific items brought forward within the 2019-20 budget:
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Net revised Actual Under / Under / Commitment Budget Spend (Over) (Over) DIRECTORATE ££££ £ Planning and Land Management 2,369,387 991,037 1,378,350 1,185,578 192,772 Corporate 3,591,499 3,100,998 490,501 313,786 176,715 SUB-TOTAL 5,960,886 4,092,035 1,868,851 1,499,364 369,487 Interest Earned -29,200 -48,077 18,877 0 18,877 Capital financed from revenue 1,263,693 -848,149 2,111,842 2,149,324 -37,482 Capital Charges Adjustment -579,480 -579,480 0 0 0 TOTAL 6,615,899 2,616,329 3,999,570 3,648,688 350,882
Total additional income and underspend, after taking account of the transfers to and from reserves, were £350,882.
3.4 Detailed Analysis A more detailed breakdown by service of the spending and commitments for 2019/20 is provided in Appendix 2.
3.5 Significant Variations Services with variations of over £10,000, in the figure of £350,882 which is a combination of net additional income and underspend are:
Underspend Planning and Land Management Conservation, Woodlands and Agriculture (£55,478) – a saving mainly on employment with one post vacant throughout the year and a saving on reducing the hours of another post. Cultural Heritage (£14,823) – saving on the employment of a Project Officer. Archaeology (£13,806) – post has been vacant most of the year. Planning (£42,054) – Head of Service vacancy for most of the year with the saving covering the costs of buying in service and the shortfall in planning income fees (£17,402) Public Access (£16,220) – savings on several budget lines. Wardens General (£30,064) – includes income from part exchange of equipment where the new equipment purchased was financed from Welsh Government capital grant. North Wardens (£13,696) – the remainder of the Senior Warden post budget which has been vacant throughout the year. Corporate Engagement (£12,803) – savings in various budget lines including employment, travel costs and the school transport fund. Information Centres (£18,795) – saving on interpretation budget line and property costs. Llyn Tegid (£16,175) – additional income to the budget from parking fees. Car Parks (£101,938) – additional income. Management Plan and Partnerships (£65,023) – remaining uncommitted balance out of the Commissioning Fund budget line
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Authority support (£11,188) – a saving of £11,895 on the subscription budget line mainly due to the Authority no longer paying a subscription to "UK National Parks". Corporate Management (£97,877) – the inclusion of a "one-off" project line (£69,000) and reimbursement for central services out of the ERRAMP scheme (£17,691) Administration and Customer Care (£15,162) - savings in protective clothing, equipment, phones and maintenance budget lines. Information Systems (£19,458) – savings in revenue budget lines to fund overspend (£12,424) on the Information Systems capital budget. Translation (£23,191) – a net saving between a single post's employment budget and the cost of purchasing an external translator service. Headquarters (£12,220) - main saving on the “maintenance” budget line. Visitor Facilities (£14,520) – mainly due to the Hafod Eryri rent being higher than the budgeted amount.
Overspend Corporate Plas Tan y Bwlch (£160,370) – mainly due to a shortfall in the course income fee budget line of £198,140. Legal (£57,800) – the impact of the costs of buying in a service to deal with the Hillside and Llanbedr planning cases Property (£22,424) – due to additional costs for buying in service and responsive maintenance.
3.6 Changes since previously reported The last budget report presented to the Authority in December 2019 identified a likely outturn of a deficit of £102,000 compared to the actual outturn of a surplus of £350,882.
The main reason for the £452,882 difference is that a number of officers have not submitted bids for carry-over due to the Authority's position regarding the impact of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of financial support from the Welsh Government.
3.7 Targets for specific services
In the light of recent budget cuts and the financial strategies put in place to cope with them, the Information Centres and Plas Tan y Bwlch services were reviewed and specific targets agreed in relation to them.
Information Centres The baseline target set for the Centres is £128,680 (December 2016 Authority report and the impact of restructuring).
The Information Centres outturn for 2019/20 is £142,085 (includes £5,940 capital cost). The corresponding outturn for 2018/19 was £141,360 (including £5,740 non-cash capital cost).
Plas Tan y Bwlch The Authority has accepted the aim for this service to be cost neutral by 2021/22 (excluding say £50,000 of the cost of relevant central services). This principle was
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adopted at the Plas Board meeting (November 2016) and then incorporated into the financial targets for Plas Tan y Bwlch.
The service outturn for 2019/20 shows a budget shortfall of £160,370. The corresponding figure for 2018/19 was a deficit of £42,852.
A shortfall against the budget for course and accommodation income was £213,140 (2018/19 equivalent figure £98,947). Accepting the impact of COVID-19 on the 2019/20 outturn, fee income decreased over the year by £72,293 with £28,710 of this in February and March 2020.
4. RESERVES
4.1 SUMMARY
Below is a summary of usable reserves with their current balances.
Name of Fund Balance 31/3/2020 (£) Capital Receipts Reserve -163,791 Section 106 Reserve -240,000 Revenue Grants Reserve -1,716,636 Capital Grants received in advance -2,253,979 Asset Management Reserve -233,655 Public Inquiry Reserve (Planning) -225,000 Matched Funding Reserve -1,073,182 Moneys carried over Reserve -372,506 Projects Reserve -404,583 Snowdon Infrastructure Reserve -56,303 Specific Risk Reserve -424,160 Staff Resilience Reserve -120,000 Commercial Risks Reserve -100,000 General Balances -697,956 -8,081,751
4.2 Earmarking Underspend Balance And Additional Income At the Authority's meeting on 11 December 2019, and further on 5 February 2020, prudent current levels for the main reserves were considered. There is a balance of £350,882 of underspend and additional income from 2019/20 and is available for re- allocation on a one-off basis. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Authority's commercial activities and income, the surplus is added to the Authority's General Balances Reserve.
4.3 Capital Receipts Reserve The balance on this reserve at 31/3/2019 was £152,823. The Authority must use this money to fund capital expenditure, and it can be used to contribute to costs related to the sale of assets. During the year an electric vehicle was purchased (£23,250) and the Maes Newyddion site was sold (£34,218 net). The Capital Receipts Reserve balance at 31/3/2020 is £163,791.
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4.4 Section 106 Reserve The balance on this reserve at 31/3/2019 was £230,000. During 2019/20 a sum of £10,000 was received which leaves the balance of the reserve at £240,000. This funding is earmarked for affordable housing purposes.
4.5 Revenue Grants Reserve This reserve holds the balance of unused revenue grants, received for use in the financial year and recognised as income in that financial year, but transferred to a reserve for future use. At 31/3/2019 the reserve had a balance of £845,017. During 2019/20 grants were received and used giving a net increase of £871,619 in the reserve giving a balance of £1,716,636 at 31/3/2020.
4.6 Capital Grants Reserve This reserve has been created on the same basis as the Revenue Grant Reserve. At 31/3/2019 the reserve balance was £1,189,806. During 2019/20 grants were used and received giving a net increase of £1,064,173 to the reserve giving a balance on the 31/3/2020 of £2,253,979.
4.7 Asset Management Reserve This reserve funds property costs that are beyond the normal annual budget of the Property Service. The Asset Management Reserve balance at 31/3/2019 was £304,655. £71,000 was used during the year of departure £233,655 on the 31/3/2020.
4.8 Public Inquiry Reserve As at 31/3/2019, the Authority had £225,000 in the Public Inquiry Reserve, to meet the costs: linked to the inquiry into the Development Plan (Local Development Plan), which is essentially difficult to predict. related to any other major investigation (Planning) which may be brought against the Authority for failure in a planning appeal
This reserve was not used during 2019/20 and therefore the balance remains at £225,000 on the 31/3/2020.
4.9 Match Funding Reserve At 1/4/2019 there was £803,552 in this reserve. During the year there was a net addition of £269,630 leaving £1,073,182 on the 31/3/2020. The money is earmarked as follows:
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Rhododendron Management 181,970 Snowdon Circular Route 115,667 Yr Ysgwrn 130,707 Dolgellau Townscape Heritage 157,757 BMC "Mend our Mountains" scheme 117,259 TAIS grant schemes 18,998 Dark Skies project 22,304 ENRaW scheme 14,894 Provision for costs on termination of grant schemes 70,136 Provision for lack of partnership funding 32,000 Carneddau Landscape Partnership 118,649 SMS grant schemes 40,987 Caer Gai 10,107 Cwm Ciprwth 6,800 Wealth of our Marshlands 4,497 Celtic Rainforests (LIFE) 30,450 Total 1,073,182
4.10 Projects Reserve This reserve is for the purpose of funding specific projects by the Authority. There was a balance of £392,502 at 31/3/2019 which has now increased to £404,583 and represents: Project (£) Snowdonia Partnership Fund 75,933 Projects Officer (Cultural Heritage) 122,196 Snowdon Partnership Officer 47,500 Legacy re. “Youth Manifesto” 92,954 New website 66,000 Total 404,583
4.11 Snowdon Infrastructure Reserve The balance of the reserve as at 31/3/2019 was £56,303. There was no change during 2019/20 leaving a balance of £56,303 on the 31/3/2020.
4.12 Specific Risk Reserve The balance of the reserve stands at £323,915 at 31/3/2019. During 2019/20 the 2019/20 budget surplus of £100,245 was transferred in, giving £424,160 at 31/3/2020. It should be noted in this context that there is uncertainty about future Welsh Government grant settlements. It is proposed that the revised balance be retained to fund one-off costs of projects that achieve permanent savings (including redundancy costs, transition and “invest to save” schemes).
4.13 Staff Resilience Reserve This reserve was approved in February 2019. There was no use during 2019/20 and the current balance is £120,000.
4.14 Commercial Risks Reserve This reserve was approved in February 2019. No use occurred during 2019/20 and the current balance is £100,000.
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4.15 General Balances The Authority's Revenue General Balances at 31/3/2019 amounted to £347,074. We are in an unprecedented situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Authority facing significant income losses without a commitment of support from the Welsh Government. In view of this the 2019/20 outturn surplus of £350,882 is added to the reserve which brings the current balance to £697,956.
5. CAPITAL OUTTURN 2019/20
5.1 Details of the Capital budget, outturn and funding sources appear below:
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Under / Net Budget Expend. Income Balance Committed (Over) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) Planning and Land Management Cultural Heritage projects 63,206 0 0 63,206 -63,206 0 Dolgellau Townscape Scheme 115,440 146,177 -111,281 80,544 -80,544 0 Planning System 20,000 15,800 0 4,200 -4,200 0 Electric Car (Planning) 23,250 23,250 0 0 0 0 Ysgwrn 0 37,653 -29,311 -8,342 8,342 0 LIFE Vehicle 13,396 13,396 0 0 0 0 Wardens' Vehicles 83,214 67,412 0 15,802 -15,802 0 "Tramper" Vehicle 0 -8,065 8,065 -8,065 0 Access Projects 82,500 0 0 82,500 -82,500 0 Visitor Monitoring Equipment 0 15,285 -15,000 -285 0 -285
Commercialisation of Pen y Pass & Llyn Tegid 10,000 972 0 9,028 -9,028 0 Maes Newyddion 0 1,332 -35,550 34,218 -34,218 0 Llyn Tegid Boat 14,260 14,213 0 47 0 47 Mulching Equipment 0 60,639 -60,000 -639 0 -639 Ffridd Isaf 32,000 10,301 0 21,699 -21,699 0 Cadair Idris 0 0 -70,000 70,000 -70,000 0 Watkin Path 11,336 7,060 0 4,276 0 4,276 BwlchM - Brithdir 0 19,672 -70,000 50,328 -50,328 0 Access Equipment 3,880 106,430 -80,000 -22,550 0 -22,550 Caer Gai 50,000 64,052 0 -14,052 8,182 -5,870 Carneddau 105,000 633 0 104,367 -104,367 0 St Davids' Hotel - demolition 265,272 257,261 0 8,011 -8,011 0 Other grants Welsh Gov. 19/20 0 0 -847,000 847,000 -847,000 0 892,754 861,538 -1,326,207 1,357,423 -1,382,444 -25,021 Corporate Snowdon Interpretation Plan 15,000 0 0 15,000 -15,000 0 Snowdon Partnership Scheme 54,666 3,440 51,226 -51,226 0 TAIS Schemes 61,040 210,208 -168,166 18,998 -18,998 0 IT equipment replacement program 77,340 39,764 0 37,576 -50,000 -12,424 Translation Equipment 10,000 10,037 0 -37 0 -37 New Web Site 91,000 1,200 0 89,800 -89,800 0 Snowdon Partnership Videos 3,700 3,700 0 000 Betws y Coed Information Center Improvements 0 7,860 -130,000 122,140 -122,140 0 Energy Saving 0 83,568 -88,000 4,432 -4,432 0 Electric Car charging points 15,000 5,176 0 9,824 -9,824 0 Plas Tan y Bwlch (accommodation) 0 19,962 -229,000 209,038 -209,038 0 Plas Tan y Bwlch (course booking system) 28,193 0028,193 -28,193 0 Boiler System (Headquarters) 0 88,069 -120,000 31,931 -31,931 0 Hafod Eryri (Welsh Gov. grant) 0 79,284 -123,700 44,416 -44,416 0 Water Refill Stations (Welsh Gov. grant) 15,000 2,958 0 12,042 -12,042 0 Other grants Welsh Gov. 19/20 0 0 -79,840 79,840 -79,840 0 370,939 555,226 -938,706 754,419 -766,880 -12,461
TOTAL 1,263,693 1,416,764 -2,264,913 2,111,842 -2,149,324 -37,482 FUNDING Capital financing from revenue -143,717 Use of Capital Receipts -23,250 Use of capital grants from 17/18 and 18/19 -456,967 Grants and contributions in 19/20 -2,229,363 Grants and contributions relating to 2020/21 expenditure 1,436,533 TOTAL -1,416,764
5.2 Revised net budget of £1,263,693 and net expenditure of - £848,149 leaving £2,111,842. After taking into account committed expenditure carried over to 2020/21 together with earmarked sums (£2,149,324), it leaves an overspend of £37,482.
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5.3 The figure committed - £2,149,324 in the table represent:
Transfers to reserves: Amounts to be carried over (Appendix 4) £217,201 Remaining grants W.G received in 2019/20 £1,476,475 Remaining schemes with grants previously received £347,696 NRW and BMC grants for Cader Idris £70,000 The balance of the budget of the Dolgellau HLF scheme £80,544 Maes Newyddion sale net income £34,218 Remaining TAIS scheme budget £18,998 £2,245,132 Transfers from reserves: Ysgwrn -£8,342 Caer Gai -£8,182 Hafod Eryri -£79,284 -£95,808 £2,149,324
6. TRANSFERS BETWEEN BUDGETS OVER THE VALUE OF £30,000 FOR THE AUTHORITY’S ATTENTION
6.1 Part 3 of the Authority's Financial Regulations states the need to report to the Authority or the Performance and Resources Committee on virements of over £30,000 between budgets, as follows:
Amount Approval of Virement £30,000 - £100,000 Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer and Chairman. Virement to be reported to the next Authority for information only. £100,000 or above Authority meeting resolution
6.2 There are two transfers worth between £30,000 and £100,000
£66,000 transferred from Engagement budgets (£35,000), Corporate Management (£21,000) and Information Technology (£10,000) to the Authority's New Website capital budget.
£32,500 has been moved between the Access (- £2,250), Snowdon Team (- £ 14,000), and the Wardens budgets (+ £14,000) and the Vehicle Purchase capital budget (+£2,250).
6.3 One transfer of £100,000 requires retrospective approval i.e to return £100,000 from the capital budget for improving the HQ heating system to the capital receipts reserve.
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 To approve the virements in the revenue and capital budgets as outlined in part 3 (see appendix 1).
7.2 To approve the transfers to and from earmarked reserves (net movement £3,294,522) as outlined in the table under paragraph 3.2.
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7.3 Note directorates and services' final position relating to budgetary control (paragraphs 3.3 to 3.7 and appendix 2)
7.4 Approve the slippages and commitments (£354,166) in appendix 4.
7.5 Approve the use of the balance of the additional income and underspend for the financial year 2019/20 (£350,882) to increase the Authority's General Balances (paragraph 4.2).
7.6 Approve the Capital Financing Statement (part 5).
7.7 Retrospectively approve the £100,000 budget virement (para 6.3)
29 Appendix 1
Snowdonia National Park Authority Revised Budget 2019-20 on 31 March 2020
Original Virements Net Months Months Revised Budget 1 - 7 8 - 12 Budget £ £ £ £ Plannign and Land Management Conservation and Agriculture 407,680 4,605 -7,000 405,285 Open Call (NRW grant scheme) 22,990 29,838 0 52,828 Dark Skies 15,990 0 0 15,990 ENRaW 0 0 7,000 7,000 Wealth of our Marshlands 0 0 0 0 SMS - Peatlands Wales 0 0 0 0 SMS - Eden 0 0 0 0 National Grid - Maentwrog (East) 0 0 0 0 National Grid - Maentwrog (West) 0 75,142 0 75,142 National Grid - Traditional Boundaries 0 0 0 0 LIFE - Celtic Rainforests 74,860 0 -13,396 61,464 Carneddau Landscape Partnership 0 0 0 0 ERAMMP 0 0 0 0 Public Access 129,160 -22,390 -11,130 95,640 Snowdon Team 286,420 16,799 -9,000 294,219 Wardens - General 259,730 -22,530 -31,550 205,650 Wardens - North 256,700 -62,500 12,000 206,200 Wardens - South 237,920 8,760 7,400 254,080 Estate Workers 0 -10,870 0 -10,870 Archaeology 59,880 13,794 -15,000 58,674 Cultural Heritage 110,140 2,475 -3,760 108,855 Dolgellau Townscape Heritage Scheme 36,610 0 0 36,610 Carneddau - Part 2 0 0 18,760 18,760 Planning 450,850 0 0 450,850 Ysgwrn 33,010 0 0 33,010 Ysgwrn (HLF Scheme) 0 0 0 0 Sub total carried forward 2,381,940 33,123 -45,676 2,369,387
Corporate Members' Costs 103,510 0 -4,455 99,055 Authority support 83,990 0 0 83,990 Corporate Management 672,100 24,058 -32,230 663,928 Property 162,820 43,960 0 206,780 Legal 51,830 0 0 51,830 Administration and Customer Care 216,780 4,000 -1,500 219,280 Translation 109,420 -3,000 0 106,420 Sub total carried forward 1,400,450 69,018 -38,185 1,431,283
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Appendix 1 (contin.)
Snowdonia National Park Authority Revised Budget 2019-20 as at 31 March 2020 Original Virements Revised Months Months Net Budget 1 - 7 8 - 12 Budget £ £ £ £ Sub totals carried forward
PLANNING AND LAND MANAGEMENT 2,381,940 33,123 -45,676 2,369,387
CORPORATE 1,400,450 69,018 -38,185 1,431,283 Personnel and Training 107,450 4,000 0 111,450 Headquarters 225,290 10,420 1,500 237,210 Information Systems 325,690 34,660 -10,000 350,350 Finance 166,540 19,700 11,000 197,240 Plas Tan y Bwlch 285,810 12,000 10,555 308,365 Engagement 361,850 142,060 -33,830 470,080 New Web Site 0 0 16,410 16,410 Youth Engagement (grant scheme) 0 0 0 0 Well-being Pathways (grant scheme) 0 0 0 0 Management Plan and Partnerships 245,800 176,622 1,400 423,822 Snowdon Partnership (Welsh Gov.) 0 0 21,634 21,634 Mountainsafe 0 68,925 0 68,925 Information Centres 140,780 20,100 0 160,880 Llyn Tegid -27,970 0 0 -27,970 Car Parks -385,900 0 0 -385,900 Litter Clearance 15,000 0 0 15,000 Traffic and Transportation 5,000 0 0 5,000 Visitor Facilities 187,720 0 0 187,720 3,053,510 557,505 -19,516 3,591,499 BALANCE 10,000 -10,000 0 0
TOTAL 5,445,450 580,628 -65,192 5,960,886 Interest Earned -8,000 -10,200 -11,000 -29,200 Capital financing from revenue 998,485 289,016 -23,808 1,263,693 Capital Charges Adjustment -579,480 0 0 -579,480 5,856,455 859,444 -100,000 6,615,899
FUNDED FROM National Park Grant 3,745,263 3,745,263 Constituent Authority Levy 1,248,420 1,248,420 Transfer to Reserves 862,772 859,444 -100,000 1,622,216 Revised Net Budget 5,856,455 6,615,899
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Appendix 2
Snowdonia National Park Authority Final Revenue Position 2019-20 as at 31 March 2020 Revised Net Actual Net To / From under / Budget Expenditure Reserves (over) £ £ £ £ PLANNING AND LAND MANAGEMENT Conservation, Woodlands and Agriculture 405,285 315,975 33,832 55,478 Open Call (NRW grant scheme) 52,828 25,550 27,278 0 Dark Skies 15,990 -28,451 44,441 0 ENRaW 7,000 -7,894 14,894 0 Wealth of our Marshlands 0 1,189 -1,189 0 SMS Welsh Peatlands 0 -12,097 12,097 0 SMS Eden 0 -16,119 16,119 0 SMS Uwch Gwyrfai 0 -3,330 3,330 0 National Grid - Maentwrog (West) 0 -95,719 95,719 0 National Grid - Maentwrog (East) 75,142 32,716 42,426 0 National Grid - Traditional Boundaries 0 0 0 0 Celtic Rainforests (LIFE) 61,464 -750,913 812,377 0 Carneddau Landscape Partnership (Part 1) 0 9,711 -9,711 0 Carneddau (Part 2) 18,760 880 17,880 0 ERAMMP 0 0 0 0 Public Access 95,640 79,420 0 16,220 Snowdon Team 294,219 292,091 0 2,128 Wardens - General 205,650 175,586 0 30,064 Wardens - North 206,200 192,504 0 13,696 Wardens - South 254,080 249,426 0 4,654 Estate Workers -10,870 -10,719 0 -151 Archaeology 58,674 31,074 13,794 13,806 Cultural Heriaage 108,855 43,832 50,200 14,823 Dolgellau Townscape Heritage Scheme 36,610 27,181 9,429 0 Planning 450,850 398,796 10,000 42,054 Ysgwrn 33,010 51,172 -18,162 0 Ysgwrn (HLF) 0 -10,824 10,824 0 Sub total to carry forward 2,369,387 991,037 1,185,578 192,772
CORPORATE Members Costs 99,055 95,158 0 3,897 Authority Support 83,990 72,802 0 11,188 Corporate Management 663,928 539,713 26,338 97,877 Sub total to carry forward 846,973 707,673 26,338 112,962
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Appendix 2 (contin.)
Snowdonia National Park Authority Final Revenue Position 2019-20 as at 31 March 2020 Cyllideb Net Gwariant Wedi'i o dan / Ddiwyg. Gwir. Neilltuo (trosodd) £ £ £ £
Sub totals carried forward
PLANNING AND LAND MANAGEMENT 2,369,387 991,037 1,185,578 192,772
CORPORATE 846,973 707,673 26,338 112,962 Property 206,780 229,204 0 -22,424 Legal 51,830 109,630 0 -57,800 Administration and Customer Care 219,280 204,118 0 15,162 Translation 106,420 83,229 0 23,191 Personnel and Training 111,450 113,620 0 -2,170 Headquarters 237,210 224,990 0 12,220 Information Systems 350,350 330,892 0 19,458 Finance 197,240 190,861 0 6,379 Plas Tan y Bwlch 308,365 468,735 0 -160,370 Engagement 470,080 373,637 83,640 12,803 New Web Site 16,410 2,350 14,060 0 Snowdonia Partnership (Welsh Gov.) 21,634 21,635 0 -1 Mountainsafe (Welsh Gov) 68,925 18,921 50,004 0 Management Plan and Partnerships 423,822 219,055 139,744 65,023 Information Centres 160,880 142,085 0 18,795 Llyn Tegid -27,970 -44,145 0 16,175 Car Parks -385,900 -487,838 0 101,938 Litter Clearance 15,000 18,146 0 -3,146 Traffic and Transport 5,000 1,000 0 4,000 Visitor Facilities 187,720 173,200 0 14,520 3,591,499 3,100,998 313,786 176,715
BALANCES 0000
5,960,886 4,092,035 1,499,364 369,487
TOTALS Interest Earned -29,200 -48,077 0 18,877 Capital funded from Reserves 1,263,693 -848,149 2,149,324 -37,482 Captial Charges Adjustment -579,480 -579,480 0 0 6,615,899 2,616,329 3,648,688 350,882
FINANCED FROM National Park Grant 3,745,263 Levies on Sonctituent Authorities 1,248,420 Use of Reserves 1,622,216 Revised Net Budget 6,615,899 33
Appendix 3
Original Welsh Government Grants remaining Grant Balance 31/3/20 (£) (£) Grants carried Revenue forward from Mountain Safe -70,000 -50,004 2016/17 -70,000 -50,004 Capital Capel Curig footbridge -10,000 -10,000 -10,000 -10,000 Total -80,000 -60,004
Welsh Revenue Government Commercialize the Access service for health and well-being grants received outputs - re-purposed for a new website -31,000 -20,080 in March Snowdon Interpretation Plan -10,000 -10,000 2017/18 Electric Car Charging Points -5,000 -2,500 Continuity of services -247,000 -25,402 -293,000 -57,982 Capital Snowdon Interpretation Plan -50,000 -50,000 Carneddau Landscape Partnership - Data LiDAR -85,000 -71,727 Carneddau Landscape Partnership - footpaths works -130,000 -130,000 Snowdon Partnership Scheme -130,000 -101,226 Ffridd Isaf, Snowdon - Access improvement -40,000 -21,699 Commercialize the Access service for health and well-being outputs (£ 20k re-purposed towards the cost of a new website) -45,000 -45,000 Efficiency savings for IT equipment relevant to Development Control -20,000 -4,200 Complete work for SMS, LIFE and CTL schemes -30,000 -30,000 Electric Car Charging Points -25,000 -19,825 Supportive projects to make Pen y Pass and Llyn Tegid more commercially sustainable -20,000 -9,028 Improvements to make Yr Ysgwrn more commercially sustainable after the end of the HLF scheme -40,000 -40,000 Purchase a new website for the Authority -25,000 -23,800 Demolition of St David's Hotel Harlech -315,000 -8,011 -955,000 -554,516 Total -1,248,000 -612,498
Welsh Revenue Government Ysgwrn -132,000 -132,000 grants received Landscape Architect -135,700 -135,700 in March Ecololgy -113,300 -113,300 2018/19 Litter / effect of people campaign -40,000 -30,000 Health and Wellbeing routes -55,000 -55,000 Authority website -79,000 -79,000 Engagement of Young People -75,000 -75,000 -630,000 -620,000 Capital Water Refill Stations at key sites -15,000 -12,042 Capital improvements to Hafod Eryri -176,300 -97,016 -191,300 -109,058 Total -821,300 -729,058
carried forward -2,149,300 -1,401,560
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Appendix 3 (continued)
Original Balance Welsh Government Grants remaining Grant 31/3/20 (£) (£)
carried forward -2,149,300 -1,401,560
Welsh Government Capital grants received in Betws y Coed - visitor experience -85,000 -82,075 2019/20 New "tramper" vehicle - to improve disabled access -16,000 -8,065 Improvements to accommodation facility at Plas Tan y Bwlch -200,000 -193,882 Plas Tan y Bwlch - upgrade -29,000 -15,157 Solar panels and other energy saving measures -88,000 -4,432 Mobile Observatory -100,000 -100,000 Sky Paths -15,000 -15,000 Penmaen Brith (circuit) -50,000 -50,000 Llyn Cynwch, Dolgellau (circuit) -70,000 -70,000 Snowdonia Circuit: Bwlch Maesgwn to Brithdir -70,000 -50,328 Snowdonia Circuit : Brithdir to Pen Ceunant -70,000 -70,000 New Heating System (HQ) -120,000 -31,931
Harlech Conservation and Regeneration Program -187,000 -187,000 Hafod Eryri -123,700 -123,700 Betws y Coed Information Center: development of a café and sales facility -45,000 -40,065 Canolfan Ogwen: developing information for walkers and other groups -79,840 -79,840 Gorseddau slate quarry landscape -150,000 -150,000 Nant Gwynant crossing point -45,000 -45,000 Cader Idris - upland paths -100,000 -100,000 Llyn Llywelyn / Drws y Coed, Rhyd Ddu -30,000 -30,000 Lon Gwyrfai -30,000 -30000 Total -1,703,540 -1,476,475
Grand Total -3,852,840 -2,878,035
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Appendix 4 Snowdonia National Park Authority Slippage and Other Costs 2019-20 (£) (£) Conservation, Woodlands and Agriculture Rhododendron control 8,430 8,430
Archaeology Work at Tomen y Mur 2,746 2,746
Management Plan and Partnerships Volunteer and Community Fund 13,650 Park Management Plan 12,161 25,811
Engagement Contribution to the cost of a new website 26,690 Develop online content and engagement over the Covid-19 period 14,470 Snowdon VR works completed 5,000 Contribution to TAIS Ogwen 5,000 Renewal of Hafod Eryri interpretation 19,000 A saving on the cost of producing Snowdonia magazine - piloting "mail-shot" within the National Park and nearby communities 3,480 73,640
Corporate Management Management Team Fund 26,338 26,338
CAPITAL Cultural Heritage capital projects 63,206 Warden and Access Vehicles 15,802 Access Projects 60,000 Database Management System 50,000 Develop the course booking system at Plas Tan y Bwlch 28,193 217,201
Total Slippage and Other Costs 2019/20 354,166
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ITEM NO. 5
MEETING: Snowdonia National Park Authority
DATE: 15th July, 2020
TITLE: HEALTH PROTECTION (CORONOVIRUS RESTRICTIONS) (WALES) 2020 REGULATIONS
AUTHOR: Chief Executive
PURPOSE: To report on how the Authority undertook its responsibility in relation to the regulation.
1. BACKGROUND:
1.1. As the spread of Coronavirus progressed both Westminster and Devolved Governments started to put in place measures to control the spread of the virus, to protect the NHS and to save lives. These were incremental from the beginning of March.
1.2 On the 20th of March the Prime Minister announced the need for individuals to show discipline and ensure that contact with others was limited to reduce the chance of transmission of the virus within the community. Part of his speech was:
“We are collectively telling, telling cafes, pubs, bars, restaurants to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can, and not to open tomorrow”. Though to be clear, they can continue to provide take-out services. We’re also telling nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres to close on the same timescale. Now, these are places where people come together, and indeed the whole purpose of these businesses is to bring people together. But the sad things is that today for now, at least physically, we need to keep people apart.”
1.3 This was a clear message, however by mid-day on the 21st of March we saw one of the busiest days in terms of day visitors in Snowdonia.
1.4 After consulting with the Chair of the Authority early on the 21st staff prepared statements for the media in relation to the situation which were released early on the 22nd of March. The images, messages and interviews provided by the Authority were significant and we have been advised they had an impact in the decision to enter into the lockdown phase. The UK wide lockdown was confirmed on the evening of 23rd of March.
1.5 After consulting with the Chair, the Authority closed most of its carparks on Monday the 23rd March, they remained open for the 22nd as there were significant numbers of people in the area, closing the carparks could have created traffic management and road safety issues.
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2. THE HEALTH PROTECTION (CORONAVIRUS: CLOSURE OF LEISURE BUSINESSES, FOOTPATHS AND ACCESS LAND) (WALES) REGULATIONS 2020 and HEALTH PROTECTION (CORONOVIRUS RESTRICTIONS) (WALES) 2020 REGULATIONS
2.1 Wales created a regulation in order to provide all Local Authorities, National Park Authorities, Natural Resources Wales and the National Trust the ability to restrict access to the public to the countryside. No such provision was made in England.
2.2 The main justification for closure or not to enter certain public paths and land during the emergency period is stipulated in section 9(2):
(a) to be liable to large numbers of people congregating or being in close proximity to each other, or (b) the use of which otherwise poses a high risk to the incidence or spread of infection in its area with the coronavirus.
2.3 The Health Protection (Coronavirus: Closure of Leisure Businesses, Footpaths and Access Land) (Wales) Regulations 2020 was introduced on the 24th of March and it provided the powers and responsibility. The regulation allowed all four bodies to utilise their usual powers of competence to restrict/control access. The ability of this Authority is primarily in the control of open access land. I consulted with Welsh Government over their expectation in terms of governance of the regulation, they were clear in their guidance that the matters were operational and executive in nature.
2.4 All had a 24-hour period in which to confirm which areas should be restricted to the public under the Health Protection (Coronavirus: Closure of Leisure Businesses, Footpaths and Access Land) (Wales) Regulations 2020 as well as produce and install signage across all sites which was then replaced on the following day with Health Protection (Coronovirus Restrictions) (Wales) 2020 Regulations, which meant that all the work had to be redone in order to be compliant with the new regulation. The Regulations are to lapse automatically after a period of 6 months.
3. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:
3.1 The responsibility of the Authority in relation to the regulation were basically: 1. To consider the requirements of the regulation, 2. To implement closures if it was deemed necessary, 3. To provide appropriate information on any closures, 4. To review closures as required or at least every 3 weeks, 5. To implement Welsh Government advise in relation to any further closures or easing.
3.2 The Authority had three potential scenarios: 1. Close the whole area of the Park, 2. No closures at all, 3. Select specific popular areas in the Park.
3.3 We were mindful that there was a responsibility to ensure that there were sufficient opportunities for local people still to be able to undertake some form of exercise in this period. The closures especially in National Parks were also largely symbolic in terms communicating messages on a National level and to restore community confidence.
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Usage data were utilised to guide which areas should be considered and four areas were closed: Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa, Y Glyderau & Ogwen, Cadair Idris, Aran Benllyn a Aran Fawddwy. The Authority only closed 18% of its open access land or 11% of its total area.
4. REVIEWING:
4.1 We held a weekly meeting to review our closures. Two minor adjustments were made to the areas (Elidir Fawr and Moel Eilio) in the period leading up to the First minister announcement on the 19th of June.
4.2 Members of staff were also involved in different groups with Welsh Government and on a North Wales basis especially on communications. The initial phase of this period ensured that there would be a consistency of approach across organisations as to the implementation of the regulations and to ensure that key messages for communication were agreed. From mid-May onwards work with partners focused on the period when easing would have to occur and some effort was made to ensure that there would be again consistency of approach across Wales, especially with the situation across the border in England being different.
5. OPENING UP FOR THE 6th JULY:
5.1 The guidance provided by the First Minister in his statement on the 19th of June was clear, in that the following two weeks should be prepared for opening up of especially the visitor economy. This was a clear policy decision made by Welsh Government and operational matters had to be resolved within those two weeks. Further discussions with officials confirmed that they could see no case for any areas to be remained closed.
The Authority provided a focused consultation that closed on the 29th of June. We wrote to over 95 organisations/individuals to seek community views on the practicality of opening up following the First Minister’s announcement on the 19th of June. We received over 70 responses.
6. MAIN COMMENTS FROM CONSULTATION:
6.1 There was commonality in most of the responses and they mainly focused around the following:
1. Need to have sufficient presence on the ground in the initial period, 2. Agree to the opening of carparks to avoid traffic management issues, 3. Need for provision of adequate signage, 4. Toilets need to be opened and maintained, 5. Need for clear messaging and targeted, especially into NW England, 6. Concerns over litter, 7. Concerns over potential parking problems.
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6.2 There was a sense of nervousness in the responses on the easing of the guidance on travelling. Some responses were very supportive of the opening and only one community council considered that Welsh Government should not lift travel restrictions at this moment in time.
7. ACTIONS TAKEN FOR OPENING:
7.1 Need to have sufficient presence on the ground in the initial period As an Authority we have mobilised staff to provide extra support for a presence on the ground. Arrangements have been made with other organisations for them to lead on the ground presence in specific areas. We are to appoint some seasonal staff for this summer. Partners are also working with us to provide volunteer support.
7.2 Agree to the opening of carparks to avoid traffic management issues Hard barriers were removed in order to open by the 6th of July. Their opening was made in liaison with North Wales Police, Local Authorities and NRW.
7.3 Need for provision of adequate signage Signage has been produced and they will be targeted especially where we felt that there were potential matters in terms of ability to maintain social distancing.
7.4 Toilets need to be opened and maintained Toilets were commissioned by the 4th of July and arrangements in place for increased frequency of cleaning, social distancing measures and provision of hand sanitising stations on the entrance to all toilets.
7.5 Need for clear messaging and targeted, especially into NW England Messaging and communication plans agreed on a National and Regional level. Specific messaging prepared e.g. for Snowdon summit etc. A campaign on responsible behaviour and respect for the National Park was launched immediately following the dropping of the 5 miles restriction (Stay Safe, Tread Lightly, Be Kind).
7.6 Concerns over litter Extra provision prepared e.g. additional bin facilities and collections at Pen y Pass. and Llyn Tegid. A company was placed on call to address litter issues on our sites.
7.7 Concerns over potential parking problems Discussions ongoing with North Wales Police and Gwynedd Council on these matters. New live car park updates developed for our website.
8. LESSONS LEARNT:
The key lessons were: Working with key partners was vital, A joint three National Parks approach was successful, North Wales Police very effective in compliance and enforcement, Closures on their own untested, National travel restrictions were successful, Disciplined and structured response by Authority was important, Need to be light footed in such a period, Consistency of messaging and practice between partners,
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Issues experienced by English National Parks were underlying and predictable and a problem across society. Staff were key and performed excellent in a challenging period, Only by working together on a National and Regional basis that closures were able to be maintained, Media management, messages and targeting fundamental to management of the area.
9. RECOMMENDATION:
To note content of report.
JO/Authority/July 2020/Covid-19
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ITEM NO. 6
MEETING: Snowdonia National Park Authority
DATE: 15th July, 2020
TITLE: STRATEGIC and WELLBEING OBJECTIVES AND CORPORATE PLAN 2021-26
AUTHOR: Chief Executive
PURPOSE: For members to consider and approve strategic /wellbeing objectives for the purpose of an informal consultation
1. BACKGROUND:
1.1 In March 2019 the Authority agreed to review its strategic objectives and a timeline to adopt a new Corporate Plan for the period 2020-25. Members of the Authority in doing so wanted to ensure that the Authority was better able to address the priorities identified for the designated landscapes of Wales (Valued and Resilient) by Welsh Government in its objectives and Corporate Plan.
1.2 Member Involvement: Two Working Groups in September considered the matters involved in developing new strategic objectives and a further working group was convened in January 2020. The first working group considered comments of service heads and the priorities contained in the Valued and Resilient report. The second working group, which was a facilitated discussion by members considered which strategic objectives should be considered by the Authority. Members following their discussions recommended that the development of new strategic objectives and consequentially the adoption of a new corporate plan should be allowed more time for further consideration and engagement.
1.3 At the Performance and Resource Committee on the 20th of November 2019 members considered a revised timeline to develop revised strategic objectives and a Corporate Plan for the period 2021-26 and recommended such to the Authority. a timeline was adopted (Appendix 1).
1.4 The Performance and Resource Committee also recommended that a Task and Finish group to further develop the process to develop strategic objectives and a Corporate Plan for the period 2021-26 should be convened. The Task and Finish group were asked to provide a structure to enable such and within the recommended timeline.
The following members agreed to be on the Task and Finish Group: Cllr. Alwyn Gruffydd, Chair of the Performance and Resources Committee, Elinor Gwynn and Cllr. Phil Capper. The task and finish group was held on the 11th of December 2019.
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1.5 The task and finish group made a number of points which have not yet been reported to members. Draft minutes of the task and finish group held on 11.12.19. are enclosed (Appendix 2). At this stage the following points are the most relevant: in order to achieve the target, a further facilitated session to develop draft wellbeing objectives should be arranged in January 2020. the next facilitated session should include the outcome report from the previous facilitated session and the Designated Landscapes Wales Members’ Seminar report. when setting the objectives Members should consider how to measure success and how the Authority makes a difference.
1.6 The report prepared by the facilitators of the working group of 22nd January 2020 has been previously distributed to members (Appendix 3).
1.7 Strategic Outcomes: The facilitated working group of members in January 2020 developed on what was established in from the previous facilitated working group of September 2019. The report of 22nd January confirmed the findings of the September working group and that there were three outcomes that should drive our Strategic priorities for the Corporate plan for 2021-26. These being: 1. Resilient Environments, 2. Resilient Communities, and 3. Resilient ways of working.
1.8 Members also identified the need to be able to identify what success looks like for any potential actions that delivery against these three outcomes. For this reason, I recommend to members that whilst they consult on the strategic priorities/desired outcomes they also at the same time ask those consulted of how they perceive what success looks like. This should assist members when they come to agree and monitor future corporate plans.
1.9 Members should remember that the resources available to the Authority is constrained and therefore the ability to radically redeploy resources will take some time. The nature of how to deliver is also increasingly being based around projects; the corporate plan aligned with the Management Plan will need to be mindful of delivery options.
1.10 Members need not worry if they are not totally satisfied with the proposed for consultation. Even after that consultation there will be an opportunity for Authority members to review the draft Wellbeing Objectives/strategic priorities taking into account both consultation comments or any further relevant information.
1.11 It is useful to remind ourselves that we have three strategic policy documents and all of our challenges and aspirations need not be corralled into one, the three policy documents are: 1. Park Management Plan (Cynllun Eryri), 2. Eryri Local Development Plan, 3. Wellbeing and Corporate Plan.
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2. CONSULTATION:
The agreed timeline allowed for stakeholder involvement this summer prior to further member consideration in the Autumn. What is consulted on should be set against the three outcomes but also invite comments on what success looks like. The following is suggested as an outline for the basis of consultation. All these are taken from the report produced following the facilitated working group of 22nd January, obviously our understanding on some of the issues involved has changed following Covid-19.
2.1 Resilient Environments: 1. Improve recreation management and addressing the negative effects of recreation, 2. Responding to the challenges of climate change, 3. Improving the management and understanding of our cultural heritage. 4. Addressing the challenges of post Brexit land management scenarios, 5. Addressing the decline in nature.
2.2 Resilient Communities: 1. Maintaining and increasing the quality of life of residents, 2. Supporting young people, 3. Value of tourism to local communities, 4. Promote and actively support the Welsh language, 5. Develop a local economy which supports both the designation and the management of Snowdonia as a National Park.
2.3 Resilient ways of working. 1. Developing a skilled workforce, 2. Developing best practice, 3. Effective partnership working, 4. Modernising governance arrangements, 5. Maintain and improve the understanding and support of local communities to the work of the National park.
2.4 Members are asked to consider the above as an outline for an informal consultation with our stakeholders.
2.5 Members will then need to consider the establishment of task & finish groups to analyse the consultation responses which should be structured around the three key outcomes.
3. RECOMMENDATIONS:
3.1 To note content of report and member involvement to date
3.2 To receive the minutes of the task and finish group dated 11th of December 2019
3.3 To consider the 3 outcome areas as identified in paragraphs 1.7
3.4 To agree and approve outcomes for the basis of informal consultation with stakeholders over the summer period
3.5 To also seek views of stakeholders as to what success looks like on such matters.
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APPENDIX 1.
Spring, 2019 Initial engagement with Heads of Service
Summer, 2019 Engagement of Members and Staff to discuss proposals for a Well-being Objectives and scope options for including the priorities of the “Valued and Resilient” report
September, 2019 Facilitated Working Group of Members to scope potential well- being Objectives (for purposes of engagement).
November , 2019 Confirm a revised timeline for adopting new Well-being Objectives.
Winter 2019/20 Further facilitated Working Group of Members to scope Well- being Objectives.
Spring 2020 Working groups/ task and finish groups to further consider the Well-being Objectives.
June/July 2020 Members (Authority or Performance and Resources Committee) approve Well-being Objectives for stakeholder engagement including, staff, partners, Welsh Government, Community Councils, Voluntary sector, private sector and others.
September or November 2020 Members consider consultation responses and agree draft service priorities, improvement objectives* and well-being objectives.
November/December 2020 Formal Consultation with stakeholders
Early February, 2021 Directors and Heads of Service consider consultation responses, prepare a final draft of the Improvement objectives* and well-being objectives and to formulate a work programme based thereon.
There will be a need for the input of Wales Audit Office at this point.
Early March, 2021 Members Working Group to consider final draft.
March 2021, P&R Committee Performance and Resources Committee (on behalf of the Authority) to adopt the improvement objectives* and well-being Objectives for 2021-26. This allows for the Corporate Plan to be prepared for adoption by the Authority meeting in April 2021.
The Plan will include a statement explaining how the objectives help the Authority achieve the well-being goals, how it has applied the sustainable development principles.
April 2021 Authority adopts the Corporate Plan for 2021-22.
*Local Government Measure may be dis‐applied by April 2021.
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APPENDIX 2.
Corporate Plan Task & Finish Group – 11 December 2019
Present:
Members: Councillors A. Gruffydd, P. Capper; Ms. Elinor Gwyn.
Officers: Mr. E. Williams, Mr. G.I. Jones, Mrs. A. Gaffey.
1. Timeline for developing and agreeing strategic objectives and Corporate Plan for 2021-2026 The Appendix outlining the proposed timeline was circulated at the meeting.
2. Review of Timeline The group discussed the timeline for adopting the Wellbeing and Improvement Objectives. The Chief Executive stressed the importance of respecting the current schedule as the draft objectives need to be formally approved by the Authority at its Annual General Meeting on the 3rd June 2020. This would then allow the Authority to start stakeholder engagement during June/July 2020. The Chief Executive advised that the Authority needs to adopt its Corporate Plan by April 2021 and prepare its work programmes for the budget in December/January.
Members recognised the need to adhere to the timetable but felt there was room for additional steps within the existing timeline. This would still allow the Authority to adopt its Corporate Plan by April 2021. Elinor Gwynn agreed to forward suggestions to the group which supported the timeline.
3. The Chief Executive and the Task and Finish Group agreed that: - - in order to achieve the target, a further facilitated session to develop draft wellbeing objectives should be arranged in January 2020. - the next facilitated session should include the outcome report from the previous facilitated session and the Designated Landscapes Wales Members’ Seminar report. - when setting the objectives Members should consider how to measure success and how the Authority makes a difference. - the facilitated discussion to consider results based accountability. - Members agreed that having too many objectives in partnership meant the Authority often fails to achieve its objectives through no fault of its own. - Members should provide officers with clear direction and be ambitious. - the Chief Executive stated that the Members’ Working Group meetings could take on any form members chose e.g. using 1 full day per quarter for this work. - Members were reassured that if they wanted to review the Wellbeing Objectives to take into account the consultation response and other information then they would be able to do so.
The meeting ended at 13.40
46 APPENDIX 3. Snowdonia National Park Authority – Wellbeing Objectives Workshop Report from workshop held with Members - 22nd January 2020 at Plas Tan y Bwlch
Abigail Tweed - Director, Milestone Tweed Grant Peisley - Director, DEG
February 2020
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1 Introduction Snowdonia National Park Authority commissioned Grant Peisley, Director of DEG and Abigail Tweed, Director of Milestone Tweed to facilitate a workshop with Board members with the purpose: To formulate a prioritised list of strategic wellbeing outcomes* and identify measures and indicators of success for the Authority as a basis for informal consultation. *We focussed on strategic outcomes which will be translated by officers into workplans and operational wellbeing objectives, see Appendix One, page 13, for a summary of the process. The workshop took place on Wednesday 22nd January between 11.30am and 3.30pm at Plas Tan yr Bwlch. In summary, the workshop provided the Members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority the opportunity to re-examine the wellbeing statements created at a series of previous workshops, to prioritise them, and then to work on those with the highest priority in further depth. For context, it is anticipated that in the next five years there will be no growth in revenue funding however capital funding through one-off grants will be available and the Authority will need to respond to such swiftly. The wellbeing objectives will help to guide the responses to these opportunities. It was suggested by a previous facilitator that the outcomes could be grouped in three theme areas. The statements were a mixture of outcomes, objectives and potential strategies or ways of working. Some of the statements wording, but not meaning, were altered to ensure statements were easily comparable by Members when prioritising them, and were, therefore, all presented as outcomes. These outcomes were used in the prioritisation process, recognising that there was cross over for a number of outcomes across the three themes. The three themes are: 1. Resilient Environments, 2. Resilient Communities, 3. Resilient ways of working. Within the time allocated in the workshop the Members were able to work on nine out of thirty nine outcomes, asking for each one: 1. What does success look like for this outcome?
Members were asked to describe what they would see, hear and experience if this outcome was successfully achieved.
2. How can we measure the success of this outcome? How will we know we have succeeded? Within the measurement discussions Members were asked to focus primarily on qualitative measures or indicators of success, as it has been recommended by the Welsh Audit Office that organisations need to report not just on outputs, but on outcomes.
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2 Prioritising the outcomes
Members were asked to prioritise the wellbeing outcomes created by Members in previous workshops using coloured sticky dots. Where Authority Members felt there were issues missing they added information to the outcomes. These have been added in blue. Many of the outcomes cut across the three themes. The prioritised lists of outcomes are shown below for each theme. 1. Resilient Environments
o Improve the natural environment of the Park to create resilient habitats and resilient businesses based on the natural environment like agriculture and forestry. (23 votes) o Facilitate and further increase local people’s enterprise (19 votes) o Improve recreation management and increase understanding of how to manage the negative effects of tourism and recreation (18 votes) o Increase understanding of, and respond to, the challenge of climate change on nature in terms of landscape. Adaptation of landscape to policy and climate change that enhances biodiversity but retains special qualities. (15 votes) o Further increase value to local produce (11 votes) o Increase and improve connections with schools on how the Donaldson curriculum can be implemented in partnership with the Park and the natural environment (8 votes)
2. Resilient Communities
o Increase positive contributions to the lives and economy of those who live within the Park, without spoiling the quality of the landscape, its ecology, the rods, the paths, quality of life and culture of this part of Wales. (16 votes) o Increase work with communities to identify new ways of added value to the natural resources we have where innovation requires work with academic and other partners to find new ways forward. (10 votes) o Increase flexibility in planning systems and policies to ensure that young people stay in our rural communities and make things easy for these families to diversify. (8 votes) o Increase our encouragement of and support for local young business people. (How do we encourage and support local young business people?) (8 votes) o Increase cycle ways to link villages to each other and create safe walking and cycle paths / lanes (8 votes) o Increase viable Welsh communities (7 votes) mt | milestone tweed & DEG 3 49
o Increase the value of tourism to local communities in an environmentally sustainable way (7 votes) o Establish a young person’s forum to draw on their experience and ideas to feed into the work we do across all goals (7 votes) o Improve planning processes and increase housing for local people (6 votes) o Create a greater feeling within our towns and villages that our communities are more active, supportive, obliging – and will offer a good quality of life socially, culturally and economically to people of all ages. (within 5 years) (5 votes) o Increase the average weekly wage in the Park and surrounding communities (5 votes) o More Welsh speakers will be running these enterprises and businesses in every part of the Park, with an interest in using and promoting the language in the way that they work, market themselves and recruit. (within 5 years) Need to recognise diversity of roles/jobs / careers etc. in National Park and surrounding areas (4 votes) o Increase engagement and reduce barriers for local people and communities to access their National Park (4 votes) o Increase work to keep our people in their communities (4 votes) o Increase social prescribing (4 votes) o Reduce car transport in the Park and increase the use of public and sustainable transport (4 votes) o Increase sustainability in the tourist industry so that it will be more sustainable within and around the Park (within 5 years) (2 votes) o Improve health and wellbeing of local people (2 votes) o Create a greater variety of tourist businesses with a range of experiences / activities promoting themselves through the medium of Welsh. (within 5 years) (1 vote) o Increase diversity (people) in the National Park and the Authority (0 votes)
3. Resilient ways of working o Create a workforce with skills and abilities so that we work effectively every day and contribute to our communities. (18 votes) o Increase the Authority’s confidence to work in partnership, increase partner’s respect for the way in which it leads or contributes to partnerships within and outside the Park’s borders (within 5 years) (16 votes) o Develop the Park as a global leader in best practice. (16 votes) o Honour the objective to be carbon neutral by 2030 (11 votes) o Improve community engagement and use local volunteers to promote the Park and its culture. There are few tourist information centres within the Park. ( 10 votes) o Improve the Park’s work as a catalyst that persuades bodies and local and national organisations to adopt ideas. (10 votes) o Increase staff and members voice in the Park’s work so they feel their voice is heard by the authority (within 5 years) (9 votes)
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o Improve clarity on long term vision (5 to 10 years’ time) using evidence then work back to Improve planning and prioritisation and increase understanding on how we are going to measure performance. In 5 years’ time SNPA will have a clear evidence plan in place and it will be implemented effectively including with partners. (7 votes) o Greater public engagement with the Authority. (7 votes) o Increase a conscious pride among the Authority staff. (6 votes) o Reduce the cost of maintaining Snowdon (2 votes) o Develop and increase appreciation of the skills and contributions of the workforce by the Authority (within 5 years) (1 vote) o Increase strong leadership from the National Park. (1 vote)
3 What does success look like? And how will we know we have succeeded? What indicators or measurements of success are there?
Below are the tables showing the work completed by Members on nine individual outcomes across the three outcome themes. They are broken into three columns showing the outcome, a vision describing what success would look like and the third column lists ways of measuring success. Please note the indicators / measurements of success in some cases are general to the overall vision for that outcome rather than individual descriptions of what success looks like. There is not always a direct correlation between the statement of what success looks like and the measure next to it on the same line.
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Resilient Environments
Outcome What does success look like? Indicators / measurement of success
Facilitate and further More small businesses sustained by local people People are confident to start a business increase local people’s enterprise Greater diversity of small / micro businesses People have improved their skills related to business Better infrastructure to support the above More cooperation between local businesses Higher GDP within the Park and / or communities groups / enterprises
A feeling of enterprise Attitudinal survey with young people in the Park Planning policies positively engaging and supporting local need
More Welsh speaking young people choosing to stay and making a living in the Park
Improve the natural Snowdonia peatlands and SSSI’s and their vicinity are all in good % in good condition environment of the Park to condition create resilient habitats and resilient businesses There is more riparian planting on uplands of salix (willows) People / landowners / householders / the based on the natural highways dept. report less flood impact and environment like saturated soil agriculture and forestry More businesses using readily available local resources / materials Increase of people (residents) more likely to create a business based on natural environment and outside the Park A more diverse habitat and species Farmers and forestry owners wanting to create more diversity of wildlife on their land More partnerships with stakeholders
Improve recreation An effective network of paths meeting the needs of the local area Different levels of footpath usage by different management and increase and sustainable tourism including cycle paths, footpaths, bridle local audiences and visitors understanding of how to paths mt | milestone tweed & DEG 6 52
manage the negative Levels of desire to use network for business effects of tourism and Parking, public transport and local communities working and leisure recreation effectively together People’s awareness of routes and A more connected and sustainable (private and public) transport connectivity of paths and ways etc. system Change in car usage levels Dispersal of tourism across the year and spatially More residents with a positive attitude Events (sponsored, races and challenges) managed effectively towards tourism / decrease in negative and contributing towards maintenance and repairs to environment feelings (use population attitude survey)
Resilient Communities
Outcome What does success look like? Indicators / measurement of success
Increase positive contributions to the lives A new generation of environmentally educated people More people in employment and economy of those who live within the Park, without New dynamic workforce No’s of young people 16-30 feeling confident spoiling the quality of the to start up their own business landscape, its ecology, the Young environmental ambassadors roads, the paths, quality of No’s of 35+ reporting enhanced sense of life and culture of this part of Local entrepreneurs wellbeing from managing own business Wales More people feeling their employment contributes to social and economic wellbeing
Community proud of its natural and cultural heritage People’s increasing pride in their communities and its environment.
Increase work with More community meetings within communities People have a wider understanding of the communities to identify new economic potential of a wider range of local ways of adding value to the ‘New’ partnerships in place with academics resources natural resources we have mt | milestone tweed & DEG 7 53
where innovation requires More businesses using natural resources in different ways with People feel more engaged with the natural work with academic and increased business advice and support resource environment other partners to find new ways forward % of businesses that are happy / content with support
Businesses have a better understanding of the value of nature
More processing units add value to produce locally
More individuals and communities develop and use sources of suitable alternative energy
Increase flexibility in Affordable modular houses made from local resources Young people want to live and work locally planning systems and (sustainable) under ‘One Planet’ guidance policies to ensure that People want to set up businesses in the young people stay in our Encouragement to support more ‘local’ entrepreneurial National Park and feel confident to do so rural communities and make businesses things easy for these How aligned Gwynedd CC and SNPA are in families to diversify Varied age and demographic distribution of residents their support of new businesses – analyse synergy and dissonance of policies and Principle residence policies in place to encourage indigenous programmes population which retains culture and language initiatives set by Welsh Govt. guidance Measure Welsh language use
Increase the use of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) Level of take up of CLTs
Trial use of community based plans Level of confidence of communities to manage own assets Year round high value jobs Demographic profile SNPA and local communities agree that the planning system is effective
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Resilient ways of working
Outcome What does success look like? Indicators / measurement of success
Create a workforce with Skills of SNPA staff are appropriate to the demands of the Appropriate job descriptions skills and abilities so that we external environment e.g. facilitating and enabling skills work effectively every day % of positive exit interviews? and contribute to our Skills and competency based recruitment including Board / communities Governance Extent to which staff feel they have skills and abilities, or are supported to develop them Communities are confident that Park staff contribute effectively and are able to deploy these in their day to to improve their wellbeing day work to create job satisfaction and deliver effectively Staff are confident to engage with communities
A good number / range of people with appropriate experience, Increase in job applications skills and attitude applying for jobs
A strong training / mentoring etc. package in place to strengthen staff skills
Local people perceive the Authority as a good employer
New FE specific courses based in the communities e.g. understanding the concept of achieving the health and wellbeing of locals
Increase the Authority’s Communities respect the Park for the work they do in Partners who see the Park as a ‘good’ confidence to work in partnership with them partner partnership, increase partner’s respect for the way An increase in voluntary partners % satisfied with SNPA in which it leads or contributes to partnerships More opportunities for members and staff to work with partners Other organisations perceive the SNPA as an within and outside the and find new partners organisation that they can work with Park’s borders Closer working with voluntary bodies / statutory bodies No of formal agreements with partners
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SNPA working in partnerships with new innovative (adrenaline / All staff better understand what the true adventure ) businesses meaning of joint working and how to do so effectively
% of staff who understand their role
% of partners satisfied with SNPA staff
Ability of SNPA staff to understand what contributes to effective or ineffective partnership working and to develop effective interventions to address these to benefit projects, programmes and organisational capability Develop the Park as a global A better understanding of what we are good at already and what People asking staff to attend events e.g. leader in best practice others are good at “innovation” courses, conferences to discuss their work in Wales and beyond SNPA have developed a risk taking attitude Examples of staff / SNPA’s work being used We are working in partnership in order to help provide evidence, create policies and legislation
Other National Parks using SNPA to benchmark against (as a template)
Extent to which staff at all levels feel their work demonstrates exemplars and is widely appreciated
Being asked by other National Parks how to apply the idea in their area
Staff are confident that in some areas at least the Park is recognised as a global leader
Acknowledgment / rewards for innovative work mt | milestone tweed & DEG 10 56
4 Summary / Recommendations
Participants recognised that the timeframe to address complex issues was challenging. By the end of the workshop many Members felt they had worked extremely hard, and in depth. They felt that they had understood and tackled some of their previously defined outcomes and identified how these outcomes could be measured. o It is worth considering whether it is essential that Members work on the measurement and indicators of the outcomes. Could this work be seen as operational? Could staff do this work and then propose measurement indicators to Members? We would recommend Members set the overall vision and staff develop indicators and measurement.
o We would recommend further work on the wording of the outcomes, which may enable a reduction in their number and would gain further clarity through more coherent themed outcome areas. For example, in the resilient communities theme, the outcome: Increase flexibility in planning systems and policies to ensure that young people stay in our rural communities and make things easy for these families to diversify.
Could be combined with: Improve planning processes and increase housing for local people
To create: Increase housing for local people, especially targeting young people to ensure they stay in our rural communities. Do this by increasing flexibility in planning policies, systems and processes.
The diversification element of the top outcome could be added to the outcome:
Increase our encouragement of and support for local young business people. (How do we encourage and support local young business people?)
To create: Increase our encouragement of and support for local young business people, for example by making things easy for young people and young families to diversify (How do we encourage and support local young business people?)
These revised outcomes may then be sent to Members for acceptance.
o It was suggested by a Member that more resource may be needed to enable qualitative measures to be put into practice by SNPA staff. It was recognised that training may be needed for staff and that measuring in a qualitative way can in some instances be time consuming and therefore costly e.g. focus groups. We recommend this is considered. mt | milestone tweed & DEG 11 57
o Appendix One, below shows the summarised process as understood. We recommend checking and sharing this diagram with all involved, Members and staff, to clarify the process, guide the development of the wellbeing objectives and thereby alleviate any frustration or impatience with this work.
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Appendix One
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ITEM NO. 7
REPORT OF THE MEMBERS’ WORKING GROUP HELD ON 11th MAY 2020
PRESENT:
Members appointed by Gwynedd Council Councillors Elwyn Edwards, Alwyn Gruffydd, Judith Humphreys, Edgar Owen;
Members appointed by Conwy County Borough Council Councillors Philip Capper, Wyn Ellis Jones (Chair);
Members appointed by the Welsh Government Mr. Brian Angell, Ms. Tracey Evans, Ms. Elinor Gwynn, Mr. Tim Jones, Mr. Neil Martinson, Mr. Owain Wyn;
Officers Mr. Emyr Williams, Mr. G. Iwan Jones, Mr. Jonathan Cawley, Mr. Dafydd Edwards, Mr. Emyr Roberts, Mrs. Jo Worrall, Mrs. Anwen Gaffey;
Apologies Councillors Freya Bentham, Annwen Hughes, Elfed Powell Roberts, John Pughe Roberts, Gethin Williams, Ifor Glyn Lloyd.
1. Chairman’s Announcements The Chairman apologised for the slight delay at the start of the meeting which was to allow time for Members and officers to familiarise themselves with the new technology. He also advised that there would be a short break mid-way through the agenda, as remote meetings can, at times, be very tiring. The Chairman reminded Members that they should make every effort to speak once only on an agenda item.
The Chairman extended a warm welcome to Mr. Tim Jones, the newly appointed Welsh Government Member of the Authority, who was attending his first meeting. Mr. Jones introduced himself to the meeting and informed Members that he had spent most of his career working for the Countryside Council for Wales and Natural Resources Wales. Also, during the 1980’s, Mr. Jones had been an Area Warden with the Brecon Beacons National Park and was now looking forward to working with everyone at Snowdonia.
2. Update on the position Submitted – An oral report by the Chief Executive to provide Members with background to the steps taken following the very busy week-end in Eryri on 21st March 2020.
Reported – The Chief Executive reported that at the outset, all staff who were considered vulnerable were sent home and arrangements for closing the TIC’s, Yr Ysgwrn and Plas Tan y Bwlch were put in place. On the Monday, following the Prime Minister’s national lockdown announcement, emergency legislation by Welsh Government allowed the Authority to take steps to close car parks and popular tourist sites. Prior to this, discussions took place between all the UK’s National Parks as to what message should go out to the
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public, with the Welsh National Parks favouring stricter measures than the Parks in England. Images of the number of cars at Pen y Pass at the week- end undoubtedly influenced Welsh Government Policy and resulted in the decision, taken in consultation with the Chairman, to close the Authority’s car parks and restrict access to the most popular sites in Snowdonia, including Snowdon, Ogwen, Cadair Idris, Aran Benllyn and Aran Fawddwy, representing 11% of the area of the Snowdonia National Park.
The Chief Executive felt it was important to balance the national message not to visit Snowdonia with allowing local people the opportunity to continue enjoying their local area. The Brecon Beacons National Park had closed all their mountain areas, Pembrokeshire Coast had closed two thirds of the coastal path and Ceredigion County Council had also closed all of its coastal path.
The Chief Executive advised that officers had been working on the regulations relating to the ability to hold formal Authority meetings, the Furlough Scheme, and assessing the Authority’s financial position. However, the emphasis was now on how to re-open and preparing to return to normality, which had been going well, until the Prime Minister's latest statement (unrestricted travel in England) which had given rise to a lot of confusion. The Chief Executive had been in contact with the Welsh Government, who were meeting with the Police Authorities in Wales for discussions today. Also, the Police Federation were meeting with the Home Office to discuss future policing tactics as a result of the emerging differences of advice in the UK. The Chief Executive reported that the National Parks in England were also very concerned.
The Chief Executive stated that various strategies to ease the lockdown were being considered in Wales. One option was a ‘traffic light’ system, but it was too early to provide further details at present. Regional discussions were in progress between the Public Health Board, the County Councils, Natural Resources Wales and the Authority. Work was also underway at a local level with the County Councils and staff working on how to start gradually re-opening services within the developing guidelines.
The Chief Executive had arranged today’s Working Group meeting to provide Members with an opportunity to consider and advise officers on the way forward based on the “Restart - Recovery - New Normal” approach. There were serious concerns with regard to the economic impact of Covid-19, but there could also be some long-term benefits, such as lower carbon emissions, social and environmental benefits, the sense of community, all of which the National Parks could have a role in developing in the future.
Members considered the Chief Executive’s report and made the following observations:- - the Chairman, on behalf of Members, thanked the Chief Executive and his team for their work over the last 7/8 weeks. - the need to emphasise the difference in advice between England and Wales was crucial. The Chief Executive confirmed that the Welsh Government and Visit Wales were preparing a series of articles for the
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press in England and that a regional group was targeting social media to get the message out to surrounding cities. - a Member who had considered the regulations in detail, stated that the Authority was responsible for the decision to re-open the National Park and asked how the process might work, and how the decision would be made. As there would have to be a ‘trade-off’ between the risks and benefits to local people of allowing large numbers of tourists to visit Snowdonia, what kind of scenario planning would be taking place and how would Authority members be involved? - in response to a question about the relationship between the Welsh National Parks and the National Parks in Scotland, the Chief Executive confirmed that there was a good relationship with all the National Parks and advised that the Authority’s Head of Engagement was liaising with Engagement Officers in all other National Parks to ascertain what measures they were taking.
RESOLVED to note the report, for information.
3. Regulations:Health Protection (Coronovirus Restrictions) (Wales) 2020 Closing of Areas and Review of Measures Submitted – An oral report by the Chief Executive on the requirements of the Regulations.
Reported – The Chief Executive considered that Welsh Government advice had allowed for better management in Wales than in England. There had been no mountain closures in the English National Parks and only the 3 National Parks in Wales had taken advantage of the Regulations, which are applied following a technical risk assessment, to stop people from congregating in one place. The Chief Executive explained that as people in England were now able to travel for leisure, this advice could be misinterpreted, and it may become necessary for the Authority to consider closing another area of the Park, namely Llyn Tegid, located to the east of the National Park, which may be at a higher risk of day visitors coming to the area. Each Authority had the discretion to close its areas independently, although the Welsh Government could decide to revoke these powers at any time.
Members were advised that officers meet once a week to consider the evidence, receive reports from staff and partners, such as the North Wales Police, and decisions on re-opening any areas would be taken in agreement with Public Health Wales.
Members and officers discussed the following matters:- - to clarify the present position at Llyn Tegid, the Chief Executive stated that there had been no decision and that only the principle of closure had been discussed with officers from Welsh Government and Visit Wales. There was a risk when closing specific areas that on eventual re-opening, this in itself could become a problem. The Chief Executive confirmed that currently the car park at Llyn Tegid was closed but the lake was open to those people who could reach it.
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- a Member asked for national coverage to explain the difference in advice between England and Wales and asked whether there was cross border communication with police forces in England. The Chief Executive explained that communication in Wales had remained the same and that the confusion had arisen following the Prime Minister’s statement. He confirmed that the Welsh Police Authorities had asked for better guidance and that Visit Wales were targeting the English press. The Authority intends to issue press statements tomorrow, before England relax their guidance on Wednesday.
RESOLVED to note the report, for information.
4. Regulations: The Local Authorities (Coronovirus) (Meetings) (Wales) 2020 Regulations Ability to hold meetings - Arrangements for Authority meetings, Planning and Access Committee meetings and arrangements for the Annual General Meeting. Submitted – An oral report by the Director of Corporate Services.
Reported – The Director of Corporate Services explained how the Regulations allow changes in how the Authority conducts its statutory business. Remote meetings could now be held without the need to formally amend Standing Orders. Also, the Regulations allow the Authority to move its AGM, due to be held on the 3rd June 2020, to another date to be chosen by the Chairman. This will have an effect on election of Chairs to all of the Authority’s Committees. In addition, there was no longer a requirement to display a Notice of Meetings at Headquarters or allow public access to look at Agendas, as these will be provided electronically.
The Director of Corporate Services confirmed that Members were able to take formal decisions while using the “Zoom” platform. Members could vote to approve or refuse by using the “yes / no” facility which would clearly record the decision. Some Local Authorities had delegated authority to their officers to make decisions, but the Chief Executive felt that this was unnecessary in Snowdonia.
The Director of Corporate Services further explained the changes with regard to public access to meetings. The Regulations did not require access for the public to the meetings, although it was not clear who should make this decision. Members were asked to agree that the Authority and Planning & Access meetings on the 20th May would be held in private. Security was an additional reason for holding the meetings in private as Zoom, the only platform which supported simultaneous translation, had resulted in unpleasant incidents for some Local Authorities when allowing unrestricted access.
The Chief Executive advised that the other two National Parks in Wales were providing a webcast of their meetings, held in English only, which would not be acceptable in Snowdonia.
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Members considered the report and made the following observations:- - a Member noted concerns that transparency would be lost when voting on planning matters. - the option of recording future meetings should be further considered. - a Member felt that, whilst remote meetings were acceptable, it would still be preferable to postpone the AGM until Members could meet in person, and if this meant a delay until December, then this should be the case. - some Members who had used other platforms in the past, noted that “Zoom” not only supported the use of both languages but also worked a lot better than many other systems.
RESOLVED to note the report and agree that, for the time being, all meetings should be held in private.
5. Financial Issues Financial Effect Of Covid-19 on the Snowdonia National Park Authority / Loss of Income / Furlough Scheme Submitted – A Power Point presentation by the Chief Finance Officer.
Reported – The Chief Finance Officer advised that as a result of “lockdown” measures SNPA’s offices, the Information Centres, Plas Tan y Bwlch, yr Ysgwrn and the car parks were now closed to the public. These represented the Authority’s main income generating sources and estimates had been prepared of the possible financial effect of the crisis on the Authority, per quarter, in 2020/21. The Chief Finance Officer advised that in the first quarter the net effect would be a potential loss of £500k. If the lockdown continued until the end of September, the deficit would be closer to £1 million, and should it continue to the end of the financial year, taking account of the seasonal reduction in income, the Authority may have to face a potential loss of approximately £1.3 million. As a percentage, the net loss would be greater for the Authority than that being faced by both Gwynedd Council and Conwy County Borough Council. Members would need to consider how to close this gap, which could range from £0.5m to £1.3m, depending on the length of the crisis. The Chief Finance Officer advised that the Chairman and officers were seeking additional funds from the Welsh Government, although there was no certainty that they would contribute towards reducing this funding gap.
The Chief Finance Officer advised that early guidance had stated the Authority was not eligible to claim under the Furlough scheme, whereby an employer can reclaim up to 80% of rested staff’s employment costs through HMRC. Further guidance had required the Authority to claim under the scheme for all staff employed in an income generating role, as the Welsh Government would be able to reclaim this.
The Chief Finance Officer advised that if there was no additional grant from the Welsh Government, the Authority cannot increase its levy, the only options available would be possible future cuts, future borrowing which would need to be repaid, or using money from the reserves. Currently the Authority has an uncommitted reserve fund of approx. £0.8m, but in the first instance, the Authority should continue to press the Welsh Government for additional grant.
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The Chief Executive confirmed that discussions were underway with the Welsh Government with regard to compensation for loss of income. Another option was to withdraw from some schemes created specifically to attract additional funding from the Welsh Government.
The Head of Finance and the Head of Personnel advised that they had estimated a saving of £93k from placing 37 staff on furlough from March to June. As this included an element of staff costs from Yr Ysgwrn, it represented a saving of approximately £78k on the base budget.
Members discussed the following in detail:- - the Chief Finance Officer advised that discussions were ongoing for Local Authorities to be compensated for eligible additional expenditure, although he had not heard that the National Park Authorities would be included in this. - the Chairman of Plas Tan y Bwlch Management Board asked whether it would be timely to call a meeting of the Board to consider whether to bring the building works forward, and also to look at financial matters, which he had raised in a recent email with officers. In response, the Chief Executive stated that if the Furlough scheme continued, the loss at Plas would be small in comparison with losses from car park income. Visit Wales had been advised that some hotels may not re-open until March 2021 and the Director of Corporate Services agreed that bringing the building works forward was a good option as, even when lockdown is lifted, there would be social distancing problems at Plas Tan y Bwlch with self-service dining etc. He confirmed that the Authority had applied for Listed Building Consent, and if planning permission was granted, a meeting of the Plas Tan y Bwlch Board would be convened to discuss bringing the project forward. - the Chief Finance Officer explained that although the furlough scheme allows an employer to reclaim up to 80% of employment costs through HMRC, the scheme provides for only 3% of the pension costs which reduces the actual contribution to 67% which means a third of the cost rests with the Authority. Members agreed that the Authority should formally confirm the decision to make up the 20% difference in salary for staff who had been furloughed. - the Chief Executive advised that the Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government, Hannah Blyddyn MS, had suggested delaying her meeting with the 3 Welsh National Park Authorities until the 1st October 2020. However, the Park Authorities have requested an earlier meeting than this, in light of the long term implications of the pandemic, and the need to start financial planning for the next financial year.
RESOLVED to note the report, for information.
6. Corporate Work Programme Submitted – An oral report by the Chief Executive.
Reported – The Chief Executive reported that the Corporate Work Programme was currently being revised to reflect the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on the Authority’s work programme. The Corporate Plan itself had been
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extended for a year, but in the wake of the crisis, officers had amended some of the actions which arise from the well-being objectives. This subsequently has an impact on the Corporate Work Programme. Both documents will be presented to the Authority at its meeting on the 3rd June 2020.
RESOLVED to note the report, for information.
7. Programmes and Projects Reported – An oral report by the Chief Executive.
Reported – The Chief Executive reported that much of the Authority’s work was delivered through programmes and projects and officers had started discussions with the funding bodies on a way forward. He currently had nothing to report, although he would provide Members with a detailed report on the status of the projects in due course. He advised that some projects could be extended whilst agreement would be needed to reduce what could be delivered in others. The Chief Executive did not foresee any problems with delivering the LIFE Scheme, which was a 7-year project, but noted that there could be more risks with projects programmed over periods of 6 to 9 months.
RESOLVED to note the report and await a further report in due course.
8. Post Covid-19 Recovery Plan: Arrangements on a Regional level Submitted – An oral report by the Chief Executive.
Reported – The Chief Executive explained that the floor was open to Members to discuss and recommend a post Covid-19 recovery plan for the Authority. He sought their views and advice on how the Authority should proceed in the coming weeks and months. Once the decision to relax the lockdown was taken, things would move quickly and he sought Members’ guidance on how the Authority would meet the Welsh Government’s aspirations of working towards “a new normal” which was timely now that the Eryri Management Plan was ready for adoption. He advised that adopting the Plan would now possibly be moved back to September.
Members took the opportunity to make the following recommendations: - - the Authority Chairman would welcome guidance from Members. He also advised the meeting that the UK Government’s Covid-19 recovery strategy called “Our Plan to Rebuild” had just been published. - a Member raised the role of the National Park Authority with regard to economic recovery, in relation to the Management Plan and how the Authority engages with and supports communities and their economic aspects. The Authority should discuss/consult with Gwynedd Council and Conwy County Borough Council and take the opportunity to understand from communities what they perceive their issues are going forward. - a Member felt that as this was a really difficult time for all kinds of reasons, there was a need to consider different scenarios. There could be high levels of unemployment for young people in the tourism sector and the services dependent upon it. The Irish Government had published their 5 phase plan for recovery from lockdown, which was similar to what the Prime Minister had announced, and tourist accommodation was right at the
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end in terms of re-opening. The member was concerned that when lockdown ends, Snowdonia could find itself with very large numbers of day visitors and very few services to cater for them which could create all kinds of issues such as traffic congestion and road safety. Also, in terms of social distancing measures, if they still apply, there was a need to decide how to manage this in the popular hot spots. The Member volunteered to produce a paper for discussion which might provide opportunities to improve what was currently available but this work needs to be done in co-operation with transport authorities in particular, if the Authority was looking at control measures. - the crisis offers a clean slate in terms of economic development and gives the Authority scope to make changes to the way things have been managed over the last 50 years. A range of activities must be considered, such as more jobs in the public sector, and adopting a new way of working for the future. - the crisis has shown how important it is for the Park’s communities to be resilient, viable, healthy and supportive and the Authority’s role could be in shaping a different future for our communities. Place Plans have been mentioned in the past, might it be possible to focus resources to develop these in future? - tourism in the Park was vast and challenging, and a concern was raised that there was no visitor service team within the Authority’s structure. It was important to have strategic leadership and resources within the workforce to look at this in the future and the Member would welcome the opportunity to consider a discussion paper to develop options over the coming months. - the Wales Outdoor Alliance was currently working on a collaborative post Covid-19 recovery plan. Officers from the National Park had been invited, but did not attend a recent meeting, and the Member felt it was important for the Authority to work with the outdoor sector to move forward. - there was a need for flexibility as things could change very quickly. Also, many more people could decide to visit Snowdonia rather than venture abroad this year. - was there a prospect of providing volunteering opportunities for people who had been made redundant with the Warden Service and land management projects? This may be a good additional resource and would be even better if the Authority was able to pay them. - could the Authority encourage people in how to build in a more environmentally and sensitive way? Also, perhaps training providers could develop new skills which may not only result in environmental improvements, but provide financial benefits too. - the Authority should look to countries like New Zealand and the Czech Republic to understand how they are managing to safeguard their National Parks. - a Member asked whether the Authority had fed into the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming consultation and that the crisis would now form part of the response to the new Plan. The Chief Executive stated that the current consultation focused solely on farmers’ views and members of staff involved in agriculture had been asked to respond to the on-line questionnaire.
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Arising thereon, the Director of Planning and Land Management advised that, as part of the economic response to the pandemic, the Planning Service was currently responding to a large number of enquiries, specific to the tourism industry, namely caravan parks requesting whether they could now open all year, other tourism organisations asking for planning policies to be relaxed and many individual inquiries from businesses.
The Chief Executive thanked Members for their observations and for providing a strategic overview. In response to the question with regard to the Authority’s lack of a Visitor Service, he confirmed that a Sustainable Tourism Officer had recently been appointed. Also, in response to a question about the possible advantage of taking on volunteers, unfortunately, this would not be possible as volunteering was in the red zone of the Welsh Government’s Risk Register.
As a positive, the Chief Executive referred to the environmental improvements of having less carbon in the atmosphere and also the improved working relationship the National Park Authorities have with the Welsh Government.
The Authority Chairman advised that in order to move things forward he would work with officers to draw together the points made and prepare a discussion paper for Members.
RESOLVED to await the further discussion report in due course.
9. Any Other Business A member thanked the translator for her work and stated that the system had worked well.
There being no further business, the Chairman thanked all who had attended for their valuable contribution and the meeting closed at 16.00.
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ITEM NO. 9
MEETING Snowdonia National Park Authority
DATE 15 July 2020
TITLE Exempting the Report on the
PLAS TAN Y BWLCH OPTIONS
REPORT BY Director of Corporate Services
PURPOSE To request the Authority to approve the exemption of the above report
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 I have considered the grounds for exemption of information contained in the report referred to above and make the following recommendations to the Authority:
1.2 Exemptions applying to the report:
1.2.1 12. Information relating to a particular individual. 13. Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual. 14. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).
1.3 Factors in favour of disclosure: None
1.4 Prejudice which would result if the information were disclosed: i. Regardless of how the report is worded the identity of the individual or individuals concerned would be ascertained. ii. Regardless of how the report is worded the financial affairs of the person, persons or Authority the subject of the report would be revealed.
1.5 My view on the public interest test is as follows: i. Public interest is best served if the Authority retains the information in order to ensure the identity of the individual(s) concerned and the financial information is protected.
2. RECOMMENDATION
That the Authority agrees to make the report “Plas Tan y Bwlch Options” exempt from disclosure.
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