Transcript

So we'll start with the last one, please.

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the multi-location meeting of the cabinet. There's no fire alarm organised for today, so if it will sound, it won't be a test, and you should follow the appropriate fire exit signs. I just need to remind everybody today that the proceedings of today's meeting are being filmed live and may be kept on the agenda for today's meeting, so if you would like to be on the agenda, please make sure that you are on the agenda today for training purposes within the council. First item is apologies for absence. And we haven't received any apologies this morning, so we'll move on to Item 2, declarations of personal interest. You will have responsibility under the code of conduct to verbally declare any personal interests that you may have in relation to their personal interests, and we hope that you will be able to comment on that, and you will indicate which agenda item you have a personal interest in and the specific nature of the interest to be disclosed. You'll also need to repeat your declaration of personal interest at the start of the relevant agenda item, and note whether or not you will be withdrawing from the meeting due in consideration of that item. So can I ask members, please, to raise your hands if you wish to declare an interest? And if you wish to declare an interest, please raise your hands if you wish to declare an interest, and if you wish to declare an interest, please raise your hands if you wish to declare an interest. Item 7, I'll be leaving the chamber. Hazel, Item 7, close family member has a business that could be impacted by this. Thank you. Linda, thank you. Item 7, because a family member has a business, and Item 13, as I mentioned, is a business that could be impacted by this. Item 13, I'm a trustee of one of the organizations that ask for a grant, and Number 7, because I run a business. Thank you. Alan, Item 13 again, because I am a member of the town council who has applied for a grant, and Item 13, I'm a member of one of the groups that has applied for a grant. Thank you, Alan. And Item 13, I declare an interest, and I have links with an organization in Dravach who have applied for -- put a bid forward, so I'll be leaving the meeting. Thank you. We'll now move on to Item 3, to sign as a correct record. Minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th of March. Put simply, fair organisations perform better and that is why our workforce strategy and also our transformation strategy align with the commitments set out in the Strategic Equality Plan. It's good to see that we are integrating these key documents so that it's cohesive and integrated. I also must reference the Welsh language that is highlighted in the draft Strategic Equality Plan. Over the next couple of weeks we will have an up-to-date report to consider in terms of the progress we are making in promoting the Welsh language and what we are doing to create Welsh language apprenticeships, which is part of a vision statement. Hopefully we can secure us an external funding to achieve this initiative. Finally, I'd just like to add my support to the Strategic Equality Plan. Happy to second, thank you very much. Thank you, Phil, and thanks to Anne as well for moving this report. Yes, this is an important agenda, of course, and many of the points as Phil and Anne has mentioned are our vision as a cabinet is part of this draft plan. So it has been proposed and seconded formally. Does anybody else want to speak on this? Just a quick word, yes, it is an extremely important document, equality is important for all, and as a portfolio holder for the Welsh language, thank you for including this in the document. We have shown our commitment in the past, but this confirms that, that we do as a council have a commitment to the Welsh language and to promote the Welsh language. It is part of our vision, and it was pleasing to read here that the right is there, but we are confirming and strengthening that anybody who has a right who wants to contact or engage with the council is able to do that in their language of choice. So we are recognizing that people who are able to speak in Welsh are able to do so, and thank you for including it here. Thank you, leader. Katie Ochlanog, Jane. Thank you. Yes, just to support this, it is a very important document and it has to be kept at the forefront over the years that it is in action so that all our staff respond to equality. I particularly welcome Councillor Anne's comment on the disability plan, that is very important, and also that it mentions in the report that people with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed than employed. And I know that we have many, many staff that we do address that have disabilities within and it would be very nice to be able to increase that. Thank you. Thank you, Jane. Yes, I agree 100 per cent with that. So does anybody else have any comments? If not, can I ask members to show by raising your hands if you are happy to receive the report formally? All in favour? Great. So nobody is against and no abstentions. That has been approved. Thank you. So we will now move on to item 7, which are business rates. I know that a few have declared an interest here. So can I ask you to declare one by one, please? So Anne, yes, I run a few businesses so I will be leaving the meeting. Thank you. Yes, a close relation runs a business. Hazel, the same item 7, a close relation runs a business. And Phil, yes. OK, we will wait for those members to leave the chamber before we continue. Thank you. OK. So we will move on to item 7, the business rates. The report starts on page 47 of the pack. And can I now ask Councillor Alan Lenny, as the cabinet member whose portfolio covers this, to introduce this report, please? Thank you, Alan. Thank you very much, leader. The response to the Covid emergency in 2020/21, Welsh Government announced that it would continue with the retail rates relief scheme, which started in 2017, increasing the discount to 100%, and extended to include leisure and hospitality sectors such as shops, pubs and restaurants, gyms and hotels. For 2022/23, the relief was reduced to 50%, before being increased to 75% last year. Welsh Government has confirmed that the scheme will be extended to 2024/25, but at a 40% reduction, not the 75%, as remains the case in England. Naturally, this has caused dismay in the sector, but it's not us that sets the percentage leader. This scheme will apply to all eligible businesses, but there's a cap on the amount each business can claim across Wales. The total amount of relief available is 110,000 across all properties owned by any single business. Any businesses are required to make an application for the relief, and a declaration that the amount of relief they are seeking across Wales does not exceed this cap, when applying to individual local authorities. The Welsh Government has indicated the types of business that they consider appropriate for this relief, and those which are not. The appendix within the report notes the types of business that qualify, and the conditions attached. The scheme continues to be a temporary measure, which means Welsh Government are not making any legislative changes, but instead will allow billing authorities to grant relief under the general discretionary relief powers available under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. However, as it's a discretionary power, it's necessary for the local authority to formally adopt the scheme. The Welsh Government will provide grant funding to the 22 local authorities in Wales, to provide the retail, leisure and hospitality rates relief scheme to eligible ratepayers for 2024-25. Provided relief is granted in accordance with the Welsh Government guidelines. I therefore propose that the cabinet accepts the recommendations in the report, as I have noted. Thank you very much, Alan. I understand you're happy to second, Edward? Yes, happy to second. Thank you. Does anybody wish to speak on this? If not, can I ask you please to raise your hands to show you're happy to receive the recommendation? All in favour? Thank you very much. Nobody's against and no abstentions, so that has been approved. We'll now ask the members to return to the chamber. [No audio] Welcome back, everybody. We'll now move on to the next item on the agenda, which is item 8. And this item talks about the council's revenue budget monitoring report that starts on page 59 of the pack. And once again, I'll ask council Alan Lenny, as the cabinet member whose portfolio covers this, to present the report. Thank you, Alan. Thank you, leader. This report gives members an update on the latest budgetary position of the revenue budget, based on the information available up to the 31st of December, 2023, up to the end of the year. Our assessment at this stage of the year is a possible overspend position of some £4.8 million, once draw on department reserves are included. Whilst the figure has reduced slightly, this remains a concerning position. I don't need to remind you all that, as with all local authorities, finances are under increasing pressure, with the main contributors consistent with my last report to cabinet, which is increased demand and complexity of cases, particularly around learning disabilities, mental health and children's services, high inflation levels which have impacted on increased cost of third party contracts, and pay awards for 23/24 are in excess of existing budgets. As the NJC pay award has been agreed nationally, and we were able to get back pay to staff before Christmas, the costs of the increased award are now reflected within individual department forecasts. At departmental level, the variance is £10.2 million, primarily driven by overspends in education and children's department and communities department. In line with earlier forecasts, children's services are experiencing demand-led overspends in commissioning, fostering and residential placements. Although officers have identified key actions to stabilise the service, many of these have lead-in times and will require significant work to realise a cost reduction. You will be aware that this is an area of significant growth next year, both in terms of core budgets as well as reserve funded costs as new in-house provision comes online. Turning to adult social care, there remains pressure on learning disabilities and mental health budgets, with older people's budgets also overspent due to combination of staffing pressures, increased demand and additional costs of national pay awards not foreseen in the budget. You will also see that schools are expecting to spend £8.6 million more than delegated budgets, which means that current balances of £11.1 million will reduce to £2.5 million. This is again a concerning issue and the department is working with schools to review this position. I am acutely aware that part of the reason for this drawdown on school balances is due to the high level of nationally agreed NJC pay awards. As it has always been, this administration's budget approach should provide in full for known pay commitments to delegated school budgets. I recommend today to cabinet colleagues that we formally allocate part of our contingency budget to meet the increased cost to schools, estimated to be around £800,000. Now even the darkest cloud can have a silver lining leader, and it's this. Forecast overspends within departments are at least partially offset by capital financing underspends due to the significant increased interest earned on positive cash balances, still forecast at a sum of £3 million. As usual, members, we will see a detailed breakdown at Appendix A, with any future assumptions provided in the commentary against specific budget lines. You will see the application of the corporate contingency budget, which council agreed as part of the budget, which provides at least some mitigation against the issues I've outlined. Turning to the HRA in Appendix B, the current forecast is an overspend of £84,000 against an expenditure of £53 million, an income budget of £48 million. The movement from the last report is largely explained by three key changes. Firstly, there's been further increased demand for responsive repairs, which is partially offset by an underspend in strategic projects. Secondly, an increased forecast of acre posts combined with the application of grants. And thirdly, updated forecasts of direct revenue funding for capital have generated an estimated £400,000 underspend. I'm pleased to report an increasingly favourable picture on voids, making the best use of our housing stock to provide homes for our residents, and also increasing our rents received. Arwane is. Leader, as a cabinet member for resources, I'm in constant dialogue with the director of corporate services, and I can assure members of the continued prudent financial management of the authority. Although the serious financial challenges facing all councils are likely to get worse next year, everyone is in a similar situation, if not worse. And we will continue to face them together through the WLGA meetings and other channels. Therefore, I propose the report, setting out the situation currently envisaged and the additional NJC schools funding, and noting the situation currently envisaged and that work is progressing to manage the overall net spending situation deal. I understand you're happy to second that formally. Yes, thank you to Councillor Lenny for presenting such a comprehensive report and for the officers for preparing the report. So I'm very happy to second this formally. Thank you. Anybody else want to say anything? Yes, thank you, leader. Earlier, I mentioned that I'm responsible for the Welsh language, and the full portfolio, of course, is education and the Welsh language. And here, I want to say thank you very much to what we heard in this report, that our schools are to receive additional funding, a significant sum to help with the cuts that will be in our schools. We were put in a very, very difficult position this year to find £3 million in order to meet the teachers' pay, and that was the situation. But now, the additional funding is going to reduce that hit slightly for our schools, and I can assure all of you that it will be very much appreciated because it is a very challenging period and is challenging in all areas. It is a challenging period in a department that has been ring-fenced previously, but it's been difficult for our schools. But thank you very much to Alan and the officers for the additional funding that we heard about this morning. We'll be very, very pleased to hear of this extremality that we've found for our schools because it is very, very challenging times. Thank you. I agree 100 per cent. It is pleasing to see, of course, we did lobby very much so on the Welsh government to make sure that the £3 million would be funded fully, but unfortunately they didn't do that. But we are grateful for the work that the officers have done in the background to make sure there is an additional pot of funding available to support schools who are under tremendous pressure, as we said. So I'm very pleased to support this. Are there any further comments, please? If not, it has been proposed and seconded, so the report before you can add that additional funding for NJC salaries for schools. If you are happy to receive that, can you please raise your hand? All in favour, thank you. Nobody is against and no abstentions and therefore that has been approved. Thank you to you for that. So we'll now move on to item 9, which is the update on the capital programme. This report starts on page 91 of the pack and provides information on the latest situation at the end of December. So I'll ask once again Councillor Alan Lenny to present this report formally, please, as the relevant cabinet member. Dear Alan, the capital report presented today includes the budgets approved by full council on St David's Day 2023 for the HRA and the General Fund, as well as ongoing projects that have been carried over or slipped from the previous year. Some budgets have been amended to account for differences in actual grant allocations compared with the anticipated allocation at the time the programme was approved, and to reflect new grant awards received during the year to date. The gross budget at the end of December was 241 million and the net budget after taking account of external grant funding was 139 million. The forecasted net spend was 70.8 million against the budget, giving a variance of 68.3 million. This slippage will go forward to complete capital ongoing projects in future years. It is not made up of savings which can be repurposed for other things. You will see an executive summary by service in Appendix A and Appendix B gives more comprehensive details about projects within each service. To highlight a few areas, public housing is still forecasting a healthy outrun of more than 28 million. This is comparable to the capital outrun in this area for recent years. 8.1 million of this spend will be on bringing currently void properties back into service, 4.4 million on building new properties, and 3 million on buying private properties to add to our housing stock. Having delivered new build housing last day in Llanelli, Ammanford and Burryport, I'm pleased to see continued good progress with this programme. The redevelopment of the former YMCA building in Stepney Street in Llanelli is drawing to a close, and tenants will soon be living in the top two flats. I am delighted that the former council offices in Smilman Street here in Llanelli, which I frequented hundreds of times when I was chair of planning, have been turned into 12 high quality apartments and flats. Providing such high quality housing, which focuses on homes for local people, will boost the vibrancy of our town centres. As previously reported, 2 million will also be spent on adapting properties to residents with mobility difficulties, which will improve the quality of life for many and enable them to remain in their own homes for longer. Our spend on our council-owned dwellings is complemented by 379,000 spent on helping private landlords to bring their properties back into YMCA in the local housing market. I'm also pleased that the funding of 2.5 million we awarded for disability facilities grants, DFGs, will be fully utilised by the end of the year. Again, this helps commanders and residents to stay in their own homes for longer. Leader, good progress continues to be made on the Pentra Owl project, as you know. All the steel work is up and a topping out ceremony was held at the end of last month. It was an exciting experience to be there and to hear that Zone 1 of this fantastic development is scheduled to be completed by this autumn. Under the modernising education programme, it was a pleasure to see the new school primary at Pembray opening a month ago. I'm sure that all the children and staff are delighted. And finally, the capital report includes details of new grant funding offers from external bodies, environments and slippage to 2024/25. I would therefore ask that we approve these in full and the rest of the report. Thank you, Alan, for the report. Glenogue, I understand you're happy to second. Yes, very happy to second and it's pleasing to hear about all the work that this council is doing, despite the challenges we are working and developing in so many areas. But I do want to mention one that is relevant to my portfolio, pleasing to hear about new schools. New schools are needed in this county and we want to continue to do that. We are going to plan and we're going to build despite the challenges and hopefully we will be able to see more new schools in the future. Thank you for the report and I'm happy to second. Thank you, Glenogue. Linda. Yes, thanks, Lida. I just want to add to what Councillor Alan Lenny said as the portfolio holder for housing. There's so much work that has been done in the last few years. We have turned things around. What has happened in Spillman Street and in the YMCA in Glenelghe is a clear picture, really, of how we have used old offices and turned them into flats and apartments for local people. It's difficult for people out there at the moment. The demand for social housing is extremely high and for affordable housing that's extremely high, more than it's been than ever before. What we have achieved here is a perfect example of what can be done and I hope that will continue in the future with building new homes, of course. But it will help to regenerate our towns and that is very important. Hazel. I want to come in as well on behalf of the YMCA in Glenelghe. We are so pleased that this development has been done to provide units and offices of a high standard which will help our vision to see Glenelghe being developed in the town centre. Yes, I completely agree. Thank you for your contributions there. So much good work is taking place across the council, either regeneration, housing, schools, transport and lots of other sectors and we're grateful for the work that is taking place. So with those few words, if there aren't any further comments, that report has been proposed and seconded formally. Can I therefore ask members to show by raising your hands if you're happy to approve the report as it stands. All in favour? Thank you. Nobody's against and no abstentions so that has been approved unanimously. So we'll now move on to item 10, urgent items. I haven't been notified of any urgent business this morning so we'll move to item 11 which is the exclusion of the public. The reports relating to the following items are not for publication as they contain exempt information. If the cabinet resolves pursuant to the act to consider these items in private, the public will be excluded from the meeting during such consideration. So I understand that Councillor Glenelghe-Davis is proposing that we as a cabinet consider these in private. Are you happy to do that? Yes, happy to propose that cabinet discusses the next item privately because of the sensitivity of the matter. Thank you, Glenelghe. Are you happy to second? Yes, happy to second. Thank you, Leader. Thank you. So can I ask all members to raise your hands if you are happy to receive this report in private. All in favour? Nobody against and no abstentions so that has been approved. The next step is to ask for confirmation that the webcasting of the meeting has now stopped.