This meeting included 15 items on the agenda. These included plans for local school reorganisation, discussions about the Housing Revenue Account and Council Tax, updates on progress made against the council's performance objectives, and two confidential items that were due to be considered without members of the public present.

School Reorganisation in the Upper Rhymney Valley

The cabinet was scheduled to make a final decision on proposals to close Lewis Girls School, in Hengoed, and make Lewis School Pengam co-educational from September 2025. This proposal was made in February 2024 by the Post 16, Single Sex and Surplus Places Board, who are made up of headteachers, college representatives, councillors, governors, Trade Union representatives, EAS representatives and council officers. The proposal had been opposed by 17 people, who provided their objections during the consultation period, raising concerns about educational standards, pupil wellbeing, staff welfare, the impact on local business and transport, and the financial implications of the closure.

Amalgamation of Hendre Junior and Infant Schools

Councillors were scheduled to consider a report about the proposed amalgamation of Hendre Junior School and Hendre Infants School, both in Caerphilly. This was requested by the schools' governing bodies, who have been working together since 2022. The plan was to maintain both schools on their current sites, with the same headteacher and catchment area. The council undertook a consultation on this proposal, which received 8 responses, and the cabinet was asked to approve the publication of a statutory notice, which would give the public the right to formally object to the plans.

Federation of Cwmaber Infants and Junior Schools

The Cabinet was also scheduled to consider a report about the proposed federation of Cwmaber Infants School and Cwmaber Junior School, both in Cwmaber. This was requested by both schools' governing bodies, who have been working together since 2020 under the same headteacher. A federation is a legal agreement by which two schools share the same governing body. The council undertook a consultation on this proposal, which received 6 responses, and the cabinet was asked to approve the federation, which would take effect from January 2025.

Closure of Rhydri Primary School

The cabinet was scheduled to make a decision on whether to proceed to the next stage of the process to close Rhydri Primary School, in Rhydri. This was requested by the school's governing body, due to a projected budget deficit caused by falling pupil numbers, which were expected to continue to fall in the future. The council undertook a consultation on this proposal, which received 52 responses, and the cabinet was asked to approve the publication of a statutory notice, which would give the public the right to formally object to the plans.

Housing Revenue Account

Councillors were scheduled to consider a report on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which is the council's ring-fenced budget for its housing stock. The report contained an update on the impact of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and information about the council's performance in meeting the objectives set out by Welsh Government in its rent setting policy. These include:

• Minimising evictions, and not evicting people into homelessness, which is supported by the work of the tenancy support team, and a hardship fund for Universal Credit recipients who do not receive payment in the 53rd week of the year.
• Measuring tenant satisfaction. The council conducts a biennial survey of tenants called the STAR (Survey of Tenants and Residents) Survey.
• Delivering high quality homes that meet the Welsh Development Quality Requirements 2021.¹
• Building new council houses that achieve at least EPC A² energy efficiency standards.
• Carrying out an assessment of the affordability of rent and value for money for tenants. This is supported by the JRF affordability model, and the council's annual Your Rent, Your Views survey. The council also gave an update on the performance of the Housing Revenue Account, and on its plans to build 1,000 new affordable homes in the next 10 years.

Councillors were asked to approve a 2.7% increase to council house rents, and garage rents. This is the maximum allowed under Welsh Government's rent setting policy, which allows for an increase in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1%.

Council Tax Base

The Cabinet was scheduled to consider a report on the council's Council Tax base. The council tax base is the number of Band D equivalent properties in a council area. The number of Band D equivalents is calculated by weighting properties in other bands according to the proportion of council tax they pay compared to a Band D property. It was proposed that this should be set at 62,675.70 for the 2025/26 financial year. This figure is used by Welsh Government to calculate how much money it gives to the council.

Performance Management Framework

The Cabinet was scheduled to consider a report about its Performance Management Framework (PMF). The council is required to keep its performance under review under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. It uses this framework to keep track of its progress towards its corporate objectives, its financial position, staffing, and risks. The council was scheduled to approve changes to its Performance Management Framework. These included:

• Renaming the Corporate Performance Assessment as the Organisational Performance Assessment.
• Updating the Organisational Performance Assessment to include more trend data, risk information, and information about service users.
• Developing a new Members' Dashboard that will allow elected members to more easily scrutinise the council's performance.

Confidential Items

The Cabinet was scheduled to consider two reports on the extension of flexible retirement arrangements in private.