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CabinetTuesday, 17th December, 2024 10.00 am

December 17, 2024 View on council website Watch video of meeting Watch video of meeting
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Summary

The meeting of Flintshire Council's Cabinet on the 17th of December 2024 contains a wide-ranging set of reports covering strategic and operational matters, including the Council's budget, the future of a local leisure centre, the proposed expansion of a major Welsh Government childcare scheme and a consultation on the proposed creation of a new National Park in the north east of Wales.

Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone

The Cabinet will receive a report on The Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone, an economic development project that aims to attract investment and create jobs in manufacturing. The report is the latest stage of a five stage 'Gateway' approval process, and seeks approval for the three tax sites1 and two retained rates areas2 that have been proposed as part of the scheme.

A 'tax site' is a geographic area within an Investment Zone where qualifying businesses can access certain tax reliefs. A 'retained rates area' allows the local authority to keep some of the business rates collected from new businesses in order to fund further development in the zone.

The proposed sites include land at Deeside Gateway, Warren Hall and Wrexham Industrial Estate. The tax sites at Deeside Gateway cover 81 hectares of land that is currently in the ownership of Marshalls CDP, Pochin Goodman, and Smartstage Limited / Great Bear Distribution Limited. The 36 hectare Wrexham Industrial Estate tax site is on land that is currently owned by Networld Sports and First Investments. Warren Hall is owned by the Welsh Government, who are proposing a 12 hectare site for inclusion. The retained rates areas will cover the tax sites at Deeside Gateway and at Wrexham Industrial Estate.

The report contains a draft governance model for the Investment Zone, which is to be managed by a partnership board with input from Flintshire and Wrexham Councils, and the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. The board will focus its activities on skills, innovation, and transport, allocating funding to initiatives intended to promote those areas. The retained rates from the Deeside and Wrexham areas are predicted to total £93,644,017, with Flintshire receiving £18,857,250 to invest.

Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget 2025/26

This report provides an update on the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the 2025/26 financial year in advance of the Welsh Government's Local Government Provisional Settlement3, which is expected to be published on the 11th of December.

The Local Government Provisional Settlement sets out how much money each Welsh local authority will receive for the coming year.

The report contains a number of funding solutions that have been identified since the previous update in September, which reported an additional budget requirement of £38.420m for 2025/26. The new solutions total £17.642m, leaving a remaining additional budget requirement of £29.851m. The report identifies a number of areas where solutions are still being developed, including:

  • Welsh Government Aggregate External Finance (AEF). An increase of 1% in the AEF equates to £2.595m for Flintshire, so the settlement figure is expected to significantly reduce the budget requirement.
  • Pay assumptions. A pay award of 4% is currently included in the budget calculations, but this will need to be reviewed once the pay awards for 2025/26 have been confirmed. In addition, an 'aspirational' amount of £2m is included for the pay modelling review, which is intended to improve staff recruitment and retention.
  • Schools budget. The total budget requirement for schools in 2025/26 is £12.521m. The report pack suggests that a reduction of 1% to the overall schools budget could deliver £1.173m in savings.
  • Homelessness. The Homelessness service is currently projected to overspend by £2.3m in the current financial year. The independent consultant who was appointed in October 2024 to undertake a review of the service has identified a potential range of savings between £3.5m and £5.5m for 2025/26, and £3.017m has currently been included in the funding solutions.
  • Portfolio cost reductions. Each portfolio is being asked to identify the impact of a potential 10% reduction in their costs.
  • Transformation Programme. The Transformation Programme is expected to identify potential savings across the Council.
  • In-Year Budget position. The Council is currently projected to overspend by £6.466m in 2024/25, after the use of the £3m budget risk reserve.
  • Social Care Commissioning Costs. Negotiations with care providers over commissioning costs will continue in the coming weeks.
  • Out of County Placements. The costs of Out of County Placements continue to increase, with a current projected overspend of £1.7m in 2024/25.
  • Council Tax. Increasing Council Tax is not currently included in the proposed budget solutions. Each increase of 1% in Council Tax would deliver £1.1m in income.

Revenue Budget Monitoring 2024/25 (Month 7)

This report provides an update on the Council’s revenue budget for the current financial year. The Council Fund is currently projected to overspend by £6.375m, which will reduce to £3.375m after the use of the £3m budget risk reserve. The report notes that the contingency reserve balance is projected to be £0.783m as of the 31st of March 2025, or £0.381m if funding is provided for illegal tipping costs at the Riverside Site in Queensferry. The most significant projected overspends are:

  • Social Services (£4.372m). This includes an overspend of £1.726m on Out of County Placements.
  • Streetscene & Transportation (£1.799m). This includes an anticipated overspend of £0.370m on Winter Maintenance.
  • Housing and Communities (£2.289m). This relates to an anticipated overspend of £2.136m on temporary accommodation.

The report also contains an update on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), which is projected to have a closing balance of £4.451m on 31 March 2025.

Consultation on the proposed new National Park for North East Wales

The Cabinet will consider a report on Natural Resources Wales' consultation on the creation of a new National Park for North East Wales. The proposed park would cover the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB.

The consultation, which closes on the 16th of December 2024, covers the proposed boundary of the park, as well as seeking more general views on whether the park should be created. The Environment and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the consultation on the 12th of November 2024 and recommended that Flintshire do not support the proposal. The Committee's concerns included the future costs of the park, the additional bureaucracy it would create, and the belief that the current AONB is sufficient to protect the area.

The report pack contains a draft response to the consultation, which is expected to include the views of the Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet.

De-carbonisation Strategy Update

The Cabinet will consider a report on the Council's decarbonisation strategy, which is being updated to comply with the new Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023 (WHQS 2 2023).

The report contains an analysis of the energy performance of the Council's housing stock and sets out a number of energy efficiency measures that could be implemented in order to meet the new standard. The report estimates that £200,600,000 will be required to bring all existing Council homes up to the standard over a period of 10 years. The cost of this work will need to be funded through a combination of existing resources, Welsh Government grants, and private financing.

Future of Integrated Community Mental Health Team (CMHT)

The Cabinet will consider a report on the future of the Integrated Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). Flintshire is currently the only local authority in North Wales that operates a jointly funded CMHT in partnership with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB). The report pack suggests that the team is facing increasing demands and that attempts to address these with BCUHB have not been successful. The report suggests that the seven social work staff employed by Flintshire in the CMHT should be withdrawn and located in the Well Being and Recovery Team, effectively ending the partnership.

Flying Start Childcare Expansion Flintshire Proposal

The Cabinet will consider a report on the next phase of the Welsh Government's Flying Start childcare expansion programme. Flintshire County Council currently provides funding for 12.5 hours of childcare a week for 39 weeks of the year for more than 440 two year old children in the county. The report pack contains three proposed options for the Phase 3 expansion:

  • Option 1 - Rollout of the programme to all remaining areas in a single phase. This would provide funding for childcare for an estimated 829 children.
  • Option 2 - Rollout of the programme to all remaining areas over a two year period. This would provide funding for an estimated 417 children in the first year and 412 in the second.
  • Option 3 - Rollout in accordance with the Welsh Government's plan and funding.

Cost Recovery for Supporting Public Events Affecting the Highway

The Cabinet will consider a report on the cost of supporting public events that require road closures or other traffic management measures. The report pack contains a draft policy that sets out the proposed arrangements for cost recovery. Under the policy, the Council would continue to provide traffic management support for small, non-commercial events free of charge. However, organisers of large public events would be charged for the cost of traffic management.

Proposals by the Law Commission to Reform Burial and Cremation Legislation

The Cabinet will consider a report on the Law Commission's proposals for reforming the law on burials and cremations in England and Wales. The Law Commission launched a consultation on the proposals on the 3rd of October 2024 and is seeking feedback by the 9th of January 2025. The report pack contains a summary of the proposals and a draft response, which is expected to include the comments of the Environment & Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Report back from the Call-In of Decision No.4307 - Residual Waste Collection Change Implementation and Policy Review

The Cabinet will consider a report on the call-in of a decision regarding the implementation date and supporting policies for the change to a three weekly residual waste collection. The call-in, which was submitted by Councillors Sam Swash, Carolyn Preece, Andrew Parkhurst, Alasdair Ibbotson, and Gillian Brockley, specifically related to the requirement in the updated Household Recycling Centre Vehicle Permit Policy that residents must show proof of a valid blue badge to be eligible for a permit. The Environment & Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee considered the call-in on the 10th of December 2024 and referred it back to the Cabinet for reconsideration.

Business Rates – Write Off

The Cabinet will consider a report recommending that they write off £30,427.45 of Business Rates owed by Cineworld Cinemas Limited for their Broughton cinema. The debt relates to the period 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024, and has been deemed irrecoverable as a result of the company entering into a Part 26a Restructuring Plan agreement.

Housing Rent Income Service – Change in Reporting Portfolio

The Cabinet will consider a report recommending that the Housing Rent Income Service be transferred from the Governance portfolio to the Housing and Communities portfolio.

Recommissioning of Housing Support Grant (HSG) Floating Support Contracts

The Cabinet will consider a report recommending that they approve the recommissioning and retendering of Flintshire's Housing Support Grant (HSG) Floating Support Services. The Housing Support Grant, which is funded by the Welsh Government, is intended to provide support to people aged 16 or over to prevent them from becoming homeless or to help them find and keep accommodation. The report pack contains details of five proposed Floating Support Services:

  • Young Person’s Floating Support Project (35 units)
  • Criminal Offending Floating Support Project (60 units)
  • Older Persons Floating Support Project (55 units)
  • General & Complex Needs Floating Support Project (88 units)
  • Early Prevention Project (20 units)

Treasury Management Mid-Year Review 2024/25

The Cabinet will consider the draft Treasury Management Mid-Year Review for 2024/25. The report was reviewed by the Governance and Audit Committee on the 25th of November 2024 and it is recommended that it be presented to Flintshire County Council on the 28th of January 2025.


Attendees

Profile image for Cllr Richard Jones
Cllr Richard Jones  Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Transformation and Assets •  Independent •  Buckley: Bistre East
Profile image for Cyng Paul Johnson
Cyng Paul Johnson  Cabinet Member for Finance and Social Value •  Labour •  Holywell West
Profile image for Cyng Linda Thomas
Cyng Linda Thomas  Cabinet Member for Corporate Services •  Labour •  Hawarden: Ewloe
Profile image for Cllr Dave Hughes
Cllr Dave Hughes  Leader of the Council / Leader of the Labour Group •  Labour •  Llanfynydd
Profile image for Cllr Helen Brown
Cllr Helen Brown  Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities •  Independent •  Hawarden: Aston
Profile image for Cllr Mared Eastwood
Cllr Mared Eastwood  Cabinet Member for Education, Welsh Language, Culture and Leisure •  Eagle •  Argoed and New Brighton
Profile image for Cllr Glyn Banks
Cllr Glyn Banks  Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Transportation •  Labour •  Llanasa and Trelawnyd
Profile image for Cllr Christine Jones
Cllr Christine Jones  Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Social Services and Wellbeing •  Labour •  Queensferry and Sealand
Profile image for Cyng Chris Dolphin
Cyng Chris Dolphin  Cabinet Member for Economy, Environment and Climate •  Eagle •  Whitford
Profile image for Cyng Chris Bithell
Cyng Chris Bithell  Cabinet Member for Planning, Public Health and Public Protection •  Labour •  Mold East