The Corporate Governance and Resources Scrutiny Committee of Blaenau Gwent Council met on Thursday, 25 September 2025, to discuss a range of topics including budget monitoring, treasury management, community engagement, and the committee's future work programme. The meeting was also scheduled to review decisions from a previous committee meeting and an action sheet.

Blaenau Gwent Council Annual Self-Assessment and Well-being Report 2024/25

The committee was scheduled to consider the Blaenau Gwent Council Annual Self-Assessment and Well-being Report 2024/25. The report, which was submitted by the Chief Executive, was intended to provide a factual account of the council's activities during the previous financial year and to demonstrate how the council had combined its statutory reporting requirements under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. The report was scheduled to include:

• An executive summary
• An infographic
• A breakdown of the report by well-being objective

Community Engagement Strategy and Approach

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Community Engagement Strategy and Approach, in a report that was submitted by the Joint Head of Communications and Resilience. The report pack stated that the council intended to create a new social contract with its communities, referred to as 'The Deal', which would be aligned with the Marmot Principles¹. The council intended to build trust, foster shared responsibility and empower communities to co-design and co-deliver services. The report pack included a slide deck that detailed the communications and engagement strategy and the phased approach for the development and launch of the Deal.

Revenue Budget Monitoring 2024/2025

The committee was scheduled to review the provisional revenue outturn position across all portfolios for the financial year 2024/2025, and its impact on the council's reserves. The report pack noted that the overall provisional outturn across all portfolios for 2024/2025 showed a favourable variance of £2.589m before reserves adjustments. After net transfers from Specific Reserves, the favourable variance reduced to £2.304m. The report pack recommended that the committee challenge the financial outcomes in the report, recommend that the cabinet approve the budget virement² in line with the constitution, and note the application of reserves.

Capital Budget Monitoring, Provisional Outturn 2024/25

The committee was scheduled to discuss each portfolio's provisional capital expenditure against funding approvals for the 2024/2025 financial year. The report pack noted that the agreed capital programme was approximately £76.1m, funded by Welsh Government grant (£45.7m), other grant funding (£14.4m) and council resources (£16m). Expenditure of £37.5m was incurred on capital projects during 2024/25. The overall financial position indicated a favourable variance of £0.05m against a total in year capital budget of £37.6m. The report pack highlighted two significant variances:

• An overspend of £9,120 on The Company Shop due to unexpected survey and material costs.
• An underspend of £53,734 on the 20mph Additional Allocation, as all key stages and milestones were achieved within the funding envelope. The Welsh Government had been made aware of the underspend, and the remaining funding would not be drawn down.

The report pack also provided an update on the Children's Residential Homes funding position, noting that the financial forecast to completion of the scheme was predicting an overspend of approximately £150,000. This cost pressure had been mitigated by additional funding from Welsh Government of £75,324, with the council agreeing a budget of £75,000 for 2025/26.

Treasury Management Annual Outturn April 2024 to 31st March 2025

The committee was scheduled to scrutinise the Treasury Management activities carried out by the authority during the 2024/2025 financial year. The report pack noted that the council's total external debt as at 31 March 2025 was £200.85m, comprising £142.30m in long-term borrowings and £58.55m in short-term borrowings. No debt rescheduling was undertaken during the year due to the continued high interest rates offered by the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). During the financial year, the council invested a total of £292.6m in short term investments, with £3m remaining invested as of 31 March 2025. Total investment returns amounted to £926,000, achieved at an average interest rate of 4.69%.

Forward Work Programme – 6th November 2025

The committee was scheduled to discuss its forward work programme for the meeting on 6th November 2025. The proposed agenda included employee well-being and sickness absence performance, and safeguarding monitoring for corporate services.