The Communities, Homes & Regeneration Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the 2025/26 revenue and capital budget monitoring report, the 2024/25 revenue budget outturn report and the 2025/26 quarter 1 performance report. The committee was also scheduled to discuss an explanation for the non-submission of scrutiny reports and forthcoming items.

2025/26 Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring

The committee was scheduled to receive the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report for 2025/26. The report covered Housing, Economic Development & Property, Place and Sustainability, and Leisure & Recreation Services.

The report pack included a summary forecasting a £247,000 overspend for services within the Communities, Homes & Regeneration Scrutiny remit. It also noted that the Housing Revenue Account¹ (HRA) was predicted to be overspent by £2,178,000 for 2025/26. The capital programme showed a variance of -£5,293,000 against the 2025/26 approved budget.

The report pack also contained a savings monitoring report for 2025/26, including detail on the 2024/25 savings proposals that were undelivered as of 31 March 2025.

Appendix B of the report pack listed the main variances on agreed budgets. These included:

• Economic Development & Property: An overspend of £38,000 in Economic Development Management due to the cessation of staff time recharged to grants. A £95,000 shortfall in income for Property, offset by vacant posts. Vacant stalls and shops meant that Provision Markets faced a £13,000 shortfall. Reduced occupancy at Industrial Premises led to a £102,000 shortfall. The Beacon was forecast to overspend by £42,000 on premises related costs.
• Place and Sustainability: The Place & Sustainability Unit was forecast to underspend by £39,000 due to a vacant post, reduced hours for one officer and an underspend on supplies and services. Building Control was forecast to have an £82,000 shortfall in building regulation fee income. Conservation was forecast to underspend by £28,000 due to a part-year vacancy and additional recharge income. The Sustainable Development Unit was forecast to underspend by £22,000 due to a vacant manager post. The Net Zero Carbon Plan was forecast to underspend by £39,000 due to a vacant post and reduced running costs.
• Leisure & Recreation: Millennium Coastal Park was forecast to overachieve parking income by £25,000. Burry Port Harbour (outside the harbour wall) was forecast to have a £42,000 shortfall due to a company going into administration. The decision to run Burry Port Harbour (inside the harbour wall) in-house meant that there was no operational budget set, leading to a £71,000 overspend. Pendine Outdoor Education Centre was forecast to underachieve Board & Accommodation income by £30,000. Pembrey Ski Slope was forecast to overachieve income by £20,000. Carmarthen Leisure Centre was forecast to underachieve income by £99,000 due to a temporary pool closure.
• Council Fund Housing: Other variances resulted in a £15,000 overspend.

The Housing Revenue Account budget monitoring report for the period ending June 2025 stated that expenditure was forecast to be £55,781,000, and income was forecast to be £55,787,000, leading to a net expenditure of £2,178,000. The report noted that demand for housing repairs had increased by approximately 30% in recent years, and that a detailed review of the repairs service was being undertaken.

The Capital Programme 2025/26 report detailed main variances on capital schemes, and showed a forecasted net spend of £62,886,000 compared with a working net budget of £68,179,000, giving a -£5,293,000 variance.

2024/25 Revenue Budget Outturn Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the 2024/25 Revenue Budget Outturn Report. The report covered the Housing, Regeneration & Property, Place and Sustainability, and Leisure & Recreation Services.

The report pack included a summary stating that services within the Communities, Homes & Regeneration Scrutiny remit were reporting a £150,000 underspend, but that the HRA was reporting an overspend of £1,350,000 for 2024/25.

The savings report showed that £1,004,000 of managerial savings against a target of £1,224,000 were delivered. There were no policy savings proposals for 2024/25.

Appendix B of the report pack listed the main variances on agreed budgets. These included:

• Economic Development & Property: An underspend of £70,000 in Economic Development Management due to recharges to grant schemes and a vacant post. A £49,000 shortfall in income for Property was offset by a vacant post. A vacant post meant that the Management of Markets, Employment Sites and Premises had an £85,000 underspend. Essential maintenance work was undertaken on various properties, and additional ad-hoc income was received, leading to a £57,000 overspend for Commercial Properties. A £90,000 shortfall in income for Provision Markets was offset by an underspend on premises and supplies and services costs. Reduced occupancy at Industrial Premises led to a £119,000 overspend. The Beacon was forecast to overspend by £47,000 on premises related costs. County Farms had a £19,000 underspend on premises maintenance costs. Additional income from overage as per rental agreements led to a £156,000 underspend for Livestock Markets. Increased income resulted in a £271,000 underspend for Property Maintenance Operational.
• Place and Sustainability: The Place & Sustainability Unit was forecast to underspend by £42,000 on supplies and services. Building Control was forecast to have a £69,000 shortfall in building regulation fee income. Additional income received from training courses and SPF funding meant that the Tywi Centre had a £58,000 underspend. Conservation was forecast to have a £16,000 overspend due to an unachieved income target. A vacant manager post meant that the Sustainable Development Unit had a £35,000 underspend. The Net Zero Carbon Plan was forecast to underspend by £78,000 due to a vacant post and maternity leave cover. The purchase of a pump and trailer led to a £34,000 overspend for Flood Defence & Land Drainage.
• Leisure & Recreation: Burry Port Harbour had additional costs of £36,000 associated with the harbour going into administration. Overachieved income for car parking meant that the Discovery Centre had a £10,000 underspend. A five-month building closure led to a £135,000 overspend for Pendine Outdoor Education Centre. Pembrey Beach Kiosk had a £46,000 shortfall in income due to poor summer weather. Pembrey Ski Slope had a £21,000 underspend in the cost of catering and overachieved income. Carmarthen Leisure Centre overachieved income by £56,000. Amman Valley Leisure Centre overachieved income by £13,000. Llandovery Swimming Pool had a £35,000 overspend due to a shortfall of income and an overspend in supplies and services. Maximisation of external income led to a £96,000 underspend for Actif Communities. Actif Facilities had a £35,000 shortfall of income. Actif health, fitness and dryside had a £21,000 shortfall of income. An overspend due to a Health related 'Falls Prevention' grant not continuing led to a £50,000 overspend for Specialist populations. Inability to achieve a vacancy factor and a shortfall in income led to a £45,000 overspend for Catering - Sport Centres. Planned underspends in a range of Supplies & Services budgets helped to offset service pressures across Leisure, leading to a £67,000 underspend for Sport & Leisure General. In year vacancies and a forecast underspend in utilities led to a £26,000 underspend for St John Lloyd - 2G Pitch. Inability to fully achieve a vacancy factor led to a £19,000 overspend for Llanelli Leisure Centre. Overspends across a number of expenditure codes, including work arising from Storm Darragh, led to a £37,000 overspend for Outdoor Recreation - Staffing costs. Overspend on utilities and a shortfall in campsite income due to a refund made to pitch holders led to a £147,000 overspend for Pembrey Country Park. The one-off set up costs associated with the running of the on-site café returning in-house led to a £15,000 overspend for Llyn Llech Owain Country Park. Overachievement of income and in year vacancies led to a £61,000 underspend for Pembrey Country Park Restaurant. Overspend due to maintenance costs following Storm Darragh led to a £21,000 overspend for Woodland Parks. In year vacancies led to a £19,000 underspend for Ammanford Library, a £24,000 underspend for Community Libraries, a £28,000 underspend for Libraries General, and a £18,000 underspend for Mobile Library. Numerous minor expenditure underspends led to a £20,000 underspend for Carmarthen Museum, Abergwili, and a £12,000 underspend for Kidwelly Tinplate Museum. One-off costs associated with re-alignment of staffing structure led to a £46,000 overspend for Museums General. Underspends in match funding and projects & activities budgets led to a £12,000 underspend for Cultural Services Management. Shortfall in income due to poor summer weather led to a £29,000 overspend for Laugharne Boathouse. Overachieved income to budget led to a £17,000 underspend for Lyric Theatre. Underspend in utilities led to a £17,000 underspend for Y Ffwrnes. Numerous minor underspends led to a £21,000 underspend for Ammanford Miners Theatre.

The report also included a savings monitoring report for 2024/25. This stated that £1,004,000 of managerial savings against a target of £1,224,000 were delivered, and that there were no policy savings proposals for 2024/25.

2025/26 Quarter 1 Performance Report

The committee was scheduled to review and assess the information contained in the 2025/26 Quarter 1 Performance Report, and to provide any recommendations, comments, or advice to the Cabinet Member and / or Director.

The report summarised progress against deliverables linked to the Corporate Strategy and Well-being Objectives². The report noted that 75% of actions and measures were on target.

Some measures were off target:

• Planning Ecology responses: 76.5% of Planning Ecology responses were made to planning consultations within 21 days, against a target of 85%.
• Planning enforcement action: The average time taken to take positive planning enforcement action was 466 days, against a target of 180 days. 35.1% of 'Positive Action' was taken on planning enforcement cases within 180 days of the 'investigation date', against a target of 80%.
• Hwb adviser referrals: There were 521 Hwb adviser referrals for customers requiring help and guidance with the cost of living, against a target of 550.
• Social lettings agency: The number of new additional properties managed by the internal social lettings agency was 2, against a target of 5.
• Housing repairs: The average number of days to deliver responsive housing repairs was 37, against a target of 20.
• National Exercise Referral Scheme: 39.9% of people referred to the National Exercise Referral Scheme attended the initial consultation of the programme, against a target of 60%. 38% of people referred to the National Exercise Referral Scheme completed the 16-week programme, against a target of 50%.
• Private sector investment: The level of private sector investment / external funding secured was £1,139,699, against a target of £3,000,000.
• Accredited qualifications: The number of accredited qualifications achieved by residents attending Employment related courses within the Communities 4 Work and Communities 4 Work Plus Programmes was 11, against a target of 20.
• Major planning applications: The average time taken to determine major applications was 313 days, against a target of 112 days.
• Built Heritage responses: 85.7% of Built Heritage responses were made to planning consultations within 21 days, against a target of 93%.
• Library visits: The number of library visits per 1,000 population was 984, against a target of 1046.
• Discover website: There were 242,954 user sessions to the Discover website, against a target of 312,049.

Explanation for Non-Submission of Scrutiny Reports

The committee was scheduled to consider an explanation for the non-submission of a scrutiny report.

The report pack stated that the council's constitution requires scrutiny committees to develop and publish an annual forward work programme, and that if a report is not presented as scheduled, the responsible officer is expected to prepare a non-submission report explaining why.

The report listed two items that had not been submitted:

• Responsive Repairs & Minor Works Update: This was deferred to the 11 November 2025 meeting to allow for a more comprehensive overview of the current position.
• Adopted LDP Annual Monitoring Report 2024/25: This was deferred to the 11 November 2025 meeting due to officer unavailability.

Forthcoming Items

The committee was scheduled to note the forthcoming items to be considered at the next meeting of the Community and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee to be held on 11 November 2025. These items were:

• Pentre Awel Update Report & Site Visit
• Economic Vision Statement
• Responsive Repairs & Minor Works Update Report
• Revenue & Capital Budget Monitoring 2025/26 (April to August 2025)
• Council Annual Report 2024/25
• Adopted LDP Annual Monitoring Report 2024/25
• Scrutiny Actions Update

The report pack also included the 2025/26 forward work plans for the Communities, Homes and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet.