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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 24 January 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED- That the Cabinet Forward Work Programme be approved.
RESOLVED- That the decision be deferred, but that recommendations (a), (b) and (c) outlined above, be noted and be subject to a final decision following the consideration of revised figures by the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 20 February 2023. Note: Councillor Aaron Wynne declared a personal interest in the above item, as a member of his family works with vulnerable adults. As the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Wynne was able to speak and vote on the matter.
RESOLVED- That the Social Services Representations, Complaints and Compliments Annual Report for 2021/2022 be approved.
None.
Councillor Aaron Wynne declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 7b (Revenue Business Cases and Budget Reductions for the Draft Budget 2023/2024), as a member of his family works with vulnerable adults. As the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Wynne was able to speak and vote on the matter.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 24 January 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.
The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 24 January 2023 were submitted for approval. RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 24 January 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.
The Leader advised that he had no announcements, however, the Cabinet Member for Environment, Roads and Facilities – Infrastructure was afforded the opportunity to provide an update on the T19 Bus Service as follows:- · Following the termination of the T19 Bus Service (Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llanrwst) by the operator Llew Jones, Council Officers ensured there was alternative home to school transport provision for Conwy learners to access Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy and Coleg Llandrillo, with some learners from Gwynedd accommodated on that transport. · Conwy had done everything possible to maintain the T19 Service, however, whilst discussions were still ongoing with Transport for Wales (TfW), it had withdrawn from negotiations for the delivery of a subsidy for the TrawsCymru service. · The Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS, had released a statement on Rural Transport in Wales and the Cabinet Member had raised the question of funding. · Gwynedd County Council had offered the use of an electric vehicle but with the nearest charging point in Porthmadog, this was not a viable solution. · Janet Finch-Saunders MS was in the process of organising a meeting between Conwy County Borough Council, Gwynedd County Council and TfW, together with other relevant organisations, to discuss the issue. · Relevant staff in Environment, Roads and Facilities were thanked for undertaking a co-ordinated approach to the issue.
No announcements.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED- That the Cabinet Forward Work Programme be approved.
Members were presented with the Forward Work Programme for the Cabinet. RESOLVED- That the Cabinet Forward Work Programme be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED- That the decision be deferred, but that recommendations (a), (b) and (c) outlined above, be noted and be subject to a final decision following the consideration of revised figures by the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 20 February 2023. Note: Councillor Aaron Wynne declared a personal interest in the above item, as a member of his family works with vulnerable adults. As the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Wynne was able to speak and vote on the matter.
The Cabinet Member for Finance, Revenue and Benefits presented a report, which built on the previous report that was presented to Members in January 2023 relating to the budgetary process for 2023/2024. The recommendations arising from the report would form the basis of the draft budget and Council Tax increase for 2023/2024 to be presented to Members in late February, which would then lead to Cabinet recommending a balanced budget and Council Tax increase to be approved by Council in March 2023. Table 5 in Appendix 1 of the report outlined the potential additional income of a 7.5%, 10%, and 12.5% Council Tax increase. The provisional settlement included an increase in Conwy’s Aggregate External Finance (AEF) of 7.3%. However, Conwy’s estimated funding shortfall for 2023/2024 was £19.977 million, which had reduced following the announcement of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme in January 2023. This was outlined in Table 1 (Appendix 1) of the report, with Table 2 summarising how the shortfall would be met and Table 4 outlining the budget reductions by service, with 5% for Education and Social Care and 10% for the reminder of the services. Table 3 (Appendix 1) of the report provided the options and costings for Residential and Domiciliary Care Fees. The Cabinet Member for Integrated Adult and Community Services would be meeting with Care Providers and would produce an impact statement for Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 20 February 2023. Members would be acutely aware that Conwy held the lowest level of reserves and balances across Wales. This remained the case, despite an improvement in the level of reserves held at 31 March 2022, as compared with the pre-pandemic position. The remaining reserves must be retained to provide the Council with some resilience in dealing with unforeseen circumstances in future years. The report identified options for consideration in determining a strategic direction, which would allow the Council to set a balanced budget in March and these were outlined in Table 7 (Appendix 1) of the report. There was still a high degree of uncertainty and risk in the financial landscape as a result of the ongoing pandemic, which were outlined in Table 12 (Appendix 1) of the report. The Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the report on 6 February 2023 and made the following recommendations to Cabinet:- (a) That the Revenue Business Cases submitted by services (to include Domiciliary Care (Option B) and Residential / Nursing Care Fees (Option B) be supported. (b) That the budget reduction proposals be supported, in principle, other than for Social Care and Education, as budget reductions had not yet been identified. (c) That reserves and balances should not be utilised to support a balanced budget. (d) That no indicative Council Tax figure be proposed, until further information and findings are provided. The Cabinet Member for Finance, Revenues and Benefits advised that, at the above meeting, he was asked what the current gap between the resource shortfall and the Council Tax was and had advised that it was 12.45%. It was clear at that meeting that the Committee would not support an indicative Council Tax rise of that level and that Cabinet would undertake further work to reduce the shortfall. In relation to the recommendations of the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the ongoing work being undertaken by services to reduce the shortfall, the Chief Executive suggested that the decision be deferred, but that Cabinet note and accept recommendations (a), (b) and (c), subject to a final decision following the consideration of revised figures by the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 20 February 2023. This approach was supported by Members. It was noted that Welsh Government may announce additional funding for Local Authorities on 1 March 2023. Discussion ensued as follows:- · The deadline for schools to submit responses to the funding survey was 14 February 2023, with a Special School Budget Forum being held on 16 February 2023. · As a result of the shortfall and budget reductions put forward, there would be an impact on the delivery of services. · The progress in delivering projects, such as the in-house children’s homes, to reduce the burden on the budget and improve the wellbeing of young people was welcomed. This included the provision of housing to reduce the costs of homelessness B&B accommodation. · In relation to the risks associated with the pay awards, the Strategic Director – Finance and Resources advised that for 2022/2023 Welsh Government (WG) had offered a further 3% for teachers, which was 1.5% consolidated and 1.5% cash sum, with WG advising that they would provide funding for this financial year. WG had envisaged a 3.5% teachers’ pay award for 2024/2025 but Conwy had allowed for a 5% increase. Similarly for the National Joint Council (NJC) pay award, 6% had been allocated on the assumption that a cash amount would be agreed for 2023/2024 to bring the lower pay scales in line with the National Living Wage. Whilst this approach was prudent it was not without risk. · It was important to review spend more closely in 2023/2024 in order to recognise emerging risks at an early point. · It was noted that in terms of spend, Environment, Roads and Facilities undertook much of its work in the spring and summer months. · Cabinet Members took the opportunity of thanking Heads of Service and staff in their respective portfolios for the work undertaken in reducing the shortfall and bringing forward budget reductions. The Leader advised that Members needed to be aware of the challenges and consequences of producing a balanced budget, especially following the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis, when there should be further support provided, which was not feasible as a result of the current financial climate. RESOLVED- That the decision be deferred, but that recommendations (a), (b) and (c) outlined above, be noted and be subject to a final decision following the consideration of revised figures by the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 20 February 2023. Note: Councillor Aaron Wynne declared a personal interest in the above item, as a member of his family works with vulnerable adults. As the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Wynne was able to speak and vote on the matter.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED- That the Social Services Representations, Complaints and Compliments Annual Report for 2021/2022 be approved.
The Cabinet Member for Integrated Adult and Community Services introduced the report and provided an overview of the statistical analysis of the representations, complaints and compliments received by Social Services during the reporting period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. Since 2017 the number of complaints had reduced from 29 to 17 in 2021, with 63 compliments received by the Older People and Hospital Social Work Team. The report outlined the key objectives of the Complaints Section for 2022/2023 to continue to improve the service and experience for complainants. The Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the report on 25 January 2023 and supported the recommendation. Discussion ensued as follows:- · Lessons would be learnt from the complaints and compliments received. · Thanks were extended to staff for their continued commitment in providing quality services to vulnerable children and residents. · It was noted that the Ombudsman had concluded that there was no further action required for the 6 cases referred to the Ombudsman’s Office, which was a credit to the Service. · The falling number of complaints and high number of compliments was commended. RESOLVED- That the Social Services Representations, Complaints and Compliments Annual Report for 2021/2022 be approved.
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