Wrthi'n llwytho
Y penderfyniadau fel y mae cofnodion y cyngor yn eu cofnodi. Bydd crynodeb mewn iaith glir yn dilyn pan fydd wedi'i ysgrifennu.
AGREED:- (i) support the report and the recommendation that Cabinet approve the Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) Annual Report 2026, (ii) to note the assurance opinion and current corporate information risk position, and (iii) support the continued delivery of the identified mitigation and improvement activities.
AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet: (i) approve the Cyber Resilience Strategy 2026 and associated Cyber Resilience Action Plan; and (ii) consider the Strategy and Action Plan including risk, resilience, service continuity, governance and assurance.
AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet to approve the refreshed Information and Records Management Policy.
AGREED: (i) to note the progress achieved and (ii) that the original Integrated Impact Assessment for this policy be included in the Phase 2 to compare any changes
AGREED:- (i) to recommend that Cabinet to approve the Customer Service Strategy 2026; and (ii) that the strategy provides a clear framework for improving the customer journey by focusing on clearer access to services; consistent bilingual service standards; better information and proactive updates; strengthened staff support; I improved visibility across systems; and evidence-led continuous improvement.
AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet to approve the latest update of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy.
Councillor Ceris Jones, Caryl Roberts, Bryan Davies and Gareth Davies apologised for their inability to attend the meeting.
None.
None.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED:- (i) support the report and the recommendation that Cabinet approve the Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) Annual Report 2026, (ii) to note the assurance opinion and current corporate information risk position, and (iii) support the continued delivery of the identified mitigation and improvement activities.
Councillor Catrin M S Davies , Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Customer Services presented the report upon the Information Risk Owner (SIRO) Annual Report 2026 prior to its submission to Cabinet. Members were advised that the report provided the annual assurance position in respect of the Council’s most significant information-related risks, including Information Management, Systems End of Life and Cyber Resilience. The report outlined the current risk position, the external threat landscape, progress made during the reporting period, areas where controls had improved, and pressures requiring ongoing leadership oversight. The Committee reviewed the assurances provided within the report, considered the visibility given to current and emerging risks, and discussed the adequacy of the proposed areas of focus for the forthcoming year. It was noted that the report was an assurance and governance report and did not propose any new policy, service change or decision which would directly affect service users, staff or communities. Consequently, an Integrated Impact Assessment had not been required. Members requested that consideration be given to making Cyber Resilience training course should be mandatory for Councillors, the Officer confirmed that training was very important and would support such an approach. However, the Officer noted that any decision on whether to make such training mandatory would be a matter for determination by the authority. Following consideration, it was AGREED:- (i) support the report and the recommendation that Cabinet approve the Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) Annual Report 2026, (ii) to note the assurance opinion and current corporate information risk position, and (iii) support the continued delivery of the identified mitigation and improvement activities.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet: (i) approve the Cyber Resilience Strategy 2026 and associated Cyber Resilience Action Plan; and (ii) consider the Strategy and Action Plan including risk, resilience, service continuity, governance and assurance.
Councillor Catrin M S Davies , Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Customer Services presented the report upon the Cyber Resilience Strategy and Action Plan and the associated Cyber Resilience Action Plan prior to their submission to Cabinet. Members were advised that the Council relied on digital technology to deliver essential services and safeguard sensitive information. It was noted that the cyber threat landscape continued to intensify, with increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks and the growing potential use of artificial intelligence by threat actors. The Committee noted that the risk of a serious cyber incident remained a significant corporate risk requiring effective governance, continuous improvement and regular assurance. Members were informed that the Cyber Resilience Strategy 2026 established the Council’s strategic approach to reducing the likelihood and impact of cyber-attacks and strengthening the Council’s ability to maintain services and protect information. The Strategy was structured around six key pillars: Cyber Assessment Framework adoption; prevention and patching; detection and response; resilience and recovery; collaboration and intelligence; and people and culture. It was further noted that the Cyber Resilience Action Plan translated the Strategy into a programme of practical improvements, including strengthened asset and supplier management, enhanced identity and access controls, improved patching and secure configuration, greater assurance over backup and recovery arrangements, enhanced incident response procedures, increased staff awareness, and more consistent performance monitoring and reporting. The Committee considered the Strategy and Action Plan from a scrutiny perspective, with particular regard to risk management, cyber resilience, service continuity, governance and assurance arrangements. The following was noted:- · Cyber resilience was becoming increasingly complex and challenging to manage, requiring a coordinated and organisation wide approach. The Authority must work collectively to strengthen resilience. · The Authority was increasingly reliant on digital technology to deliver essential services and protect sensitive and critical information. The cyber threat landscape continues to intensify, with increasingly sophisticated and targeted attacks (including the use of AI). Given the potential impact of a serious cyber incident on service delivery, information security and organisational continuity, effective governance, collaboration and communication remain critical. · In response to a question, if the 22 local authorities in Wales were using the same Cyber Resilience action plans, it was confirmed that local authority’s plans do differ, however, everyone was open to sharing and utilising best practices. · It was confirmed that the Council maintain frequent, tested backups for critical systems, including offline/isolated copies to protect against ransomware. Backup and restoration testing provides assurance that data could be recovered within agreed priorities. Following discussion, Committee Members AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet: (i) approve the Cyber Resilience Strategy 2026 and associated Cyber Resilience Action Plan; and (ii) consider the Strategy and Action Plan including risk, resilience, service continuity, governance and assurance.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet to approve the refreshed Information and Records Management Policy.
Councillor Catrin M S Davies , Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Customer Services presented the report upon the Information and Records Management Policy prior to its submission to Cabinet. Members were advised that the Policy set out the Council’s approach to managing information and records throughout their lifecycle, including their creation, storage, retention, sharing, security and disposal. It was noted that the Policy had been reviewed and refreshed rather than substantially amended, ensuring that the Council’s policy framework remained current, clear and aligned with good information governance practice. The Committee heard that the Policy supported staff in managing information consistently, lawfully and securely, whilst reducing the risks associated with poor record keeping, inappropriate retention, data loss and unauthorised disclosure of information. Members noted that, although the Policy was primarily concerned with internal information and records management, effective information governance helped to protect residents, service users, staff and other stakeholders by ensuring information was accurate, available when required, handled securely and retained only for as long as necessary. The Committee reviewed the refreshed Information and Records Management Policy and provided comments for Cabinet’s consideration as part of the approval process. The following was noted by the Committee:- · In response to a question, it was confirmed that the policy supports staff in managing information consistently, lawfully and securely, while reducing risks linked to poor record keeping, inappropriate retention, data loss and unauthorised disclosure. · In response to a question on the period required to keep minutes of meetings, for example. It was confirmed that firewall identify and notify records and management, then, a recommendation is presented to the SIRO. On occasions, it was necessary to keep historical information in archives forever. · Historical documents were kept in electronic form and paper form. Following discussion, Committee Members AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet to approve the refreshed Information and Records Management Policy.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED: (i) to note the progress achieved and (ii) that the original Integrated Impact Assessment for this policy be included in the Phase 2 to compare any changes
Councillor Catrin M S Davies , Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Customer Services presented the report upon the Digital Strategy 2024–2030 Progress Report relating to Phase 1 of the Digital Plan 2024–26 and the proposed direction for Phase 2. Members were advised that Phase 1 of the Digital Plan had focused on establishing the foundations for long-term digital transformation, including strengthened governance arrangements, improved cyber resilience, increased digital confidence, enhanced infrastructure, stronger information management and the development of customer-facing digital services. The Committee noted that substantial progress had been made across a range of priority areas, including major service transformation, cyber resilience, customer access, digital skills and confidence, information management and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Members were informed that the report presented a positive overall position whilst recognising the need to continue building on the progress achieved to date. It was noted that the proposed focus for Phase 2 would be on embedding the benefits delivered through the first phase, improving priority customer journeys, strengthening data and performance reporting arrangements, and ensuring that future digital investment was linked to measurable service outcomes. The Committee reviewed the progress made during Phase 1 and discussed the priorities identified for the next phase of the Digital Plan. Following consideration of the report, it was AGREED: (i) to note the progress achieved and (ii) that the original Integrated Impact Assessment for this policy be included in the Phase 2 to compare any changes
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED:- (i) to recommend that Cabinet to approve the Customer Service Strategy 2026; and (ii) that the strategy provides a clear framework for improving the customer journey by focusing on clearer access to services; consistent bilingual service standards; better information and proactive updates; strengthened staff support; I improved visibility across systems; and evidence-led continuous improvement.
Councillor Catrin M S Davies , Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Customer Services presented the draft Customer Service Strategy 2026 and its role in improving the customer experience across all Council services. Members were advised that the Strategy provided a whole-Council framework for improving the customer journey and was not solely focused on technology or the work of the Customer Contact Team. The Committee noted that the Strategy built upon existing strengths within the Council, including the Customer Services and Clic teams, the Customer Charter, bilingual service provision, committed staff, improved systems and the wider Team Ceredigion approach. Members were informed that the Strategy was structured around five strategic priorities: improving access and service channels; providing better information and updates; strengthening staff support; improving systems; and enhancing feedback and continuous improvement arrangements. It was noted that the Strategy recognised Welsh and English as equal languages in the delivery of services and emphasised that human support would continue to be available where customers required advice, reassurance, accessibility support, professional judgement or escalation. The Committee considered whether the Strategy provided sufficient clarity in relation to customer impact, service accountability, continuous improvement, performance reporting, customer choice of communication channels, bilingual service delivery and the practical arrangements required to achieve service improvements. Members noted that current enquiry closure feedback indicated a positive customer satisfaction score of 7.67 out of 10 and that the Council aspired to improve this score to 8 out of 10 through service improvements and the effective use of customer feedback, performance data and service reviews. Items noted by the Committee: · Members were pleased to report that significant improvements had been recognised in the Clic service during the past four years. · A Member voiced concern for those residents in the County that were not digitally skilled/connected. The Authority must be mindful adopting an inclusive approach. · Members were very pleased to recognise that there was a high-level customer satisfaction from Clic Service Users. · Members voiced concern regarding UK's landlines transitioning from analogue copper networks to internet-based digital technology (Gov.uk Guide) ahead of a complete switch-off by the end of January 2027. Many residents throughout the County do not have wi-fi access. Councillor Catrin M S Davies, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Customer Services, advised those with concerns to contact Ben Lake, Plaid Cymru MP for Ceredigion Preseli. · Some Committee Members were still experiencing issues trying to follow up enquiries with Clic, the Officer agreed that there are still improvements to be made and that they are continuing to work with other services for ways of improving. · A Member requested statistical information be shared with the Committee of each services performance for responding to Clic enquiries. The Officer agreed to include this information with the 6 monthly review report. Following discussion, Committee Members AGREED:- (i) to recommend that Cabinet to approve the Customer Service Strategy 2026; and (ii) that the strategy provides a clear framework for improving the customer journey by focusing on clearer access to services; consistent bilingual service standards; better information and proactive updates; strengthened staff support; I improved visibility across systems; and evidence-led continuous improvement.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet to approve the latest update of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy.
Consideration was given to the updated Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the period 2027/28 to 2031/32 and provided feedback prior to its consideration by Cabinet and Full Council. The Executive Corporate Lead Officer - Finance and Procurement reported that the MTFS provided an overarching approach that the Council would need to adopt in aiming to achieve its priorities, including taking account of the external legislative, economic environment and indicative projected spending pressures and funding over the period. The Committee received a comprehensive presentation on the updated MTFS including: · An overview of previous Budget setting processes · The Council’s positive financial performance and financial foundations. · Key achievements & progress against the Corporate Strategy 2022-2027 · Indicative levels of future Budget Cost pressures · Indicative Budget Scenarios and modelling assumptions · Sensitivity Analysis of key Budget variables · The makeup of the Council’s current 2026/27 Budget · Data on historical WG Settlements and levels of gearing · Data on current and forecast Population estimates · Data on current and forecast Pupil numbers and levels of School Balances · Work being done to highlight Rural Poverty · The £73m of Budget Reductions already made by the Council · Recent Investment in Services in the 2025/26 and 2026/27 Budgets including 4 new Graduates who had just started with the Council. In response to questions and discussion: • Members were reminded that the development of a new Corporate Strategy for 2027 onwards would be a matter for the incoming administration post the May 2027 Local Government elections and this may affect the Medium-Term Financial Strategy. • It was confirmed that the 2027/28 Provisional Local Government Settlement was due to be announced on 01/12/26, following the WG Draft Budget due on 17/11/26. • Members were advised that assumptions modelled in the MTFS were indicative modelling assumptions and did not pre-determine any aspect of the 2027/28 Budget Setting process. The Council’s financial position was heavily dependent on the level of WG core funding, with each 1% change equating £1.5m. • It was confirmed that the level of Ceredigion specific inflation was 4.4% in the 2026/27 Original Budget. It was noted that there were currently an upside risk to both inflation and interest rates due to the Middle East conflict. • Following a question about the impact of interest rates, it was explained that higher interest rates bring both a benefit in terms of higher investment income on cash balances, but conversely higher borrowing costs if the Authority needs to borrow. It was confirmed that Authority was currently maintaining an internal borrowing position and that the Authority was not currently looking at long term borrowing due to the costs being elevated. • Following a question regarding Post-16 education in the County, it was confirmed that this was being considered at a Learning Communities workstream meeting on the 05 November 2026 which would feedback to the main Learning Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee in due course. • Following a question regarding the £600,000 Capital expenditure budget for Llettytwppa Farm, it was confirmed that the current split of the budget related to the purchase of various machinery / equipment (£225k) and the undertaking of essential Site works (£375k). Members requested that information be included in the report due to be presented to the Learning Communities O&S Committee on 12 November 2026. • Members requested that an update was provided to the Thriving Communities O&S Committee in relation to the new Planning Enforcement Team. • It was confirmed that whilst Ceredigion Schools do face challenges, £600k had been invested in the 2026/27 budget process and only 2 Schools in Ceredigion ended the 25/26 financial year in a deficit (the total deficit position in Ceredigion being £36k). This contrasts starkly with a large number of Local Authorities in Wales who appear to be facing a far more challenging financial position in relation to Schools in financial deficits. Following discussion, Committee Members AGREED that they had considered the report and recommend that Cabinet to approve the latest update of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy.
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
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