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.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 April 2026 be received and confirmed as a correct record.
RESOLVED that Cabinet approves – (a) the acceptance of the external Low Carbon Heat Grant (if successful) at a value of £1.88 million to deliver the County Hall, Ruthin energy/carbon efficiency scheme; (b) the initiation of the procurement process at a value of £2.09 million, subject to the Council being successful in their grant application, and (c) the decision to award the contract post tender, subject to it being within available budget and the delivery programme committed to it by the contractor being within the time frame available, be delegated to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, the Head of Corporate Support Services: Performance Digital and Assets, and the Lead Cabinet Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy, Equalities and Strategic Assets.
RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) approve the award of contract to Wynne Construction to design and subsequently deliver the construction element of the project, and (b) confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Wellbeing Impact Assessment (Appendix 3 to the report) as part of its consideration.
RESOLVED that Cabinet approves the updates as listed in section 2.1 of the report.
RESOLVED that Cabinet’s forward work programme be noted. The meeting concluded at 10.50 am.
There were no apologies.
No declarations of interest had been raised.
No urgent matters had been raised.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 April 2026 be received and confirmed as a correct record.
The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 28 April 2026 were submitted. RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 April 2026 be received and confirmed as a correct record.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED that Cabinet approves – (a) the acceptance of the external Low Carbon Heat Grant (if successful) at a value of £1.88 million to deliver the County Hall, Ruthin energy/carbon efficiency scheme; (b) the initiation of the procurement process at a value of £2.09 million, subject to the Council being successful in their grant application, and (c) the decision to award the contract post tender, subject to it being within available budget and the delivery programme committed to it by the contractor being within the time frame available, be delegated to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, the Head of Corporate Support Services: Performance Digital and Assets, and the Lead Cabinet Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy, Equalities and Strategic Assets.
Councillor Julie Matthews presented the report seeking Cabinet approval to accept the Welsh Government Low Carbon Heat Grant (if successful) to deliver the County Hall, Ruthin energy/carbon efficiency scheme and initiation of the procurement process together with delegated authority to award the contract post tender. Cabinet approval was required due to the value of the grant and ensuing tender. The total project value was £2.09m with a grant of £1.88m (90%) and £209k (10%) funded by the Council to be spent by 31 March 2027. The grant would be used to fund an energy/carbon efficiency scheme at County Hall including installation of air source heat pumps and replacement air handling units, windows and radiators. It would decrease energy consumption and carbon emissions by around 48.7 tonnes per year. Due to tight timescales approval was also sought to delegate authority to officers to award the contract post tender in line with the available budget and timeframe. The approvals would be subject to the grant application being successful. The approach to procurement included in the Wellbeing Impact Assessment to engage and support the local supply chain was also highlighted. Councillor Matthews proposed an amendment to report recommendation 3.3 to include herself as Lead Cabinet Member along with the named officers as part of the approval process to award the contract via delegated decision. The Property Technical Services Manager and Property Energy and Carbon Manager were in attendance for this item. The officers explained the work carried out at short notice to secure the grant funding and it was hoped the outcome would be known in the next two weeks. The purpose of the report was to ensure that, if the grant was awarded, the Council was in a position to mobilise quickly. Given the tight timescales details were provided of the requirements which needed to be met and if there were concerns about deliverability discussions would be held with the funder regarding flexibility with the deadline. The risk to the authority was low given the Council would not commit to the project unless confident it could be delivered. However, approving the report recommendations would provide the opportunity to secure grant funding which would reduce carbon emissions and address the significant maintenance liability by enabling replacements of end of life assets. The project had recently been scrutinised and supported by the Capital Scrutiny Group. Finally, Cabinet was provided with an overview of the project and proposed works to be carried out which was contingent upon the removal of gas at the building. Cabinet welcomed the report and commended the hard work undertaken in preparing the grant funding application together with the comprehensive detail provided, including the measures identified to mitigate risk to the authority. Cabinet also noted the significant benefits of the project, particularly the substantial cost savings in replacing end-of-life assets with energy-efficient alternatives and other work to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions and enhance the working environment for staff. Cabinet discussed the report with officers and took the opportunity to ask questions. Main points of debate focused on the following – · there had been discussions with Welsh Government regarding the grant funding application and the Council had a good track record of completing projects on time and within budget. The requirement for contractors to provide a realistic and deliverable cashflow forecast as part of the tender process would aid with delivering the project within timescales; in the event a deliverable programme could not be achieved and the Welsh Government would not approve an extension of the grant funding the Council would withdraw from the project · the difficulty in predicting whether there was potential for future revenue savings as a result of the project was discussed with energy prices being affected by global market forces and other factors beyond the Council’s control. However, the air source heat pumps used 1kw of electric for 3kw of output which was effectively 300% efficient so the number of units used decreased meaning the Council was less affected by any fluctuations in unit changes. Work was also being carried out to assess capacity in the solar canopies to run the heat pumps · Cabinet was keen for communication with residents to explain the source of the funding and benefits of the project. Assurances were provided regarding timely corporate communications in that regard to explain the majority of the project costs were covered by external grant funding and benefits of the project. The requirement for a phasing plan as part of the tender submission would also aid delivery of the project and inform an internal communication plan with services to keep staff informed and disruption of the planned works to a minimum · once the project was completed Cabinet felt it would be useful to receive feedback on the efficiencies and savings as a result and officers confirmed that monitoring equipment would be used to measure the energy efficiency of the systems put in place in order to collect the relevant data · the grant conditions required the removal of gas at the building; modular heat pumps would be used so if one module failed to work the others would still work albeit less efficiently. Hot water would be operated as a separate system. Cabinet confirmed they were in agreement with the amendment to the report recommendation 3.3 put forward by Councillor Matthews to include the Lead Cabinet Member along with officers involved in the delegated decision process. RESOLVED that Cabinet approves – (a) the acceptance of the external Low Carbon Heat Grant (if successful) at a value of £1.88 million to deliver the County Hall, Ruthin energy/carbon efficiency scheme; (b) the initiation of the procurement process at a value of £2.09 million, subject to the Council being successful in their grant application, and (c) the decision to award the contract post tender, subject to it being within available budget and the delivery programme committed to it by the contractor being within the time frame available, be delegated to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, the Head of Corporate Support Services: Performance Digital and Assets, and the Lead Cabinet Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy, Equalities and Strategic Assets.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) approve the award of contract to Wynne Construction to design and subsequently deliver the construction element of the project, and (b) confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Wellbeing Impact Assessment (Appendix 3 to the report) as part of its consideration.
Councillor Diane King presented the report seeking Cabinet approval to appoint Wynne Construction, via the North Wales Construction Partnership, to a two-stage design and build contract to deliver the Denbigh High School refurbishment project. The report and contract award related to stage one pre-construction services only. In December 2025, Cabinet approved the procurement process for the contract and submission of the Strategic Outline Business Case to Welsh Government, which was subsequently approved in March 2026. Total funding for the project was £19.8m and funding commitments required by the Council and Welsh Government had been set out. The report related to stage one design development to inform the build contract price. Whilst cost pressures had already been identified greater certainty would emerge as the design progressed with final construction cost subject to full business case approval. Details of the procurement and tender evaluation process had been provided based on 30% price, 60% quality and 10% community benefits. A number of high quality tenders had been received and Wynne Construction had emerged as the successful bidder. The tender scoring report and commissioning and contract form had been included as confidential appendices due to reasons of commercial sensitivity and Cabinet was advised to exclude the press and public if they wished to discuss those elements of the report The Head of Education added that approval of the report recommendations and appointment of a contractor to progress the project would be very welcomed by the community of Denbigh together with staff and students at the school. Cabinet supported the recommendations recognising the much needed investment in the school. The Leader referred to an email received from Councillor Mark Young in his capacity as Chair of Governors of Denbigh High School in which he thanked all those involved for their work on this matter, citing the major investment in the future of the school and Denbigh town, and looked forward to working together moving forward. The Leader thanked Councillor Young for the email and also looked forward to working with him, other governors and school staff on the project. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) approve the award of contract to Wynne Construction to design and subsequently deliver the construction element of the project, and (b) confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Wellbeing Impact Assessment (Appendix 3 to the report) as part of its consideration.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED that Cabinet approves the updates as listed in section 2.1 of the report.
Before presenting the report Councillor Delyth Jones expressed some concern regarding how its contents had been misreported in the local press and she hoped to dissipate any concerns amongst residents by providing a true account. Financial planning for the medium term was a requirement of all local authorities. Councillor Jones proceeded to present the report setting the scene for budget setting in the medium term (2027/28 – 2029/30) and the updated self-assessment of the Council’s level of financial resilience and sustainability. Cabinet was guided through the report detail which focused on the following – · Medium Term Financial Strategy and Plan 2027/28 – 2029/30, including current budget projections along with the assumptions that underpinned the projections, with high level estimates of known pressures together with the impact of estimated increases in council tax and funding from the Welsh Government · a range of assumptions giving low, medium and high cost estimates for each pressure had been provided, illustrating both the uncertainty of the figures and the amount of work that still needed to be carried out to refine projections. The Council’s strategic approach to the management of its finances had been set out along with some of the financial issues it would face over the next three years · the financial challenge faced by the Council in setting recent budgets would continue in the medium term with increasing demand and complexity of needs for statutory services such as Education, Social Care and Homelessness and service delivery costs had risen significantly and above headline inflation rates · pressures ranged from £13m to £25m (mid-range £18m) in 2027/28 with similar forecasts for 2028/29 and 2029/20; the 2026/27 funding settlement from Welsh Government provided no future indication of funding with councils making assumptions around future funding and council tax increases; over the next three years the forecast gap ranged from £24m to £42m (mid-range £30m) and council tax increases ranged from 4% - 8% for 2027/28 and a 5.23% long term average for both ensuing years in line with pressures as a proportion of the 2026/27 budget. It was important to note no decisions had yet been made, and · a self-assessment of financial resilience and sustainability setting out an assessment of the Council’s position against common themes and issues identified by CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountability). Councillor Jones advised that she was writing to the newly appointed Welsh Government Finance Minister to highlight the pressures and begin a dialogue about the continuing challenges facing local authorities and Denbighshire in particular. She also took the opportunity to thank the finance team for their continued work. The Chief Accountant/Deputy S.151 Officer reiterated that the financial forecasts set out were based on a range of high level assumptions and were likely to change. The focus remained on balancing financial sustainability with strategic delivery and prioritising investment to create long term value, improving efficiency, managing risk and ensuring limited resources were directed towards highest impact objectives and looking after the most vulnerable. Members would be updated in-year via Council Workshops and Member Briefings and the latest financial projections and reports were scheduled for Cabinet in October and January ahead of budget setting. The Leader thanked the Lead Member and officers for the report and strategic overview moving forward, noting that all councils were required to undertake financial planning. He also referred to the recent change in Welsh Government and the as yet unknown impact on future local government settlements. The following issues were raised during the ensuing debate – · following a request by the Governance and Audit Committee in 2024 to stress test budget processes the Council had introduced the self-assessment of financial resilience and sustainability measuring the Council’s position against common themes and issues identified by CIPFA (Appendix 3 to the report). The report would also be submitted to the Governance and Audit Committee next month. Cabinet welcomed the self-assessment which demonstrated the Council was performing well in terms of its financial stability and which would also help allay any concerns raised as a result of misleading reports in the local press relating to the medium term financial strategy and plan which had been produced as part of a statutory process and ensured financial transparency · reference was made to the robust budget setting process which was an ongoing and continuous process involving all members and service departments · Cabinet reiterated concerns regarding the misreporting of financial issues in the press leading to misinformation and impact on residents. It was noted that an easy to read infographic about the budget had been produced which had been published by some in the local press and on social media to foster a greater understanding of how the budget was set. A similar infographic was currently being formulated about grant funding, particularly given that the Council was very efficient at securing external funding, to clearly explain how grant funding worked as it could only be spent on specific projects for a specific purpose. It was suggested that an invitation be extended to local journalists to discuss potential press reports in advance to ensure accuracy of reporting. The Chief Executive advised that she would be meeting with a local journalist and hoped to discuss how best to work together to ensure accurate reporting going forward. RESOLVED that Cabinet approves the updates as listed in section 2.1 of the report.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED that Cabinet’s forward work programme be noted. The meeting concluded at 10.50 am.
The Cabinet forward work programme was presented for consideration. RESOLVED that Cabinet’s forward work programme be noted. The meeting concluded at 10.50 am.
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.
Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Dyw'r cyngor ddim wedi cofnodi presenoldeb ar gyfer y cyfarfod hwn.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.