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Executive Members (with Portfolios): Councillors: Anthony Hunt – Leader and Executive Member for Strategic Leadership Richard Clark – Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children, Families and Education Fiona Cross – Executive Member for Communities David Daniels – Executive Member for Adult Services and Housing Joanne Gauden – Executive Member for Economy, Skills and Regeneration Peter Jones – Executive Member for Corporate Governance and Resources Sue Morgan – Executive Member for Waste and Sustainability Mandy Owen – Executive Member for Environment Officers: Nigel Aurelius - Deputy Chief Executive Rachel Beale – Personal Assistant to Leader and Deputy Leader Claire Cutforth - Head of Waste Transformation Niall Flack - Apprentice Democratic Services Officer Robert Green – Head of Financial Services Gren Ham - Energy and Carbon Reduction Manager Delyth Harries - Monitoring Officer Iestyn Keer - Financial Services Apprentice Dave Leech - Strategic Director for Adults and Communities Jason Lewis - Director, Corporate Services Andrew Lovegrove - Strategic Director Resources Bethan McPherson - Head of Communities & Renewal Gary Meale - Community Decarbonisation Officer Jason O’Brien – Strategic Director, Children and Family Services Simon Rose - Group Manager - Housing & Commissioning Mark Thomas - Deputy Chief Officer Highways & Climate Change Stephen Vickers – Chief Executive Public Gallery: Louise Day - Communications Manager Neil Jones - Head of Comms, Elections & Contingencies Four Members of the Public The Leader welcomed Professor Carolyn Wallace, from the University of South Wales, who was attending with visitors from India who were visiting as part of the Health Determinants Research Collaborations Project.
2.1 There were no apologies received.
3.1 There were no declarations of interest.
4.1 The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 5th November 2024 were agreed as a true and accurate record.
5.1 The update on actions were noted.
6.1 The Head of Financial Services presented the report in detail to Cabinet which provided an update on the in-year monitoring position, the outcome of the initial 2025/26 draft estimates exercise and the next steps for setting the 2025/26 revenue budget. In summary, he highlighted some of the key updates as follows: • The month six forecast indicated a slightly improved position from month five due to a number of corporate mitigations being put in place. However there continued to be an adverse variance. • Service areas had been working with their respective Lead Finance Officers to develop initial budget estimates for 2025/26. Initial estimates had also been produced for the unhypothecated funding received from Welsh Government using the same 1% assumption that was contained within the Medium-Term Financial Plan received by Council in February 2024, however it had been suggested that that an uplift of more than 1% was likely but would not be known until the Local Government Provisional Settlement was published. Cabinet had previously outlined its ambition of keeping Council Tax levels as low as possible. When combining the initial net estimates of £18.003m with the assumptions around funding, there would be a budget gap of £13.6million to be addressed. • The Apollo programme was identifying mitigations to address the medium-term financial challenge and had a wide range of objectives, with various types of efficiencies and savings forming the basis of the activity. The activities put forward by the Apollo programme, plus the work of the Children’s Services Transition Plan, working with schools to fund their pay pressure but requiring schools to absorb any non-pay cost pressures, carrying out reviews to identify pressures that could be absorbed within service area budgets or removed entirely, looking at the use of reserves and making assumptions regarding grant funding received and the SENCOM service, could reduce the budget gap to £5.7 million. • The budget gap of £5.7 million was however before the announcement from Welsh Government on the Local Government Provisional Settlement. Every 1% uplift on core funding from Welsh Government equated to £1.7million. However, unless the funding from Welsh Government addressed the gap in its entirety, there would still need to be other mitigations required. • There were a number of risks at this stage, including there the uncertainty as to what level of uplift would be applied from Welsh Government and also the increase in the rate of employers’ National Insurance announced by the UK Government and what the level of support Councils would receive to address this. • Cross Cutting Resources & Business Overview & Scrutiny Committee received a report on the initial estimates on 20th November 2024. They provided feedback and recommendations which had been accepted. 6.2 In response to a question asked the Head of Financial Services stated that Officers were not expecting any details regarding the National Insurance Employers Contributions as part of the Local Government Budget Settlement. Discussions would be ongoing between the UK Government and Welsh Government and the full details of the impact were not expected to be known until the early part of the new financial year. The Council’s budget would be set on the assumption that funding would be given, it had been indicated that the public sector would be supported with meeting the cost. In relation to the contributions for organisations that held contracts with the Council the details were not clear at this stage, but the budget would be set prudently until clarity was given. 6.3 The Leader thanked Officers for the report and also the calm, open and tenacious way that the financial challenge had been addressed. He looked forward to the budget announcement next week which would hopefully help close some of the budget gap. He commented that it was important that everyone played their part in addressing the challenge to ensure the continuation of public services now and in the future. 6.4 Cabinet agreed to note: · The updated financial forecast for 2024/25 · The initial estimates and the proposed actions for addressing the budget gap · The timetable for the remainder of the 2025/26 budget setting process
7.1 The Deputy Chief Executive presented the report to Cabinet which sought approval of the Tax Base for 2025/26. He commented that the overall Band D tax base had increased by 123 properties since last year. There would be no changes to the discounts, and they would remain the same for 2025/26. 7.2 The Leader supported the decision to keep the collection rate the same which he felt was the right thing to do. 7.3 Cabinet agreed: • To approve the Tax Base for 2025/26 as detailed in the report • That for properties in Prescribed Classes A and B i.e. Second Homes, the Council continues to apply a nil discount • That for properties in Prescribed Class C i.e., Empty Properties, the Council continues to apply a nil discount • That the formal statutory financial information will be issued with the Council Tax demand notices.
8.1 The Executive Member Economy, Skills and Regeneration introduced the report and made the following points: • Torfaen Council received £19 Million in 2022 from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Funds and the current programme was due to end in March 2025. • The report was seeking approval that £528,000 of the funding be allocated to upgrading the sewerage network on Hanbury Road and Commercial Street which would enable future regeneration to progress. Without an upgrade to the sewer future regeneration project were likely to be limited as the sewerage network was at capacity. • Whilst Welsh Water had been engaging with Officers, they were not prepared to invest in upgrading the sewer. If approved, Welsh Water would manage the contract including appointing a contractor and an independent cost consultancy. • The works to the sewer would commence in the New Year and would take approximately 10 weeks and would unfortunately require a road closure and traffic diversion would be put in place. • Officers had been liaising with bus companies regarding alternative routes and pick up and drop off points. 8.2 The Strategic Director for Adults and Communities presented the report and in summary, he highlighted some of the key points as follows: · The sewer network would not attract investment from Welsh Water through their programme because it was not at the point of failure but to enable additional activity to take place in the vicinity, the sewer needed to be upgraded and required investment. · The Shared Prosperity Fund enabled the issue to be addressed which would allow regeneration activity to take place. · The Council would issue the funds to Welsh Water who would then manage the contraction with protections in place from the Council. · There were some risks such as costs may overrun when works commenced, however there was a contingency budget allocated within the contract to mitigate. · All options had been explored to try and avoid a road closure however it was unavoidable, Officers would work with Welsh Water and the Contractor to ensure it was kept to a minimum. 8.3 In response to Member questions, the Strategic Director for Adults and Communities gave the following replies: · Officers had asked Welsh Water why they would not invest or co-invest given that it was their asset and the position they had taken was that the current condition of the sewer would not require investment through their programme of works. Given the urgency for the Council and the regeneration plans for the area, it was decision as to whether or not to invest as a Council or it would halt regeneration works going forward. · Officers were mindful that any works and road closures were undertaken after the Christmas period to minimise the impact on local businesses. Even when works commenced there would still be access into the town centre via a different direction. · The Council’s Communication Team would be promoting the activity taking place in the town centre in conjunction with the project. The Council had also invested a considerable amount of the Shared Prosperity Fund money in activities in the town centre to attract more footfall in the run up to Christmas with the knowledge that the project could be taking place in the New Year. 8.4 The Leader commented that the reality of the situation was that the Council either invested in the project or block development in that area of the town centre going forward. It was disappointing that Welsh Water would not co-invest but at least they were helping to minimise the costs and the Council would do all they could to minimise the disruption. 8.5 Cabinet agreed to approve an adjustment to the projects allocated funds within the Shared Prosperity Fund Town Centre work programme as set out in the report.
9.1 The Executive Member for Waste and Sustainability presented the report and made the following comments: · She was pleased to present a draft Waste Education and Enforcement Policy to Cabinet for approval which works to help reduce waste and increase recycling. · There was a national direction in Wales via Welsh Government’s Toward Zero Waste Strategy to reduce waste and maximise recycling. · In 2021/22 and 2022/23 Torfaen failed to hit the 64% recycling target and recognised that that interventions were required and a Strategic Improvement Programme was established to ‘Raise the Rate’. · The Raise the Rate Campaign had been successful and Torfaen achieved 64% recycling in 2023/24, however the target for 2024/25 had been increased to 70%. · Studies showed that 62% of waste in the purple-lidded bins could have been recycled and there was a need for more public participation in food waste. · The public had been consulted on the Policy and the majority were in support of the enforcement steps. · If residents were doing their best to recycle, the Council would also do its best to support them. The policy recognised that honest mistakes were sometimes made, and it had a strong focus on education first and enforcement last. The policy outlined the steps which would be taken for residents repeatedly failing to recycle. · Officers had identified an approach that worked well in other areas, ‘Keeping up with the Jones’s’ approach and evidence suggested it would help towards improved recycling in a fair and positive way. 9.2 The Deputy Chief Officer Highways & Climate Change presented the report and in summary, he highlighted some of the key points as follows: · Waste Enforcement was not an entirely new concept and in November 2007, the Council approved the Enforcement Procedure for Household Waste and Recycling Offences. The Procedure gave approval to issue Section 46 Notices under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The Procedure focussed upon the incorrect presentation of nonrecyclable waste, such as side waste and ‘top-hatting’. · In January 2022, Scrutiny was consulted on a proposed programme of enforcement in relation to residents who were not recycling but at that time Scrutiny felt that a number of steps needed to be taken prior to taking enforcement action being taken which included segregating the cardboard, the procurement of a new fleet of recycling vehicles and public surveys relating to participation. All those steps had been completed. · The Waste Education and Enforcement Policy did not replace or supersede the overarching Public Protection Service Enforcement & Compliance Policy but would sit underneath the overarching principles contained in that policy. The policy would protect the vulnerable adults with the community. · The Waste Education and Enforcement Policy had been developed with Best Practice in mind and had been successfully introduced in other Local Authorities including Blaenau Gwent. Evidence showed that the campaign had successful changed behaviour and very few fixed penalty notices have had to be issued. · It was a four step approach which started with Officers engaging with residents via leaflets and also face to face, followed by reminders for those not recycling, if no changes were made the resident would be issued with a Section 46 notice and the last resort was to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice. · Prior to issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice, officers would consider whether there were any extenuating circumstances as to why a fixed penalty notice might be inappropriate. · A wide range of consultation had been undertaken in developing the policy · The Policy was presented to Scrutiny on 18th July 2024 and a series of recommendations were made, including working with Councillors to develop the letters and communications associated with the Policy. A Members Seminar was held in November which was well attended and very productive. · Whilst there were costs associated with the introduction of the team, there were also potential savings from the reduction of residual waste, and therefore reduced operating costs. If the policy was approved, the team and associated costs would be funded from reserves for one year, with a review undertaken to determine the effectiveness of the team and the potential to fund ongoing costs through reduced disposal costs. · The effectiveness of this approach would be monitored through the impact on the recycling rate compared to current baseline, the reduction in residual tonnage and reduced disposal costs. 9.3 9.3 Members commented that: · It was important that the Council communicated the changes before the policy was implemented so that the public were aware beforehand. · It was interesting to read that in the survey carried out 56% of Torfaen residents were in favour of enforcement action which reflected the frustration of those who were doing their bit to recycle and seeing those that were not. · Residual waste cost the Council more to dispose of, was not environmentally sustainable and the food waste recycled could be put to generate electricity. · It Important to note that enforcement was the last resort. · The report highlight that Officers would be helping vulnerable residents which was important as there could be reasons as to why they were not recycling. · It was a sensible approach to review the approach a year in. 9.4 The Executive Member commented that the four-step process was really important, and residents should be reassured that those who were recycling in good faith had nothing to fear, the policy was about educating, engaging and supporting residents to recycle as much as they could. Other Local Authorities who had used the approach had issued very the low numbers of Fixed Penalty Notices which was a testament to the four-step approach. 9.5 In response to comments and questions asked the Deputy Chief Officer Highways & Climate Change gave the following responses: • Communication with residents was essential to give them as much forewarning regarding the introduction of the policy as possible. • The policy was clear, concise and consistent with the proviso that Officers would always be mindful of vulnerable residents. • Engagement Officers would be knocking on doors, issuing leaflets and building that relationship with residents and educating them on the recycling, which was the first and most important element of the policy. Step two of the process was issuing reminder letters whilst also continuing with face-to-face engagement. Step three of the process would be the issuing of a section 46 notice; this would only be issued if the household was still not complying with the previous letters and engagement. Step four which would always be the last resort was to issue fixed penalty notices. There was also a dispute regime so if residents felt that they were treated unfairly they could challenge the decision. • The public were at the heart and minds of the policy and Officers would engage with them and educate them to drive recycling forward. 9.6 Cabinet agreed to: · Approve the adoption and implementation of the Waste Education and Enforcement Policy. · Approve the recommended operating model – option 3. · Approve the proposal to fund the implementation from corporate reserves in year 1. · To note the ongoing approach to reviewing the effectiveness and future funding of the model, and delegate authority to the Executive Member to take the decision should a revised approach be required.
10.1 The Executive Member for Waste and Sustainability presented the report and made the following comments: · The report sought approval to appoint an appropriate provider for the operation and management of the Household Recycling Centre (HRC) and Waste Transfer Station (WTS) at Panteg Way, New Inn, Pontypool. · The provision of a Household Recycling Centre, and operation of the Waste Transfer Station were essential for Torfaen to discharge its statutory obligations. · The current contract for the operation and management of the HRC and WTS was due to expire on the 31st March 2025. · An open procurement process for a new contract was undertaken and Cabinet were being asked to approve Contractor A. 10.2 The Deputy Chief Officer Highways & Climate Change added that: • The contract would commence in April 2025 and would be for a period of five years with an option to extend for a further three years at annual intervals. • Tenders had been evaluated using an approved evaluation framework, allocating weightings for Pricing, Quality and Social Value. • There was a risk to the Authority that if a contract was not awarded, the Council would have to rely on its current contractor to operate without a contract which would not give value for money. • If a contract was not awarded and the Council was to cease operating the facilities at New Inn it would be in breach of its statutory duties. • Service performance would be detailed within the Contract Documents and measured and monitored through a formal Contract monitoring procedure. 10.3 The Leader welcomed the performance measures and also the social value aspect included within the tender process. He was disappointed to note that only one tender was received, although the contractor met all criteria it was good to have open competition. 10.4 The Deputy Chief Officer Highways & Climate Change commented that a full tender process was undertaken, and Officers were content that the Council would be receiving value for money with the proposed contractor. 10.5 Cabinet agreed that Contractor A be awarded the contract for managing the Household Waste Recycling Centre and Transfer Station at New Inn.
11.1 The Executive Member for Communities presented the report commenting on the following: • The report was an additional chapter to the Community Wellbeing Strategy (2023-2027) which provided the Council with strategic framework for supporting communities and promoting wellbeing. The report aligned with the Council’s County Plan, The Future Generations Act and Marmot principles • Sports and Leisure contributed so much to elements of wellbeing and the strategy changed the Council’s position from a facilitator to an active player. • As part of the strategy the Council would; work with partners and providers to secure investment in its leisure estate, hold leisure providers to account and emphasise the impact expected for the services to have on wellbeing, offer the Council’s communications channels to sports clubs so that they could share what they were doing in their community, connect sports clubs with schools, GPs and social care services so that they were delivering together in Community Hubs, share data with sports and leisure providers so that they could understand what would have the biggest impact on wellbeing locally and design targeted prevention services with partners and leisure providers to lead on prevention agenda. • The strategy set out the change and the impact the Council would want to see by 2027 and there was a performance framework that would be used to measure and monitor that change. • Consultation was undertaken and over 219 survey responses were received. The three main reasons highlighted for people not participating in sport was due to poor health, lack of awareness of activities and anxiety about meeting people and not being as good as them. The Council would be working to address those reasons. • Those who volunteered at Sports Clubs were vital and had a huge impact on the wellbeing of others and were an integral part of the strategy. 11.2 The Head of Communities & Renewal went through the report in detail and in summary made the following points: · The Community Wellbeing Strategy set out a new vision and mission for the Council to put communities and wellbeing and prevention at the forefront of the way services were designed. It aimed to empower communities to be more resilient, healthier, better connected and more equal. · The strategy responded to the challenges and opportunities for strengthening resilience and community wellbeing across the Borough, such as: a widening gap in health outcomes between the more and less deprived parts of Torfaen and a widening gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy leading to a growing demand and complexity of need presenting at the front doors of the Council, health service, housing association and police. · In meeting the vision and objectives set out within the strategy, Sports and Leisure played an integral part. Sports and Leisure providers such as local sports clubs, school sports halls, gyms, leisure centres or parks were hubs in communities across Torfaen and played a vital part of the wellbeing support that a community offers its residents. · As part of the Community and Wellbeing service area, the Sports and Leisure Team would take the initial lead in implementing the strategy and associated reporting and would undertake ongoing engagement with key partners and stakeholders to support implementation. 11.3 The Leader welcomed the report which explicitly put sports and leisure participation at the heart of the challenge of widening the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. Sport was often seen as something sporty people did but sport was at the heart of building a healthy community, which helped people feel less lonely, provided social interaction and provided both physical and mental benefits. Sports and leisure was also a preventative services and helped keep people out of the grips of health services. 11.4 In response to comments and questions asked by the Cabinet, Officers gave the following replies: · Vulnerable residents would be provided with opportunities to use community connectors to make initial links to enable them to find the confidence to participate in sports and leisure activities. · There was an aspect of the strategy that also tried to motivate those with potential to ensure it was not lost. · There was an opportunity to look at community championing as part of the strategy as it was not about excelling at the highest level of sport but about engaging and getting people to participate at whatever level was appropriate to them. · Officers were looking at how to utilise sports pitches in a collective way with partners to ensure that a system was put in place that operated over a whole Torfaen basis which was proportionate to need and avoided the situation of the same people using the pitches all the time and freeing up time for activities to attract people new to sport. · Conversations were already taking place with the Health Board as sports and leisure was a critical part of the early intervention and prevention model. There were specific conversations taking place regarding a national exercise referral scheme where GPs could use exercise as a social prescribing model and people could participate in sport rather than medication being given out in the first instance. · The principals of the wider Wellbeing and Community Strategy which had already been approved, highlighted that it was a whole Council approach to ensure that sports and leisure activities could take place without causing disruption or being detrimental to another part of the system. Work would be ongoing to build on the principals whilst engaging with partners and the public. 11.5 Cabinet agreed to approve the Community and Wellbeing Strategy: Sports and Leisure.
12.1 The Executive Member for Adult Services and Housing introduced the report and made the following comments: · The Housing Support Grant was a Welsh Government Grant which funded Housing Support and Homelessness Prevention Services that Local Authorities provided directly or via commissioning external providers. · As part of the funding stream, the Council was required to establish a four-year housing support programme strategy which had to detail how services were going to be delivered and how the Council would provide an effective response to the various housing related pressures experienced locally. · The report elaborated on the formation of the strategy and outlined the strategic priorities which represented the most fundamental housing needs and pressures. · Members would note that the Housing Support Grant had received an uplift from Welsh Government for the current financial year, which was very welcomed however he reminded Members that funding for Housing Support Services remained a concern with some providers struggling to find and retain staff with the level of wages they were able to offer. The uplift needed to continue for subsequent years to come. · The Council commissioned Housing Support Services which were all third sector organisations and were currently subject to the national insurance increase employer’s contribution, which was a concern, they were waiting to see if the increase applied to them and if it did whether any support would be provided. · He highlighted that a huge amount of work had gone in to putting the strategy together and he thanked all the team for their work on establishing the programme. 12.2 The Group Manager - Housing & Commissioning presented the report to Cabinet and in summary made the following comments: · The strategy was a requirement, and it had to be produced four yearly and reviewed part way through. · The strategy had been reviewed and had taken in to account a number of elements of feedback. The key findings from the review highlighted a lack of supported accommodation despite almost doubling the number of units, the financial hardship on households seeking services via the Housing Support Grant, the team were seeing more households presenting with multiple and complex needs and they were having people disengaging with agencies and getting lost in the system. · The strategic priorities had not changed much as part of the review and the following remained priority; reviewing and developing supported accommodation to meet the accommodation and support needs of vulnerable individuals within the community, strengthening access to mental health support provision to meet the increase in demand, enhancing early intervention and assertive outreach services to minimise the negative impact of homelessness, strengthening access to Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence support, embedding a Rapid Rehousing approach to ensure that where homelessness was experienced it was brief and unrepeated, monitoring and assessing levels of demand for housing related support, reviewing and adapting services to meet current trends and requirements for people who were or may become homeless, strengthening and building collaborative approaches and constructive partnerships to improve outcomes for homeless households, strengthening accessibility of services and increase awareness to ensure that housing provision was visible within communities, investing in workforce development to ensure a highly skilled, responsive and sustainable workforce. 12.3 In response to questions and comments made the following replies were given by the Group Manager - Housing & Commissioning: · He would report back to Cabinet the figures around the demand for support through the Housing Support Grant for victims of Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence, given the spike in domestic abuse reported locally by the Police and Crime Commissioner. · Engagement with individuals was often very difficult to maintain, and the skills of the support workers were key to communicating with individual which was why the Council invested in delivering training to the support workers. Sometimes individuals disengaged as they lose patience with the process especially when having to deal with external agencies. In order to try and improve connections with individuals, support workers were trying to have open, transparent and honest conversations up front about what the expectations were and give reassurance about what work they were doing to help, what could be achieved and the individual’s role in the process. The Housing Support Grant was about empowering individuals, and the role of support workers was not to do everything for them but to put the individuals on a footing that they can cope with independently. 12.4 The Leader welcomed the report and was pleased to hear that the Council had doubled supported accommodation over the last five years which was an achievement, and he thanked to the team for their hard work. There continued to be demand and it was interesting to hear about disengagement but Support Workers could not force people to engage if they did not want to. 12.5 The Executive Member for Adult Services and Housing commented that there were all sorts of reasons why someone might choose not to engage or fall of the radar completely, however it was the Council’s job to tailor to the needs of those individuals as the demand did not go away, it would just grow and become more completed and therefore more expensive to address. Pearl House offered a more tailored response to individuals which would hopefully help going forward. 12.6 Cabinet agreed to approve the reviewed Housing Support Programme 2022-2026 Strategy
13.1 The Executive Member for Waste and Sustainability introduced the report which highlighted the success of the Project Apollo Energy Savings Programme, which was established in 2023, which aimed to deliver significant reductions to the Councils energy costs and carbon emissions. She thanked Officers for their hard work on this which was a phased approach which maximised financial savings and also worked to deliver net zero buildings by 2030. 13.2 The Deputy Chief Officer Highways & Climate Change added: • Project Apollo Energy was approved by Cabinet in March 2023 • The original Project Apollo Energy Programme consisted of four workstreams: targeted behaviour change, increased renewable energy generation, optimal efficiency measures, and deep carbon savings. • The success of Project Apollo Energy was measured through two primary performance metrics: monthly savings from gas and electricity bills and the annual reduction in carbon emissions. These metrics provided a clear indication of the project's impact on both financial performance and environmental sustainability • The report proposed a modification to the programme, via a 3-phase approach. Phase 1 delivered the most cost-effective interventions first, representing the best value for money and providing the most savings through the duration of the Medium-Term Financial Plan. Phase 2 was in relation to investing in Long-Term Carbon Reduction Measures. The interventions within Phase 2 would provide continued emissions savings but were unlikely to deliver meaningful financial relief. The third phase would focus on replacing gas heating systems with heat pump technology, enhancing the thermal efficiency of buildings, and incorporating advanced technologies such as battery storage and building management system (BMS) optimization. • Approval was being sought to access funding from the Climate Reserve to fully deliver Phase 1 of the programme, alongside the required staffing resource. To finance the proposals of phase 2 and 3, Officers would be pursuing external grant funding that matched the program objectives, such as the Welsh Government Heat Decarbonisation Grant. • Project Apollo Energy would be monitored through the Council’s performance management system and an annual progress report would be prepared. 13.3 Cabinet agreed to: · Adopt the expanded Project Apollo Energy Program and approach to delivery via three distinct phases. · Approve the request of £1,200,971 from the Climate Reserve Fund to fully deliver Phase 1 of the program and the required staff resource.
14.1 The Executive Member for Waste and Sustainability introduced the report and made the following comments: · Eco4 Flex was one of the schemes available to help residents to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and by doing so help address their cost of living pressures and help with transition to net zero carbon for Torfaen by 2050. · With the development of a Great British Insulation Flex Scheme there were new opportunities that the Council could promote to residents. · The Council wanted to encourage residents to take up the support where appropriate with a new partnership who were experts in the field and had a proven track record. · She wanted to give thanks to Officers for the leadership and professionalism in supporting Members in tackling climate change in such a range of ways and addressing it as a whole Council approach. 14.2 The Deputy Chief Officer Highways & Climate Change added: · There would be no financial implication for Torfaen, as the funding stream for the scheme was provided direct from the Energy Suppliers under the provisions of the Energy Company Obligation. · There was minimal risk for the authority as energy suppliers were responsible for the scheme and for the quality of the works undertaken. · The Council would promote the scheme, working with partners to support the most vulnerable residents and increase take up. · The Council’s Statement of Intent would be updated to include GBIS in its Flex delivery. The Council had to publish a Statement of Intent before it could make declarations that households met the eligibility criteria of the support programs, the statement was intended to create transparency and public accountability for the eligibility criteria. 14.3 Cabinet agreed to approve: · The proposals for amending the Statement of Intent to include GBIS in its Flex delivery. · Torfaen County Borough Council to work in partnership with Warm Wales as an additional ECO4 Flex delivery partner. · That future amendments of a minor nature to the scheme can be made via agreement from the Strategic Director Economy and Environment without the need to be brought before Cabinet unless felt necessary by the responsible Strategic Director.
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