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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 held on 14 November 2024 be approved as a correct record.
RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the progress which has been made.
RESOLVED: (a) That the Forward Work Programme be approved, as amended; and (b) That the Democratic Services Manager, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises.
RESOLVED: That having considered the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget 2025/26 report, the comments made by the Committee be referred to Cabinet when it considers the report.
RESOLVED: That having considered the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2024/25 (month 7) report, the comments raised by the Committee be referred to Cabinet.
RESOLVED: (a) That the Committee supports the identified Tax Sites (Deeside Gateway, Warren Hall and Wrexham Industrial Estate) and Retained Rates Areas (Deeside Gateway and Wrexham Industrial Estate); (b) That the Committee supports the proposed Governance Model; (c) That the Committee supports the Investment Zone Themes (Innovation, Skills, and Transport) and the high-level interventions, which will be refined as part of Gateway 4; and (d) That a briefing on the Investment Zone be arranged for all Members.
RESOLVED: That the Committee confirms that there are no comments/observations to be fed back to a future meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee.
RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the mid-year Workforce Information Report for 2024/25.
RESOLVED: That the appointment of Councillor Bill Crease as Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the 2024/25 municipal year be noted.
RESOLVED: That Councillor Jason Shallcross be appointed Vice-Chair of the Committee.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2024 be approved as a correct record.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2024 be approved as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the progress which has been made.
The Democratic Services Manager presented a report (agenda item 6) on progress with actions from previous meetings together with a verbal update. He agreed to pursue responses to Councillor Ibbotson’s queries from the November meeting on costs for transferring leisure and library services and additional costs for street lighting. On that basis, the recommendation was supported. RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the progress which has been made.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: (a) That the Forward Work Programme be approved, as amended; and (b) That the Democratic Services Manager, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises.
The Democratic Services Manager presented a report (agenda item 7) on the Committee’s current Forward Work Programme and advised that an item on the Local Area Energy Plan would be added for January 2025. In agreement with the Chair, the report previously requested by Councillor Coggins Cogan on lessons learned from the fire at Synthite Ltd would be scheduled in the next Forward Work Programme. Councillor Ibbotson asked that the longstanding item on the acquisition of land for Flintshire cemeteries be scheduled for a meeting. He also requested that the Police & Crime Commissioner be invited to attend at a future date to discuss the Independent Custody Visitor scheme for North Wales. Subject to those changes, the recommendations were supported. RESOLVED: (a) That the Forward Work Programme be approved, as amended; and (b) That the Democratic Services Manager, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That having considered the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget 2025/26 report, the comments made by the Committee be referred to Cabinet when it considers the report.
The Corporate Finance Manager presented a report (agenda item 8) to update the Committee on the Council’s revenue budget position for the 2025/26 financial year. He summarised the key headlines from the Welsh Local Government Provisional Settlement (LGPS) received the previous day, as work continued on the implications. During the debate, concerns were raised about the low settlement for Flintshire and the approach being taken to make representations for fairer funding. Officers responded to a range of questions on issues such as projected recycling income, school delegated budgets and tackling the underlying causes of deprivation. The Chair encouraged Members to submit detailed questions in advance where possible, so that a full response could be given. The recommendation in the report was supported, noting that Councillor Ibbotson voted against the motion. RESOLVED: That having considered the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget 2025/26 report, the comments made by the Committee be referred to Cabinet when it considers the report.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That having considered the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2024/25 (month 7) report, the comments raised by the Committee be referred to Cabinet.
The Strategic Finance Manager presented the report (agenda item 9) on the 2024/25 month 7 position for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) prior to consideration by Cabinet. Officers noted the point made by Councillor Coggins Cogan that reference to ‘efficiencies’ in reports should be changed to ‘cuts’ to reinforce the scale of the Council’s financial position. Councillor Johnson suggested that this could be reflected in the glossary to the report. The Democratic Services Manager agreed to refer Councillor Gladys Healey’s concerns about fly tipping in rural areas to the Environment and Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee. On further questions, separate responses would be sought from Social Services on the red rated efficiency for NEWydd Cleaning contract in respect of the approximate total value of the contract, the focus of negotiations and the potential to identify an alternative provider. On the last point, it was noted that the same TUPE costs would apply to an alternative provider. On that basis, the recommendation in the report was supported. RESOLVED: That having considered the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2024/25 (month 7) report, the comments raised by the Committee be referred to Cabinet.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: (a) That the Committee supports the identified Tax Sites (Deeside Gateway, Warren Hall and Wrexham Industrial Estate) and Retained Rates Areas (Deeside Gateway and Wrexham Industrial Estate); (b) That the Committee supports the proposed Governance Model; (c) That the Committee supports the Investment Zone Themes (Innovation, Skills, and Transport) and the high-level interventions, which will be refined as part of Gateway 4; and (d) That a briefing on the Investment Zone be arranged for all Members.
The Chief Executive and Service Manager for Enterprise and Regeneration presented a report (agenda item 10) on the development of the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone, which was one of only two in Wales. The report detailed the process through the five Government ‘Gateways’ with the aim of having all approvals in place to commence in April 2025. Members spoke in support of Councillor Claydon’s suggestion for a workshop to help Members understand the implications. Following some concerns raised during the debate, the three recommendations were put to the vote in turn and carried, noting Councillor Ibbotson’s request that his vote against all three be recorded. A further recommendation in favour of the Member briefing was supported. RESOLVED: (a) That the Committee supports the identified Tax Sites (Deeside Gateway, Warren Hall and Wrexham Industrial Estate) and Retained Rates Areas (Deeside Gateway and Wrexham Industrial Estate); (b) That the Committee supports the proposed Governance Model; (c) That the Committee supports the Investment Zone Themes (Innovation, Skills, and Transport) and the high-level interventions, which will be refined as part of Gateway 4; and (d) That a briefing on the Investment Zone be arranged for all Members.
The Chair indicated that there would be a slight change in the order of business to bring forward agenda item 12.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Committee confirms that there are no comments/observations to be fed back to a future meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee.
The Corporate Manager - Capital Programme and Assets presented a report (agenda item 12) on the findings of the Internal Audit report on the Management of Community and Recreation Assets. The recommendation in the report was supported. RESOLVED: That the Committee confirms that there are no comments/observations to be fed back to a future meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the mid-year Workforce Information Report for 2024/25.
The Corporate Manager - People and Organisational Development presented a report (agenda item 11) comprising organisational workforce data and analysis for the 2024/25 mid-year position. During discussion, the Corporate Manager provided clarification on monitoring arrangements for agency worker spend including reports to Cabinet. The recommendation in the report was supported. RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the mid-year Workforce Information Report for 2024/25.
That the press and public be excluded from the meeting as the following items were considered to be exempt by virtue of paragraphs 15 and 14 respectively of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).
None.
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