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There is no summary of this meeting yet. Summaries are written once the council publishes the minutes, which are its official record of what a meeting decided. They usually appear a few weeks after the meeting.
Whilst there were no official apologies, the Leader announced the resignation of Councillor P Drewett, Cabinet Member for Communities and Poverty Reduction. A new Cabinet Member would be installed in due course to replace Councillor Drewett. In the meantime, Cabinet colleagues would share the portfolio until this post was filled. The Leader and colleagues took the opportunity to thank Councillor Drewett for his work during his time as Cabinet Member.
None.
The Minutes from 13 January 2025 were accepted as a true record.
The Leader introduced the draft budget proposals for 2025/26 agreed in the January Cabinet meeting. These were subject to a detailed consultation and the results were set out within the report and its appendices. Consultation had taken place with unions, schools and Scrutiny committees, as well as public engagement through online survey, local bus Wi-Fi network and ward meetings to urge communities to provide their direct feedback. There were nearly 3,000 public responses, which was fully appreciated by Cabinet. Whilst the draft Welsh Government funding settlement was received prior to setting the draft budget, Cabinet recommended this final budget and rate of Council Tax before the final settlement is known. There was uncertainty on when the final settlement would be received and the Council may still not know the final settlement, when they meet on 25 February. The Leader noted that whilst this was not ideal, it had happened several times in recent years. Whilst no changes were expected other than potentially cost neutral movements, there were other, continuing further uncertainties in 2025/26, similar to the current year. These related to funding for significant pay-related budget pressures which would not be confirmed until later in the 2025/26 financial year. Cabinet was finalising their 2025/26 budget based on the funding position made up of the draft Revenue Support Grant, the confirmed increase in the Council’s tax-base and Council Tax income at the rate that was recommended at this meeting. The Leader concluded that he would be making more announcements in June regarding the ‘Bread and Butter’ initiative outlined in his presentation. Cabinet unanimously gave their support to the 2025/26 Budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP). To access a full recording of the comments made by elected members please refer to the Council’s YouTube channel. Democratic meetings / Cyfarfodydd democrataidd. Decision: Budget proposals and medium-term plan (section 3-5) Cabinet - 1. Noted the formal consultation on the budget as outlined in section 4 and the feedback received, shown in Appendices 1 to 4. 2. Noted the equality issues and the Fairness and Equalities Impact Assessment (FEIA) on the budget proposals, shown in Appendix 11. 3. Reviewed and confirmed the final budget recommendations (Appendix 5-6), as currently summarised within the medium-term financial plan (Appendix 7). 4. Agreed the 2025/26 fees and charges of the Council shown in Appendix 10. Overall revenue budget and resulting Council Tax 2025/26 (section 6 and 7) Cabinet – 5. Noted the risks and uncertainties within budget planning and specific issues highlighted in Section 6 of this report and the mitigation in place to manage. 6. Recommended the detailed budget investments and savings and resulting Council Tax rate to full Council, noting that a formal resolution including the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent and Community Councils’ precepts would be presented to Council on 25 February. 7. Approved expenditure and use of the Transformation Fund in line with the summary shown in Appendix 9, noting they were based on detailed proposals reviewed by Cabinet in their November 2024 and January 2025 meeting.
The Leader presented the above report to Cabinet colleagues. The current Capital programme ran from 2024/25 to 2028/29. The next five-year programme would run from 2025/26 to 2029/30 and would predominantly only include what was already approved. This was the annual recurring capital spend areas and the completion of a number of ongoing schemes from the existing programme. It also included the Sustainable Communities for Learning rolling programme; this being the ‘new/additional’ programme/projects included. The report included both the Capital and Treasury Management Strategies which, at their core, (i) confirm the Capital Programme, as part of the Capital Strategy and (ii) the borrowing limits and other indicators which governed the management of the Council’s borrowing and investing activities. The main recommendations arising from the two strategies were outlined in the covering report. Decision: That Cabinet recommended to Council for approval: § The Capital Strategy (Appendix 2), including the proposed Capital Programme within it (shown separately in Appendix 1), and the borrowing requirements/limits needed to deliver the proposed programme. § The Treasury Management Strategy and Treasury Management Indicators, the Investment Strategy and the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) policy for 2024/25. (Appendix 3) § As part of the above, Cabinet - · Approved the proposed Capital Programme, subject to Council approving the necessary borrowing limits that underpin this. · Noted the increasing debt, and corresponding revenue cost of this, in delivering the rolling Capital Programme, and the implications of this over both the short and medium-long term with regard to affordability, prudence and sustainability. · Approved the addition of the Sustainable Learning for Communities rolling programme to the capital programme. Noted the feedback provided by the Governance and Audit Committee on 30 January 2025.
This was the regular monthly report on the work programme. Decision: Cabinet agreed the Work Programme.
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