Newport City Council's full Council met on 24 January 2023. Councillors approved the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2023/24, endorsed the half-year treasury management report, and received the annual social services and safeguarding reports. They also adopted the meeting schedule for May 2023 to May 2024 and nominated Councillor Trevor Watkins as Mayor for 2023/24.
The Performance Scrutiny Committee for People considered the draft 2023-24 budget proposals for Social Services, Education, and Prevention and Inclusion, and questioned officers on them. The committee recommended that the Cabinet review and reconsider three savings: Oaklands and short breaks for children, the Growing Space contract, and short breaks for older adults.
The Performance Scrutiny Committee for Place and Corporate examined the Council's draft 2023-24 budget proposals for the services in its remit. Scrutiny committees check the Cabinet's proposals and comment on them before the Cabinet decides. Members noted the proposals, agreed to send the minutes to Cabinet, and made comments, including recommendations against the street lighting switch-off and the three-weekly bin collections.
Cabinet considered the Replacement Local Development Plan, which will guide where homes and jobs go in Newport up to 2036, and approved an informal public consultation on how much and where the city should grow. It also received an update on the Western Gateway partnership, considered the council's response to the cost of living, and agreed its work programme.
The Planning Committee met on 11 January 2023. Councillor Tim Harvey left the chamber for application 22/1047 because of predetermination issues. Members agreed that decisions on the planning applications schedule be recorded as shown in an attached appendix, which is not in the documents available for this summary. They also noted a report on five recent planning appeals, three dismissed and two allowed.
The main items were the October revenue budget monitor, which forecast an overspend of £1.4 million, and the draft 2023/24 budget, which Cabinet agreed to put out for consultation with a proposed 9.5% council tax rise and £11.6m of savings. Cabinet also noted or considered reports on capital spending, treasury management, corporate risk, the Gwent Well-being Plan, the Norse joint venture and the Regional Integration Fund.
The committee scrutinised the Shared Resource Service (SRS), a shared IT service that Newport City Council joined in 2017, and received an update on its performance and major initiatives. It also considered the Gwent annual progress report on violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV) and asked for an all-Member seminar on the subject. No declarations of interest were recorded.
The Planning Committee met on 7 December 2022 to take decisions on its planning application schedule and to note three recent planning appeal decisions. The minutes do not list the decision on each application, because they refer to an appendix that is not among the documents provided.
The Performance Scrutiny Committee for Place and Corporate examined draft service plans for 2022 to 2024 from three council service areas: People, Policy and Transformation, Law and Standards, and Finance. Scrutiny means the committee checks and questions the council's work. The committee said it was happy with the drafts, asked for several changes and more information, and agreed an earlier start time for its January 2023 budget meeting.
The committee made comments on both, and agreed that the regional committee's terms of reference should go to full Council in February 2023, with hybrid meetings on Microsoft Teams.
The Performance Scrutiny Committee for Place and Corporate considered four draft service plans for 2022 to 2024, covering regeneration, environment and public protection, infrastructure, and housing and communities. Scrutiny means councillors checking the council's work. The minute records that members were happy with the drafts overall but asked for higher targets, more resources in housing, and further information on several points.
Council met on 22 November 2022. It agreed appointments to school governing bodies and outside bodies, and adopted the Corporate Plan 2022-27. It approved annual reports on equality, climate change, democratic services and standards, and adopted a public guide to the constitution with changes on job-sharing for Cabinet posts. A Gwent Police update was also given, with no decision recorded.