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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.
1.1 The Chair of the Committee, Councillor Stuart Ashley, had given his apologies for medical reasons. The Committee agreed to vote Councillor David Williams as Chair for the meeting. The Chair then welcomed Members and Officers to the meeting. Apologies were received from Councillors Stuart Ashley, Liam Cowles & Giles Davies.
2.1 Councillor Steve Evans declared an Interest as the Chair of South Wales Fire & Rescue Service’s Finance Committee.
3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 10 October 2023 were confirmed as an accurate record.
4.1 The action sheet was noted.
5.1 The EM introduced the report and the DCE gave a detailed overview of the Initial Revenue Estimate 2024/25 to Members. 5.2 Members questioned and officers responded as follows: · SDE&E – In response to a question relating to the Economy & Environment budget on recycling, it was explained that it was prudent to not be overly optimistic when it came to estimating potential income. She added that whilstpredictions may be conservative it was felt this was a more realistic estimate. · DFS – A question was raised on the expected numbers around grant funding, and it was suggested that it would be helpful if the figures for the previous financial year was included. The DFS stated the figures were broadly the same but he could recreate this with the figures from 23/24 and circulate to Members. · SDA&C – A question was asked about the savings from Adult Services. The SDA&C stated that there were vacancies in the service area which had been removed and there were also savings that could be made due to reductions in the number of social care packages. DCE – There was a significant challenge to look at potential savings in the Adults & Communities service[FJR1] , but once there was a balance in the service we can start to look at next year. · GFO – In response to a question around inflation the GFO responded that the impact of inflation depended on the service area but in general it was expected that there would be a general inflation increase of around 3.25% · DCE – There was a question asked around the estimated expenditure going up despite the figures for grant funding going down. The DCE explained that although some grants were for discretionary services, some grants were underpinning core services, such as the Sustainable Waste Management grant that now ensures we continue a refuse service. · DFS – After a query regarding the Councillor pay uplift, it was clarified that this was built into the figures but queries around a potential shortfall will be reviewed and the DFS will circulate his findings after the meeting. · SDE&E – A question was asked on income raised from setting fees and if any potential areas had been identified. The SDE&E responded that several areas had been looked at, but this was still under review and would be discussed amongst the Council Leadership before any decision would be taken. · DCE – In response to a question about the settlement itself the DCE explained that should the settlement be lower than estimated then discussions with Strategic Directors would need to be had to identify where further savings could be made and if the settlement was higher then discussions can be had with all Members to decide how this could be used. However, he did state that following discussions with WG he had had no indication the settlement would be lower than expected. · DCE – There was a question following the the news of the WG reviewing Council Tax, to which the DCE responded that it was too early to consider this as the public consultation had only just been launched. · DCE – Following a question on potential risks the DCE stated that he was confident that this was captured within the report, but he did state that discussions around services could change and if there was any extra resources available this would need to be considered. 5.3 The Chair thanked the Officers for their participation, and they then left the meeting. The TLS, DCS, TD&MSO and AD&MSTL remained for the recommendations. 5.3 Recommendations Overall, the Cross Cutting Resources & Business Committee were satisfied with the initial estimates 2024/25 and there were no recommendations. Members had the following comments: Cllr Haynes raised concerns with some aspects of the initial estimates with specific reference to the level of Council tax increase and with the proposed savings within the ABS service. Cllr Evans commented that should the settlement not be at the expected level, any resultant savings measures identified to address the shortfall should not detrimentally impact staff or services delivering statutory duties. [FJR1]Which service is this referring to?
6.1 The date of the next meeting is Wednesday 6th December 2023. 6.2 The meeting ended at 2.51pm.
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