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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 Chair welcomed Members and Officers to the meeting. 1.2 Apologies were received from Councillors Nick Byrne, Liam Cowles, Mark Jones, Norma Parrish, Caroline Price, Chris Tew, Colette Thomas & Jayne Watkins.
2.1 There were no declarations.
3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 15 October 2024 were confirmed as an accurate record.
4.1 Members noted the action sheet.
5.1 The DCE introduced the report and the HoFS then gave a detailed overview of the report and appendices to Members. 5.2 Members questioned and officers responses were as follows: • DCE – Updates on the recovery plan for Children’s Services had been given to Cabinet and the measures that had been put in place had had a positive effect. Some of these measures had relied on use of reserves and an Accelerated Improvement Group had been set up to help advise where best to put these measures in place. • SDC&FS – The reduction in pupil numbers had been based off projections and individual schools affected would be provided enhanced support. • HoFS – Asked for detail on the demand for services cost included in paragraph 5.4 of the report, the HoFS responded that more detail could be provided after the meeting. • GFO – The inflation figure used to calculate was based off NDR estimates of 1.7%. • HoFS – Energy costs were expected to be high again and were deemed volatile. The estimates for these costs had been based off expected consumption following discussions with individual service areas, although we were still looking to reduce our energy consumption from an environmental and financial aspect too. • SDA&C – The information received from UK Government was that 25/26 would be a transitional year around funding, so it was uncertain what the figures for funding would be although it was anticipated that there would be a reduction. It was expected that more information would be given from January 2025. • HoFS – An expected reduction in fuel consumption had been incorporated in the estimates. • L&EM – An expected uplift of 1% had been a conservative estimate but there had been no indication of what this figure would be. It was said that it was better to be prudent and then revise the estimates upwards although it was stated that should the final figure be 1% this would be disappointing. • HoFS – It was stated that should the final figures be lower than expected then it would not be prudent to fill gaps using Council Reserves. Instead it was reiterated that it was important to ensure that we had a balanced budget. L&EM – It was important that reserves be used to bridge issues or fund innovation as opposed to using surgically to fill budget gaps, as this was not a long-term strategy. • SDC&FS – There had been a reduction in the number of agency staff within the Children’s Services area due to success in our recruitment and retention of staff to fill these gaps. • HoFS – Engagement with schools had already begun around the intentions listed in the report, these discussions had been welcomed by schools as well. • DCE – It was expected that the increase in National Insurance contributions would be supported by WG, but it was uncertain if contractors or third sector partners would pass on the costs to the Council. It was hoped that once the budget for WG was known this would provide more clarity. • DCE – The change in UK Government had meant there was uncertainty in the estimates, but this was typical of previous years. The hope had been that the estimates were strong enough that when the settlement arrived we would be able to make any changes quickly and therefore advise Members of changes as early as possible. • DCE – The DCE closed by reminding Members this would be his last budget and gave thanks to all officers and Strategic Directors that had helped advise the estimates. The Chair also gave his thanks to the DCE as well and supported his praise for the Finance Team. 5.3 The Chair thanked the Officers and the EM for their participation, and they then left the meeting. The TLS, SO, AD&MSTL and TD&MSO remained for the recommendations. 5.4 Recommendations On completion of their scrutiny activity, the Committee concluded by offering the following recommendations and comments for consideration: - Recommendation 1:- The committee recommended that all members be notified of the Welsh Government Provisional settlement announcement on 11th December 2024. Recommendation 2:- With regards to grant funding pots and the potential NI increases, members recommended that they be kept informed of any negative changes and the potential impacts these could have – both for direct Council services and third party contracted services. Additional Comments & Observations from the Committee: The Chairs of Scrutiny will work with the Scrutiny Support Team to consider how more detailed financial information can be presented to individual committees, and to ensure service specific plans with significant budgetary impact, such as the Children Services Transition plan, and the Review of Early Intervention and Prevention Services, are fed into the relevant work programmes for consideration.
6.1 The next meeting would be Wednesday 11th December 2024 6.2 The meeting ended at 3.17pm.
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