To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1 September 2008.

None

The Chief Executive sought endorsement of the Council’s new Corporate Plan 2016-20 for 2018-22 prior to submission to Council for approval.

He stated that the Corporate Plan which covered 2018-2020 set out the three corporate priorities, which was based on extensive public consultation known as “Shaping Bridgend’s Future”, undertaken in 2015.  He informed Cabinet of the need to build on the current corporate plan and re-affirmed the current three corporate priorities for the forthcoming four years.  The Plan also set out principles which will govern how the Council operates and the aspiration to work as one Council.     

He reported that the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered the draft plan and had played an important in the development of the plan.  A series of constructive comments for amendment and inclusion had been made by the scrutiny process, which had been considered and wherever feasible, been incorporated into the draft Plan.  He stated that the Plan will be supported by the Medium Term Financial Strategy, directorate business plans and service plans.  The Plan sets out the Council’s priorities and commitments which would be reviewed annually to take into account changing circumstances and progress made and to ensure that the requirements of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 and the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 are met. 

The Chief Executive reported on the results of the consultation which had been carried out and that 15 engagement events were held across the County Borough.  He stated that the results showed strong agreement with the three priorities.  Another “Shaping Bridgend’s Future” consultation was undertaken in 2017, which reaffirmed the findings of 2015.  Major consultation exercises were carried out by the Council and its partners in 2017, on the Wellbeing Assessment and Population Assessment which found that the Council’s priorities reflect citizens’ priorities and therefore the right ones for the Council to focus on in the next four years. 

The Chief Executive informed Cabinet of the Council’s duty to set wellbeing and improvement objectives.  Once approved, the three corporate priorities  would be the Council’s wellbeing objectives under the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and improvement objectives under the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009.  He stated that the Well-being Statement, required by the Act, is embedded into the plan and the commitments are the steps the Council will take to deliver the integrated improvement and wellbeing objectives.  He informed Cabinet that the plan also sets out how these objectives make a contribution to the seven national wellbeing goals.    

The Leader commented that the Overview and Scrutiny process had been very thorough in its scrutiny of the Corporate Plan and most of the suggestions had been incorporated into the Plan.  He stated that two consultation exercises had been carried out on the Plan and on both occasions the members of the public which had responded were overwhelmingly in support of the Council’s priorities.                 

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations was pleased to see that the new indicators in the Corporate Plan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 155.

The Chief Executive presented the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2018-19 to 2021-22, which included a financial forecast for 2018-22, a detailed revenue budget for 2018-19 and a Capital Programme for 2017-18 to 2027-28.  He stated that the Strategy also includes the proposed Council Tax requirementfor the County Borough Council, for approval by Council, which would be presented together with the requirements of the Police & Crime Commissioner for South Wales and Community/Town Councils. 

He reported that the Corporate Plan was being presented to Council for approval alongside the MTFS 2018-22The two documents were aligned to each other, enabling explicit links to be made between the Council’s priorities and the resources directed to support them.  The Chief Executive gave a Corporate Financial Overview and while the net revenue budget is planned at £265.984m for 2018-19, overall expenditure far exceeds this.  Taking into account expenditure and services funded by funded by specific grants or fees and charges, the Council’s gross budget would be around £400m in 2018-19.  He stated that around £170m of this expenditure is spent on the Council’s staff, including teachers and school support staff.  Much of the cost of the services provided by external organisations was also wage related, which included waste collection operatives, domiciliary care workers and foster carers.  He also informed Cabinet that the Council faced reduced income to fund services, as well as legislative and demographic changes.  He stated that the Council has adopted a corporate plan that sets out the approaches that it will take to manage these pressures whilst continuing to ensure that, as far as possible, services can be provided that meet the needs of the community.     

The Chief Executive informed Cabinet that the Council had received an increase in funding of 0.1% from the Welsh Government which equated to £115k. This was offset by new responsibilities facing the Council as a result of the increase to the capital limit for residential care from £30,000 to £40,000 which would cost the Council £300k and homelessness prevention responsibilities costing £236k.  The true position was likely to be a reduction of 0.25% equating to £500k, compared to the previous year.  The Welsh Government had allocated £42m for social services pressures and £62m for school funding in its settlement to local government across Wales but this funding was not ring-fenced.    

The Chief Executive reported that the Council proposed to spend £108m on services delivered by the Education & Family Support Directorate. In 2017-18 the Council had introduced a 1% annual efficiency saving for schools for each year of the MTFS. However for 2018-19, the level of budget reductions required is not as great as had been predicted.  It had therefore, been possible to protect schools from the 1% saving for one year, however this would be almost unavoidable for 2019-20 onwards and it would be necessary for head teachers and governing bodies to prepare for future years.   

The Chief Executive also reported that nearly 70% of planned savings had been delivered, however some of the planned  ...  view the full minutes text for item 156.

To consider any items of business that by reason of special circumstances the chairperson is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency in accordance with paragraph 2.4 (e) of the Cabinet Procedure Rules within the Constitution.

There were no urgent items.