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.

To receive for approval the Minutes of 22/01/2019

RESOLVED:            That the Minutes of a meeting of Cabinet of 22 January 2019 be approved as a true and accurate record. </AI3>

<AI4>

The Interim Chief Executive sought endorsement of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2018-22 for 2019-20 prior to submission to Council for approval.

He informed Cabinet that the Council has a duty to set well-being objectives under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and to set improvement objectives under the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009.  He stated that the current Corporate Plan covering 2018-22 sets out three corporate well-being objectives and has been reviewed for 2019-20.   In reviewing the Plan, the Council has further developed its well-being objectives and these priorities, once approved, will be the Council’s well-being objectives under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and improvement objectives under the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009.  

The Interim Chief Executive reported that the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 14 January 2019 had considered the revised draft plan and had made a series of constructive comments for amendment and inclusion.  The comments had been considered and wherever feasible, appropriate amendments had been made to the draft Plan.  He informed Cabinet that the Plan will be reviewed annually taking into account changing circumstances and progress made against the well-being objectives to ensure that the requirements of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 and the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 are met.  Once approved, the Plan will replace the current Corporate Plan and will be supported by the Medium Term Financial Strategy, Directorate business plans and service plans. 

The Leader placed on record his thanks to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee which had been very thorough in its scrutiny of the Corporate Plan and had contributed to the revised Plan. 

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations commented that the revised Corporate Plan is well set out and easy to follow and requested that the following information be incorporated into the Plan:

• Further information on housing and measures being taken to prevent homelessness, namely the number of hostels and floor space available
• An indicator on the percentage of households successfully prevented from becoming homeless
• Clarity on the number of swimming pools and life centres in the County Borough.  

The Leader informed Cabinet that a draft strategy on reducing and relieving instances of homelessness was currently the subject of consultation which would be fed into the Plan.  He urged all Members to contact officers with their views on the revised Plan to ensure that it was reflective of all Members.  He stated that within the Plan there is a commitment to the development of a water sports centre in Porthcawl to enhance it as tourist destination; the redevelopment of Maesteg Town Hall into an arts and cultural hub and the continued investment in the Band B School Modernisation Programme.         

RESOLVED:           That Cabinet endorsed the new Corporate Plan 2018-22, reviewed for 2019-20 subject to the changes listed below and recommended it to Council for approval on 20 February 2019. 

·               Include further information on housing and measures being taken to prevent homelessness, namely the number of hostels and floor space  ...  view the full minutes text for item 310.

The Interim Section 151 Officer presented the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2019-20 to 2022-23, which included a financial forecast for 2019-23, a detailed revenue budget for 2019-20 and a Capital Programme for 2018-19 to 2028-29. 

She informed Cabinet that the MTFS has been significantly guided by the Council’s priorities and while there had been year-on-year reductions in Aggregate External Finance (AEF) has necessitated significant budget reductions across service areas, the Council still plays a very significant role in the local economy, responsible for annual gross expenditure of around £400M and is the largest employer in the County Borough.  The Interim Section 151 Officer informed Cabinet that the Corporate Plan is being presented to Council for approval alongside the MTFS 2019-23.  The 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 Interim Section 151 Officer reported that the MTFS outlines the principles and detailed assumptions which drive the Council’s budget and spending decisions, the financial context in which the Council is operating and to mitigate any financial risks and pressures going forward, at the same time taking advantage of any opportunities that may arise. 

The Interim Section 151 Officer provided Cabinet with a Corporate Financial Overview and commented that the Council’s gross budget will be around £420m while the net revenue budget is planned for 2019-20 is £270.809m.    She stated that around £180m 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 is also wage related, including waste collection operatives, domiciliary care workers, leisure staff and foster carers.  The Council also faces reduced income to fund services, as well as legislative and demographic changes.  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 Interim Section 151 Officer informed Cabinet that the Council is proposing to spend £111m on services delivered by Education in 2019-20, supporting 22,792 pupils.  Spending on schools are the biggest single area of spend in the Council.  After Education, the largest area of Council spend is in Social Care, Early Help and Homelessness services, which has a total budget of £73m, constituting 27% of the Council’s net revenue budget.  Of this, the Council is proposing to spend £71m on social care and wellbeing services.  She stated that the Council’s work on the public realm has a more direct and visible impact within the community, with the Council proposing to spend £19.5m on these services.  One of the Council’s priorities is in Supporting the Economy and the Council will increasingly work collaboratively with the other nine councils which make up the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, which is creating a £1.2 billion fund for investment in the region over the next 20 years.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 311.

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.