To receive apologies for absence from Members.    

Apologies for absence were received from the following Members:

Councillor E Dodd

Councillor J R McCarthy

Councillor C E Smith – Cabinet Member Regeneration and Economic Development

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 (including Whipping declarations)

Councillor G Davies declared a prejudicial interest in part of agenda item 5 – Medium Term Financial Strategy 2016-17 to 2019-20 which dealt with the Cultural Trust as his daughter works for the Trust.  He withdrew from the meeting during consideration of the Cultural Trust.        

The Scrutiny Officer presented a report which detailed the items to be considered at the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 22 March 2016 and the invitees due to attend.  She requested the Committee consider items for inclusion on the Committee’s Forward Work Programme and email the Scrutiny Team with potential items.  

Conclusions:                  

(1)  Noted the topics to be considered at its meeting on 23 March 2016 and the invitees to attend to attend the meeting;

That the list of future potential items for the Forward Work Programme be revisited and considered.   

Invitees:

All Members of Cabinet

All Members of the Corporate Management Board

All Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairs

Deborah Exton - Group Manager Finance

The Scrutiny Officer introduced the draft Corporate Plan 2016-20 for the Committee’s consideration.

The Chief Executive provided the Committee with an outline of the draft Corporate Plan which had been developed to deliver the revised corporate priorities with programmes and priorities identified to deliver the Corporate Plan.  He stated that the Corporate Plan has a strong link to the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) with the Council’s overall revenue and capital budgets forming an integral part of it.  The draft Corporate Plan will be in line with the requirements of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 and will be presented for approval to Council along with the MTFS on 10 March 2016.  He informed the Committee the Corporate Plan had been developed taking into account that the Council will be a shrinking organisation in terms of its budget and resources.  The Corporate Plan had been guided by a One Council approach with the following priorities developed:

·         Supporting a successful economy

·         Helping people to be more self-reliant

·         Smarter use of resources

In response to a question from the Committee, the Corporate Director Communities undertook to provide the Committee with information on where this Council sits overall in Wales on the percentage of children living in households where no one is working. 

The Committee asked whether the local heating generation project could be considered as a project to be developed with other local authorities as part of the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal.  The Committee congratulated officers on the Council’s involvement in such an innovative project to establish local heating projects.  The Corporate Director Communities informed the Committee that the Council is involved in two schemes putting the Council at the forefront of energy developing projects.  He informed the Committee that it was too early at present to determine the nature of the projects that would be part of the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal. 

The Committee questioned the percentage of respondents who had responded to the consultation process on the draft Corporate Plan expressed as a percentage of the population of the County Borough.  The Corporate Director Resources informed the Committee that the consultation had been responded to by 1,800 – 1,900 citizens representing approximately 1.8% of the population, which had improved significantly on the previous year and demonstrated that consultation was more effective than in the previous year. 

The Committee questioned the progress being made with the Youth Guarantee whereby young people who reach the age of 16 are in further education, training or employment until at least the age of 24.  The Corporate Director Education and Transformation informed the Committee that under the Youth Guarantee the Council aims to provide 16 – 24 year olds with a package of learning / training with the overall ambition to have no NEETS.  She stated that the current rate of NEETS is 3.6% but the numbers are reducing.  The Council in 2013 had the worst rate of NEETS in Wales but was now performing in the top quartile for providing 16 –  ...  view the full minutes text for item 190.

Invitees:

Randal Hemmingway – Head of Finance and ICT

Councillor M Gregory - Cabinet Member Resources

The Scrutiny Officer reported on the findings of the Budget Research and Evaluation Panel (BREP) and the responses from the Overview and Scrutiny Committees in relation to the draft budget proposals.  She stated that the Standing BREP had met on a number of occasions and examined by means of semi-structured interviews with Directors and officers the Budget Strategy for the Council as a whole, as well as individual draft budget proposals for each Directorate.  In addition, the BREP had met the Chief Executive and the Leader to discuss the budget proposals.   

The Committee was requested to consider the findings of the BREP and determine whether the recommendations should be forwarded to Cabinet along with the consolidated responses from each of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees as part of the budget consultation process. 

The Committee questioned the cumulative impact of the budget reduction proposals has been taken into account in the Equality Impact Assessment year on year.  The Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services confirmed that an EIA is done at each budget round and on each proposal and is taken into account for future years from the current situation. 

The Committee questioned the progress made in moving the pay date to the middle of the month and also questioned the robustness of the argument against moving the pay date.  The Head of Finance and ICT informed the Committee that two options had been considered in relation to pay day harmonisation with negotiations to moving the pay date to the end of the month with the Trade Unions not being successful.  He stated that the option to move the pay date forward to the middle of the month would lead to an increase in administrative costs which would mitigate against any savings to be made.  The Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services informed the Committee that as no collective agreement could be sought with the Trade Unions moving the pay date to the end of the month could be progressed.  The Head of Finance and ICT informed the Committee that moving the pay date forward to the middle of the month would incur additional administrative costs of recovering overpayments.  The Cabinet Member Resources that as the Council, has in place a collective agreement with the Trade Unions the proposal to move the pay date to the end of the month could not achieved as one of the Trade Unions were not in favour of the change following a ballot of its members.     

In response to a question from the Committee, the Head of Finance and ICT informed that the Teckal approach refers to an arm’s length company.  The   Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services informed the Committee that a Teckal gives an exemption from EU rules and state aid. 

The Committee expressed concern at the disparity between Directorates regarding actual savings and budget pressures with there being elements of growth in the Wellbeing Directorate to account for demographic pressures.  The Head of Finance and ICT informed the Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 191.

To consider any items of business in respect of which notice has been given in accordance with Part 4 (paragraph 4) of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.