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)

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To receive for approval the minutes of the meeting of the 04 10 21

RESOLVED:   That the Minutes of a meeting of the Subject Overview and Scrutiny Committee 3 on 4 October 2021 be approved as a true and accurate Record.

Invitees

Councillor Huw David - Leader

Councillor Hywel Williams - Deputy Leader

Councillor Stuart Baldwin - Cabinet Member Communities

Councillor Charles Smith - Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration

Councillor Dhanisha Patel - Cabinet Member for Future Generations and Wellbeing

Janine Nightingale - Corporate Director, Communities

Carys Lord - Chief Officer Finance, Performance and Change

Mark Shephard - Chief Executive

Kelly Watson - Chief Officer Legal and Regulatory Services, HR & Corporate Policy

Zak Shell - Head of Operations – Community Services

Deborah Exton- Deputy Head of Finance

Victoria Adams - Finance Manager – Budget Management: Communities, Education and Family Support

The Chief Officer - Finance, Performance and Change presented a summary of the report, the purpose of which was to present the Committee with the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy 2022-23 to 2025-26, which set out the spending priorities of the Council, key investment objectives and budget areas targeted for necessary savings.  The strategy included a financial forecast for 2022-2026 and a detailed draft revenue budget for 2022-23.

The Chair thanked the Chief Officer - Finance, Performance and Change and Members asked the following questions:

A Member referred to the anticipated saving of £300k from transferring responsibility for the management of assets, predominantly outdoor sports related playing fields and pavilions, to Town and Community Councils or community clubs and groups under the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) Programme and asked whether the Committee could be provided with the detail of the savings made by the transfers per site. 

The Corporate Director - Communities informed the Committee that the predicated savings of £300k in 2021-22 had primarily been met by not funding the seasonal staff as the facilities had been transferred as part of the CAT process, and during the pandemic so some facilities were not operating at that time.  With regard to detail behind the CAT Programme requested by the Member, she advised that she could provide the detail in a future report and provided assurance that as of November 2021, 19 facilities had been transferred under the CAT Programme, 10 of those to bowls clubs and 9 being long-term CAT agreements.  The maintenance cost per bowling green per year was £13.5k, the full year effect of the transfer would be £151k, dependent on when the transfer took place, so from 2022-23 full year savings should be made.  There were also an additional 2 bowling greens at Griffin Park coming forward to be transferred to Porthcawl Town Council and they would be included on top of that saving next year.  There were also 9 long term CATS of different clubs across the Borough and the estimated saving of those were circa £65k dependant upon how many facilities they have, whether they are rugby pitches, football pitches, whether there are pavilions etc.  the full year effect as of November 2021 was £215k.

The Corporate Director - Communities explained that as of then and moving forwards into 2022-23,  there were  an additional 10 sports clubs, that were in the process of transferring out, and as part of the Scrutiny discussions they were looking at whether they could do short term tenancies at will in the meantime in order to transfer the facility quicker than the full term CAT transfer, because the lease agreements take much longer to achieve.  The CAT transfers were still being done in the background, but some Clubs had the benefit of that short term tenancy at will.  Of the 10 additional sports clubs being worked upon, and depending upon the number and type of pitches thy have in that breakdown, it was estimated the possibility of another £70k to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 144.

To consider any item(s) 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.

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