The Interim Head of Finance presented a report which:

• Provided an update of the Capital Programme for 2019-20 at 31 December 2019(Appendix A)
• Sought agreement from Cabinet to present a report to Council for approval for a revised capital programme for 2019-20 to 2028-29 (Appendix B)
• Noted  the projected prudential and other indicators for 2019-20 (Appendix C)

She advised that the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (Wales) Regulations 2003 as amended, contained detailed provisions from the capital finance and accounting controls.

She added that on 20 February 2019, Council approved a capital programme covering the period 2019-20 to 2028-28 as part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The capital programme was last updated and approved by Council on 23 October 2019.

The Interim Head of Finance explained that this report provided an update on the following areas:

• Capital Programme 2019-20 Monitoring
• Capital Programme 2019-20 Onwards
• Prudential and Other Indicators Monitoring
• Capital Strategy Monitoring

Capital Programme 2019-20 Monitoring

The revised programme for 2019-20 currently totals £33.700 million, of which £15.057 million is met from Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) resources, including capital receipts and revenue contributions from earmarked reserves, with the remaining £18.643 million coming from external resources, including General Capital Grant. Further information on the capital programme for each directorate from 2019 was at table 1 of the report.

The Interim Head of Finance explained that table 2 of the report summarised the current funding assumptions for the capital programme for 2019-20.

She added that Appendix A provided details of the individual schemes within the capital programme, showing the budget available in 2019-20 compared with the projected spend.

The Interim Head of Finance stated that a number of schemes had already been identified as requiring slippage of budget to future years of 2020-21 and beyond. The total slippage required at quarter 3 was £5.158 million which included the following schemes:

• Maesteg Town Hall (£1.6 million)
• Community Hub – Brynteg Comprehensive School (£0.768 million)
• Additional Learning Needs (ALN) provision at Cefn Cribwr Primary School
• (£0.387 million)
• Ravens Court (£0.442 million)
• Parks/Pavilions/Community Centres CAT (£0.66 million)
• Non Operational Assets (£0.48 million)

Capital Programme 2019-20 Onwards

The Interim Head of Finance advised that since October 2019 there had been a number of new externally funded schemes and additional income approved, which had been incorporated into the capital programme including the following :

• Community Hub – Brynteg Comprehensive (£0.284 million)
• Capital support for the implementation and expansion of separate household
• collections of absorbent hygiene product (AHP) waste (£0.238 million)
• Urban Centre Property Enhancement Fund (£0.1 million) and Urban Centre
• Living Grant (£0.05 million)

She advised that other schemes which have material changes were:

• Coastal Risk Management Scheme - Porthcawl (£6.032 million)
• 21st Century Schools Band B Programme
• Welsh Medium Childcare Provision
• School Maintenance Grant
• Complex and Medical Needs Works in School
• Llynfi Valley Loan

She added that there were a number of other schemes within the Capital Programme that were awaiting confirmation of external funding over the winter period. Once approval is known, this may result in some schemes needing re-profiling and that the Capital Programme had not been updated at this time for such schemes. Further reports will be brought to Cabinet and Council in due course for approval when further information regarding these was available. A Revised Capital Programme is included at Appendix B of the report.

Prudential and Other Indicators 2019-20 Monitoring

The Interim Head of Finance explained that in February 2019, Council approved the Capital Strategy for 2019-20, which included the Prudential Indicators 2019-20 to 2021-22 together with some local indicators.

She stated that the Capital Strategy is intended to give an overview of how capital expenditure, capital financing and treasury management activity contributes to the provision of services along with an overview of how associated risk is managed and the implications for future sustainability.

She advised that Appendix C of the report detailed the actual indicators for 2018-19, the estimated indicators for 2019-20 set out in the Councils Capital Strategy and the projected indicators for 2019-20 based on the revised Capital Programme.

Capital Strategy Monitoring

The Interim Head of Finance explained that the Capital Strategy also required the monitoring of non-treasury management investments and other long term liabilities. The Council does have an existing investment portfolio which is 100% based within the County Borough and primarily the office and industrial sectors. The income streams are generally spread between the single and multi-let office investments on Bridgend Science Park. The total value of investments properties was £4.635 million at 31^ST March 2019.

She added that the Council had a number of Other Long Term Liabilities which were included within the Capital Strategy. Details of these were provided in the Quarter 2 Report to Cabinet. No new loans had been taken out in Quarter 3.

The Head Of Operations - Community Services elaborated on the Maesteg Town Hall section of the report and the figures provided in respect of this. He stated that although the costs were higher than initially anticipated, it was about providing long term security of the town hall rather than higher and more frequent short term expenditure being committed to this.

The Leader agreed with the point made and stressed the importance of securing the Maesteg Town Hall for the long term and hoped that the higher investment would allow for security of the building for the next 30-40 years.

The Deputy Leader expressed his gratitude for the extra grants received which had allowed BCBC to carry out a number of beneficial schemes throughout the borough, however, he stated that the Council still need to ensure prudency with spending and making sure that we think of the long term.

The Cabinet Member – Wellbeing and Future Generations was pleased to see a variety of schemes being covered within the report. She added that she was particularly pleased with the purchase of investment assets on acquiring an office building to generate income of £0.056 million per year.

The Leader was pleased to see the ALN provision at Cefn Cribwr Primary School including the removal of the temporary classrooms. He thanked the School Programme Manager for the work the team had done on Welsh Medium childcare provision being bought forward.

The Corporate Director – Education and Family Support stated that he was also happy with the ALN provision at Cefn Cribwr Primary school and said that it was a very inclusive school that has worked with the Local Authority for a number of years, in order to have this extra provision. He explained that 3 resource based settings have been put in place for children with ALN and they had done a remarkable job on this which included modifying some of the classrooms. He further added that a considerable amount of work had been led by the community in terms of generating funding for the school. He explained that not only was this good news for the school, but also for families, in order to ensure that their children have the required level of provision available in schools within the Borough.

The Leader stated that this was excellent news and the authority have made good progress over the years to provide support in schools with physical disabilities within the borough. He added that he was pleased to see a 75% funding grant from Welsh Government which accounted for £4.523 million towards the Costal Risk Management Scheme.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

• Noted the Council’s capital programme for 2019-20 for the period to 31 December 2019 (Appendix A);

• Agreed that the revised Capital Programme (Appendix B) be submitted to Council for approval;

Noted the projected Prudential and Other Indicators for 2019-20 (Appendix C).