The Head of Finance and ICT reported on the impact of budget reductions in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) on the Council’s ability to deliver key services.  He stated that the Forum at its last meeting had received a presentation outlining the financial challenges facing the Council over the next four years.  The Council had managed budget reductions without wide-scale reductions or redundancies. 

He reported that the Welsh Government had announced an overall reduction in Revenue Support Grant of -4.5% for Bridgend for 2016-17 to 2018-19 assuming a council tax increase of 4.5% and total reduction targets of £48.82m over the next 4 financial years.  He outlined those reductions proposals where there may be a direct impact on provision for residents within some or all Town and Community Councils.  It was recognised that Town and Community Councils would not be able to take responsibility for all services that the County Borough Council will no longer be able to deliver or deliver as much of, requested that they give consideration on a prioritised basis, which services are most important to them locally and whether it was appropriate to raise their precept in order to fund the continuation of a services locally. 

He informed the Forum that officers had met with representatives of Town and Community Councils on 5 December 2014 where presentations were made on the following service areas in the Communities Directorate and the impact the reduction proposals would have:

·         Street Works Services - in particular, Street Cleaning, Public Toilets, Parks, Open Spaces and Bereavement Services:

·         Highway Services – in particular, School Crossing Patrol Service, Subsidised Bus Services and Bus Shelter Maintenance:

·         Cultural Services – exploring the development of a new Not for Profit Distributing Organisation (Cultural Trust) to manage and operate a range of cultural services.

·         Regeneration – in particular Town Centre Management, Destination Management, Events and Match Funding.

The Head of Finance and ICT informed the Forum that the Council has an allocation of £50k from within the capital programme towards match funding for community capital projects.  He stated that Town and Community Councils may wish to consider applying for funding to invest in community assets and services.

A member of the Forum questioned whether Town and Community Councils could have lead contacts at officer level as there was a need for clarity as to the proposed cuts in services and for Town and Community Councils to plan their budget accordingly.  The Corporate Director Communities informed the Forum that there were a number of officers meeting separately with Town and Community Councils to discuss proposals for the responsibility of services to be undertaken by Town and Community Councils.  He stated that following a change in responsibilities the Corporate Director Children’s post had been re-designated as Corporate Director Education and Transformation and would be responsible for the transformation of how services are delivered.  The Cabinet Member Strategic Change informed the Forum that he would be working with the Corporate Director Education and Transformation to liaise with Town and Community Councils. 

A member of the Forum stated that a number of Town and Community Councils had already fixed their precepts and commented on the lack of liaison between the two tiers of local government.  The Corporate Director Communities informed the Forum that timescales for this year were difficult and it was the intention in future years to have an earlier dialogue with Town and Community Councils on services which could be devolved due to the stringent measures placed on the Council for this year and beyond.  He acknowledged the frustration experienced by Town and Community Councils and hoped processes will improve.     

RESOLVED:               That the Forum noted the report.