Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors T. Bowen, J.S. Edmunds and A.G. Morgan.

Councillor Glynog Davies (Vice-Chair) chaired the meeting as Councillor Hugh Richards (Chair) had to leave shortly after the start.

The Chair and Chief Executive thanked Councillor Deryk Cundy for his positive contributions to the work of the Committee as this was his last meeting.

There were no declarations of personal interest.

There were no declarations of prohibited party whips.

None were received.

The Committee was provided with a list of forthcoming items to be considered at its next scheduled meeting on Wednesday, 3^rd of February 2016. The ACE Regeneration & Policy advised that the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 report would not be ready in time for the next meeting due to the timing of the publication of the guidance by Welsh Government (WG). The Committee agreed to defer the report to the meeting arranged for the 16^th of March 2016.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to note the forthcoming items, subject to the amendment above.

The Committee considered the Revenue Budget Strategy 2016/17 to 2018/19 (Appendix A) which had been endorsed by the Executive Board for consultation purposes at its meeting on 16th of November 2015. It was advised that Welsh Government (WG) had announced the provisional settlement on the 9^th of December and that Carmarthenshire would see a 1% cut in budget rather than the 3.3% on which the Strategy was predicated. This equated to an additional £7.5m for the 2016/17 budget however this also included the Outcome Agreement Grant. WG had funded £35m to protect education and £21m to protect social care on an all Wales basis which equated to £2.1m and £1.3m respectively for Carmarthenshire. It was still unclear what the protection of school budgets entailed. Eleven grants had not yet been confirmed however the reduction in the Waste Grant (now the Single Environment Grant) was far less than anticipated at 6% rather than the 25-50% which was previously indicated by the Minister. In summary, the deficit in efficiency savings identified for 2016/17 would not now be needed, however delivery of the £13.6m identified savings was required.

Concern was expressed about the timing of the WG announcement of the final settlement in early March, given the need to set the level of Council Tax by 11^th of March. It was asked what might be the impact of any variations in the final settlement.  The Director of Corporate Services advised that this was difficult to answer. A means of accommodating minor adjustments were being planned for and WG officers had previously indicated that they were not anticipating much movement. The picture would be clearer in early February following the end of the consultation period on 20^th of January. The overall timescales and the lateness of the announcements were linked to the Westminster Comprehensive Spending Review.

Disappointment was expressed that the protection of education was unclear. The Director of Corporate Services stated that our Strategy is to plan to passport the £2.1m onto schools which would reduce the efficiency savings they were expected to deliver in 2016/17 to £3.4m. The Chief Executive advised that he was representing Local Government in dialogue with WG about the protection of education. It was his understanding that all local authorities were planning to pass their share of the £35m onto schools. There was also ongoing dialogue about potentially including £90m specific education grants in the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) which would mean £5.4m more for Carmarthenshire. He added that 4 rural authorities had suffered the highest cuts under the provisional settlement and WG was proposing a rural deprivation grant of £5m to assist them.

It was noted that the benchmarking of support services across Wales had been referred to in the member budget seminars. An update was requested. The Director of Corporate Services stated that the Regional Treasurers Group of 6 local authorities was working through the KPMG report commissioned by WG to consider the reasons for any variations. It was however some months from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee considered the 5 year capital programme which had been approved by the Executive Board for consultation on the 4^th of January. It was advised that the timing of the provisional settlement had meant that this Scrutiny Committee was the only one being consulted however it was also planned to present the programme to a members’ seminar. The overall programme was more than £221m capital investment and was strongly linked to regeneration and job creation in the county. The EBM Resources added that he was keen to hear the Committee’s views.

It was asked whether or not it was intended to complete the Carmarthen West new school within the 5 year span of the programme and also if the external funding was the “roof tax” from the housing development. The Director of Corporate Services advised that the completion of the school was subject to the timing of the housing development build although the funding model provided the school within the 21^st Century Band A programme timeline. The infrastructure needs would utilise the first tranche of the roof tax however subsequently the funds would be used for the school.

Recent press reports about the utilisation of an additional £20m of earmarked reserves to support the new capital programme were referred to and clarification requested about WG’s position in light of these.  The Director of Corporate Services stated that reserves earmarked for the capital programme had been set aside for a number of years. A review of all earmarked reserves had been carried out, as had been undertaken in previous years and some, such as the reserve for job evaluation and single status, could now be released. The WG Minister might bring in legislation  following the Assembly elections requiring his approval to use reserves, however this Council would have a long term supported capital programme linked with regeneration and job creation and would be able to demonstrate the prudent and planned use of reserves.

It was asked if the £2m set aside each year for Disabled Facilities Grants was adequate to meet demand. The Director of Corporate Services advised that the overall programme was developed with departments input. Historical demand data showed that £2m was adequate however the situation would be monitored.

A question was asked whether or not the £300k budget for coastal erosion was sufficient given recent climatic events and flooding. The Director of Corporate Services stated that the bids from departments were assessed by the Strategic Asset Steering Group which also monitored the programme and would respond to any changes in demand.

Further information was requested in relation to the Tywi Valley Transport Corridor Concept. The Director of Corporate Services advised that this was a cycleway proposed from Carmarthen to Llandeilo planned over a number of years utilising the WG Local Transport Grant (LTG). The ACE Regeneration & Policy added that the project had huge links with tourism and other external funding sources were being investigated.

It was asked why the Ammanford Valley Distributor Road Phase 2  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Committee received an explanation for the non-submission of the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The change to the date of the re-submission under minute 5 was noted

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the explanation be noted, subject to minute 5.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25^TH of November 2015, be signed as a correct record.