Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor H.A.L. Evans and Councillor E.G. Thomas.

There were no declarations of personal interests.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on the 16 September 2024 be signed as a correct record.

The Chair advised that no questions on notice had been submitted by members.

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.

The Cabinet received for consideration the findings and recommendations of the Communities, Homes and Regeneration Scrutiny Task and Finish Group on the Council’s Adaptations Policy.  The Council has a statutory duty and the amended policy will assist in managing the demand for adaptations, under the Housing Grant Constructions and Regeneration Act 1996, and the Children’s Act 1989.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes, requested under point 3 for the wording to read; where circumstances are deemed to be exceptional, the matter will be referred to the Head of Service (Housing and Finance service) for consideration.  This referral does not mean the decision will be one of approval.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:

6.1to approve the re-introduction of means testing for medium scaled disabled facilities grants;

6.2to adopt the amended Draft Adaptations Policy, as attached in appendix 1 of the report, incorporating the suggested amendments;

6.3to approve the Grant Repayment Conditions on all Disabled Facilities Grant’s over £5,000 if property is sold within 10 years of completion of adaptation with only following exemptions:

a)    Financial hardship

b)    Moving for employment reasons

c)    Moving into residential care;

6.4to approve the adaptations for foster care children placed in Carmarthenshire by another Local Authority will only be considered if the criteria in the policy are met;

6.5to agree that staffing is reviewed to ensure adequate resources are available to deal with the ongoing high demand for the service.

The Cabinet considered the revenue budget monitoring report which provided the latest budgetary position as at 30^th June 2024, in respect of 2024/2025.

Overall, the monitoring report forecast an overspend for the year at departmental level of £17.9m including school budgets, with a forecast overspend on the Authority’s net revenue budget of £9.6m.

The Cabinet noted that to date no formal confirmation of funding for Teachers and Firefighters pensions had yet been received.  This is budgeted at £4.1m.

The Housing Revenue account set out at Appendix B to the report, forecast an overspend of £1.742m for 2024/25.  The Cabinet noted that the situation would be reviewed as the significant issues identified become clearer from a financial perspective.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:

7.1  that the budget monitoring report be received and the budgetary

       position and appropriate corrective action taken be noted;

7.2 that, in respect of significant overspends on specific budget areas,

     Chief Officers and Heads of Service critically review options available

     to them to address the ongoing impact.

The Cabinet received a report which provided an update on the latest budgetary position for the 2024/25 capital programme, as at 30^th June 2024 and detailed new projects for noting and Cabinet approval.  The report indicated a forecasted net spend of £112,741 compared with a working net budget of £142,607k, giving a -£29,866k variance. 

The net budget included the original H.R.A. and General Fund capital programmes approved by Full Council and slippage from 2023/24. Some of the budgets have also been amended to account for differences in actual grant allocations compared with the anticipated allocations at the time the programme was approved and new grant awards received during the year to date.

Appendix B to the report detailed the main variances within each department.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:

8.1   the capital programme update report 2024/25 be received;

8.2.  the new projects as detailed within the report be noted and agreed.

The Cabinet considered a report detailing the proposal to recruit a Senior Coroner for the Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire area. 

The Cabinet noted that the Coroner’s Office had confirmed that Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire would not be affected by a potential Coroner jurisdiction merge.  Therefore, Councils could proceed with the appointment of a permanent Senior Coroner.

It was noted that each respective Council in conjunction with the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor, had a legal obligation to ensure that the jurisdiction had in place effective coroner service arrangements that were adequately resourced, under the Coroner and Justice Act 2009 (“the 2009 Act”).

The Head of Law, Governance and Civil Services informed Cabinet that the report did not have to go to full Council and a decision could be made at today’s Cabinet.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:

9.1 to support Pembrokeshire County Council in the preparation of the job description, contractual terms and appointment process for the post of Senior Coroner and to make arrangement to suitable advertise the post;

9.2 to support Pembrokeshire County Council in taking all necessary steps to progress the appointment of a Senior Coroner;

9.3 to consult with Pembrokeshire County Council and the Chief Coroner’s officer, to establish a panel, in order to draw up a short-list, interview applicants and to appoint the successful applicant as the Senior Coroner for Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

The Cabinet received for consideration a report detailing the response to a petition presented to Council on 10^th July 2024 regarding Ysgol Heol Goffa (minute 12 refers).

At the Council meeting the Cabinet Member Education and Welsh Language advised that due to the tender cost of the project, the current plan for Ysgol Heol Goffa could not proceed. 

The Cabinet noted that Mr David Davies, former Head of Additional learning Needs and Wellbeing for Vale of Glamorgan Council, has been commissioned by Carmarthenshire County Council to lead an independent review of the current Additional Learning Needs (ALN) specialist provision in Llanelli. 

A review started in September, 2024 with learners, parents, staff, governors and wider stakeholders, to listen and take on board their views for consideration.

It was noted that all future proposals that will be developed following the independent review, will be subject to a full public consultation at the appropriate time.  Conclusions of the review will be presented to a future Cabinet meeting.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the petition be accepted and contents of report noted

The Cabinet received a report which contained information in response of a notice of motion referred to Cabinet by County Council on 10^th July, 2024 (minute 10.1 refers).

Cabinet members noted Transport for Wales (TfW) revealed plans earlier this year to reduce the number of services on the Heart of Wales line from five to four per day.  There are also plans to remove two late evening services to Llandovery and Llandrindod proposed from December 2024.  Fundamentally, the decision to reduce this service, and the lack of investment in stock over the last decade could jeopardise the long-term future of the line.

It was noted that a letter had been sent from the Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste and Infrastructure Services to Welsh Government expressing the views of the Notice of Motion.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted.

The Chair advised that there were no items of urgent business.