Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C.A. Davies, P.E.M.  Edwards, A, Fox and T.J. Jones.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL INTERESTS.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor

Minute Number

Nature of Interest

S.J.G Gilasbey

5.1 – Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24

Family member works as a teacher in one of the schools mentioned in the report

S.J.G Gilasbey

5.2 – Five Year Capital Programme (Council Fund) 2021/22 to 2025/26

LA Governor at Ysgol Gwenllian

S.J.G. Gilasbey

5.3 – Housing Revenue Account Budget 2021/22 to 2023/24 and Housing Rent Setting for 2021/22 Revenue and Capital

Family member is a council tenant

K. Lloyd

5.4 – The Carmarthenshire Homes Standard Plus (CHS+) Business Plan 2021-24

Owns shares in Carmarthenshire Energy Ltd

K. Madge

5.1 – Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24

Daughter works in Social Care

J. James

5.3 – Housing Revenue Account Budget 2021/22 to 2023/24 and Housing Rent Setting for 2021/22 Revenue and Capital

Family members are Council tenants

J. James

5.4 – The Carmarthenshire Homes Standard Plus (CHS+) Business Plan 2021-24

Family members are Council tenants

H.A.L. Evans

5.3 – Housing Revenue Account Budget 2021/22 to 2023/24 and Housing Rent Setting for 2021/22 Revenue and Capital

Sister is Chief Executive of a Housing Association

H.A.L. Evans

5.4 – The Carmarthenshire Homes Standard Plus (CHS+) Business Plan 2021-24

Sister is Chief Executive of a Housing Association

B.A.L. Roberts

5.1 – Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24

Family member works in Social Care

B.A.L. Roberts

5.2 – Five Year Capital Programme (Council Fund) 2021/22 to 2025/26

LA Governor at Pen Rhos and Coedcae Schools

S.L.  Davies

5.2 – Five Year Capital Programme (Council Fund) 2021/22 to 2025/26

LA Governor at Schools

S.L. Davies

5.3 – Housing Revenue Account Budget 2021/22 to 2023/24 and Housing Rent Setting for 2021/22 Revenue and Capital

Family member owns property

D.C. Evans

5.1 – Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24

Wife works in the Council’s Contact Centre

S. Najmi

5.2 – Five Year Capital Programme (Council Fund) 2021/22 to 2025/26

LA Governor at Penygaer School

G.L. Davies

6 – Meeting of the Executive Board – 8th February 2021

Minute 14 – Crown Precinct Building Llanelli

A.G. Morgan

5.1 – Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24

Tenant at Unit 4 Delta Lakes, Llanelli

T. Higgins

5.1 – Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24

Niece works in the Library Service

T. Higgins

5.2 – Five Year Capital Programme (Council Fund) 2021/22 to 2025/26

LA Governor at Tycroes School

E. Dole

5.1 – Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24

Son works for the Authority

E. Dole

5.2 – Five Year Capital Programme (Council Fund) 2021/22 to 2025/26

Son works for the Authority

S. Curry

5.3 – Housing Revenue Account Budget 2021/22 to 2023/24 and Housing Rent Setting for 2021/22 Revenue and Capital

Family member is a council tenant

D. Price

5.3 – Housing Revenue Account Budget 2021/22 to 2023/24 and Housing Rent Setting for 2021/22 Revenue and Capital

Family member is a council tenant

R. James

5.1 – Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24

Partner works in the Library Service

R. James

5.2 – Five Year Capital Programme (Council Fund) 2021/22 to 2025/26  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

CHAIR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

·       The Chair, on behalf of the Council, conveyed his condolences to Councillor Dole, and his family, following the passing of Councillor Dole’s mother;

·       Councillor Carys Jones addressed Council on Endometriosis Awareness Week 2021 running from the 1st to the 7th March 2021;

·       Councillor Ken Lloyd extended his congratulations to Julia Ma from Carmarthen on winning the prestigious Richard & Judy “Search for a Best Seller” competition 2020 for her debut novel Happy Families.

 

 

4.

TO APPROVE AND SIGN AS A CORRECT RECORD THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 10TH FEBRUARY 2021 pdf icon PDF 388 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on the 10th February, 2021 be signed as a correct record.

5.

TO CONSIDER THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD IN RESPECT OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:-

Additional documents:

5.1

REVENUE BUDGET STRATEGY 2021/22 TO 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 371 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(NOTE:

1.     The Monitoring Officer advised Councillors that if they had declared an earlier interest by virtue of being LA School Governor’s they need not declare that interest again as the report related to the Council’s general Revenue Budget

2.     Councillors D. C Evans, E. Dole, T. Higgins, K. Madge, B.A.L Roberts, A.G. Morgan,  and J. Edmunds, repeated their earlier declarations

3.     Councillors L.R. Bowen, A. Vaughan Owen, G. Jones, P. Hughes and R. Evans declared an interest at the start of this item as they had family members employed by the Authority)

 

Council was informed that the Executive Board, at its meeting held on the 22nd February 2020 (Minute 6 refers) had considered the Revenue Budget Strategy 2021/22 to 2023/24 and made a number of recommendations, as detailed within the report of the Director of Corporate Services, for Council’s consideration.

 

Council received a presentation by the Executive Board Member for Resources, on behalf of the Executive Board, in which he set out the background to the budget proposals being presented to the Council for consideration together with the responses received to the budget consultation.

The Executive Board Member for Resources informed Council that the report brought together the latest position on the Revenue Budget Strategy and detailed the Executive Board recommendations on concluding the Medium Term Financial Plan for 2021/22 to 2023/24. He added that the Welsh Government’s budget process had been much later than normal for 2021/22 with the final settlement figures having been published the previous day (2nd March) and its final budget not being debating until the 9th March.

The Executive Board Member advised that the final settlement confirmed the Council’s revenue and capital allocations had been unchanged in line with the provisional figures along with some changes to specific grants. The Welsh Government had also confirmed the sum of £206m for the Covid 19 Hardship Fund to support additional costs and loss of income relating to the pandemic for the first 6 months of the next financial year (2021/22).

The Executive Board Member advised that a review undertaken of the key components of the budget assumptions and allocations had provided some increased budget headroom, when compared with the original budget proposal, resulting in some of the proposals being revisited and further options considered.

The Executive Board Member for Resources reported that full details of the provisional settlement were detailed within the report (which had been confirmed unchanged in the final settlement). The headline was on all Wales basis with the average funding for Local Government having increased by 3.8%, with Carmarthenshire also receiving 3.8%. Whilst this had enabled the authority to allocate funding in the budget for a significant amount of inflationary and unavoidable pressures, it still required savings to be made despite the welcomed funding increase, as the plan included a significant value of savings deferred into future years, due to the impact of covid. Whilst those changes had been accommodated within next year’s budget, there would still be a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.1

5.2

FIVE YEAR CAPITAL PROGRAMME (COUNCIL FUND) - 2021/22 TO 2025/26 pdf icon PDF 386 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(NOTE:

1.     Councillors S.J.G Gilasbey, R. James and E. Dole having earlier made declarations on this item repeated those declarations;

2.     Councillor A.D.T. Speake in response to a statement made during the meeting to him having been thrown out of the Plaid Cymru Group clarified that was not the position and he had left on his own volition)

 

The Executive Board Member for Resources presented to the Council, on behalf of the Executive Board, the Five-Year Capital Programme (Council Fund) 2021/22 to 2025/26, which took into account the consultation exercise undertaken and the Welsh Government settlement. The Executive Board, at its meeting held on the 22nd February, 2020 [minute 7 refers] had considered the Programme and had made a number of recommendations for Council’s consideration.

 

The Executive Board Member for Resources stated that the proposed capital programme which anticipated a spend of nearly £258m over the five years from 2021/22 to 2025/26, optimised funding opportunities and maximised funding from potential external sources. A combination of existing and new schemes would develop the local economy, create jobs and enhance the quality of life for our residents.

 

The detailed provisional capital programme had been presented to the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on 3rd February for consultation and no matters of concern were raised during that consultation.  An extract from the relevant minute of the meeting was included in Appendix C to the report.

 

He advised that County Council funding available for the programme was estimated to be £122.5m and included borrowing; both supported and unsupported, capital receipts, reserves, and direct revenue funding, with a further £135m anticipated from external grant funding bodies. While the final settlement from the Welsh Government for 2021/22 was received on the 2nd March 2021, no additional general capital funding had been awarded to that set out in the provisional settlement - detailed in the main report. Furthermore, the Welsh Government had not provided any forward indicators in respect of general capital funding beyond 2021/22, and, therefore the proposed capital programme had been based on future years supported borrowing and general grant being at the same level as 2021/22. 

 

The Executive Board Member for Resources further advised of additional currently unallocated funding capacity totalling £4m between years 4 and 5 of the programme which would remain unallocated for the time being and utilised as other costs and funding sources crystalised as time progressed.

 

The Executive Board Member advised while many of the investments in the report were familiar, including the 21st century schools programme, Highways, Regeneration and Housing, it had been possible to add investment to schemes considered to be important for the county to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those included:-

 

·       Economic Regeneration – Targeted regeneration Investment (£1.2m); Commercial Property Development Fund (£1m); Rural Enterprise Fund (£500k) and £1m for the ‘Ten Towns’ growth plan enabling the authority to draw in considerable private sector investment to the county (Appendix B to the report). Additionally, the £500k approved in 2020/21 for decarbonisation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.2

5.3

HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT BUDGET 2021/22 TO 2023/24 AND HOUSING RENT SETTING FOR 2021/22 REVENUE AND CAPITAL pdf icon PDF 250 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(NOTE: Councillors S. Curry, S.J.G. Gilasbey, H.A.L. Evans, P.M. Hughes, J. James, D. Thomas and D. Price having earlier declared an interest in this item, reiterated those declarations and left the meeting during its consideration)

 

Council was informed that the Executive Board, at its meeting held on the 22nd  February, 2021 [minute 8 refers] had considered the Housing Revenue Account Budget 2021/22 to 2023/24 and Housing Rent Setting for 2021/22 and had made a number of recommendations, as detailed within the Director of Corporate Services’ report, for Council’s consideration. It was noted that the report had also been considered, and endorsed, by the Community Scrutiny Committee at its meeting held on the 2nd February 2021 as part of the budget consultation process.

 

The Executive Board Member for Resources advised that the report brought together the latest proposals for the Revenue and Capital Budgets for the Housing Revenue Account 2021/24 and reflected the latest proposals contained within the 30 year Business Plan, being the primary financial planning tool for delivering the Carmarthenshire Homes Standard Plus (CHS+) for the future.

 

The Executive Board Member for Resources advised that capital investment in the region of £231m had delivered the Carmarthenshire Home Standard for tenants and, more recently, up to the end of the current financial year, a further £64m would have been spent in maintaining the CHS+ home standard for properties and tenants.  Over the next 3 years it was expected that a further £56m would be spent on maintaining and upgrading the housing stock. The budget alsoprovided funding of some £49m over the next 3 years to support the Affordable Homes Programme, which was on top of the £45m expenditure already incurred to the end of this current financial year. The Strategy would also see the increase in the supply of affordable housing throughout the County through various solutions including our new build programme (such as Glanmor Terrace, Burry Port and Dylan, Bynea)  and the buyback scheme.

 

The Council was reminded that since 2015 the Authority had been required to adopt the Welsh Government Policy for Social Housing Rent Harmonisation, meaning that the proposed rent increase was prescribed by Welsh Government guidance and provided an equitable distribution of the rents for the social sector tenants.  While that policy ended in 2018/19, and an interim policy applied for 2019/20 the Welsh Government had subsequently developed a new policy for implementation in 2020/21 to apply for a period of 5 years from 2020/21 and contained some additional/amended requirements, as detailed within the report. The main elements of that policy allowed Local Authorities to uplift the total rent envelope by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) +1% for each of the five years to 2024/25. It also allowed for the level of rent for individual tenants to rise by up to an additional £2 over and above CPI +1% for rent harmonisation, on condition that total rental income collected by the social landlord increased by no more than CPI +1%.

 

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.3

5.4

THE CARMARTHENSHIRE HOMES STANDARD PLUS (CHS+) BUSINESS PLAN 2021-24 pdf icon PDF 464 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(NOTE:

1.     Councillor H.A.L. Evans having earlier declared an interest in this item was not in attendance during its consideration ;

2.     Councillor K. Lloyd having earlier declared an interest in this item repeated that declaration)

 

The Council was informed that the Executive Board, at its meeting held on the 22nd February 2021 (Minute 9 refers) had considered the Carmarthenshire Homes Standard Plus (CHS+) Business Plan 2021-2024, the purpose of which was to:-

 

·       Explain the vision and detail of the Carmarthenshire Homes Standard Plus over the next three years, and what it means for tenants

·       To show the income received from tenants and other funding sources afforded a capital programme of £107m over the next three years to:

o   Build over 400 affordable homes;

o   Improve and maintain the existing stock

o   Develop new standards for energy efficiency and move towards carbon neutral homes

·       To show how the housing investment programmes could help stimulate the economy and recovery from Covid-19

·       Produce a business plan for the annual application to Welsh Government for Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) for 2021/22, equating to £6.2m.

 

The Executive Board Member for Housing presented the annual Business Plan for the CHS+ that detailed the plans, priorities and actions for developing new homes for the future and maintaining current stock for the next period, in consultation with the Council tenants. It also enabled the Council to submit its annual application to the Welsh Government for the Major Repairs Allowance grant, which for 2021/22 was in the sum of £6.2m.

 

The Executive Board Member for Housing advised that Page 6 of the report detailed what works had been undertaken during the last period together with a chart showing what the rent income contributed towards. The Plan allowed the Authority to keep developing its standards and looking at its agenda as it moved forward towards its decarbonisation programme. It also ensured it remained ambitious in building more new affordable homes throughout Carmarthenshire. Pages 7 and 8 detailed the Plan’s principles, being the basis of the Plan and, with solid foundations in place, the path ahead should be smooth.

 

The Executive Board Member for Housing advised the Plan was divided into the following four key themes aimed at driving the business forward for the next three years and she outlined the work being undertaken under each theme:-

 

1.     Theme 1 – Supporting Tenants and Residents;

2.     Theme 2 – Investing in Homes and the Environment, including the development of a new Welsh Home Quality Standard, building on that already achieved through the CHS+, featuring an increased standard for energy efficiency in the Council’s homes;

3.     Theme 3 – Providing 500 more homes by investing £60m in the next four years together with the development of a new 10 year Affordable Housing and Regeneration Masterplan by Autumn 2021;

4.     Theme 4 – Foundational economy, community benefits and procurement via the authority’s response to Covid-19 by further developing the Council’s approach to procurement to ensure it maximised its contribution to local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.4

5.5

TREASURY MANAGEMENT POLICY AND STRATEGY 2021-22 pdf icon PDF 281 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council was informed that the Executive Board, at its meeting held on 22nd February, 2021 (minute 10 refers) had considered the Treasury Management Policy and Strategy 2021/22.

 

The Executive Board Member advised Council that in line with the requirements of the revised CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management, the Council must maintain a Treasury Management Policy detailing the policies and objectives of the Authority’s treasury management activities and also approve a Treasury Management Strategy annually before the start of the financial year to which it relates. In addition, under the Local Government Act 2003, the Council was required to approve the Treasury Management Indicators for the coming year.

 

In accordance with the above requirements, Council considered the Treasury Management Policy and Strategy for the 2021/22 financial year. 

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the following recommendations of the Executive Board be adopted:-

 

“10.1

The Treasury Management Policy and Strategy for 2021-22 and the recommendations contained therein be approved.

10.2

The Treasury Management Indicators, Prudential Indicators, Minimum Revenue Provision Statement, the Investment Strategy and recommendations therein be approved”.

 

6.

TO RECEIVE THE REPORT OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD HELD ON THE 8TH FEBRUARY 2021 pdf icon PDF 217 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(NOTE:

1.     Councillor A.D.T. Speake having earlier declared an interest in this item, repeated that declaration and left the meeting during consideration of minute 3 within the report relating to Model School;

2.     Councillor G. Davies having earlier declared an interest in minute 14 repeated that declaration but remained in the meeting as no discussion was undertaken thereon)

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report of the meeting of the Executive Board held on the 8th February 2021 be received.

 

7.

NOTICES OF MOTION (NONE RECEIVED)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair advised that no Notices of Motion had been received.

8.

PUBLIC QUESTIONS:-

Additional documents:

8.1

QUESTION BY MR M. REED TO COUNCILLOR C CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER FOR COMMUNITIES AND RURAL AFFAIRS

“Is Councillor Campbell happy with the progress that has been made by the Dyfed Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels in accordance with the Councils motion passed at the meeting on the 9th of October 2019 calling on the Fund to divest completely from fossil fuels within two years and to reinvest in local renewable energy projects?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Is Councillor Campbell happy with the progress that has been made by the Dyfed Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels in accordance with the Council’s motion passed at the meeting on the 9th of October 2019 calling on the Fund to divest completely from fossil fuels within two years and to reinvest in local renewable energy projects?”

 

Response by Councillor Cefin Campbell, Executive Board Member for Communities and Rural Affairs:-

“Thank you Mr Reed for your question and, as you know the Council is the administering authority for the £3bn Dyfed Pension Fund and you will also probably know it involves over 60 organisation members and the decision made on investments has to have the approval of all the members not just Carmarthenshire County Council. So, the fund is a long-term investor responsible for looking after the interests of beneficiaries over many decades into the future. But climate risk and progressing to a low carbon environment is top of the Dyfed Pension Fund Committee’s agenda.

 

Whilst it is difficult to be specific on fossil fuel investments, about 2.9% of the Fund is currently invested in the energy sector. Now this has come down from about 4.5% in 2018 so the direction of travel is obviously moving in the right way

 

The Fund has, as I mentioned, made great strides forward on transferring investments into low carbon funds which started by investing £120m in the BlackRock UK Strategic Alternative Income Fund which includes investments in local renewable power.

 

The Dyfed Pension Fund Committee has recently approved an allocation of 10% (which works out to be £300m) of the Fund’s assets to a BlackRock “Reduced Fossil Fuels” passive global equity strategy and this will further reduce the total investments in fossil fuels and this will be recalculated at a later date.

 

And, finally, the establishment of the Wales Pension Partnership, which is an investment pool for all 8 Welsh Local Government Pension Scheme. In 2017 t provided the opportunity to the Dyfed Pension Fund to increase by 5% (about £150m) of its allocation to the Wales Pension Partnership Global Growth Fund which includes an investment in a Paris Agreement Aligned Fund.

 

So, as you can see, from what I’ve just mentioned the Dyfed Pension Fund Committee has a strategy in place to further increase in low carbon fund investments over the next 12 months which will continue the measured and responsible journey. So, although the fund has made great strides, there is, I acknowledge, some distance to travel again before we reach our goal. I hope that answers your question Mr Reed.

 

Mr Reed asked the following supplementary question:-

“Carmarthenshire County Council are one of the main contributors of the fund and what more can be done to move maybe to a different pension provider, bearing in mind that the Dyfed Pension Fund lost £63m last year because of the falling value of fossil fuel shares. So, what’s your view on that?

Councillor Campbell responded as follows:-

“Okay, so thank you  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.1

8.2

QUESTION BY MS. J MANSFIELD TO COUNCILLOR C CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER FOR COMMUNITIES AND RURAL AFFAIRS

“Please could you itemise what progress has been made this  year towards the goal of Carbon Neutrality for the Authority by 2030 and also indicate what progress is in the pipeline for the coming year towards the carbon neutral goal?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Please could you itemise what progress has been made this year towards the goal of Carbon Neutrality for the Authority by 2030 and also indicate what progress is in the pipeline for the coming year towards the carbon neutral goal?”

 

Response by Councillor Cefin Campbell, Executive Board Member for Communities and Rural Affairs:-

“Thank you very much Jane for the question. As you will be aware, two years ago we declared a climate emergency and a year ago, as promised, we drew up a net zero carbon plan and it’s our intention to report on progress made against the actions and targets in that plan annually. So, the action plan on this first year is going before the Environmental and Public protection Scrutiny Committee this coming Friday. The report and the details around progress is now in the public domain. If you want to look at those details, they are available on Carmarthenshire County Council’s website or, alternatively, one of the admin staff can send you a link to that particular report at the end of this meeting if you so wish. But just to give a little bit of detail around the report, let me just put this in context first of all. Let me say this last year, as we all know, has been unprecedented as Covid 19 has presented many challenges for us a Council. And, as a result, many of our staff have been redeployed to help the county’s response to the pandemic. So, it means the people who would have normally been working on the net zero carbon plan were pulled away from that work for obvious reasons to deal with the urgency of the pandemic. But, nevertheless, considerable progress has been made on several initiatives. Now, I could list you a whole range of actions that we have done work on but, I’m just going to pull up maybe one or two but the rest of the detail is in the plan on our website

 

I think the first thing I need to say is that the headline figure for 2019/20 is that our overall carbon footprint reduced by 2.9% compared to 2018/19. And, it won’t come as a surprise to you although, this isn’t in the report that early figures and data that we’ve had for this last calendar year has seen a marked reduction in carbon emissions in Carmarthenshire and also an increase in air quality. Now this obviously has come about because of the pandemic and fewer people travelling by car and so on. But this will be reported in next year’s action plan report.

 

Very briefly, If I can mention a few other projects in order to fulfil our net zero carbon ambition. We’ve delivered on the Re:fit Cymru project to achieve

Energy and carbon savings. Although, work was delayed due to Covid, work recommenced last September and now most Phase 1 projects on the 30 sites will be completed by the end of this month. So, this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.2

8.3

QUESTION BY MR P. HUGHES TO COUNCILLOR C CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER FOR COMMUNITIES AND RURAL AFFAIRS

“I was so pleased to see Carmarthenshire County Council declare a Climate Emergency in 2019. 

 

As part of the budget debate I would like to ask how much has been invested in renewable energy generation by the Council since the declaration of the Climate Emergency of 20/2/19?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“I was so pleased to see Carmarthenshire County Council declare a Climate Emergency in 2019. 

 

As part of the budget debate I would like to ask how much has been invested in renewable energy generation by the Council since the declaration of the Climate Emergency of 20/2/19?”

 

Response by Councillor Cefin Campbell, Executive Board Member for Communities and Rural Affairs:-

“Thank you for the question Mr Hughes. I think I need to start off by saying due to the historical development of Carmarthenshire County Council and the nature of the buildings that we have we will never be able to reach a point where we are completely carbon free because of the residual output relating to some of our old, very old buildings which is why we emphasise that we aim to be net zero carbon by 2030. Now the net zero is an important element of our declaration because we aim to primarily compensate or, off set, our residual carbon footprint by increasing the amount of renewable energy we generate on the Council’s estate.

 

However, we do face a problem and this was raised earlier on in our budget debate this morning by Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen. We have a problem with our Distribution Network Operator - Western Power – We have a blockage, we have a lack of capacity on the national grid which hinders our ambition to create more renewable energy projects. There is very little additional capacity available on the electricity distribution network as I mentioned for large-scale renewable energy installations. Which is what we ideally need in terms of solar panels and wind turbines and even hydro. I was talking about large scale renewal energy projects that we absolutely need in order to provide that offsetting exercise. So we are in discussions with Western Power, we are in discussions as well on a regional basis with other local authorities to see whether we can put some influence on the distribution network to allow us more capacity. But, unfortunately, this is beyond our control because obviously Western Power and Welsh Government need to get involved and it is some thing we are giving priority to.

 

However, despite the blockages and the challenges we face in getting large scale projects on board, we have achieved some positive outcomes with much smaller projects and some of them I’ll just quickly refer to. We put solar pv panels on 10 sites in our Re-fit Cymru project and this equated to about an installed capacity of 460 kW. And also in in our new build programmes, which I was referring to in an earlier question. So, it is frustrating for us but we can do small scale projects, which we have been doing, on our properties, but it’s only going to scratch the surface until we grasp the major hurdle or cross that major hurdle we have in getting more capacity in the national grid network. So, I hope that explains our frustration Mr Hughes but also giving you an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.3

8.4

QUESTION BY MR G. PARKER TO COUNCILLOR C CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER FOR COMMUNITIES AND RURAL AFFAIRS

“The Budget Digest 2020/21 published 1/2/21, made no mention of new renewable energy installations in the 5 year budget, which could help the Council meet its Net Zero Carbon Plan by 2030.

 

The entire energy requirements of the Council, 20GWh electricity and 44GWh heating per year, could be provided renewably by investing in solar panels with battery backup installed on buildings and carparks where the energy is used, for self-consumption only, at a cost of around £41m, fully funded by interest free Government Salix loans, at no cost to Carmarthenshire’s Council Tax payers. 

 

The Salix loans would be paid back over 8 years through energy savings. Then all energy would be free of charge to the Council, saving £4.8m / year, which could be used to provide better services to the community.

 

Details and calculations available at:

https://www.carmarthenshireenergy.org/YSG/PublicFiles/media/CCCRenewableEnergyInvestment.pdf

 

Question: Why is the Council not taking advantage of this ideal opportunity to become self-sufficient in renewable energy?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“The Budget Digest 2020/21 published 1/2/21, made no mention of new renewable energy installations in the 5 year budget, which could help the Council meet its Net Zero Carbon Plan by 2030.

 

The entire energy requirements of the Council, 20GWh electricity and 44GWh heating per year, could be provided renewably by investing in solar panels with battery backup installed on buildings and carparks where the energy is used, for self-consumption only, at a cost of around £41m, fully funded by interest free Government Salix loans, at no cost to Carmarthenshire’s Council Tax payers. 

 

The Salix loans would be paid back over 8 years through energy savings. Then all energy would be free of charge to the Council, saving £4.8m / year, which could be used to provide better services to the community.

 

Details and calculations have been given in the web page in your agenda pack 

 

Why is the Council not taking advantage of this ideal opportunity to become self-sufficient in renewable energy?”

 

Response by Councillor Cefin Campbell, Executive Board Member for Communities and Rural Affairs:-

“Thank you Mr Parker for your question. A part of your question relates to again our ability to create renewable energy as a local authority and in my answer to a previous question, we are hindered by the lack of capacity on the local distribution network and that does cause us a great frustration as I mentioned earlier on because we have schemes on our brownfield land that we own as a local authority. We have schemes for solar panels and wind turbines but, unfortunately, we can’t proceed with those schemes at the moment. Hopefully, within the next two years we can lobby Western Power and Welsh Government to provide the resources to enable us to do that, then we can move forward extremely quickly.

 

So, in terms of the Salix work that you refer to specifically, we have made great strides in reducing the carbon footprint in our non-domestic buildings and in particular with the interest free Salix invest to save programme, we have invested as a local authority in that particular scheme over £2m in some 200 energy efficiency projects. Now this investment is projected to save over 41,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the lifetime of the installed technology. This investment, coupled with the Council’s on-going property rationalisation, which I mentioned regarding the council homes for example, the agile working that we are currently discussing and maintenance programmes as well is producing financial and carbon savings in times of increasing utility prices.

 

One final point, we are reducing our carbon footprint as well in terms of our street lighting. We recently completed the conversion of over 80% of our 20,000 street lighting lanterns to low energy light-emitting diode (LED lighting) with interest-free funding from Welsh Government’s Programme. So, the remaining street lighting already use low energy dimming lanterns but these will be changed to LED at end of life. And, finally, we also maintain approximately 4,300 community  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.4

8.5

QUESTION BY MS. C. STRANGE TO COUNCILLOR C. CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER FOR COMMUNITIES AND RURAL AFFAIRS


“Has Council considered using the "Climate Action Plan for Councils" published by Friends of the Earth as an aid to the Covid recovery programme?  The guide aims to create a green, fair, equitable recovery whilst also taking into account the Climate and Ecological Emergency.  It contains 46 recommendations relevant to Wales.

please see:- 

 https://climate.friendsoftheearth.uk/sites/files/climate/documents/2020-06/Climate%20Action%20Plan%20for%20councils%20June%202020.pdf

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Has Council considered using the "Climate Action Plan for Councils" published by Friends of the Earth as an aid to the Covid recovery programme?  The guide aims to create a green, fair, equitable recovery whilst also taking into account the Climate and Ecological Emergency.  It contains 46 recommendations relevant to Wales.

please see:- 

 https://climate.friendsoftheearth.uk/sites/files/climate/documents/2020-06/Climate%20Action%20Plan%20for%20councils%20June%202020.pdf

 

Response by Councillor Cefin Campbell, Executive Board Member for Communities and Rural Affairs:-

“Thank you Celia for your question and yes, absolutely, we are aware of the Friends of the Earth document which you refer to in your question and we are already giving this consideration but, we are also looking at other approaches as well outlined in other documents, in our own Net Zero carbon document and the COVID-19 recovery programme that we are working on at the moment and we are about to publish in the next week or two. There is another document as well which doubtless you are aware of which is the ‘Public Sector Net Zero Carbon Route Map’ which is currently being developed by the Local Government Decarbonisation Strategy Panel as a high-level thematic framework. Now, where possible, we propose to use this Route Map to help guide our approach. It should be noted that some of the Targets in this Route Map are particularly challenging for us and other local authorities as well, and appropriate Actions are currently being discussed with the relevant Lead Officers for incorporation into our Net Zero Carbon Plan.

 

So what we have is an array of documents, all with different route maps and ideas and what we hope to do is pick and choose some of the ideas and recommendations in there that are most appropriate to Carmarthenshire. In particular, given that we are facing huge economic challenges moving forward, social challenges, environmental challenges as well as a result of Covid, the Council are, as I mentioned about to publish a draft economic recovery and delivery plan which identifies some 30 actions to support the Carmarthenshire economy and that addresses the impacts of COVID and Brexit as well I may add.  It sets out our priorities for supporting Business, People and Place. At the heart of it you will obviously understand that we are looking to create a more equal, greener, healthier, and more sustainable community within Carmarthenshire.

 

So that, I hope answers your question. Yes, we are aware of the document but, we’re also aware of other relevant documents as well.

 

Ms Strange asked the following supplementary question:-

“As suggested in my question about 46 of the 50 Friends of the Earth recommendations are relevant to Wales and I’ve picked up just two of these and combined them. Will the Council produce a Nature and Eco system restoration plan to reverse and restore habitat species and eco system quality and function to include management of council owned land and road verges?

Councillor Campbell responded as follows:-

“Yes, we are doing a lot of work on conservation and biodiversity. We have a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.5

8.6

QUESTION BY DR T. LAXTON TO COUNCILLOR C. CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER FOR COMMUNITIES AND RURAL AFFAIRS

“I have been dismayed by the apparent backsliding on the commitment for the Pension Fund to divest from investment in fossil fuels:

 

Can you please tell me how much has been invested in the Councils’ fleet of vehicles since the declaration of the Climate Emergency and how much of this has been for electric or other non-fossil fuel vehicles?  Can you reassure me that with Council vehicles at least, great progress has been made and we are not being left behind other Councils such as Swansea, and also, much of Europe.”

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“I have been dismayed by the apparent backsliding on the commitment for the Pension Fund to divest from investment in fossil fuels:

 

Can you please tell me how much has been invested in the Councils’ fleet of vehicles since the declaration of the Climate Emergency and how much of this has been for electric or other non-fossil fuel vehicles?  Can you reassure me that with Council vehicles at least, great progress has been made and we are not being left behind other Councils such as Swansea, and also, much of Europe.

 

Response by Councillor Cefin Campbell, Executive Board Member for Communities and Rural Affairs:-

“Thank you Dr Laxton for your question. I’m not quite sure whether I agree fully with the opening comment about backsliding on the commitment of the pension fund. I’ve already given a comprehensive answer on that which shows that we are moving in the right direction and have made great strides over the last three years in divesting away from fossil fuels. But, I do acknowledge there’s a way to go again.

 

So, in terms of fleet replacement, we have a rolling five-year programme and by the end of this month the authority will have purchased an additional four ultra-low emission vehicles which, basically are electric pool cars. By the end of 2021/22 we will also conclude a review of the Fleet Replacement strategy which will include an assessment of the supply market for Ultra Low Emission Vehicles. In addition to this, we’ve included an action in the Transport business plan to update the Council’s Fleet Strategy in order to reduce the level of Carbon and Nitrogen Dioxide emissions from our transport operations over the next five years. The way we’re hoping to achieve this is by reducing fossil fuel use by introducing alternative powered ULEV vehicles and also procure more vehicles and plant using whole of life costings for procurement. I have a long list here that I can add to but, I’m aware of the time so what I could do is send you this whole list of the Actions in the Transport Business Plan that we are currently looking at. So, hopefully, we can invest more on ELV vehicles as we move forward and you will remember that we were the first local authority in Wales to introduce electric pool cars back in 2012 and, just as an additional bit of information over the last 6 years we’ve reduced the number of miles travelled by our staff in private vehicles by over 1.3 million miles per annum. So, that’s quite an achievement but, again, I’m not complacent we have a long way to go. I hope that answers your question.

 

Dr Laxton asked the following supplementary question:-

“I am very re-assured to see that much is being done and I was pleased to see the installation of solar panels for example on the leisure centre roof down in Johnstown. I’m sure that you are aware that electric vehicles are not the only  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.6

9.

QUESTIONS BY MEMBERS (NONE RECEIVED)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair advised that no questions from Members had been received.

 

10.

MINUTES FOR INFORMATION (AVAILABLE TO VIEW ON THE WEBSITE)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair stated that the minutes outlined on the agenda 10.1 – 10.7 were available for information on the Council website.

 

 

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