Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Nicholas.

There were no declarations of party whips.  

No public questions had been received.  

[NOTE: Cllrs. A. Evans, K. Madge and M.J.A. Lewis having earlier declared an interest in this item, remained in the meeting for its consideration.]

The Cabinet Member for Resources presented the Authority’s Corporate Budget Monitoring Report and the Chief Executive’s and Corporate Services departmental reports as at 28 February 2023 in respect of the 2022/23 financial year. The report also included an appendix which detailed the Savings Monitoring report for 2022-23.

Overall, the monitoring report forecast an overspend for the year at departmental level of £6.159m with a forecast underspend on the Authority’s net revenue budget of £470k.

Amongst the issues and queries raised on the report were the following:

• The Media and Marketing Manager, in response to a query regarding contact centre vacancies, stated that some vacancies had recently been filled, with the newly appointed members of staff currently undergoing a period of training.  It was further reported that following a change in processes within the section, response times at customer contact centres had improved significantly; nevertheless, capacity and resilience to meet demand in the busier winter months was a priority for the section going forward.  The Media and Marketing Manager also provided Committee with an update on the divisional realignment, which was expected to be implemented by mid-July.

• In response to a query the Cabinet Member for Resources assured the Committee that the Cabinet would be considering the issue of county farms and further information would be available to members in due course. The Head of Financial Services confirmed that, in response to a change to Welsh Government legislation, Council had allocated monies for slurry infrastructure within its budget for 2023/24.

• In response to concerns raised regarding the over expenditure in respect of coroner’s fees, the Head of Financial Services provided an assurance that this matter was under review to establish whether a budgetary pressure would be identified for the 2024/25 Council budget.

• Reference was made to the Commercial Properties portfolio whereby the Cabinet Member for Resources confirmed that external funding opportunities were being explored in line with the authority’s capital budget, and in this regard a synopsis of the Ten Towns regeneration initiative was provided to the Committee which sought to support economic recovery and growth of rural towns across the county.  In respect of under-utilised buildings as a result of increased agile working, an assurance was provided that the council’s estate was kept under review to ensure optimum return on investment.

• Concerns were raised in respect of the reliance on agency workers, particularly within the social services division as a result of the national recruitment crisis.  An assurance was provided that the authority was looking to develop its own workforce in this area by way of the academy training initiative; it was however acknowledged this would take some time.

·       In terms of the continued income shortfall at the leisure/sports centres attributable to the drop in attendances, it was noted that the deficit was decreasing and the Committee was pleased to note that membership figures had returned  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Committee received for consideration the Corporate Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee Annual Report which detailed the work undertaken by the Committee during the 2022/23 municipal year. The report had been prepared in accordance with Article 6.2 of the Council’s Constitution and provided an overview of the work programme and key issues addressed, whilst also incorporating any issues referred to, or from, the Cabinet, Task and Finish reviews, development sessions and member attendance.

Reference was made to a typographical correction to page 2, paragraph 2 of the report which would be updated to reflect that the committee had convened in October 2022.

A member commented that the attendance levels of some committee members was considered to be unacceptable due to meetings being convened with the option of attending in person or remotely via Zoom.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be endorsed, subject to a typographical amendment to be made to page 2, paragraph 2 of the report.

The Committee received a report which detailed the progress achieved in relation to requests or referrals emerging from previous meetings of the Corporate Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee during the 2023/24 municipal year.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 3^rd May 2023 be signed as a correct record.