Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence received.

There were no declarations of any prohibited party whips.

There were no declarations of interest made.

No public questions had been received. 

The Committee considered the Council’s draft Annual Report for the period 2023/24 which had been produced to meet the relevant provisions within the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Local Government and Elections Act (Wales) 2021. 

The Annual Report was based on the Council’s four Well-being Objectives as outlined in the Corporate Strategy for 2022-27. The reporting structure had been refined to ensure a seamless alignment between the Corporate Strategy and how the Council reported on its progress, thereby placing greater emphasis on an outcome-focussed approach to performance management. 

Consideration was given to the information detailed within the Annual Report in respect of the well-being objectives and thematic and service priorities relevant to the remit of the Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee. 

The observations raised by the Committee were addressed as follows:-

·       The Committee commended the report which reflected the range and breadth of the council’s activities undertaken during a very challenging economic climate.

·       It was asked if there was comparative data for looked after children in Wales, with a consideration of its impact on the budget. The Corporate Policy and Partnership Manager advised that the information would be provided following the meeting.

·       In response to a query regarding the statistics between households in poverty and an increase to gross earnings, the Corporate Policy and Partnership Manager advised that this data was being examined, as there was a shift on types of employment within the County.

·       It was highlighted that the introduction of Universal Provision of Free School Meals across primary schools negated the incentive for families to apply for Free School Meal status which adversely impacted upon the level of funding accessible to schools by way of the Pupil Development Grant.  Endeavours were being made to raise awareness of the benefits of families to apply for Free School Meal status.  The committee commended the help that staff at the HWB’s provided to residents in applying for free school meals.  The Leader assured that this issue would be addressed in the upcoming meeting with Welsh Government officials.

·       In response to a query on the impact of the budget for looked after children, the Leader emphasized that all relevant information was included within the Director’s annual report and Carmarthenshire was sharing its best practices to roll out across Wales.

·       In response to a query regarding data on the reported higher business closures within the county, the Corporate Policy and Partnership Manager advised that the information would be provided following the meeting.

·       In response to a query on the flood and water management plan, the Leader informed that the flood strategy was being presented to Cabinet later this month.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received. 

The Committee considered the Authority’s 2023/24 Corporate Budget Outturn reports and the Chief Executive and Corporate Services departmental reports.  Overall, the net position for the authority was an overspend of £755K.

The Cabinet Member for Resources informed that the overspend was due to a combination of:

-          Nationally set pay awards above budgeted levels, accounting for £3m overspend across all departments

-          Increased expenditure in adult social care to meet pent up demand as recruitment pressures have eased a little across the sector.

-          Persistent overspends in service areas where budget reductions have been implemented, but challenges in delivery have made it impossible to keep pace with the level of savings required.  Monitoring indicates £1.4m of departmental savings undelivered for 2023/24 and a further £0.6m carried forward from the previous year.

-          Significant overspends in Children’s Services, driven by increased levels of demand combined with complexity, not seen before the pandemic.  There has been a higher number an increased cost of residential placements, increased agency costs and increased support for children with disabilities.

Corporate Performance and Resources Services showed a net variance of

-£3,890k against the 2023/24 approved budget.

It noted that, at year end, managerial savings of £866k, against a target of £1,046k were delivered.

The comments/observations raised were responded to as follows:-

·       In response to a query on bank charges, the Head of Financial Services clarified that the charge was for card charges, rather than bank contracts.  The Head of Financial Services informed the committee that information would be provided following the meeting.

·       A query was raised on the overall staff agency costs. The Transformation Manager responded by informing that the authority currently had an

in-house pilot programme within the Communities department.  This pilot programme had proven to be successful, and the authority was now considering developing business cases to support its implementation in other parts of the organisation.

·       In response to a query on national insurance and pay awards, the Head of Financial Services stated that the authority is currently unclear about the assistance available for funding.

·       In response to a query, the Head of Financial Services confirmed that a response would be provided following the meeting, as to why there was an increase in the number of cases being referred to the coroner in general.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Committee considered the Authority’s Corporate Budget Monitoring Report 2024/25 and the Chief Executive’s and Corporate Services departmental reports as at 30^th June 2024 in respect of the 2024/25 financial year.

The monitoring report forecasted an end of year overspend of £9.6m on the

Authority’s net revenue budget, with an overspend at departmental level of £17.9m including school budgets. 

The comments/observations raised were responded to as follows:-

·       In response to a query regarding the vacancy factors, the Head of Financial Services informed that the vacancy was applied across the services corporately.

·       In response to a query regarding staff vacancies within the IT department, the Chief Digital Officer stated that there had been a realignment within the IT department.  The authority faced ongoing challenges in taking the authority forward, due to budgetary cuts. By further investing in staff and upskilling, services can improve.

·       Concerns were made regarding the school budgets being in deficit and clarification was sought.  The Head of Financial Services acknowledged that this was of serious concern and that a letter had been sent to all schools within the County, urging action to review their forecasts.  The Cabinet member for Resources stated that officers were currently working with schools, to see what can be done to help. There is a duty on every school to ensure that they are run as efficiently as possible. The Committee agreed to refer their concerns to the Education, Young People & The Welsh Language Scrutiny formally.

·       In response to a query regarding an overspend on school transport, the Head of Financial Services stated that this was attributed to rising tender prices, which was a budget pressure.  The committee acknowledged that the increase in number of operational days, was a result of the Easter holiday period.

·       In response to a query on the overspend on school meals, the Head of Economic Development and Property indicated that the financial support from Welsh Government was not sufficient to cover expenditure.  The authority is exploring alternative operational strategies and is also focused on resolving staffing challenges. 

·       A request was made for an update regarding Ty Elwyn.  The Head of Economic Development and Property stated that information would be provided following the meeting.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that :

6.1 the report be received.

6.2 the Scrutiny Committee refer their concerns to the Education, Young People & The Welsh Language Scrutiny formally.

The Committee received for consideration the Annual Treasury Management and Prudential Indicator Report 2023-24 as presented by the Cabinet Member for Resources.

The report listed the activities that took place in 2023-2024 under the headings of:

·      Investments

·      Borrowing

·      Security, Liquidity and Yield

·      Treasury Management Prudential Indicators

·      Prudential Indicators

·      Liability Benchmark

·      Leasing

·      Rescheduling

The following issues and queries were raised on the report:

·       In response to a query on the loans borrowed to fund the capital programme, the Head of Financial Services stated that he would provide information outside of the meeting.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Annual Treasury Management and Prudential Indicator Report for 2023-24 be received.

The Committee considered the Treasury Management and Prudential Indicator Report 1^st April 2024 to 30^th June, 2024 update.

The Treasury report listed the treasury management activities which had occurred during the period 1^st April, 2024 to 30^th June, 2024 in line with the Treasury Management Policy and Strategy 2024-2025.  The report indicated that gross interest earned on investments for the period amounted to £2.43m and interest paid on loans was £0.92m.

The Committee noted that the Authority had not breached any of its Prudential Indicators during the period.

RESOLVED that the report be received. 

The Committee considered a report which provided a progress update for the end of Quarter 1 – 2024/25, of Actions and Measures linked to the Corporate Strategy and Well-being objectives.

The comments/observations raised were responded to as follows:-

·       In response to a query regarding the increase in short term sickness, the Transformation Manager informed that a full report would be provided to the committee at the next Scrutiny Meeting.

·       The committee praised the Occupational Health Services staff and acknowledged that the recent office visit provided valuable insights.

·       In response to a query regarding the Council tax target not being achieved in the first quarter, the Head of Revenues and Financial Compliance stated that there was no obvious reason for the shortfall.  The committee acknowledged that the target had improved in the second quarter and the target was now on track.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received. 

The Committee considered the Council’s Complaints Annual Report 2023-24, which provided details on the Corporate and Social Services complaints process, as well as data on complaints/compliments received during 2023-24.

The Corporate Complaints Policy has been developed in line with the Complaints Standards Authority – Wales, “Concerns and Complaints Policy for Public Services Providers in Wales”.  The Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) Regulations 2014, sets out the procedure for handling complaints about Social Services issues in Wales.

The following queries were raised on the report:

·       The committee commended the officers for the report and work that had been undertaken.

·       It was noted that waste services complaints had increased in the previous financial year, primarily due to a change in the collection service. However, in the current financial year, these complaints have started to decrease.

·       In response to a query on the communication process with residents concerning complaints, the Corporate Policy & Partnership Manager stated that the authority was exploring ways to improve this aspect and are in constant dialogue with the relevant departments.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Committee received the minutes of the meeting of the Carmarthenshire Public Services Board [PSB] held on the 14^th May, 2024.The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 required that a designated local government scrutiny committee was appointed to scrutinise the work of the PSB. In Carmarthenshire, the Council’s Policy & Resources Scrutiny Committee had been designated as the relevant scrutiny committee.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the PSB meeting held on the 14^th May, 2024be received.

The Committee received a list of forthcoming items to be considered at its next meeting to be held on the 18^th December 2024. 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on the 18^thDecember 2024 be noted. 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 9^th July, 2024 be signed as a correct record.