“With admin staff being moved from Glanaman depot to Llanelli over the last few weeks. And other staff being run down, can you reassure me and the Council that the Glanaman Depot is safe under this Plaid led administration”.
Minutes:
“With admin staff being moved from Glanaman depot to Llanelli over the last few weeks. And other staff being run down, can you reassure me and the Council that the Glanaman Depot is safe under this Plaid led administration”.
Response by Councillor David Jenkins – Executive Board Member for Resources:-
Thank you for your question which I will respond to in the following manner:
You will know, as a former leader of the Council that it is for the current administration to set the vision for the County’s direction of travel in terms of its medium to long term future.
We, as an administration, have clearly stated that economic growth and protection of front line services is high on our agenda.
We have a £290 million capital program in place for the next 5 years and, in addition to that, what we will gain from the Swansea City Deal programme and therefore we are well on the track to meeting our first priority.
In terms of meeting our second priority, that is protection of front line service delivery, we are faced with a severe set of challenges due, in the main, to the reduction in funding we get from Welsh Government. At present, we are working on a best guess estimate of a 2% reduction in the RSG which equates to a £5million cut to our available funds and add to this other validation factors such as a potential 2% increase to our wage bill, inflation and other economic impacts we anticipate that when all these factors are taken into account we will be looking to make up a £12million shortfall in next year’s budget. And I’ll go on to say that we’re also expecting a similar amount in the following year and the following year so, we’re looking at £36m of cuts over the next three years
Faced with this problem Departments are being asked to put forward operational/management saving proposals to collectively try and meet this short fall. There has been talk for some time now within the Environment Department of Depot Rationalisation whereby service provision could be delivered from a reduced number of depots which would lead to more efficient use of labour, plant & machinery thereby saving money. In addition, the land and buildings freed up by this arrangement could then become available for alternative uses which could either generate revenue streams, capital receipts or other employment opportunities.
If officers bring forward a business case to the Executive Board which demonstrates that substantial savings could be made by adopting this proposal we, as Executive Board Members would have to seriously consider what is placed before us. And if after due deliberation of all the pros and cons of the proposal it was decided to approve the plans then that decision could possibly lead to the closure of one or more of the existing service depots.
At present this is a hypothetical scenario but it could become a reality, therefore I am unable, at present, to give you the assurance that you are seeking in your question.
Councillor Madge asked the following supplementary question:-
In recent months the litter pickers have been retiring in the Glanamman Depot, they are not being replaced, and for the last 15 years there has been excellent litter pickups right through the valley. You can go everywhere now there’s litter everywhere so, my question to you. Every job counts in our area and it’s obvious that litter pickers are not being replaced and the service is going down the drain and so I ask you do you recognise that?
Response by Councillor David Jenkins, Executive Board Member for Resources:-
I don’t understand if members understand that we are facing a hard heading as we used to call it down the mines that these decisions are having to be made in the light of the money being made available to us and Service Heads and Directors are having to look for economies within their budgets to try and meet these shortfalls and efficiencies are being sought, new ways of working are being sought. We’re looking outside the box, inside the box, we’re looking anywhere and everywhere to achieve the savings required to provide a balanced budget at the budget setting process. So, that’s where we are.