Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendation.

The Head of Finance presented details of the Provisional Welsh Local Government Settlement for 2013/14 which had been recently announced and circulated a copy of the Council’s response.  The final settlement date had been delayed until 11 December 2012 to follow the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 5 December.

The Head of Finance said that the Settlement figure had been in line with expectations, affected slightly by the all Wales ‘top slice’ of £10m for collaboration opportunities.  There was ongoing debate on whether the Council Tax Support Scheme amount would be dealt with as part of the Settlement or via a specific grant, with the preferred solution from local government to receive this at least for the first year via a grant.  The Leader of the Council said that clarity would be sought on specific grants to enable planning.

The Chief Executive commented on the protection for education and social services funding as Welsh Government policy and its implications for the sustainability of Council budgets.

RESOLVED:

That the details of the Welsh Local Government Provisional Settlement 2013/14 and the Council’s response be noted.