Agenda item

Welsh Local Government Provisional Settlement 2017/18

Purpose:       To advise council of the details of the Welsh Local Government Provisional Settlement and the impact on the 2017/18 budget.  

Decision:

(a)       That the Provisional Settlement be noted;

 

(b)       That the impact on the budget for 201718, as set out in the agenda item on the Council Fund Budget 2017/18 - Stage 1 and 2, be noted;  and

 

(c)        That the comments raised by Members be included in the Council response to the WG on the Provisional Settlement consultation.

 

 

Minutes:

The Chief Executive introduced the report to provide a summary of the Provisional Welsh Local Government Financial Settlement announced as part of the Welsh Government budget for 2017/18.   He advised that the figures were provisional at this stage and the Final Settlement was expected on 21 December 2016. Consultation on the provisional settlement was open until 30 November 2016.  The Chief Executive explained that he and the Leader would produce a formal  response to the Welsh Government (WG) on the Provisional Settlement  consultation.

 

The Chief Executive provided background information and context and commented on the slight increase in funding which had been made to the Welsh Government budget and the significant  priority and investment which had been given to the NHS in Wales which included funding for winter pressures and additional funding to support the Health Boards in deficit. He also commented on the Council’s  campaign for an improved settlement than that forecasted and had pressed for a ‘flat line’ or ‘cash flat’ settlement for 2017/18 with no reduction in core grant, and the collective local government case on cost pressures with specific emphasis on social services. He reported that Welsh Government Ministers had listened to the cases put forward and there had been some positive improvement to the Settlement, however, the pressures continued in social care and workforce costs.  

 

            The Chief Executive gave a presentation which covered the following areas:

 

·         Welsh Government Budget

·         State of the Nation

·         Local Impacts of the Settlement

·         The Flintshire Case

·         Responding to the Consultation

 

Councillor Aaron Shotton thanked the Chief Executive for his presentation and the information on the impacts of the draft provisional local government settlement.  He said the purpose was to keep Members fully informed of the impact of the Settlement and to formulate the Council’s consultation response to Welsh Government (WG).  He took the opportunity to thank all Members, Council employees, and members of the community who had given their assistance and support to the lobbying case for funding to the WG.   He spoke of the Council’s consistent and resolute stance in not accepting austerity and passport cuts year on year  to front line services.  He advised that service business plans were now  ‘maxed out’ in terms of the efficiencies that could be found and therefore the broadly ‘flat lined’ Settlement which had brought some improvement to Flintshire’s forecasted position was welcomed and to be acknowledged in the consultation response. Councillor Shotton  emphasised the need for the Council to continue to be consistent in its ‘asks’ to the WG for assistance specifically social care.

 

Councillor Shotton thanked Members for their attendance at the recent public engagement events which had been held across Flintshire and spoke of the public responses which had indicated support for the Council’s lobbying case to both  the National and Welsh Government for some relief to protect front line services and a change in the national fiscal policy.  He commented on the need for a fair funding formula and said  that whilst Flintshire had the 6th largest population in Wales it was 19th out of 22 local authorities in terms of its funding position by the WG.  He continued that Flintshire was a low funded Council per capita.  He asked Members to support the proposals and feed any further concerns they had into the final consultation response to the WG.

 

Councillor Kevin Jones referred to the Single Environment Gant.  He explained that during a recent meeting  with  the Minister and Welsh Local Government Association he had been informed that there would be a 6.7% to 6.8% reduction in the grant.  He explained that the grant, which  had previously been the  Waste Management Strategic  Grant,  had suffered significant cuts  for a number of years  and he had previously expressed fears that failure to incorporate the grant  within the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) would leave it susceptible to further cuts.  He said he had been particularly concerned that it had been announced as a Single Environment Grant. He explained that a number of areas of work which had previously been undertaken by the Environment Agency and had since been incorporated into a new body, had left a number of elements of work to be passported to local authorities.  At a further meeting he had been informed of proposed further reductions (50%) to section environment grants and waste management grants and that from next year any capital that may be available for grant aid from the WG would  be concentrated on flood risk management.  He commented on the significant cost of flood management and schemes and said that the majority of funding available would be used for this purpose and leave little to continue the work for waste management and recycling charges. He advised that Flintshire had made good progress on waste and recycling management and commented on the efficiencies, improvements, and continued investment that had been achieved in the service to date.  He asked that his concerns around any further  proposed cuts in funding to the grant be included in the consultation response to the Welsh Government.

 

                Councillor Mike Peers concurred with the views expressed by Councillor Aaron Shotton concerning the disparity between what local authorities received under the current funding formula system for local government.  He also commented on the need to question how the WG managed its funding from national government and whether  some WG capital/infrastructure plans could be deferred in view of the present levels of austerity being imposed on local government.

 

Councillor Richard Jones emphasised that although Flintshire had received a 0.1% increase in the Provisional Settlement this was the Welsh average, and expressed the view that the WG had not yet accepted the case that Flintshire was a low funded Council.  He commented on the amount of funding which had been  passported by the WG to support the NHS.  The Chief Executive commented that the Council had achieved the objective of a ‘flat-line’ Settlement, and on the need to continue to lobby the case on the funding formula and how it was distributed to local government.

 

Councillor Gareth Roberts suggested that the Council might wish to consider the merits of introducing a scheme of local income tax which he felt was a fairer system of raising local government funding and would be simple to implement. 

 

Councillor Paul Shotton commented on the impact of the Settlement on the Communities First programme.  He suggested that the work of the Communities First team be recognised by the Council and spoke of the help and support given by Communities First to entrepreneurial projects. 

 

The Chief Executive advised that the written response to the consultation which would be produced by himself and the Leader, would be shared with Members for reference.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)       That the Provisional Settlement be noted;

 

(b)       That the impact on the budget for 201718, as set out in the agenda item on the Council Fund Budget 2017/18 - Stage 1 and 2, be noted;  and

 

(c)        That the comments raised by Members be included in the Council response to the WG on the Provisional Settlement consultation.

 

 

Supporting documents: