Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2017.

That subject to the amendments from Councillor Woolley, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The minutes of the meeting of 21 September 2017 were submitted.

Councillor Arnold Woolley commented on the availability of agendas as early as possible to allow Members to contribute fully to the meeting.  The Democratic Services Manager explained that whilst it had not been possible to meet the postal deadline in this instance, the agenda had been published online within the statutory deadline which provided for three clear working days’ notice.

On minute number 21, Councillor Richard Jones pointed out that his concerns were reflected in the minutes but that his additional resolution was not.  He said that his proposal ‘to ensure the infrastructure support for each of Flintshire’s towns is equitable’ had been unanimously supported by the Committee.  He said that there was also no mention of this on the subsequent Cabinet report which led him to question whether his comments had been considered by Cabinet.

Whilst Councillor Aaron Shotton agreed with equitable investment across all areas, this was not practical to achieve as grant funding was subject to conditions only met by certain areas, for example Vibrant & Viable Places funding.  He recalled that the Committee had accepted this explanation at the meeting.

The Chief Executive said that the explanation given was reflected in the minutes and that the Plan could not contain commitments that were not viable.  He confirmed that Councillor Jones’ concerns had been verbally reported to both Cabinet and County Council and that the accuracy of the minutes was a matter for the Committee to determine.

Following a query by Councillor Heesom, it was confirmed that the Member briefing on the North Wales Growth Deal would be held before Christmas.  Councillor Shotton said that the briefing would help to explain the strategic nature and economic benefits to the whole of Flintshire.

Councillor Jones explained that the aim of his additional resolution was to raise the matter for debate and challenge, and to consider opportunities for other sources of funding which may become available, to benefit areas which did not fulfil the criteria for grant aid.

Councillor Woolley proposed that the minutes be amended to reflect Councillor Jones’ additional resolution, which was duly seconded.  On being put the vote, the amendment was lost.

On minute numbers 21 and 22, Councillor Woolley highlighted a number of typographical errors.

RESOLVED:

That subject to the amendments from Councillor Woolley, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(a)       That the Committee is assured by the update; and

(b)       That the Committee receives future reports on the preparedness of the Council to plan for emergencies and specific follow-up reports to any major local or regional emergency events to which the Council has had to respond.

The Chief Executive introduced an update on regional emergency planning arrangements and invited the Regional Manager to give a presentation covering the following areas:

·         Background

·         Service overview

·         Regional activity

·         Flintshire overview

·         Recent Flintshire activity

·         Future activity

The fully integrated regional service was hosted by Flintshire and linked to the Local Resilience Forum comprising Category 1 and 2 responders, hosted by North Wales Police.  The cost efficient and resilient model operated by the service was unique in Wales and was viewed as good practice by other regions.  An update was given on regional activities to strengthen arrangements, together with progress on the Council’s own internal arrangements including an overview of the Emergency Management Response Team.

In response to a query by Councillor Patrick Heesom, the Regional Manager explained that work was risk-led and he agreed to speak with Councillor Heesom separately on contingency arrangements for the classified industrial site in Mostyn. He also spoke about the opportunity to offer commercial resilience services to businesses.

Councillor Arnold Woolley referred to the failure of the telephone system to cope with demand during recent bad weather and asked about preventative steps.  The Chief Executive shared the concerns about this temporary fault and gave assurance that follow-up actions were being taken.  He said that business continuity plans were tested and would provide more information at a later date.

The Regional Manager and Chief Executive provided clarification to Councillor Haydn Bateman on alarm testing procedures and communication arrangements for the nearby Synthite factory classified site.

On questions from Councillors Paul Cunningham and Paul Johnson, explanation was given on the approach to testing procedures and arrangements with Network Rail as a Category 2 responder.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee is assured by the update; and

(b)       That the Committee receives future reports on the preparedness of the Council to plan for emergencies and specific follow-up reports to any major local or regional emergency events to which the Council has had to respond.

To provide the Committee with the current financial forecast position for 2018/19 and consult on the Stage 1 Council Fund Revenue budget proposals for 2018/19.

That the Committee notes the Stage One budget proposals and financial pressures, and the proposed savings as follows:

·         Records Management - reduction in the amount of records in storage -£0.010m.

·         Customer Services - new service models to deliver customer access through digital would return an efficiency of £0.050m.

·         Flintshire Connects - options to change the delivery of the Connects service could deliver a range of savings between £0.056m and £0.112m depending on the option chosen.

·         Registration Services - additional income from charging for declaration of births would deliver an additional £0.012m.

The Chief Executive introduced the report setting out the current financial forecast position for 2018/19 to seek views on Stage 1 of the Council Fund revenue budget proposals.  Budget options for each service portfolio had been considered by the respective Overview & Scrutiny Committees, noting that the Welsh Government (WG) announcement of the Provisional Local Government Settlement was a key variable in the financial forecast.

A briefing note by officers on the outcome of the Settlement announcement was shared, together with information issued by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA).

Discussions during the budget process had generated widespread concerns about the impact of further reductions on service resilience, as indicated by risk assessment levels.  Budget efficiency options totalling around £3m had raised no objections, with the exception of a £35K efficiency for the Music Service for a new service model which was still under development.

The Chief Officer (Governance) gave a summary of the efficiencies achieved in his portfolio, noting that some elements of the budget were outside the control of the Council.  The vast majority of planned efficiencies had already been delivered which meant that further savings posed a risk to operating levels.  The benchmarking information demonstrated that services were operating at either the same or below average cost of peer authorities.

The Senior Manager, Human Resources & Organisational Development advised that efficiencies in her portfolio were mainly a result of major restructuring which left the service operating at optimal level.  There was a risk that further efficiencies would affect the ability of the service to meet the needs of a large-scale workforce.

The Finance Manager, Corporate Accounting & Systems reported that having achieved most of the planned efficiencies through structural changes and new software, work was ongoing to deliver the remaining £200K.  Demand on the service was high, particularly in view of the changing financial position of the Council.

The Finance Manager, Community Services provided an overview of efficiencies delivered in Customer Services, Revenues & Benefits and Welfare Rights, mainly generated through the Flintshire Connects service.  She spoke about the development of digital services for customer access and improvement in the Registration Service which was performing well against national key performance indicators.

Officers were undertaking detailed analysis of the outcome of the settlement and were awaiting information on specific grants.  Following the initial forecast position of a £11.7m projected gap, the reduction of 0.9% in funding would increase the budget gap by £1.9m including new responsibilities for homelessness duties as an additional pressure.  It was also predicted that a further pressure on national non-domestic rates (NNDR) was likely to have a net impact of £64K.  On the summary of inflation, the projected increase in gas charges was being reviewed, following a challenge.  The only new efficiency for Corporate Services was £0.010m in Records Management.

Councillor Richard Jones asked whether the benefits of the Council collecting NNDR was outweighed by the resources required to do this.  The Chief Executive explained that the performance of individual councils on collection targets affected the redistribution of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

It was agreed to consider the latest Revenue Budget Monitoring report as the next item.

In view of time constraints, Councillor Patrick Heesom proposed that the item on Flintshire Public Services Board be deferred to the next meeting.  The Chief Executive advised that the report was due to be considered by Cabinet prior to public consultation and that Members should forward any observations to officers.  The remainder of the items would be considered in the order shown on the agenda.

That the Committee notes the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2017/18 (Month 5) report and confirms that there are no issues to be brought to the attention of the Cabinet.

The Finance Manager introduced a report on the revenue budget monitoring position for 2017/18 as at Month 5 for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) prior to consideration by Cabinet.

On the Council Fund, the net in-year position was forecast to be £1.348m higher than budget, which was a slight increase from Month 4.  Projected variances were summarised for each portfolio and the monitoring of in-year risks included assessment of new emerging risks to determine the impact on 2018/19.  It was estimated that 92% of planned efficiencies would be achieved and a balance of £3.734m of contingency reserves held by year end.

On the HRA, in-year spend was projected to be £0.026m lower than budget, leaving a year end balance of £1.090m which was above the recommended minimum level.

In response to a query from Councillor Richard Jones, the Chief Executive provided explanation on recurring funding from the Intermediate Care Fund (ICF) which was a new issue for the budget due to late confirmation.  As part of Stage 2 of the 2018/19 budget process, Members’ support would be sought to request that this funding be ring-fenced.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee notes the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2017/18 (Month 5) report and confirms that there are no issues to be brought to the attention of the Cabinet.

(a)       That the Committee is assured that work is being undertaken to comply with the Welsh Language Standards;

(b)       That the Welsh in the Workplace Policy be noted; and

(c)       That the Committee receives annual reports on work carried out to meet the Welsh Language Standards.

The Chief Executive presented the draft Welsh in the Workplace Policy prior to seeking adoption by Cabinet.  The commitments in the policy reflected the requirements for compliance with the Welsh Language Standards and were proportionate to Flintshire.

No comments were received, however Members were able to submit observations by email to the Chief Executive prior to consideration by Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee is assured that work is being undertaken to comply with the Welsh Language Standards;

(b)       That the Welsh in the Workplace Policy be noted; and

(c)       That the Committee receives annual reports on work carried out to meet the Welsh Language Standards.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme as submitted, be approved with the amendment; and

(b)       That the Democratic Services Manager, in consultation with the Chairman, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, should this be necessary.

The Democratic Services Manager advised that the deferred item on Flintshire Public Services Board review and Well-being Plan Development would be included for the next meeting.  No further changes were made.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme as submitted, be approved with the amendment; and

(b)       That the Democratic Services Manager, in consultation with the Chairman, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, should this be necessary.

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting as the following item was considered to be exempt by virtue of paragraph 15 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting as the following item was considered to be exempt by virtue of paragraph 15 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

(a)       That the Committee supports the appointment of a pool of suppliers on a two year contract that will ensure the Council obtains the most economically advantageous terms for its colour printing service and has no comments to refer to Cabinet; and

(b)       That, in light of the reducing demand for print services, the Committee supports the revision of the Digital Print service and the interim establishment structure as shown.

The Chief Officer (Governance) presented a report to seek views on proposed changes as a result of a decline in demand for print services.  Following detailed analysis of the service, a joint competitive exercise had been carried out with Denbighshire Council for a replacement print contract.  The report summarised proposed future arrangements supported by structural changes on which teams had been consulted.

The Chief Officer provided clarification on a range of issues such as cost comparison and efficiency of equipment.  During discussion about a previous incident, he agreed to provide a separate response on the costs involved.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee supports the appointment of a pool of suppliers on a two year contract that will ensure the Council obtains the most economically advantageous terms for its colour printing service and has no comments to refer to Cabinet; and

(b)       That, in light of the reducing demand for print services, the Committee supports the revision of the Digital Print service and the interim establishment structure as shown.

There was one member of the press in attendance.