Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

None.

None.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting on 12 December 2024.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2024 be approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2024 be approved as a correct record.

To inform the Committee of progress against actions from previous meetings.

That the Committee notes the progress which has been made.

The Democratic Services Manager presented a report (agenda item 4) on progress with actions from previous meetings and advised that the request for costs for transferring leisure and library services would be incorporated into revenue budget monitoring reports.

In addition to the outstanding actions, he would follow up the request for the annual presentation on the work of the North Wales Coroner.

On that basis, the recommendation was supported.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee notes the progress which has been made.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be approved, and

(b)       That the Democratic Services Manager, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises.

The Democratic Services Manager presented a report (agenda item 5) on the Committee’s current Forward Work Programme.  He agreed to check the Council Plan item scheduled for February to avoid duplication.

On that basis, the recommendations were supported.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be approved, and

(b)       That the Democratic Services Manager, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises.

(a)       That having considered the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget 2025/26 report, the comments made by the Committee be referred to Cabinet when it considers the report; and

(b)       That the Chair, Chief Executive and Leader of the Council write a joint letter to Welsh Government to strongly suggest that notification of multi-year indicative settlements would be welcomed by the Council and also by other councils to help plan ahead more effectively for future years.

The Corporate Finance Manager presented a report (agenda item 6) to update the Committee on the Council’s revenue budget position for the 2025/26 financial year including the implications from the Welsh Local Government Provisional Settlement.

During discussion, officers provided clarification on a range of questions, including scrutiny of final budget options prior to the Council meeting in February.

Councillor Coggins Cogan suggested that the Chair, Chief Executive and Leader of the Council write to Welsh Government to highlight the importance of indicative settlements for future years.  The amendment was moved by the Chair and seconded by Councillor Ibbotson.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That having considered the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget 2025/26 report, the comments made by the Committee be referred to Cabinet when it considers the report; and

(b)       That the Chair, Chief Executive and Leader of the Council write a joint letter to Welsh Government to strongly suggest that notification of multi-year indicative settlements would be welcomed by the Council and also by other councils to help plan ahead more effectively for future years.

That having considered the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2024/25 (month 8) report, the comments raised by the Committee be referred to Cabinet.

The Strategic Finance Manager presented the report (agenda item 7) on the 2024/25 month 8 position for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) prior to consideration by Cabinet.

Officers responded to questions raised on the report.  Councillor Coggins Cogan referred to the £0.098m underspend on free school meals and asked that the portfolio give consideration to utilising this to support free school meals during holiday periods.

On that basis, the recommendation in the report was supported.

RESOLVED:

That having considered the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2024/25 (month 8) report, the comments raised by the Committee be referred to Cabinet.

(a)       That the Committee notes the update on the current position regarding outstanding Continuing Health Care invoices raised by the Council for payment by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board; and

(b)       That the Chair write to Welsh Government to thank the Minister for his letter but to note that the response had not addressed the primary concerns of the original letter sent by the Council about the arbitration process and to seek his assistance on further support in moving that process forward.

The Senior Manager (Safeguarding and Commissioning) presented a report (agenda item 8) to update the Committee on current long-term debt with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) in respect of NHS Continuing Health Care packages in Flintshire.

The Chair queried some of the figures shown in the appendix and highlighted the need for accuracy.

During discussion on the letter appended to the report, Councillor Ibbotson proposed that the Chair write again to Jeremy Miles AS/MS to express the Committee’s disappointment with the initial response and to seek further support.  He was seconded by Councillor Coggins Cogan.

Following debate, the Democratic Services Manager summarised the points raised and on being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

It was also agreed that the Senior Manager and her colleague meet with the Chair to formulate the letter to reflect the comments made.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes the update on the current position regarding outstanding Continuing Health Care invoices raised by the Council for payment by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board; and

(b)       That the Chair write to Welsh Government to thank the Minister for his letter but to note that the response had not addressed the primary concerns of the original letter sent by the Council about the arbitration process and to seek his assistance on further support in moving that process forward.

(a)       That the Committee notes the Flintshire Local Area Energy Plan Main Report and Technical Report (Appendix 1 and 2 to the report), understanding that the LAEP actions assigned to Flintshire County Council are subject to securing and maintaining necessary funding;

(b)       That the Committee notes the content of The Coal Authority report ‘Flintshire County Council: Mine Water Heat Opportunities’ (Appendix 3) in conjunction with the Local Area Energy Plan; and

(c)       That the Committee anticipates or expects that hydrogen generation referenced in the LAEP report is green and that a response be sought from the Programme Manager on the feasibility of achieving this aim, with a report to come back to this Committee if this was not the case.

The Climate Change Project Officer presented a report (agenda item 9) to receive the finalised Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) and recommend endorsement to Cabinet.

Councillor Coggins Cogan highlighted some inaccuracies in the report.  On recommendation 1, his proposed amendment that the Committee note, rather than endorse the documents was seconded by Councillor Shallcross.

An additional recommendation was proposed by Councillor Coggins Cogan that the Committee anticipates or expects that hydrogen generation referred to in the report should be green to meet climate change objectives and that a response should be sought from the Programme Manager if there would be any difficulty in achieving this aim.  The Project Officer agreed to liaise with the Programme Manager on this.

Following the suggestion of a workshop on climate change, it was agreed that Councillor Allan Marshall discuss with the officers the potential brief for such a workshop, noting the forthcoming introductory workshops available to Members.

On that basis, the recommendations were supported.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes the Flintshire Local Area Energy Plan Main Report and Technical Report (Appendix 1 and 2 to the report), understanding that the LAEP actions assigned to Flintshire County Council are subject to securing and maintaining necessary funding;

(b)       That the Committee notes the content of The Coal Authority report ‘Flintshire County Council: Mine Water Heat Opportunities’ (Appendix 3) in conjunction with the Local Area Energy Plan; and

(c)       That the Committee anticipates or expects that hydrogen generation referenced in the LAEP report is green and that a response be sought from the Programme Manager on the feasibility of achieving this aim, with a report to come back to this Committee if this was not the case.

(a)       That the Committee supports the levels of progress and confidence in the achievement of priorities as detailed within the Council Plan 2023-28 for delivery within 2024/25;

(b)       That the Committee supports overall performance against Council Plan 2024/25 performance indicators/measures; and

(c)       That the Committee is assured by explanations given for those areas of underperformance.

The Chief Executive presented a report (agenda item 10) to review mid-year progress against Council Plan priorities identified for 2024/25.  This was an exception-based report focussing on areas of performance not currently achieving their targets.

Concerns raised about the percentage of unanswered telephone calls to the Contact Centre were acknowledged by the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services.  A future report on this would be scheduled in the forward work programme.

On that basis, the recommendations were supported.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee supports the levels of progress and confidence in the achievement of priorities as detailed within the Council Plan 2023-28 for delivery within 2024/25;

(b)       That the Committee supports overall performance against Council Plan 2024/25 performance indicators/measures; and

(c)       That the Committee is assured by explanations given for those areas of underperformance.

(a)       That the feedback on the newly developed Corporate Risk Register be noted; and

(b)       That the Committee is assured of the arrangements in place to manage the risks detailed within the Corporate Risk Register.

The Chief Executive presented a report (agenda item 11) to review the newly developed Corporate Risk Register which would be used to record significant risks that could impact the strategic objectives and operations of an organisation.

The Chair suggested that some of the wording in the report could be reviewed and standardised.

Councillor Ibbotson said that the impact of climate change across the organisation was not reflected in the document and that the financial resilience of the Council and external wider factors required specific reference in the risk register.  The Chief Executive agreed to discuss with the relevant officers how climate change could be incorporated.  On the second point, he would liaise with the Finance team on the inclusion of further narrative within the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

The recommendations were supported.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the feedback on the newly developed Corporate Risk Register be noted; and

(b)       That the Committee is assured of the arrangements in place to manage the risks detailed within the Corporate Risk Register.

None.