Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 28^th January 2014.

The minutes of the meeting of Flintshire County Council held on 28 January 2014 had been circulated with the agenda.

Councillor Cindy Hinds indicated that she had submitted an apology but it had not been recorded. 

Councillor Colin Legg referred to the third sentence in minute number 75 and suggested that the word ‘selfishness’ be replaced with the word ‘selflessness’. 

RESOLVED:

That subject to the suggested amendments, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

To receive any declarations of interests from Members.

No declarations of interest were received.

A copy of the Chair’s communications had been circulated to all Members before the meeting. 

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services confirmed that none had been received. 

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services confirmed that none had been received. 

None were received.

To note the answers to any questions submitted in accordance with County Council Standing Order No. 9.4(A).

The following question had been submitted by Councillor Clive Carver:-

“When dealing with planning applications for residential properties adjacent to a railway line, what matters relating to health and safety are required to be taken into account by Planning Officers; bearing in mind that the toilets of two-car class 150 Sprinter trains flush directly onto the track?”

A copy of the response to the question provided by the Cabinet Member for Environment is attached at Appendix 1 to the minutes.

Councillor Carver asked the following supplementary question:-

“Will the Cabinet Member for the Environment take steps to review this issue and at least ensure that this spraying of faecal matter and urine and trackside run-off is taken into account when determining the location of Public Spaces and Children’s Play Areas near to existing railway lines? 

The Cabinet Member may wish to note that the electrification of the Wrexham Bidston line would resolve this issue, since modern rolling stock has retention tanks.”

The Cabinet Member for Environment responded that steps would not be taken to review the issue.

Councillor Robin Guest asked for clarification on whether a supplementary question was permitted.  The Head of Legal and Democratic Services confirmed that under point 9.6 of the Council’s Procedure Rules in the Constitution, a supplementary question in response to the reply was permitted.    

That the County Council approve the recommendation of the Cabinet from its meeting held on 18 February 2014 as set out in section 9 of the Cabinet report attached to the Council report. 

The Chief Executive and the Head of Finance jointly introduced a report which provided Members with the recommendations of the Cabinet for the Council Fund Revenue Budget 2014/15. 

The Council was informed that at its meeting on 18 February 2014, Cabinet had considered a report of the Head of Finance on the Council Fund Revenue Budget 2014/15 which was attached at Appendix A to the report.  The initial budget proposals considered by Cabinet on 21 January 2014 had been referred to Overview and Scrutiny for consideration.  A summary of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s observations and questions, together with responses, was included in the Appendix of the 18 February 2014 Cabinet report.

The Chief Executive and Head of Finance gave a joint presentation and commented upon the following areas:-

·        National Context and Local Impact

·        Budget Strategy

·        Organisational Redesign & Change

·        Financial Strategy

·        Closing the budget gap – progress, final stages and overview

·        Efficiencies in the Budget

·        Investment Strategy

·        Reserves and Balances

·        Risk Assessment & Assurance

·        2015/16 and the Medium Term

·        Consultation in 2014 for 2015+

Councillor Aaron Shotton, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance expressed his thanks on behalf of the Cabinet Members for the work undertaken on the budget.  He referred to the significant and unprecedented challenge faced by the Council due to reductions in funding and increased demand for services and the clear signal of intent set out by the Authority to protect front line services.  He spoke of the proposed reductions in senior management and workforce and he praised the workforce for their assistance and ideas of how to achieve savings within the Council as the pressure facing the Authority could have been significantly higher without their help.  He welcomed the proposal to retain Council Tax at an increase of 3% and he urged Members to support the budget and the proposals contained within it. 

Councillor Mike Peers thanked officers for the report and their work on the budget.  He suggested that the numbering of the appendices be replicated throughout the budget process to allow for easy comparison between the documents.  He also suggested that the budget consultation meetings with Overview & Scrutiny Committees be reviewed to ensure that sufficient time was allocated to consider the issues.  He spoke of the need to recognise the drastic measures that were required to protect frontline services due to the cuts in funding from Welsh Government (WG) of 6% in real terms but also indicated that it was important for WG to prioritise its funding and distribute it fairly across all Welsh local authorities.  The budget proposals in the report were based on an increase of 3% in Council Tax and Councillor Peers welcomed this as raising the rate was one of the possible measures to assist in closing the budget gap.  He requested further information on the efficiencies that had been found following the completion of the Overview & Scrutiny budget consultation meetings and proposed that a headcount freeze be put in place once the re-organisation of the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95.

That the County Council approve the recommendations of the Cabinet from its meeting held on 18 February 2014 as set out in appendix 1 of the report to Cabinet attached to the Council report.

The Head of Finance presented a report which provided Members with the recommendations of the Cabinet for the Council Fund Capital Programme 2014/15 and Indicative Funding to 2017/18.

The Head of Finance and Director of Environment jointly gave a presentation and commented upon the following areas:-

·        Capital Programme Context

·        Funding

·        Core Capital Programme

·        Capital Receipts and Core Programme

·        Allocating the Core Programme

In moving the recommendation, Councillor Aaron Shotton, the Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance said that it was important that the capital programme was set with a sustainable level of capital receipts. 

Councillor Mike Peers queried how rigid the programme was and whether it could be reviewed if capital receipts were realised.  Councillor Richard Jones asked if the Single Status/Equal Pay reserve could be used as a one-off to overcome the reduction of £0.720m on repairs and maintenance for schools from the level indicated last year for 2014/15.  Councillor Robin Guest asked for an update on the issue of rollovers or deferring capital projects and asked whether the Council’s assets were to be revalued.  He accepted the prudent and realistic approach being taken on the capital programme. 

In response to the questions and comments, the Director of Environment said that capital receipts would be reviewed on an ongoing basis and that rollover requests were challenged.  These were for projects that had been allocated funding but had not been delivered and even though requests for rollover could be submitted, they were not always permitted.  The Chief Executive said that technically an allocation could be made from the Single Status/Equal Pay reserve but he advised against it due to the many variables associated with Single Status/Equal Pay.  The work on Equal Pay was nearing a conclusion but if any reserve was held following transition to Single Status, it would be held and used for people costs in the organisation. 

Councillor Jones sought an amendment to the recommendation to allow funding for repairs and maintenance for schools be increased to at least £2.1m to prevent further issues of disrepair for schools in the future.  The Head of Finance advised that the Chief Executive had explained why the Single Status reserve could not be used and that any proposals agreed today to include school maintenance would need to be found from within the £7.403m general funding for 2014/15.         

RESOLVED:

That the County Council approve the recommendations of the Cabinet from its meeting held on 18 February 2014 as set out in appendix 1 of the report to Cabinet attached to the Council report.

That the County Council approve the recommendations of the Cabinet from its meeting held on 18 February 2014 as set out in Appendix 1 of the report to Cabinet attached to the Council report.

The Head of Housing presented a report which provided Members with the recommendations of the Cabinet on the revenue budget proposals for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for 2014/15 and the Capital Programme for 2014/15. 

The Head of Housing provided a detailed presentation which covered the following areas:-

·        Welsh Government – Final determinations

·        HRA subsidy system

·        Approach to HRA budget setting

·        2014-15 HRA efficiencies

·        2014-15 HRA Service Improvements/Pressures

·        Funding for HRA Capital Programme 2014-15

·        HRA Capital Programme 2014-15

·        HRA 30 year business Plan

Councillor Helen Brown, the Cabinet Member for Housing, proposed that the County Council support the recommendations as outlined within the report.  She thanked the Head of Housing, her team and the workforce for their hard work which had resulted in significant improvements in the service and she also gave thanks to the Tenants Federation for their role as a key player in the delivery of services.  Councillor Brown referred to the In-house Adaptations Team which had become a permanent scheme and she spoke of reductions in the number of days taken to carry out adaptations including level access showers.  In praising the work of the Income Management Team, she indicated that rent arrears were £0.025m lower than at the same time in 2012/13 and that 97.2% of rent income had been collected.  Councillor Brown also referred to the amount spent on meeting the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) and the number of jobs and apprenticeships that would be created during the project.           

Councillor Ron Hampson agreed with the proposal and in reflecting on areas of concern in the performance of Housing that had occurred in the past, he said that the changes to turn the department around should be celebrated.  He felt that credit should be given to the Head of Housing and thanked her for the work she had undertaken.  Councillor George Hardcastle echoed the comments and praised the Head of Housing and her team. 

Councillor Alex Aldridge gave thanks to Penny Storr, Julie Gorman and Janet Manning for their work with tenants who had been moved to new homes from properties in Flint.  He said that they, along with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Head of Housing and her team, had ensured that their new homes were fit for purpose.  Councillor Tony Sharps said that the Housing Department should be identified as a good service and the good practices in place should be replicated across the whole of North Wales.  Councillor Marion Bateman also thanked the Cabinet Member for Housing for her work with the Head of Housing and the team.  Councillor Hilary Isherwood echoed the comments and welcomed the first class service provided by all those in the department.   

RESOLVED:

That the County Council approve the recommendations of the Cabinet from its meeting held on 18 February 2014 as set out in Appendix 1 of the report to Cabinet attached to the Council report.

(a)       That the prudential indicators as detailed in Section 4 of the Cabinet report dated 18 February 2014 be approved; and

(b)       That delegated authority be given for the Head of Finance to effect movements between the separately agreed limits within the authorised limit for external debt and the operational boundary for external debt (section 3.11 and 3.12 of the Cabinet report dated 18 February 2014).

The Council received the report of the Head of Finance which presented to Council the recommendations of the Cabinet in relation to the setting of a range of prudential indicators.

Councillor Bernie Attridge, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment proposed the acceptance of the recommendations as outlined within the report.  This was seconded by Councillor Chris Bithell. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the prudential indicators as detailed in Section 4 of the Cabinet report dated 18 February 2014 be approved; and

(b)       That delegated authority be given for the Head of Finance to effect movements between the separately agreed limits within the authorised limit for external debt and the operational boundary for external debt (section 3.11 and 3.12 of the Cabinet report dated 18 February 2014).

That the Council accept the recommendations of the Cabinet, being that:-

(a)       Option 1 (Regulatory Method) be used for the calculation of the minimum revenue provision in 2014/15 for all supported borrowing.

(b)       Option 3 (Asset Life Method) be used for the calculation of the minimum revenue provision in 2014/15 for all unsupported (prudential) borrowing. 

The Council received the report of the Head of Finance which presented to Council the recommendations of the Cabinet in relation to the setting of a prudent minimum revenue provision for the repayment of debt.

Councillor Chris Bithell proposed the acceptance of the recommendations as outlined within the report.  This was seconded by Councillor Bernie Attridge.

RESOLVED:

That the Council accept the recommendations of the Cabinet, being that:-

(a)       Option 1 (Regulatory Method) be used for the calculation of the minimum revenue provision in 2014/15 for all supported borrowing.

(b)       Option 3 (Asset Life Method) be used for the calculation of the minimum revenue provision in 2014/15 for all unsupported (prudential) borrowing. 

That the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy 2014/15 be approved.        

The Council received the report of the Head of Finance which presented to Council the recommendations of the Cabinet in relation to Treasury Management Strategy for 2014/15.

Councillor Aaron Shotton, the Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance proposed the acceptance of the recommendations as outlined within the report.  This was seconded by Councillor Kevin Jones.

The Head of Finance detailed the background to the report and drew Members’ attention to section 3 of the report to Cabinet and the detailed discussions undertaken at the Audit Committee meeting on 29 January 2014 on Investments and Debt.  Cabinet had also discussed options that could be considered on the issue of Treasury Management which the Head of Finance detailed. 

In response to a query from Councillor Alison Halford about the level of debt, the Finance Manager – Technical Accountancy said that the actual level of debt was £172m.  A legal limit had to be set to allow headroom and whilst it was not anticipated that this level would be reached, it could not be exceeded. 

Councillor Mike Peers queried whether a strategy was in place to prevent a reoccurrence of issues such as Landsbanki.  The Head of Finance responded that there was always a risk that investments would not be returned but the strategy was in place to limit the risk.  The issue of Landsbanki was now closed and Flintshire County Council was no longer a creditor of the bank.  In response to a question from Councillor Clive Carver, the Head of Finance advised that the Council had previously recovered £1.9m and £1.4m following the sale of the debt which was 92% of the original investment of £3.7m.  It was important to note that this payment had been recovered now rather than having to wait a number of years for its return.  Councillor Glyn Banks thanked the Head of Finance, Corporate Finance Manager and Finance Manager – Technical Accountancy for their work on the Landsbanki issue. 

RESOLVED:

That the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy 2014/15 be approved.        

That the resolutions within Appendix A of the report be approved.

The Council received the report which requested the Council to agree the statutory and other necessary resolutions for the purpose of administering Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates.

RESOLVED:

That the resolutions within Appendix A of the report be approved.

There were 2 members of the press and no members of the public in attendance.