Pre-decision Scrutiny
·
To select appropriate items from the Cabinet agenda for pre-decision
scrutiny (cabinet reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members)
Decision:
Setting Council Tax
Base 2024/25 (Pages 11 - 16)
Following scrutiny, the
recommendation was supported to Cabinet.
Audit Wales Digital
Strategy Review - Organisational Response (Pages 17 - 66)
Following scrutiny, the
recommendation was supported to Cabinet.
Corporate
Plan “Reset, Review, Recover” 2022-2027 Annual Report Period: 1st April 2022 to
31st March 2023 (Pages 67 - 128)
Following scrutiny, the
recommendation was supported to Cabinet.
Minutes:
Setting Council Tax Base 2024/25 (Pages 11 - 16)
Members asked for clarification regarding the setting of Council Tax
Base for 2024/25.
The Chief Finance Officer confirmed that every council in Wales provides
Welsh Government with their Council Tax Base as at 31st October. All houses in
Council Tax bands A-I are counted and converted to a band D equivalent, the
estimated amount of new build properties are added to give a Council Tax Base.
The Welsh Government Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) will evaluate how much
the council needs to spend to provide services, the amount of income that’s
generated by council tax is deducted and a formula is used to work out the
amount of the Revenue Support Grant.
Members asked if changes to the current banding system would affect the
formula.
Officers confirmed that 85% of properties in Neath Port Talbot fall
within bands A-C which decreases the equivalent band D figure. It was noted
that the Welsh Government proposals around changes to the council tax system
would be reported to Cabinet for consideration of the proposed options.
Following scrutiny, the recommendation was supported to Cabinet.
Audit Wales Digital Strategy Review - Organisational Response (Pages 17
- 66)
Members referred to the transformational reserve of £1.2m mentioned in
the report and questioned the absence of a timeline.
The Chief Digital Officer advised that at the time of the Audit Wales
review the accompanying delivery plan to the councils Digital Data and
Technology Strategy was being developed. The review noted the council’s robust
arrangements to deliver the plan. The strategy is now live and there is a full
process around prioritisation of demands to digital services. Once demands are
prioritised through the Digital Transformation Board they are locked into a
digital pipeline and fully monitored and reported back to Corporate Directors
on a quarterly basis and an annual review is taken to Cabinet (Policy &
Resources) Sub Committee.
Members questioned what projects were already in the Pipeline Tracker
and their progress and asked how an assessment can be made to identify what is
achievable with the £1.2m reserve. Members also asked how a long term strategy
for digitalisation can be put in place considering the fast pace of changes in
this field and requested Digital Strategy be added to the Forward Work
Programme.
Officers confirmed that no timeline had been set for the strategy due to
the speed at which digital technology is changing. The strategic statements in
the strategy will be reviewed on an annual basis against the programmes of work
locked into the delivery plan, the overarching objectives in the corporate plan
and directorate priorities. In terms of the transformation fund, work is
already underway to explore how this can support the resourcing of the biggest
transformation projects. Care will be taken to ensure the right projects are
prioritised for the council and that will be reported for full scrutiny and
review.
Members questioned when an update on the timeline would be available and whether the current economic ... view the full minutes text for item 3