Venue: Council Chamber - Port Talbot Civic Centre. View directions
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Revenue Budget Monitoring 2017/18 Minutes: The
Committee received an overview of the report in relation to Revenue Budget
Monitoring for 2017/18. Members then
raised the following issues:- ·
In relation to CORP704 whether the proposal to delete the vacant post of
assistant HR officer was cost effective in the long term. Members were advised
that cost saving measures such as this were required in order to balance the
Head of Service budgets. In relation to
Human Resources specifically, the Chief Executive advised that discussions were
ongoing regarding the configuration of the Section as there were capacity
issues. The interface with schools, for
example, was a particular issue as it was felt that School Governors and Head
Teachers needed to deal with HR issues in a more focused manner and not
escalate these to the HR Section, as was the case at present. There was therefore an unrealistic
expectation on HR, which did not have the capacity. Members then asked whether schools would be
required to ‘buy in’ the assistance of HR and were advised that this would be
considered as part of the review. The
Chief Executive urged those Members, who were also School Governors, to address
the noncomplex HR issues within the school and not rely on the Authority’s HR
Section. ·
Members were concerned at the management of the large number of
variances particularly in the Social Services Directorate and were advised that
budgets needed to be controlled. The
Children’s Services Budget was however particularly volatile as each package of
care could be very expensive, dependent on the level of care required. The Director expected that there would be in
the region of £675k underspend as the numbers of Looked After
Children had fallen. This would also
have a knock on effect to Child Care Legal costs. Members expressed concern that any cuts made
would not increase risk and were advised that none of the service changes to
date had been detrimental to either the quantity nor
quality of service. The Director advised
Members that savings could be realised through a further transformation of
services. ·
In relation to the 21st Century schools project, Members
noted that the project had been profiled and that the spend
was under control. ·
Members questioned the position in relation to the Princess Royal
Theatre and noted that the summer months were usually quiet and that there was
normally an increase during the autumn/winter.
There had also been an increase in the booking fees and it was envisaged
that this together with the increase in bookings would mitigate the overspend.
Members also noted that there would be a review of the Arts provision
throughout the County Borough with a view to generating income for the
Authority. ·
The Director of Environment confirmed that the income streams referred
to in the circulated report, for the Environment Directorate were achievable.
Those referred to under the Corporate Section (ICT) were achieved through
such things as the secondment of staff to the Western Bay and also hosting such
services as the Registrars. · In relation ... view the full minutes text for item 1. |
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Capital Programme Monitoring 2017/18 Minutes: Committee
noted a typographical error in the report wherein the new school in Margam
should be referred to as a 3-16 facility, and not a Comprehensive school. Members
scrutinised the above report and commented on the compensation provided by Welsh
Government in relation to the Peripheral Distributer Road in Port Talbot. In
relation to the Local Transport Fund, Members asked for details of the spend to
date-this would be provided outside of the meeting. Following
scrutiny, the Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by the
Cabinet. |