Venue: Council Chamber - Port Talbot Civic Centre. View directions
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Member's Declaration of Interest Minutes: The
following Member made a declaration of interest at the commencement of the
meeting:- Councillor M.Harvey Re
the reports of the Corporate Directors’ Group on the Draft Budget and Revenue
Budget Monitoring as they relate to CCTV as he is employed by the South Wales
Police. |
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Draft Budget 2018/19 Minutes: The
Committee received a presentation in relation to the Draft Budget for
2018/19. Members noted that the
proposals would, following agreement by Cabinet, be put out for consultation
until15 January, 2018. The report would
also be considered at Special meetings of the Authority’s Scrutiny Committees
as part of the consultation process. The
responses received would then be considered by Cabinet and Council. Members
then raised the following points:- ·
The cost of an additional half hour service at the Margam Crematorium
was quite low compared to crematoria in neighbouring Authorities. Members were advised that the fees and
charges in relation to the Crematorium at Margam were determined by the Margam
Joint Crematorium Committee and a review of the charges would be carried out in
the usual manner. ·
In relation to the proposed increase in Council Tax of 4.5%, concern was
expressed at the amount of the increase and asked whether this could be
reduced? The Director of Finance and
Corporate Services advised that every 1% decrease in Council Tax was equivalent
to needing another £500k savings or income generation. English Local Authorities had been
investigating income generation opportunities for some time as their Council
Tax rises had been capped at 2%. Members were therefore pleased that the Deputy
Leader was now chairing an Income Generation Working Group in order to identify
relevant opportunities. ·
Members questioned whether the consultation process was accessible
enough for residents and stakeholders as there appeared to be few responses
received. Officers agreed that this was the case during the 2016/17 budget
consultation as it was felt that the report was too complicated. Going forward for the 2017/18 we changed the consultation process, this had
been issued to libraries, on line and in addition press releases had been
issued highlighting the proposals and recerived more eedback. The Council
will again be following that process for the 2018/19 consultation. Officers
were looking at ways of making the process more inclusive for the future. The Leader of Council advised Members that he
had recently made a video recording which would be issued as part of the consultation. ·
Members asked whether there would be flexibility in relation to the
proposed £40k cut in funding for Pontardawe Arts
Centre as the Friends of Pontardawe Arts Centre had
recently been formed and would require some time to get established. In addition consideration should be given to
the future use of the Centre by Social Services clients as this may not be
possible on the current basis. Members
were advised that the Arts Council for Wales had undertaken an audit of the
Centre which had highlighted potential income generation opportunities, which
were being reviewed. · Members asked for an update on the car parking charges throughout the County Borough and were advised that the pilot scheme, reducing the charges in order to increase the numbers, had not produced an increase in footfall to local shops and hence income was down in the current year. Officers were therefore looking at proposing that the charges be ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |
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Revenue Budget Monitoring Minutes: Members
questioned whether the provision for children in residential care could be
brought in house and were advised that these were very complex cases and needed
specialist care, as such it was difficult to predict the number of places
required and the type of care which was needed. Concern
was expressed that if the Authority continued to make savings as a result of
ER/VR/CR service delivery would be detrimentally affected. This position would be monitored by Officers,
however it was noted that Social Services in this Authority cost 8% more than
Welsh Government felt it should.
Therefore saving would need to be found, whilst safeguarding services to
both vulnerable children and adults. Following
scrutiny, Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
Cabinet. |
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Capital Programme Monitoring Minutes: Committee
received the above report and made the following points:- ·
How were the allocation of the Road Safety Improvement Grants and the
Regeneration Grants made? In relation to the Road Safety Improvement Grants,
bids were drawn up in line with the criteria and once approved by Cabinet Board
were submitted to Welsh Government for funding approval. In relation to the Regeneration Grants these
were received from Welsh Government and required match funding from the
Authority. ·
Whether it would be possible to place a charge on properties with
Disabled Facilities in order that the Council can recoup the money spent on the
installation of the facilities, once the disabled person no longer used the
property-this would be considered by Officers. Following
scrutiny, Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
Cabinet. |