Venue: Multi-Location Meeting - Council Chamber, Port Talbot and Microsoft Teams
Contact: Alison Thomas Email: a.thomas6@npt.gov.uk
No. | Item |
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Chairs Announcements Decision: Declarations
of interest were received from: Cllr
S Reynolds, Cabinet Agenda Item 6 – Personal, Prejudicial (will leave the
room when this item is discussed) Cllr
J Henton, Cabinet Agenda Item 6 – Personal, Chair of Historical Society Cllr
S Pursey, Cabinet Agenda Item 6 – Personal, Minutes: The
Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. |
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Declarations of Interests Decision: Cllr
S Reynolds, Cabinet Agenda Item 6 – Trustee of Canolfan
Maerdry – Personal, Prejudicial (will leave the room
when this item is discussed) Cllr
J Henton – Cabinet Agenda Item 6 – Chair of Dyffryn, Clydach
and Bryncoch Historical Society, Personal. Dispensation
to speak and vote on this item. Cllr
S Pursey – Cabinet Agenda Item – Trustee of Taibach
Community Library, Personal. Dispensation to speak and vote on this item. Minutes: Cllr
S Reynolds, Cabinet Agenda Item 6 – Trustee of Canolfan
Maerdry – Personal, Prejudicial (will leave the room
when this item is discussed) Cllr
J Henton – Cabinet Agenda Item 6 – Chair of Dyffryn, Clydach
and Bryncoch Historical Society, Personal. Dispensation
to speak and vote on this item. Cllr
S Pursey – Cabinet Agenda Item – Trustee of Taibach
Community Library, Personal. Dispensation to speak and vote on this item. |
|
Pre-decision Scrutiny ·
To select appropriate items from the Cabinet agenda for pre-decision
scrutiny (cabinet reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members) Decision: Budget
2024/25 Following
scrutiny, the recommendation was supported to Cabinet. Third
Sector Grant Funding - Award of Grants for 2024 – 2025 Following
scrutiny, the amended recommendation was supported to Cabinet. Minutes: Budget
2024/25 Members
considered the report as circulated within the Cabinet agenda pack. The
Chief Executive outlined the challenging budget position for2024/25. An extensive
exercise has been carried out for increasing income and decreasing expenditure
for the year, whilst maintaining jobs and services within the Council. It was
noted that Welsh Government have published the provisional settlement prior to
the meeting. The proposed settlement for 2024/25 is going to worsen the budget
position beyond what is detailed within the report. The intention is for
officers to carry out an assessment in readiness for January to formally report
on the analysis undertaken on the impact of the provisional budget. Further,
how the Council can further bridge the increased gap in the Council’s resources
for 2024/25. Members
queried why the request for permission to consult has been considered late in
December and why it was not sought earlier so that consultation could begin
sooner? Officers confirmed that they have been working to ensure that all
income generation and expenditure proposals were fully explored before
consultation begins. Officers
have consulted on some specific proposals within the report. Officers outlined
which items have been out to public consultation. Where things, have been able
to go out to consultation earlier, this has been done. Members
queried items in the budget which indicate covering core expenditure from
grants, and if this would have a knock-on effect in delivering front line
services. Officers advised that it was for individual consideration by
directorates and about ensuring that the grant was maximised for full use
within the budget. Members
raised the current inflation and pay award ongoing concerns and queried if the
4% provision in the budget was sufficient. Officers advised that the 4% has
been benchmarked with the other 21 local authorities in Wales and it is
consistent with others forecast. Officers were confident that this would be
sufficient. Page
2 of the report which indicates that the budget supports local policy
initiatives prioritised by the Rainbow Coalition. These initiatives are
referring to those that have been agreed within the Corporate Plan. Page
4 outlines a £3.5m gap. Officers advised that this is the £3.5m which was used
to balance the 23/24 budget which now needs to be placed within this year's
budget. Page
11 refers to delivering local and Welsh Government policies. Members queried if
there are there any policies planned to come from Welsh Government that we know
are not going to be funded. Officers advised that they were not aware of any at
the moment. However, it was noted that the overall settlement doesn’t fund what
we currently require. Officers
confirmed that the 7.5% increase in income receipts, assumes that each income
line with have a 7.5% increase, however it would be up to individual
directorates to determine how they achieve this. For example, it could be a
mixture of increased charges and increase in volume. Members queried, based on the change in the revenue grant indicated by Welsh Government 0.3%, members queried what this ... view the full minutes text for item 3. |
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Urgent Items Any
urgent items at the discretion of the Chairperson pursuant to Section 100BA(6)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). Decision: There
were none. Minutes: There
were none. |