Venue: Council Chamber - Port Talbot Civic Centre. View directions
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Declarations of Interests Minutes: The
following Members made declarations of interest at the commencement of the
meeting: Councillor
S.Freeguard Re Draft Budget for
Consultation 2020/2021, as she is a member of the Mid and West Wales Fire and
Rescue Authority. Councillor
S.Rahaman Re Draft Strategic
Equality Plan 2020-2024 – Draft Equalities Objectives, as he is a local
authority representative and Secretary/Trustee of NPT BME Community
Association. Councillor A.N.Woolcock Re Draft Budget for Consultation 2020/2021, as he is a member of the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority. |
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Pre-Decision Scrutiny Minutes: The
committee scrutinised the following cabinet items: Draft
Budget for Consultation 2020/2021 Members
considered the draft budget 2020/2021 prior to consultation. Clarification
was sought over why additional reserves from the Council’s budget were not
being used. Officers gave an overview of the current position with reserves
(both general and specific), and explained that there was no certainty around
how much money would be available from Welsh Government in future years, so it
was responsible and prudent to keep reserves as long as possible. The
proposed 5% increase in Council tax was discussed, as well as the Council Tax
reduction scheme, which was available to financially disadvantaged households
across Wales. It was noted that £244 million was available across Wales - £16
million of which was allocated to Neath Port Talbot, with 17,000 people
benefiting from the scheme. Members
acknowledged that the level of Council Tax was a significant burden to some
people, but noted that for every 1% which was taken off the proposed increase
in Council tax, an extra £700,000 had to be found from somewhere else to bridge
the budget gap. The
following were discussed: ·
Grants to leisure services ·
Structure and period of the consultation ·
Firefighters pensions and precepts The
Cabinet Member for Finance emphasised the importance of as many people as
possible responding to the consultation, in the time available. Following
scrutiny, the committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
cabinet. Draft
Strategic Equality Plan 2020-2024 Members
discussed the circulated report, including whether hate crime in sporting
events was sufficiently covered. It was noted that this would be covered as
part of the consultation. Concern
was expressed at the ‘vagueness’ of the reference within the valleys impact
section of the report (“The draft equalities objectives, and the actions
identified to deliver them, will be achieved against a backdrop of a reduced
workforce alongside ongoing financial challenges”). Officers explained that a
full Integrated Impact Assessment would be undertaken following the
consultation, and attached to the next iteration of the Plan. Members
felt that the word ‘continue/continuing’ should be inserted where necessary
within the draft Plan, in order to acknowledge that certain objectives had
already been taken into account within the previous Plan. It
was noted that the draft Plan took into account what was possible within the
resources the Council currently had available. The consultation process was
discussed, and the methods used when reaching out for respondents. Bullying
was discussed – both towards pupils and teachers, as well as how the data was
captured, and the reporting mechanisms. Following
scrutiny, the committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
cabinet. Launch
of the Citizens’ Panel Officers
explained that the Citizen’s Panel would not replace formal consultations
undertaken by the Council. Questionnaires would be formulated by the
communications team and sent out to a demographically representative group of
local residents, approximately 12 times a year by an independent social
research company. Members noted this would be a quicker and more agile way of obtaining ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |
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Forward Work Programme 2019/2020 PDF 81 KB Minutes: The
committee noted the Forward Work Programme for 2019/2020. |