Venue: Remotely via Teams
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Declarations of Interests Minutes: The following member made a declaration of interest at the commencement of the
meeting: Councillor P.Richards Re
Capital/Revenue Outturn 2019-20(cabinet board papers), as his spouse Manages an
After School provision at Blaenbaglan Primary School. |
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Pre-decision Scrutiny ·
To select appropriate items from the Cabinet agenda for pre-decision
scrutiny (cabinet reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members) ·
To select appropriate items from the Cabinet (Finance) Sub Committee
agenda for pre-decision scrutiny (Cabinet Finance Sub - Committee reports
enclosed for Scrutiny Members) Minutes: The
committee scrutinised the following cabinet items: Annual Governance
Statement 2019-2020 Discussions took place
around the focus for scrutiny committees to scrutinise specific collaborative
and regional working arrangements detailed within the statement, however,
members felt that this required broader consideration, such as, procurement and
shared services in co-operation with the Welsh Local Government Association
(WLGA). Members were concerned
at how the Council can effectively implement the improvement work that was
planned for 2020-21 due to the recent impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. It
was highlighted that the areas of improvement were an accurate assessment of
where we were prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and he report details the
priorities of improvement would need further review during the recovery stage
of the pandemic. Following this members asked that Cabinet consider amending
the third recommendation detailed within the report, to consider an early and
urgent review of the objectives within the corporate governance improvement
work, due to the impact of Covid-19. Following scrutiny, it
was agreed that Cabinet be asked to consider the following recommendations 1. Members note the
progress made on the corporate governance improvement work undertaken during
2019-2020 2. Approve the Annual
Governance Statement 2019-2020 attached at Appendix 1. 3. Approve the proposed
corporate governance improvement work to be undertaken during 2020-2021,
subject to early and urgent review of the objectives, due to the impact of the
Covid-19 pandemic. Capital/Revenue Outturn
2019-20 Members chose to discuss
the Capital and Revenue Outturn reports as one item. The Director of Finance gave
a brief overview of the reports. It was queried whether the budget would need
to be reconsidered due to the effect that the outbreak of Covid-19 may have had
on the budget. Members were advised that information relating to Covid-19 would
be brought at a later date giving members an opportunity to scrutinise this
element further. Following scrutiny, the
committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by Cabinet. Decarbonisation and
Renewable Energy Strategy Consideration was given
to the responses received following a consultation on the draft Decarbonisation
and Renewable Energy Strategy. Members commended the number of public responses
that were provided to the consultation. Clarity was provided on
the launch of the Citizen’s Panel and the request for a Citizens Assembly.
Members noted that the Citizens Panel had launched in January 2020; 500 people
had signed up to take part in the panel and a scoping exercise would be
required to consider the best options on involving the public. Discussions took place
around the unexpected effects from the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the reduction
in carbon emissions and improvements in air quality. Members encouraged Local
Authorities and Governments to seriously consider the concept of a Green New Deal
as part of economic recovery, by learning from this change and not simply
taking return to a business as usual approach. Reassurance was provided on the development of the narrative and branding that ‘Heavenly’ have been commissioned to undertake. Officers highlighted that there would be careful consideration around the translation ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |