·
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:
Short Term
Service Resilience Framework
Members received
the Short Term Service Resilience Framework which was set to minimise the risk
of service disruption in the short term.
The Chief Executive
explained how service demands had increased over recent months and how this had
impacted the overall workforce.
It was noted
that Welsh Government had reduced the alert level to Level Zero on 7th August
2021, which resulted in a lot more social mixing across various communities; by
24 October 2021 the number of cases locally had risen to 1037.6 cases per
100,000 population, with almost 1 in 3 people testing positive for Covid 19 at
that time. Officers mentioned that the rates had reduced since then; at the
time of writing the report, the number of cases were at 653.8 cases per 100,000
population.
Despite the
reduction in the number of cases, it was stated that the Coronavirus rates
across the community remained very high, and the increase in community
transmission has had a further impact on demands in services; for example the
Test, Trace, Protect (TTP) Service had become busier and there were significant
impacts across the health and social care system. Members were informed that
service areas across the Council were continuing to operate under Covid risk
assessments; this was affecting the way in which the Council was able to
provide services, and the number of people available to provide those services.
It was noted that a lot more individuals within the community were coming
forward with various needs, as a result of living through 20 months of the
pandemic.
Officers
highlighted that some service areas had significant backlogs in their work that
needed attention; this was due to setting some work aside in order to be able
to deal with the priorities that Welsh Government had asked Councils to take on
board.
Members were
informed that the Council had received funding for some very exciting projects
within the County Borough, which Officers were supportive of taking forward;
this meant that they needed to be considered in the Councils short term service
resilience plans.
It was explained
that the amount of people available to service the demand had diminished
slightly over recent months; there were a number of reasons for this, which
were set out in the circulated report. Officers mentioned that some service
areas were experiencing challenges with recruiting people into vacancies; there
was currently a lot of vacant jobs within the local economy, and some of those
in the private sector had more benefits and/or better pay than those within the
public sector.
In terms of the
Councils current situation, it was noted that there was an increased demand,
slightly less people to deal with the demand, and backlogs which required
additional staff beyond the usual capacity levels; immediate steps needed to be
taken to try and fill the outstanding vacancies, as well as bringing in
additional capacity to ensure that the workforce was supported over the winter months.
It was added that the Council was able to offer the various roles externally;
with the hope that local people will apply.
Officers
explained that there was a current underspend within the current cash limit
that had previously been approved; the proposal set out to use £2million of the
detailed underspend for the Service Resilience Framework in order to bring in
additional staff.
It was
highlighted that the recent All Member Seminar relating to service pressures
was very informative, and brought Members up to date on the current pressures
and what steps needed to be put in place in order to relieve some of those
pressures.
Following
scrutiny, the Committee was supportive of the proposal to be considered by
Cabinet.
Monthly Budget
Monitoring Report 2021/2022
The Committee
were provided with the Monthly Budget Monitoring Report for 2021/22.
The Chief
Finance Officer provided an overview of the circulated report; currently
Officers were predicting that by the end of March 2022, the Council will have an underspend of approximately £8.3million. It was noted
that there were various reasons for this; one of the main points being that
when the budget was set, there was a huge level of uncertainly in terms of the
Covid 19 Hardship Fund. Therefore, it was noted that a great level of
contingency was included into the budget; at this point in time, Officers
predicted that this level of contingency wouldn’t be needed. Officers explained
that the Council was also collecting more council tax income than anticipated;
there were also less people needing council tax support than originally forecast.
Members were
informed that this underspend was not forecasted to be
recurring, as it was anticipated that the vacant posts will be filled, and the
Council will be able to start delivering some initiatives that had been put in
place.
Officers were
proposing not to use the £3.1million, which was originally planned, from
general reserves; and were proposing to put £2million into the Service
Resilience Framework and another £2million back into specific reserves.
A discussion
took place in relation to sufficient levels of general reserves; the Audit
Wales guidance suggested that a prudent level for general reserves would be 5%
of the budget. Members noted that Neath Port Talbot Council’s level was
significantly higher than that in the guidance, and compared to other Councils
across Wales; concerns were expressed in relation to the balance between
general reserves and the council tax levels which were set for the current
financial year.
The circulated
report detailed that cardboard and food waste were no longer incurring costs
for disposal and were generating income instead, resulting in an anticipated
reduction in the net costs of waste disposal; Members asked for further
information on this and the shift in the service. The Director of Environment
and Regeneration confirmed that the waste industry was very volatile; the price
of cardboard, plastic, glass etc. changed very frequently. It was noted that
the Council could go from a position of paying people to take materials, to a
position of securing an income from those recyclables. Members were informed
that there were pockets within the County Borough in which there was a lack of
co-operation from some residents; the Council would be undertaking a pilot
scheme in one of those areas, to try and encourage those residents to increase
their recycling in order for the Council to achieve the targets set by Welsh
Government. It was explained that last year the Council did not achieve the targets,
however this year the targets were achieved; the Council exceeded the targets
this year and were one of very few Authorities to make significant improvement
in performance.
Members queried
that if the Council was to fill all of the vacant posts, there would be a
significant difference in the payroll position. Officers confirmed that there
was currently around 200 vacancies within the Council, and if all of these
posts were to be filled, it would have a considerable impact on the budget;
this needed to be kept in mind for the future.
Following
scrutiny, the Committee was supportive of the proposal to be considered by
Cabinet.
Capital Budget
Monitoring 2021/22
Members received
information in relation to the delivery of the 2021/22 Capital Programme.
Officers stated
that the report set out a proposed budget of £82.4million which was £2.3million
less than what was approved; the schedule of changes were detailed in appendix
2 of the circulated report. It was noted that the Council had incurred
£30.6million of expenditure, which was 37% delivery of the capital programme;
this was highlighted to be on track considering the delays in delivering
projects and spending money.
The circulated
report detailed that a budget of £2.584m had been included in 2021/22 for
Margam Park Activity Investment; however, £2.336m has been re profiled into
2022/23 to reflect the profile of the works required. Members asked if Officers
could clarity what was meant by ‘re profiled’; it was
confirmed that the works were not able to proceed as planned, therefore the
monies were being transferred into the next financial year.
Following
scrutiny, the Committee was supportive of the proposal to be considered by
Cabinet.