Venue: Judge's Lodgings. View directions
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Apologies To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were accepted from Councillors W.J. Evans, H. Lewis, J. Gibson-Watt and G Williams.
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Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 87 KB To receive the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 11th January 2017. Minutes: The Chairman was authorised to sign the minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee held on Wednesday 11th January 2017 as a correct record. During discussion particular reference was made to:
a. Radnor Roller (Aveling Roller EP3339 and Living Van) – legal had confirmed that once an appointment to a vacant legal position had been made that officer would have responsibility for progressing the matter of the storage and maintenance of the roller and living van |
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Chairman's Announcements To receive announcements from the Chairman. Minutes: There were no issues for the Chairman to report on. |
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Declarations of Interests To receive declarations of interest from Members in relation to items to be discussed on the agenda. Minutes: There were no declarations received in relation to matters to be discussed on the agenda. |
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Reports from and Questions to Cabinet Portfolio Holders (10.10 - 11) To receive reports from, and to put questions to, Cabinet Portfolio Holders:
a. Councillor Wynne Jones – Deputy Leader/Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Finance/Business Services and Performance Management b. Councillor John Powell – Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Environment, Sustainability and Human Resources Minutes: Members welcomed the opportunity to receive reports from, and to put questions to, Cabinet Portfolio Holders.
a. Councillor Wynne Jones - Deputy Leader/Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Finance, Performance Management and Business Services
i. Inflation – it is very likely that the country would slip back into recession. Inflation is an issue and there are claims that Brexit has had a significant impact on retail performance. The Strategic Director: Resources receives regular (three weekly inflation reports from Capita which is a nationally recognised reporting company) which he shares with the Portfolio Holder so that they can consider any potential impacts for Powys ii. Barnett Consequential (Adult Social Care and Education) – in his recent budget statement the Chancellor had announced additional funding in England for Adult Social Care and Education. It is expected that funding to support both areas would be passported to Wales in accordance with the Barnett Formula, however, the position and allocation for Wales had yet to be confirmed iii. Council Tax - levels had been set, the police increase had been 6.9%, the Council had increased its level by 3.9% and the average increase for town and community councils had been 13% iv. Adult Social Care (The Living Wage) – additional funding had been identified to meet requirements to pay at the living wage (in the region of £1.3 million would be needed in 2016/17) v. Budget (Schools Service) – there continue to be budget shortfalls and schools in deficit positions, the position in the secondary sector is of particular concern. It is hoped that the Council would appoint to the position of Director of Education soon vi. Budget Planning (3 Year Cycle) – the three year approach to budget planning as adopted by the Cabinet had allowed for a more planned approach. Management Team would report on areas to review to Cabinet on 11th April vii. Cabinet (Governance) – Cabinet met on 14th March (yesterday) under the new arrangements as agreed by Council which had proved better in terms of conducting its business. There would be further efforts to improve pre-Cabinet scrutiny arrangements in order for proposed actions to be challenged. The Portfolio Holder values scrutiny input viii. Payment Processing – the cost of invoicing is a recognised pressure on the budget. The Council had recently entered into an agreement with the four companies which it issues the most invoices to in order to remove those processing costs. This arrangement would save in the region of £90k per annum ix. Business Service Functions – opportunities are being explored in relation to the offering of business service functions to others to generate income. There’s scope to offer the DBS checking facility across Wales given that seven Welsh authorities use Powys to support this function. Generating income from entering into agreements for fraud prevention/identification and payroll services are also being considered x. Strategic Overview Board – the Portfolio Holder had introduced regular meetings the Strategic Overview Board (Cabinet in a diferent mode) in order to consider performance ... view the full minutes text for item RS15-2017 |
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Reports from and Questions to Members Serving on Outside Bodies To receive reports from, and to put questions to, members serving on outside bodies. Minutes: Members welcomed the opportunity to receive reports from, and to put questions to, members serving on outside bodies.
a. Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel – Councillor David Evans reported that the Panel had increased the level of precept by 6.9% in order to reinstate funding which the previous Commissioner had removed from the reserve |
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Judge's Lodgings - Community Asset Transfer (11-11.30) To receive an update in relation to the community asset transfer of the Judge’s Lodgings to the Trust - Gabrielle Rivers, Development Manager and Catherine Richards, Principal Lead: Museums, Libraries and Information Management Minutes: Gabrielle Rivers – Judge’s Lodging and Catherine Richards – Principal Lead: Museums, Archives provided an update in relation to the operation of the Judge’s Lodgings during which particular reference was made to:
a. November 2016 (Freehold Arrangement) – in November 2016 the Council entered into an agreement with the Trustees for operating the facility. The agreement included providing a grant to undertake capital works (£50k). There had been an advance on the grant in order to undertake immediate works to a boiler (£10k). The transfer of ownership was with the legal service for final consideration. The Council would ‘take back’ the facility in the event of the Trust being unable to continue operating the site b. Grant Scheme – the Council would reduce the funding it provides to support operations on a sliding scale (£30k in year 1 to be reduce by £10k per annum) c. Grant Funding Opportunities – the arrangement would allow for the Trust to bid for funding from the lottery and other grant funding associations to support running costs, however, the site would need to become self-funding over time d. Operating Costs / Through Fair – it costs in the region of £70k per annum to open and run the facility. Last year there were in the region of 14,000 visitors e. Heritage Lottery Fund – in December 2016 the Trust had been successful in obtaining funding from a HLF bid which had been used, in the main, to meet staffing costs f. Trustees – the composition of the Trustee Board had been reviewed and there would be more of a focus on the Board comprising of professionals who would be able to input better into determining how the Trust should operate the facility. The Trust comprises of seven Board members, four are in position and there are arrangements underway for appointing to the three vacancies. Recruiting locally for at least one position would be important g. Backlog of Maintenance – there’s a £200k backlog of maintenance/repair works h. Marketing – marketing and making best us of the facility in order to generate income would be very important. Use of the site as a wedding venue and for other activities would be further explored i. Grade II* – the building is in a very unique category being a II* graded property and is one of only a few sites in the county having been awarded the status. The building was created in the 1820s and at that time, it could be argued, it was the most important building in Radnorshire j. Post May / New Council – given the importance of the facility it was suggested to update the new Council about its operations and facilities after the May elections
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Correspondence To receive items of correspondence. Minutes: There were no items of correspondence. |
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Date of Next Meeting To note the date of the next meeting. Minutes: Building, Llandrindod Wells in order to view the new facility.
The Chairman thanked members for their support during his year as Chairman and wished those members who were not standing for re-election in the May the very best for the future and those who were seeking re-election every success.
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