Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from the Corporate Director (Children and Adults) and the Strategic Lead for Education.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda.

Minutes:

County Councillor Phyl Davies declared a personal interest in the report on Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon as a governor of the school and as having a pre-determined position.

 

County Councillor Rachel Powell advised that she had a child at Ysgol Calon Cymru. The Monitoring Officer advised that this did not constitute an interest.

 

County Councillors Aled Davies and Phyl Davies and the Corporate Director (Economy and Environment) and Head of Finance declared interests in the report on Heart of Wales Property Services as directors of HoWPS.

 

3.

Draft Welsh Language Standards Annual Report 2021 pdf icon PDF 222 KB

To consider a report by County Councillor Myfanwy Alexander, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Welsh Language.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the Draft Welsh Language Standards Annual Report which outlined work undertaken during 2020-21 to ensure compliance with the Welsh Language Standards under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, and performance against the requirements of the Standards.

 

The Portfolio Holder with responsibility for the Welsh Language noted the significant progress made and thanked the Welsh Language Services Team Leader for his work. It was acknowledged that there was more work to be done to overcome technologic problems in enabling translation at virtual meetings.

 

RESOLVED to approve the Draft Welsh Language Standards Annual Report 2021 (attached as Appendix A) for it to be published on the Council’s public website by 30 June 2021.

 

4.

Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon Language Category pdf icon PDF 235 KB

To consider a report by the Leader, County Councillor Rosemarie Harris.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered responses to the proposal to make a regulated alteration to alter the medium of instruction at Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon from Bilingual (dual-stream) to Welsh-medium introduced on a phased basis, year-by-year, starting with Reception in September 2022.

 

A consultation response form had been completed by 71 respondents and written comments were also received by e-mail and post.  Based on the findings of the consultation, the advice of officers was that the Council should proceed with the proposal to change the language category of Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon by publishing a Statutory Notice. Cabinet was advised that there were 97 pupils in the Welsh stream and 12 in the English stream. Cabinet noted the comments of Estyn which supported the proposal.

 

County Councillor Phyl Davies who had declared an interest spoke as the local member. He noted that there had been much debate locally on the proposal and that the community was split over it. The main concern was that while the change could protect the future of education in the Trannon valley, there was no mention of this being the case in the wider catchment. Governors and the community were not assured that this proposal would ensure the future of Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon as the Welsh language provision for the catchment. Officers advised Cabinet that they felt that the opportunity for Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon and the issues they were trying to address needed a more immediate response rather than await the area review in 2022. Changing the language category of the school would give the opportunity for Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon to establish itself as a Welsh medium school in the catchment and enable its growth.

 

County Councillor Pete Roberts advised that Scrutiny had confidence in this proposal to proceed. Scrutiny had asked for up to date figures on thenumbers of pupils moving into the Welsh Medium stream and also moving out of the catchment to receive English Medium education and for further detail to be included in future reports regarding the financial savings and the timescale for those to be achieved. Officers provided the up-to-date figures on pupils movements between areas and stressed that the proposal was not about savings but about learner entitlement and improved outcomes for pupils.

 

                        RESOLVED

 

1.    To receive the Consultation Report in respect of changing the language category of Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon.

 

2.    To approve the publication of a statutory notice to make a regulated alteration to alter the medium of instruction at Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon to Welsh-medium, on a phased basis, year-by-year, starting with Reception in September 2022.

5.

Ysgol Calon Cymru pdf icon PDF 816 KB

To consider a report by County Councillor Phyl Davies, Portfolio Holder for Education and Property.

Minutes:

Before presenting the report the Portfolio Holder for Education and Property apologised to Julie Price for mistakenly including her name in the minutes of the consultation meeting with Ysgol Bro Hyddgen governors in the report recently considered by Cabinet.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Education and Property presented the report seeking approval to commence informal engagement with stakeholders on the preferred way forward for Ysgol Calon Cymru. He thanked the Chair of Governors and County Councillor Jeremy Pugh for raising with him the figure of the projected overspend in the report. He advised that the deficit of £173,450 as of 31 March 2021 quoted in paragraph 3.2 of the report was correct. The projected deficit as of 31 March 2022 had been correct at the time the report had been written but was now projected to be £480,909. The work of the Governing Body and the school to reduce the deficit was greatly appreciated but the position was not sustainable.

 

The Strategic Outline Case (SOC) considered by Cabinet in September 2020 had identified a ‘preferred way forward’:

 

·           A new 11-18 English-medium campus in Llandrindod Wells; plus

·           A new/remodelled 4-18 Welsh-medium all-through campus in Builth Wells.

 

Officers explained the rationale for recommending an informal engagement exercise in September and October. They felt that given the scale of investment required to improve facilities and the complexity of the strategic plans, the best way forward was to give all stakeholders an opportunity to contribute to the development of the strategic vision for transforming education in the area and to inform the development of proposals that would then be subject to formal consultation. The implementation plan in the report was a draft and it was stressed that it did not prejudice any decisions that the Cabinet may make in the future around the organisation of schools in the area. It was also stressed that what was being proposed was not a formal consultation and that things could fundamentally change as a result of the engagement. Cabinet was also advised that the engagement exercise would cover Welsh medium provision for the middle and south of the county and not just the Calon Cymru catchment. 

 

County Councillor Pete Roberts speaking as a local member welcomed the recommendation to go out to informal engagement but expressed disappointment that by putting the primary sector into a second phase, the impact on the primary sector if an all through Welsh medium school was established in Builth Wells would not be tested in the engagement. He was also disappointed that the Cabinet would not have the benefit of the Internal Audit report into the previous reorganisation which was not yet complete.

 

Officers confirmed that there was no intention to exclude primary schools from the engagement about the preferred way forward and stressed that no decisions had been made – the wider primary reorganisation would be considered in Phase 2 of the Programme. At the same time, it was important not to delay everything until the engagement had taken place and therefore  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Financial Outturn for the year ended 31st March 2021 pdf icon PDF 782 KB

To consider a report by County Councillor Aled Davies, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Transportation.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the revenue outturn report for the 2020/21 financial year.  Throughout the year the Council had faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID crisis, with business critical activity being prioritised for most of the year and resources directed away from normal activities.

The final outturn produced a net underspend, after contributions to specific reserves, of £4.24 million against the £187.7 million budget, a 2.3% variance (excluding Schools and the Housing Revenue Account). The Council’s financial position had been greatly helped by the support provided by Welsh Government to fund a substantial element of Covid related expenditure, without which the outturn would be a significant overspend. In addition, Welsh Government funding announcements in February and March had further significantly improved the Council’s financial position during the final quarter of the year.  The pandemic and the restrictions imposed continued to impact on the delivery of services across the Council, which resulted in additional costs and loss of income throughout this year and into 2021-22. Funding claimed and received through the Welsh Government Hardship Fund during 2020/21 was just over £18 million.

Section 7 of the report set out a number of requests for budget virements.

 

RESOLVED

1.    That Cabinet note the budget position and the full year position to the end of March 2021.

2.    That the requests set out in section 7.1 to utilise year end underspends of £3,343,210, to support activities in the new (2021/22) financial year are approved, and the requests at 7.1.2 and 7.1.3 are recommended to Council for approval as this complies with the Council’s virement rules being in excess of £500,000.  

3.    That the requests as set out in section 7.2 are approved, to roll forward the underspends from grants of £2,515,219 received in year, and a specific reserve be set up that will be fully drawn down next year.

4.    That the Virement request at 7.3 to establish three new reserves totalling £4.241 million is approved and utilise the year end outturn. The request for new specific reserves are recommended to Council for approval as this complies with the Councils virement rules being in excess of £500,000.  

 

 

7.

Capital Outturn for the year ended 31st March 2021 pdf icon PDF 711 KB

To consider a report by County Councillor Aled Davies, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Transportation.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the outturn financial position for the Council’s capital programme for 2020/21. The final working budget for the 2020/21 Capital Programme, after accounting for approved virements, was £72.91 million and actual spend amounted to £61.83 million, representing 85% of the total budget. 

 

                        RESOLVED that the contents of the report are noted.

 

8.

Exempt Items

The Monitoring Officer has determined that category 3 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules applies to the following items. His view on the public interest test (having taken account of the provisions of Rule 14.8 of the Council's Access to Information Rules) was that to make this information public would disclose information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

 

These factors in his view outweigh the public interest in disclosing this information. Members are asked to consider these factors when determining the public interest test, which they must decide when considering excluding the public from this part of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED to exclude the public for the following item of business on the grounds that there would be disclosure to them of exempt information under category 3 of The Local Authorities (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007).

 

9.

Heart of Wales Property Services Performance and Options Review

To consider the confidential report.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

County Councillors Aled Davies and Phyl Davies and the Corporate Director (Economy and Environment) and the Head of Finance declared interests as directors of Heart of Wales Property Services and left the meeting.

 

County Councillor Heulwen Hulme left the meeting and County Councillor Myfanwy Alexander lost her connection.

 

Cabinet considered the confidential report and the recommendations of the Scrutiny Working Group presented by the Chair of the Working Group, County Councillor David Selby and County Councillor Matthew Dorrance.

 

RESOLVED to approve the recommendations in the report.