Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

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

There were no declarations of interest reported.

To consider the draft Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2024-2029, draft 2024-2025 budget and Capital Programme for 2024-2029.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Transformation presented the draft budget for 2024-2025, the draft Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2024-2029 and draft Capital Programme for 2024-2029.

The Medium-Term Financial Strategy captured the financial, regulatory and policy drivers affecting the Council and identified the Council’s service and resource priorities for the next five financial years. It delivered a balanced budget for 2024/25, and indicative budgets for the following 4 years to March 2029. The MTFS had ten clear principles which would drive the Council’s budget and spending decisions over 2024-29.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Transformation noted that the Council in its current form was not sustainable for the longer term. “Sustainable Powys” would review what services the Council provided and how they were provided to deliver stronger, fairer and greener services whilst reducing costs.

The proposed net budget for 2024-25 was £340.7 million, including the Delegated Schools’ Budget. The proposed budget included inflationary pressures and additional services cost pressures of £18.2 million and proposals to remove £10.7 million detailed in Appendix C of the report. Over £5 million of the savings were related to transformation. Increases in fees and charges were set out in Appendix E of the report. Balancing the budget was dependent on a proposed Council Tax of 7.5%. The proposal for the budget included the recommendation from the Cabinet on 13^th February to pass any additionalrevenue funding received from Welsh Government as a result of the £14.4 million consequential and included in the final settlement in full to the schools delegated budget.

The Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees presented their committees’ recommendations on the budget. There was a request that the Council look at increasing the number of members on the Scrutiny committees to share the workload, particularly as there were vacancies on some of the committees.   

In response to the points made by the Chair of the Health and Scrutiny Committee, the Cabinet Member for Future Generations accepted the point made by the Committee that there needed to be clarity on what was on offer to carers. The Committee had also questioned how the cost efficiency on day centres had been calculated as the options were not known.  The Cabinet Member for a Caring Powys Day explained that the savings on day centres would be achieved by more collaborative working with the Health Board and third sector and innovative use of direct payments. Many of the savings put forward by the service were from transformative changes to the way services would be delivered.

The Chair of the Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee welcomed the Cabinet’s recommendation to pass any additional revenue fund from Welsh Government in full to schools but noted that there would still be a budget gap of around £2 million in schools’ budgets meaning that Governors would be left to take some very difficult decisions. The Committee also questioned what the implications of the leisure service reduction and closure of a Pupil Referral Unit would be. The Cabinet Member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To consider the Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan 2024 – 2027.

Council considered the annual update to the Council’s Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan: Stronger, Fairer, Greener (2024-2027). The annual update was presented to Council in support of the ambition: To build a stronger, fairer, greener Powys. The Leader explained that this was a high level document underpinned by operational plans designed to deliver the three core objectives:

·         We will improve people’s awareness of services, and how to access them, so that they can make informed choices.

·         We will provide good quality, sustainable, employment and training opportunities, whilst pursuing real living wage employer accreditation.

·         We will work to tackle poverty and inequality to support the well-being of the people of Powys. 

The annual update was moved by County Councillor James Gibson-Watt and seconded by County Councillor Gareth E Jones subject to the correction of a rounding error on page 551 and by 51 votes to 5 with 7 abstentions it was

                        RESOLVED that the annual update to the Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan (as outlined in Appendix A to the report) is approved for publication, with implementation from 1st April 2024.

The Chair paid tribute to Lynette Lovell who would be retiring as Director of Education at the end of March and wished her well for the future.