Agenda and minutes

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Scrutiny Adviser agreed to clear up confusion over Cllr Evans’ attendance in the minutes of previous meetings.

A committee member asked for an update on the Economic Development Strategy mentioned on page 8.

The minutes of the previous meeting held 21^st January 2022 were accepted as a true and accurate record.

Invitees:

Rhys Cornwall – Strategic Director for Transformation and Corporate
Meirion Rushworth – Head of Finance

The Head of Finance introduced the report.

The Head of Finance informed committee that the detailed proposals were renewed in the two service-based Scrutiny Committees.

The Head of Finance noted that there had been a different process this year as there were no budget savings. The Head of Finance highlighted the optimistic view taken within the proposal based upon the previous years’ budget settlements. The Head of Finance noted that they had remained careful despite this optimism and wanted to be realistic in their optimism and have alternative plans if the settlement was lower than expected.

The Head of Finance highlighted that the budget draft settlement had been received from Welsh Government later than usual. The Head of Finance noted that it had been a large settlement across the sector that had been above optimistic assumptions.

The Head of Finance highlighted that Welsh Government had signalled that the settlement needed to cover the increase in social care workers’ pay to the national living wage, and there being no Hardship Fund going forward.

The Head of Finance informed committee that Welsh Government had been able to provide a medium-term settlement.

The Head of Finance informed committee that consultation is ongoing.

The Strategic Director for Transformation and Corporate reiterated that they were in a different situation than previous years due to the increased allocation and good settlement. The Strategic Director informed committee that consultation had taken a different form as a result as there were no specific savings, and instead the focus had been put on the proposed increase to council tax, investment proposals and fees and charges.

The Strategic Director informed committee that they had also undertaken engagement activities throughout the year with the public regarding their prioritisation of services. The Strategic Director noted that they had received almost 1000 responses prior to the budget settlement that indicated a general prioritisation of schools, children’s and adult services, city services, and homeless support.

The Strategic Director noted that the current consultation was being undertaken primarily online.

The Strategic Director raised comments made by committee in the previous year:

·         The Strategic Director highlighted that social media usage had been raised previously and now was being used regularly to feature the consultations. The Strategic Director noted that pop up advertisements were not being used as they had a negative response.

·         The Strategic Director noted that the comment regarding engagement with schools in the previous year and that consultation messages have been sent to all Newport schools.

·         The Strategic Director informed committee that the Connected Communities teams were working with “hard to reach” communities to ensure their visibility and engagement as requested by committee in the previous year.

Councillor Forsey raised the following points reporting back from her attendance in other scrutiny meetings:

·         The Place and Corporate committee felt relieved at their being no cuts and therefore not having to choose between cuts no one wanted to enact. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The committee would like to receive consultation data sooner to enable them to be more constructive in their recommendations and comments.

A committee member asked whether the increase to council tax had been discussed at the previously mentioned Scrutiny meetings.

·         Councillor Forsey confirmed it had been addressed in the Place and Corporate committee meeting.

The Scrutiny Adviser confirmed that it had been mentioned in the report at hand, and while hadn’t been brought up during the presentation, questions could be passed to the relevant Officers.

a)      Forward Work Programme Update (Appendix 1)

b)      Actions Arising (Appendix 2)

c)      Information Reports (Appendix 3)

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The Scrutiny Adviser informed committee that the recommendation to clarify questions within the Welsh Language Strategy questionnaire had been completed and that the full strategy would be published in both English and Welsh.

The Scrutiny Adviser informed committee that the Economic Development Strategy would receive an update in the 28^th February 2022 meeting for Place and Corporate.

·         A committee member asked why the strategy had been taken from this committee and given to the Place and Corporate committee.

·         The Scrutiny Adviser assured committee that he would ask for clarification.

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