Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

There were no disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests.

None

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting(s) and agree as an accurate record.

Minutes of previous meeting were agreed.

Questions can be submitted in writing to Scrutiny scrutiny@swansea.gov.uk up until noon on the working day prior to the meeting. Written questions take precedence. Public may attend and ask questions in person if time allows. Questions must relate to items on the open part of the agenda and will be dealt with in a 10 minute period.

There were no public questions received.

Invited to attend:

Ben Smith – Director of Finance / S.151 Officer

Cllr Rob Stewart - Cabinet Member for Economy, Finance and Strategy

Ben Smith the Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer attended to give an overview of the Revenue Reserves. He talked through the following issues:

• The Council have added 100m to reserves over the last 3 years giving a total for earmarked reserves of £157m.
• Pay award remains unfunded and likely to be a significant draw from the reserves.
• All functions and services are under pressure and draws from reserves will be made in the current year with an estimated 20/25% of reserves being used in the current year.
• The Leader has announced at Council a pausing of the Economic Recovery Fund further to commitments already made, to provide some protection around the budget position.
• Additional capital decisions which require future borrowing may need to be funded through revenue contributions rather than the capital equalisation reserve.
• Using cash backed reserves in the short term means borrowing can be avoided for as long as possible until a more stable and affordable position for external borrowing is achieved.
• Section 151 officer advice is that the current Council needs to continue to prepare for significant change in service delivery that will inevitably impact on direct employment levels going forward.

Invited to attend:

Richard Rowlands – Strategic Delivery & Performance Manager

Cllr David Hopkins – Cabinet Member for Corporate Services & Performance

Cllr David Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Performance and Richard Rowlands Corporate Performance Manager presented the report. It was noted that:

• This report is a requirement of the Well-Being of Future Generations Act and the Local Government and Elections Act 2021.
• The review assesses the progress made meeting the steps in the corporate plan, assessing the use of resources and the effectiveness of the Council's governance arrangements.
• The review identifies areas for improvement. The corporate plans are measured over a five year period and other measures are ongoing.
• The procurement scrutiny inquiry is referenced in the report but the final report to Cabinet was made after the time frame of this report.

Invited to attend:

Karen Gibbins – Library Services Manager/Karen Davies – Principal Librarian

Cllr Elliott King – Cabinet Member Culture and Equalities

Cllr Elliot King, Cabinet Member for Equalities and Culture, Karen Gibbins, Library Services Manager gave an overview of the Report. Karen Davies, Principal Librarian was also in attendance. They talked through the following:

·         The reporting period of 2020/2021 covers the pandemic time when libraries were temporarily closed. Despite this all 12 entitlements were still met during this time.

·         eBooks saw a huge increase due to an investment of £500,000 investment in ebook titles.

• There has been a reduction in borrower numbers which is being addressed.

·         Swansea remains in the bottom quartile in libraries for qualified staff.

·         Apprenticeship schemes and external funding are utilised where possible to support staff development.

·         Providing access to free broadband and Wi-Fi in public libraries was essential during the pandemic.

Invited to attend:

Carol Morgan – Head of Housing and Public Health

Cllr Andrea Lewis, Cabinet Member for Transformation

Cllr Andrea Lewis, Cabinet Member for Service Transformation, Dave Meyrick, Programme Planning and Delivery Manager presented the update with Carol Morgan, Head of Housing and Public Health and Dave Bratley, Housing Asset Manager also in attendance. It was noted that:

• WHQS was introduced by Welsh Government in 2002 to improve social housing within Wales.
• The standard requires a number of elements to ensure compliance.
• 70% of our homes are now fully compliant, which is up 13% from the previous year.
• Of the 30% acceptable fails, 15%, were due to the residents declining the opportunity to have a Council kitchen or bathroom installed and the other 15% due to program planning. Acceptable fail is a recognised component part of WHQS compliance.
• During this year the Council spent £546m on their properties. £381million of this was from rent revenue contributions and £165m pounds from Welsh government Major Repairs Allowance Grant. None of this came from Council Tax revenue.
• WHQS has had an economic impact in the locality including job opportunities and the building economy.
• 72% of residents said the delivery of the work was either good or excellent.
• 75% of residents expect expressed a positive opinion about the local authority on the Welsh Government STAR survey.
• WHQS will remain a legal requirement and programs are in place to meet the current standards.
• New WHQS standard will be introduced on the 1st of April and will introduce new measures including decarbonisation.
• The cost to meet the new standards may be in the region of £875m. £423m is currently set aside to meet the current standard but falls short of what will be required for new standards.

Further information about the new standards will be received in due course from Welsh Government.

No comments were made on the attached letters to Cabinet Members.

No comments were made on the Work Plan