Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, no interests were declared.

To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

Resolved that the Minutes of the meeting(s) listed below be approved and signed as a correct record:

1)           Cabinet held on 18 May 2023 and

2)           Special Cabinet held on 30 May 2023.

The Leader of Council made no announcements.

Questions can be submitted in writing to Democratic Services democracy@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 within a 10 minute period.

No questions were asked.

No questions were asked.

The Cabinet Member for Education & Learning submitted a report to address the gaps in the current provision for vulnerable learners in Swansea and use available resources more equitably to meet the needs of all learners requiring education otherwise than at school.

Resolved that:

1)           A consultation is undertaken by the Head of the Vulnerable Learners Service, in consultation with the Management Committee of Maes Derw Pupil Referral Unit and other relevant stakeholders, to consider reorganising the current PRU internally to maximise opportunities to meet the broader needs of pupils across Swansea.

2)        Following the consultation, a further report will be prepared for Cabinet with the results of the consultation, for a decision to be made on how to proceed.

The Cabinet Member for Service Transformation submitted a report which sought retrospective approval for a Welsh Government grant application for the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) The ORP grant was announced by Welsh Government to support energy efficiency measures for social housing. The grant will support insulation measures, the acquisition of renewable technologies and monitoring equipment. This will commit the schemes to the capital programme in line with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules.

Resolved that Cabinet:

1)           Approves the Optimised Retrofit Programme bid set out in 2.0

2)           Delegates authority to the Director of Place, the Chief Legal Officer and Chief Finance Officer to enter into any agreements necessary to ensure the delivery of the projects and to protect the Council’s interests.

3)           Delegates authority to the Director of Place and the Chief Finance Officer to recover all expenditure associated with the delivery of the projects from Welsh Government.

4)           Any further decisions relating to this funding will be delegated to the Director of Place and the Cabinet Member for Service Transformation. The funding will support schemes approved via the annual HRA Capital Budget report.

The Cabinet Member for Environment & Infrastructure and Cabinet Member for Service Transformation jointly submitted a report to approve the funding applications for Local Transport Fund (LTF), Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Transformation Fund (ULEVTF) and Active Travel Fund (ATF), and sought delegated approval upon receipt of the grant award letter to Director and Cabinet Member for expenditure on the associated projects in 2023/24.

To comply with Financial Procedure Rule No. 7 (Capital Programming and Appraisals): to commit and authorise schemes in the Capital Programme.

Resolved that Cabinet:

1)            Approves the grant funding applications and delegates authority to the Director of Finance in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Infrastructure, the Cabinet Member for Service Transformation and the Director of Place to accept any grant funding awarded for the LTF, ULEVTF (Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure) and ATF schemes.

2)           Approves the schemes and they be added to the Council’s capital programme in line with FPR7.

The Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration, Events & Tourism submitted a report to comply with Financial Procedure Rule No.7 (Capital Programming and Appraisals) - to commit and authorise the addition of new schemes to the Capital Programme.

Resolved that Cabinet:

1)           Approves the acceptance of the UK Government Levelling Up grant of £20m.

2)           Approves the Council’s match funding contribution of £8.76m via unsupported borrowing.

3)           Authorises the addition of the scheme and its financial implications to the Capital Programme

4)           Delegates authority to the Head of Planning and City Regeneration, the Director of Place and the Chief Finance Officer to progress this scheme within the approved budget.

The Cabinet Member for Environment & Infrastructure submitted a report to confirm the 20mph Implementation grant allocation from Welsh Government and include the expenditure in the capital programme for 2023/24.

Resolved that Cabinet:

1)           Approves the acceptance of the 20mph Implementation grant of £2,952,000 and this expenditure be included in the capital programme for 2023/24.

The Cabinet Member for Environment & Infrastructure submitted a report to confirm the Additional Capital Allocation to the Highways Work Programme 2023 - 24 and to comply with Financial Procedure Rule 7 to commit and authorise schemes.

Resolved that

1)            The allocation of £1m for Highways Maintenance is approved to be included in the Capital Programme for each of the financial years 2023-2024, 2024-25 and 2025-26

2)            The allocation of £1m previously approved for Highways Maintenance for 2024-25 is brought forward to be included in the Capital Programme for 2023-2024. 

3)           Authority is delegated to the Head of Service for Highways and Transportation with the agreement of the Cabinet Member for Environment and Infrastructure to prioritise, finalise and allocate funding to the appropriate schemes in line with the prioritisation approach detailed in this report.