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Executive Members (with Portfolios): Councillors: Anthony Hunt – Leader & Executive Member for Strategic Leadership Richard Clark – Deputy Leader & Executive Member for Education Fiona Cross – Executive Member for Children, Families & Communities David Daniels – Executive Member for Adult Services & Housing Joanne Gauden – Executive Member for Economy, Skills & Regeneration Mandy Owen – Executive Member for Environment Kelly Preston – Executive Member for Resources David Yeowell – Executive Member for Corporate Governance & Performance Officers: Nigel Aurelius – Assistant Chief Executive (Resources) Rachel Beale – Personal Assistant to the Leader and Deputy Leader Charlotte Dickens – Early Years Manager Niall Flack – Apprentice, Democratic Services Delyth Harries – Monitoring Officer Rachel Jowitt – Chief Officer Neighbourhoods, Planning and Public Protection Dave Leech – Chief Officer, Communities, Customer Service & Digital Jason Lewis - Head of Strategic HR, Pensions and Asset Management Matt Lewis– Chief Operating Officer, SRS Dave Lilly – Head of Financial Services Victor Mbvundula – Corporate Asset Manager Dermot McChrystal – Chief Officer, Education Tom Roberts - Business and Democratic Support Services Manager Keith Rutherford – Chief Officer for Social Care and Housing Stephen Vickers – Chief Executive
2.1 There were no apologies received.
3.1 Councillor Mandy Owen declared a personal interest in agenda item 9 as a Council appointed Board Member of the Registered Social Landlord referred to in the report and a personal and prejudicial interest in agenda item 10 as interim chair of a local Meithrin provision referred to in the report.
4.1 The minutes of the meeting held on the 11th January were confirmed as an accurate record of the meeting.
5.1 The action sheet was noted.
6.1 The Executive Member for Resources presented the report commenting on the following: · At the last Cabinet Meeting Members were presented with a positive financial update, which taking into account the provisional settlement and the proposed mitigations put the Council in a positive position of just over £7.8 million for 2022/23. After consideration, a list of proposals were put together to utilise the resource which included a further £1.1 million towards Covid recovery and hardship, the delivery of the real living wage for care workers, , a funding uplift to schools, additional money for social care providers, additional money for workforce and transformation.. It was also proposed that the Council Tax increase modelled in the Medium-Term Financial Plan be reduced to 1.95% for both this year and next year, which equated to around 50p per week on a band d property. · The Medium-Term Financial Plan showed that the budget would be tighter in the years ahead so the proposal to keep council tax as low as possible for two years would provide some financial certainty for residents. · The Cross-Cutting Resources and Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee have considered the proposals and their comments would be verbally reported to Cabinet by the Business and Democratic Support Services Manager. · The Council was in a really positive position with proposals that presented an opportunity to invest in key areas and also to look at the longer term to address the impact of the pandemic on the residents and community. · The Executive Member gave thanks to the Finance Officers for their continued prudent approach. 6.2 The Assistant Chief Executive for Resources added the following: · The financial support received from Welsh Government allowed the authority to look forward with a degree of optimism. · A firm set of proposals were drawn up around where the investment should be used, the proposals balanced addressing Covid recovery and hardship, financial sustainability and investment. · In relation to the pay uplift, it was proposed that should the pay award be less than the 4% built into the budget for schools, the money would be delegated to schools to spend in the best way to benefit them. · There were a number of risks including, the acknowledgment that the Council had not yet received the final settlement, the budget was built upon reasonable assumptions around demand, but there was always a possibility for pressures to emerge and the estimates had been built upon a ‘steady state’ of service delivery, however there were some areas that would still be suffering from the impact of Covid. · The Medium-Term Financial Plan had been revised which changed the assumptions around the council tax and also around Welsh Government funding in light of the fact that Council’s had received forward indications for the first time in a number of years. Looking at the next 4 years, the Council would have pressures of around £16.2 million to manage. · The reserves position would likely improve given the anticipated underspend for 2021/22 and further funding from the Welsh Government. If funds were used sensibly it would give an opportunity to assist with financial sustainability and allow the new Council post May to make decisions based upon a new Corporate Plan . · It was an excellent budget which was largely as a result of Welsh Government prioritising Local Government, in its spending decisions. 6.3 The Business and Democratic Support Services Manager presented the following comments on behalf of the Cross-Cutting Resources and Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee: · Members scrutinised the draft budget proposals on 3 February and overall Members were satisfied with the proposed mitigations and the identified areas to utilise the additional resources and were pleased to discuss a positive budget settlement. · Members have not yet finalised the agreed recommendations, however key feedback from scrutiny was that all Members should be involved in conversations regarding the utilisation of the Covid recovery fund and hardship budget. This would allow Members to give their views on the proposed criteria through a scrutiny session. Members felt that community hall facilities could be one area for investment through the Covid recovery fund as these had deteriorated over the duration of the pandemic. · Members were satisfied with the commitment given to review the feasibility of the community farm budget mitigation if it proved impossible to achieve during the financial year. · Members were pleased with the commitment to support care providers to deliver the real living wage in Torfaen and it was strongly felt that this should be a contractual obligation of all care providers in Torfaen and the Council should widely communicate and promote its implementation. 6.4 The Executive Member thanked the Business and Democratic Support Services Manager for feeding the comments back from the Scrutiny Members, which sounded very reasonable and she looked forward to receiving the formalised recommendations which would be considered ahead of Full Council in March. 6.5 The Leader thanked all the Officers and Members involved in the scrutiny process, which was a welcomed and improved approach by trying to mould the recommendations into the decisions as a Cabinet. He thanked the Executive Member for Housing and Adult Services for his advocacy in the care sector and the introduction of the real living wage was the beginning of a process that built a proper career structure in domically care. The Leader thanked the Executive Member for Resources and Finance Officers for their calm and prudent approach which should not be taken for granted. The budget showed the benefits of Welsh Government recognising the importance of local services and putting them front and centre of priorities. The Leader would continue with the lobbying he had done on a national level to point out that whilst it was a good settlement there were many pressures that remained both from the ongoing impact of Covid and the impact of 10 years of austerity. The Leader commented that the Council’s workforce had gone above and beyond in the last two years and have been incredibly adaptable and hardworking, and it was important to consider their welfare going forward. He welcomed the approach taken on council tax, which he felt was the right balance as it kept bills low and looked towards the longer term. A Council Tax Freeze which would seem good in the short term, however it would have to be increased by more in subsequent years. The Leader welcomed the funding announcement for investment in schools and social care as they were vital services for the community. 6.6 Councillor Daniels welcomed the real living wage in the care sector which would stabilise the market which was much needed and would hopefully also lead to an increase in wages over time, as the care sector was still competing with other sectors such as retail and service industry. He added that one good budget did not make up for a decade of austerity, experiencing a pandemic and currently going through a cost of living crisis. It was important to curb expectations as there was a lot on the do list which had built up over the years. 6.7 Cabinet agreed that: i. The Proposals outlined are recommended to Council for approval as part of the final 2022/23 Budget; ii. The MTFP is noted; and iii. The Reserves position is noted.
7.1 The Executive Member for the Environment presented the report and commented on the following: · Welsh Government had set out their ambition for the Welsh Public Sector to be net carbon zero by 2030 and the Council was responding accordingly. · The Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019. · Cabinet were being asked to approve an action plan for addressing the climate and nature emergencies which set out the activities to respond to these emergencies and to become net zero carbon by 2030. · The action plan sets out the Council’s carbon baseline and progress to date and included 45 actions across right themes to be delivered over the next eight years, subject to sufficient funding. · Engagement and working alongside the community would be vital and community consultation had already informed the development of the plan. · Recommendations from the Cross-cutting Resources and Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee had also shaped development of the plan. · It was recognised that the Action Plan required diligent and strong leadership and it was proposed to establish a Standing Task Group to take on the task with four of the Cabinet being part of the Group. · The Executive Member concluded by giving thanks to the Environmental and Sustainability Manager for her hard work on the plan. 7.2 The Chief Officer for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Public Protection highlighted the key areas commenting on the following: • The Council had already started to reduce its emissions and change the way it managed natural resources, however it was time to accelerate the action. • Responding to the climate and nature emergencies would require new ways of working and different approaches. It would require Members and Officers from across the Council to work together, creating a bold ambition and sharing expertise. • Some of the changes needed would be challenging, but it was important to ensure the long-term resilience of the services. • It would not be possible to do everything all at once but the aim was to tackle those areas that would have the biggest impact first. • The action plan outlined 11 commitments to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 which included; - Understanding the Council’s current carbon dioxide emissions to better direct resources to those areas which would have the biggest impact such as Council buildings, Council expenditure and Council transport. - Increasing the ambition of the Carbon Management Plan / Energy Efficiency Programme for TCBC buildings. - Developing a net zero carbon fleet replacement programme. - Developing, building expertise, capacity and capability to ensure carbon impact is fully embedded into purchasing and procurement decisions. - Developing and investing in additional renewable energy on Council estate. - Training staff and Elected Members to consider and act on the climate and nature emergency in all that they do. - Considering the climate in decision-making processes. - Adopting ambitious local renewable energy generation targets in the replacement Local Development Plan. - Working in partnership to support the transition to a low carbon society and provide opportunities for organisations and individuals to contribute towards the climate and nature emergency objectives. - Improving the management of green spaces to support biodiversity, build climate change resilience and better balance land use pressures. - Develop a collective understanding of climate risks and work with partners to start developing effective local adaptation responses. · In order to deliver the commitments the actions had been split in to eight priority areas; Energy and Water Efficiency; Renewable Energy; Mobility and Transport; Procurement; Waste; Natural Resources; Resilience and Cross Cutting areas. 7.3 Members commented: · That they supported the establishment of the Task Group and also the Climate Ambassadors Network. The Ambassadors would be a real asset who would challenge and help the Council move forward whilst giving a real-world focus. Everyone was in agreement on how important the plan was, and it was important to work together to move from theory to practice. · A focus for the Council had to be making routes more accessible and safer for pedestrians and cyclists, getting more people using public transport and away from fossil fuelled powered cars and also installing electric vehicle charging points. In a valley like Torfaen the pragmatic solution would be to expand the roll out of electric vehicle charging points as some people would need to continue to use cars and with the rapid expanding electric car market more points were needed. The Council should consider working with supermarkets to create more electric vehicle charging points within their car parks. 7.4 In response to questions asked by Members, the Chief Officer for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Public Protection gave the following responses: · The action plan was strategic and overarching and the Council already had an existing work stream on active travel. Members and the public had been consulted regarding active travel to understand the ambition for active travel in the community. Active travel was critical but was not always easy to achieve in valleys such as Torfaen with the difficult topography, however Officers would be looking at the infrastructure and what could be achieved to enable the transition away from the reliance on cars. The Council had received £730,000 of capital funding from Welsh Government to deliver active travel schemes within the borough. · The action plan had to consider the regional and national agenda in terms of buses, and the Council would have to work with the regional transport authority and bus companies to make using buses as easy as possible for residents. Council had very few levers over the bus industry apart from subsidising additional services where there was a community need. · It would be a good way forward for the cabinet task group to look at each of the eight priority areas in turn and the first meeting was scheduled for the beginning of March. The Climate Ambassadors Network were also working in the same way, they have had two meetings so far and have asked that they explore the topic of active travel at their next meeting. The ambassadors were adding a lot of value to the work the Council was doing. · In terms of monitoring the actions, the plan would also be turned into focused performance management and the actions would be embedded in to service plans and Officers would report on progress. · The Council had been bidding and would continue to bid for funding for the installation of electric vehicle charging points in public car parks. The biggest challenge for the Council was how to support householders on the transition to having electric vehicles as it was not easy in the valley communities with terraced houses and proper infrastructure had to be explored for these areas. 7.4 Cabinet agreed: i. That the Council adopt the Climate and Nature Emergency Action Plan. ii. That the Cabinet Standing Task Group is established to accelerate progress and to support delivery of the climate and nature emergency action plan.
8.1 The Executive Member for the Environment presented the report which sought approval to award three separate contracts for the procurement of new recycling fleet. The purchase of the new fleet of was part a strategic change to modernise the recycling service and the current fleet was also in need of replacement as it was over seven years old. Back in October 2021 Cabinet agreed to award the contract to three contractors, however due to a technical issue during the contract standstill period the contract was not awarded and a further procurement was undertaken. The tenders were evaluated on both price and quality and Cabinet were being asked to approve three LOTs to represent the three different types of recycling vehicles required to provide the collection service. The Council were committed to the climate change declaration and have undertaken extensive research into the opportunity and market conditions for electric recycling vehicles. Unfortunately, the Council were not currently in a position to move to full electrification of the fleet, due to there not being any electric recycling vehicles on the market which were tried and tested on collection rounds. 8.2 The Chief Officer for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Public Protection added that going back out to tender gave a more competitive response and as a result saved the Council £200,000 over the life of the vehicles. There would now be a delay in receiving the vehicles due to having to retender, however it was the right thing to do in order to keep the authority safe. The funding for the leasing of the vehicles had been identified from within the current waste and recycling budget. 8.3 In response to a question asked around electric vehicles the Chief Officer stated that the Council had trialled an electric refuse vehicle and it worked well and met service performance. The electric refuse vehicles were more expensive costing approximately £400,000 per vehicle as a oppose to £200,000 per Diesel vehicle. However, the Council had ordered two electric refuse vehicles as they have been able to obtain a 50% grant from Welsh Government. The electric recycling vehicles were difficult to obtain as they had different chassis to the refuse trucks and were currently only in the demonstrator phase. With the Council’s recycling vehicles coming to the end of their life a whole new fleet was required and needed to be ordered now and it was not possible to wait until the electric recycling vehicles were ready and the Council had to ensure service provision came first. The new recycling fleet would be diesel and had a life expectancy of approximately 7 years which would take the authority close to the 2030 target set by Welsh Government, however the Council would look to partner with manufacturers to be part of any trials for electric recycling vehicles. The Council were also working with Welsh Government on the electric vehicles for green waste. 8.4 The Leader added that with the Council moving to a single pass recycling collection would have a big advantage in carbon reduction as the it would reduce the number of miles the vehicles would have to do. 8.5 Cabinet agreed to approve the following award of contract for: i. Contract LOT1 for the sum of £289,685.18 to the highest scoring tenderer, Contractor Nr.1, based on price and quality, for the provision of 2 small RRV vehicles. ii. Contract LOT2 for the sum of £146,749.59 to the highest scoring tenderer, Contractor Nr.1, based on price and quality, for the provision of 1 large narrow access RRV vehicle iii. Contract LOT 3 for the sum of £2,347,993.44 to the highest scoring tenderer, Contractor Nr.1, based on price and quality, for the provision of 16 large RRV vehicles.
9.1 The Executive Member for Resources presented the report and made the following comments: · Ty Gwyn Nursing Home closed in 2020 and had been empty and boarded up since its closure. · The nursing home and grounds was leased from the Council on a 99 year term and the Leaseholder has requested to surrender the lease and hand it back to the Council. · The Council had no use for the property and it was proposed to deem the site surplus to requirements and dispose of the freehold interest to a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) for £50,000 which was under market value, however the RSL would be providing 100% affordable housing. 9.2 The Corporate Asset Manager added: • The proposed purchase price was £50,000 and the proposed use subject to planning permission was for the construction of 20 new affordable residential units. • The proposed price was less than best consideration that could otherwise be obtainable from a market sale which was estimated at £300,000. However the General Disposal Consent (Wales) 2003 allows the Council to sell at an undervalue on certain conditions and the use of affordable housing was deemed satisfactory as it would will improve the economic and social well-being of the eventual occupants. 9.3 The Executive Member for Adult Services & Housing stated that it was sad to see the closure of the care home in 2020, however it was out of the control of the Council. He felt that using the site for 100% affordable housing was the best option as there was currently a housing crisis and the units would be much welcomed to help address the problem. 9.4 The Leader added that although the site was being sold for less than market value the site would be used for 100% affordable housing which was very welcomed. He asked that the ward members were kept up to date on progress with this, which the Corporate Asset Manager agreed to do. 9.5 Cabinet agreed to: i. Approve the Council’s acceptance of the offer by the nursing home operator to surrender the 99-year lease for Ty Gwyn Nursing Home in Fairwater, Cwmbran. ii. Declare the site of the former Ty Gwyn Nursing Home surplus to Council requirements and approves disposal of the Council’s freehold interest in the property to the RSL referred to in this report for £50,000 (Fifty Thousand Pounds) on the basis that the site will be redeveloped for 100% affordable housing. iii. Authorise the Assistant Chief Executive Resources to negotiate and agree appropriate terms and conditions for the lease surrender and freehold disposal, respectively. iv. Grant delegated authority to the Executive Member responsible for operational asset management at the material time to approve any other matters pertaining to this disposal that may require further executive approval.
10.1 The Executive Member for Children, Families & Communities introduced the report which sought Cabinet approval to award the contract for Flying Start Childcare to thirteen childcare provisions throughout the borough. 10.2 The Early Years Manager highlighted the key areas of the report commenting on the following: · The Council received fifteen applications to provide Flying Start Childcare. The applications were scored using a matrix on the evidence provided by The Council’s Early Years Management. · Two of the applications did not currently meet the qualification requirements required for providing Flying Start childcare, however both applications scored well and were from Welsh Medium settings and would address concern regarding the Council’s lack of Welsh Medium childcare provision. It was proposed to award them each a contract on receipt of meeting all requirements of the tendering specification. · The lowest scoring application was an existing provider that had consistently met the Service Level Agreement requirements. It was proposed that a full review be carried out with the provider by the 31st March 2022 to evidence that they meet all requirements which would be approved by the Chief Officer before issuing them with an award of contract. · It was proposed to reject the two next lowest scoring applications, they were not currently Flying Start Childcare providers and with the number of applications received, the Council had sufficient Childcare to meet demand for Flying Start. 10.3 Cabinet agreed that: i. The award of contract for Flying Start Childcare be issued as programmed from the 1st April 2022 to the following childcare provisions: - Busy Bees Blaenavon - Buzzy Bees Thornhill - Cylch Meithrin Abersychan - Cylch Meithrin Cwmbran - Cylch Meithrin Dolwerdd - Little Angels - Little Red Berries - Little Seedlings - Maendy First Steps - Meithrinfa Pontnewydd - Penygarn Under 5s - Pontymoile Under 5s - Thornhill Playgroup ii. The estimated total value of this tender based on 2019/20 expenditure is £2,072,632 over a 5 year period. (With an option to extend in year 3, for up to a period of 24 months in total). Tender Ref (T.4443)
11.1 Cabinet agreed to the exclusion of the press and public as the report was not for publication because in accordance with paragraph 14 of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972 (As Amended By The Access To Information Variation Wales Order 2007) it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and the public interest in maintaining the exemptions outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.