Loading
The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED – That Agenda Item 7 – “Development of a Council Wide Fleet Strategy” be brought forward for consideration at this time.
RESOLVED – (i) That the Head of Environment and Technical Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Housing (Climate Champion), be authorised to undertake a scoping review of all of the Council’s fleet considering usage, management and current and future demands. (ii) That a further report be brought back before Executive Board in April 2024 considering the results of the scoping review as a precursor to the formal development of a Council-wide Fleet Strategy. Reasons for decisions (i) To undertake an initial scoping exercise in order to capture the following details: numbers of vehicles and staff using them, patterns of vehicle usage, current management of vehicles, existing storage arrangements (to include various depots and any vehicles which are taken home). This scoping exercise will enable a better understanding of the Council’s commercial fleet requirements, allow an establishment of a revised baseline, and ensure that all current practices are fully understood. (ii) To enable services to continue to operate and utilise commercial fleet in a safe, resilient and affordable manner.
RESOLVED – (i) That the contents of the WLGA report be actioned and the responses to the recommendations made. (ii) That a further report be brought back to Executive Board in six months. (iii) That a report be provided on the effectiveness of staff working from home. Reason for decision To highlight the scope of the review and its findings and to consider the responses to the recommendations made.
RESOLVED – (i) That the Budget and Council Tax be recommended for approval by Council and that: (a) the 2024/25 revenue budget totalling £318,669,885 be approved including fire levy of £9,506,724 (b) a sum of £86,707,296 be raised from Council Tax which equates to £1,598.00 at band D and of that sum: (i) £121,284 be raised as special expenses on the community areas of Acton, Caia Park, Offa and Rhosddu (£2.24), £7,225 on the community of Glyntraian (£0.13), £21,057 on the community of Llangollen Rural (£0.39) and £26,734 on the community of Chirk (£0.49) (ii) £86,530,996 be raised as general expenses (£1,594.75). (ii) Any additional funding received following publication of the Local Government Final Settlement will be applied as prescribed or used to reduce risks within the overall budget package. (iii) The Medium Term Financial Plan outlined in Appendix 4 to report COFI/08/24 be recommended to Council. (iv) The 2024/25 Capital Strategy (including the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement), Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy as outlined in Appendices 5 and 5a to report COFI/08/24 be recommended to Council. (v) To establish a budget mitigation reserve of £5m to help with the management of a number of risks associated with the delivery of the budget plan. Use of the reserve would be subject to approval by the Executive Board, following a recommendation made by the Chief Officer FICT. Reasons for decisions (i) To enable the Council to determine its revenue budget for 2024/25 and set the Council Tax for the year. (ii) To update the Medium Term Financial Plan and to make recommendations to Council on the 2024/25 Capital, Treasury Management and Investment Strategies, including the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement. (iii) To establish a reserve to as part of budget risk mitigation in 2024/25.
RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 6 February 2024 be signed as a correct record.
In accordance with Section 5.8.16 of the Council’s Constitution, a member of the public submitted a question relating to Empty Homes Grants Scheme. The Chief Officer Governance & Customer read out the question, and the Lead Member for Strategic Planning and Public Protection responded accordingly.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That Agenda Item 7 – “Development of a Council Wide Fleet Strategy” be brought forward for consideration at this time.
RESOLVED – That Agenda Item 7 – “Development of a Council Wide Fleet Strategy” be brought forward for consideration at this time.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – (i) That the Head of Environment and Technical Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Housing (Climate Champion), be authorised to undertake a scoping review of all of the Council’s fleet considering usage, management and current and future demands. (ii) That a further report be brought back before Executive Board in April 2024 considering the results of the scoping review as a precursor to the formal development of a Council-wide Fleet Strategy. Reasons for decisions (i) To undertake an initial scoping exercise in order to capture the following details: numbers of vehicles and staff using them, patterns of vehicle usage, current management of vehicles, existing storage arrangements (to include various depots and any vehicles which are taken home). This scoping exercise will enable a better understanding of the Council’s commercial fleet requirements, allow an establishment of a revised baseline, and ensure that all current practices are fully understood. (ii) To enable services to continue to operate and utilise commercial fleet in a safe, resilient and affordable manner.
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.
The council hasn't recorded attendance for this meeting.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.
The Lead Member for Housing submitted a report (COET/09/24) asking Members to consider the development of a Council wide Fleet Strategy, including the management and usage of the Council’s professional and commercial fleet defining a pathway for a sustainable approach to remodel the professional vehicle fleet, providing resilience for continued delivery of services to meet the future challenges and decarbonisation goals. The Lead Member presented the report and highlighted the mains points contained with. A debate ensued and he responded to questions accordingly. The following points were highlighted during the debate: · Update on the use of Hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) in vehicles. Members noted that whilst there was no cost saving, there were huge carbon benefits from using this type of fuel as an alternative to diesel. · Importance of ensuring that own vehicle use by staff should be considered as part of the review, particularly with regards to HMRC mileage and business insurance use, as staff should not be at a financial disadvantage by using their own vehicles for work. The Chief Officer Environment & Technical advised that the first part of the review would focus on the professional and commercial fleet, and a further element would be to look at use by staff of their own vehicles. The reviews of both types of fleet would run alongside each other with the aim of delivering an all-encompassing fleet strategy for all transport. · Confirmation by the Lead Member that HR and Payroll would be consulted as part of the review. · Clarification sought with regards to the availability of HVO. Members were advised that it was becoming more widely available to commercial operatives, and there were some sellers in and around the Wrexham area that directly sold HPO. The move away from petrol and diesel was still in the early stages, but this alternative seemed to be a direct substitute which required no physical changes needing to be made to vehicles. · Suggestion that consideration would need to be given to the problems experienced in some villages whereby work large vehicles/vans driven home by the member of staff at the end of the working day could cause issues on narrow streets. · Importance of recognising that some alternative products may not always be a suitable alternative, for example, palm oil would counterbalance due to the deforestation issues associated with it. The Chief Officer assured Members that moves to alternative products would always be done in a careful measured way. RESOLVED – (i) That the Head of Environment and Technical Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Housing (Climate Champion), be authorised to undertake a scoping review of all of the Council’s fleet considering usage, management and current and future demands. (ii) That a further report be brought back before Executive Board in April 2024 considering the results of the scoping review as a precursor to the formal development of a Council-wide Fleet Strategy. Reasons for decisions (i) To undertake an initial scoping exercise in order to capture the following details: numbers of vehicles and staff using them, patterns of vehicle usage, current management of vehicles, existing storage arrangements (to include various depots and any vehicles which are taken home). This scoping exercise will enable a better understanding of the Council’s commercial fleet requirements, allow an establishment of a revised baseline, and ensure that all current practices are fully understood. (ii) To enable services to continue to operate and utilise commercial fleet in a safe, resilient and affordable manner.
The Leader vacated the Chair, and the Vice-Chair, Councillor David A Bithell, presided over the next items on the Agenda to enable the Leader to present Agenda items 5 and 6 in his capacity as Lead Member for Finance and Performance. (Councillor David A Bithell in the Chair)
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – (i) That the contents of the WLGA report be actioned and the responses to the recommendations made. (ii) That a further report be brought back to Executive Board in six months. (iii) That a report be provided on the effectiveness of staff working from home. Reason for decision To highlight the scope of the review and its findings and to consider the responses to the recommendations made.
The Lead Member for Finance and Performance submitted a report (COFI/11/24) to report the outcomes of a financial review by the Welsh Government Association, commissioned by the Council, and to note the proposed responses to the recommendations made in the report. The Lead Member presented the report and highlighted the main points contained within it. A debate ensued and the following points were raised: · Reference was made to the report which highlighted the mixed opinions with regards to the degree to which working from home was affecting recruitment and retention, and it was suggested that a further report be requested to look into this issue in more detail. · Confirmation by Officers that certain sectors had experienced problems recruiting staff who wanted to have the option to work from home. Some staff had left the Authority to move to other posts which allowed them to work at home. She advised Members that feedback was received from staff through the employee survey, and she pointed out that information from the next survey would be available in May. · Clarification sought in relation to the in-year budget and whether it would be balanced. Officers advised that the quarter 3 report indicated that the budget was on track to be delivered without any unplanned use of reserves. · Clarification regarding spot purchasing contracts for school transport. Officers advised that this had been referenced in the budget monitoring reports, but because of the way that the contracts were let, there had been a delay in some of the information being available, so Officers had had to use historical ledger information to forecast what the position would be. Members were advised that the issue had now been resolved. · Importance of ensuring that all Members need to be involved in closely monitoring the budget. RESOLVED – (i) That the contents of the WLGA report be actioned and the responses to the recommendations made. (ii) That a further report be brought back to Executive Board in six months. (iii) That a report be provided on the effectiveness of staff working from home. Reason for decision To highlight the scope of the review and its findings and to consider the responses to the recommendations made.
Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – (i) That the Budget and Council Tax be recommended for approval by Council and that: (a) the 2024/25 revenue budget totalling £318,669,885 be approved including fire levy of £9,506,724 (b) a sum of £86,707,296 be raised from Council Tax which equates to £1,598.00 at band D and of that sum: (i) £121,284 be raised as special expenses on the community areas of Acton, Caia Park, Offa and Rhosddu (£2.24), £7,225 on the community of Glyntraian (£0.13), £21,057 on the community of Llangollen Rural (£0.39) and £26,734 on the community of Chirk (£0.49) (ii) £86,530,996 be raised as general expenses (£1,594.75). (ii) Any additional funding received following publication of the Local Government Final Settlement will be applied as prescribed or used to reduce risks within the overall budget package. (iii) The Medium Term Financial Plan outlined in Appendix 4 to report COFI/08/24 be recommended to Council. (iv) The 2024/25 Capital Strategy (including the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement), Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy as outlined in Appendices 5 and 5a to report COFI/08/24 be recommended to Council. (v) To establish a budget mitigation reserve of £5m to help with the management of a number of risks associated with the delivery of the budget plan. Use of the reserve would be subject to approval by the Executive Board, following a recommendation made by the Chief Officer FICT. Reasons for decisions (i) To enable the Council to determine its revenue budget for 2024/25 and set the Council Tax for the year. (ii) To update the Medium Term Financial Plan and to make recommendations to Council on the 2024/25 Capital, Treasury Management and Investment Strategies, including the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement. (iii) To establish a reserve to as part of budget risk mitigation in 2024/25.
The Lead Member for Finance and Performance submitted a report (COFI/08/24) asking Members to make a recommendation to Council on the 2024/25 Revenue Budget and Council; to recommend the Medium Term Financial Plan for the period 2024/25 to 2026/27 to Council; to recommend the Capital Strategy (including the Minimum Term Revenue Provision (MRP) Annual Statement), Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy 2024/25 to Council and to recommend the establishment of a reserve to help mitigate financial risk in 2024/25. The Lead Member presented the report and highlighted the main points contained within it. A debate ensued and the following points were raised: · Disappointment at the position that Local Authorities were in, but recognition that Council Tax levels would need to be increased, and redundancies would need to be made alongside reshaping and reorganisation of services. The Chair added to the comments by stating that whilst there could be no guarantee that there wouldn’t be redundancies, the Council had an excellent track record with the redeployment process and would do everything possible to try to redeploy as many staff as possible and that all policies and procedures would be followed to mitigate the risk. · Importance of ensuring that Members continued to canvass for more public funding to deliver services. · Request for an All Member Workshop to be held regarding the Library Service review in order to explore opportunities for community involvement and asset transfer etc. · Confirmation that a report would be presented to the School Budget Forum on the new licensed deficit plan. · Acknowledgement that it was difficult to forecast finances when the settlement from Welsh Government was unknown. · Importance of carrying out public consultation at the earliest opportunity was highlighted. · Confirmation that Officers would be meeting with individual schools to discuss their indicative budget positions. RESOLVED – (i) That the Budget and Council Tax be recommended for approval by Council and that: (a) the 2024/25 revenue budget totalling £318,669,885 be approved including fire levy of £9,506,724 (b) a sum of £86,707,296 be raised from Council Tax which equates to £1,598.00 at band D and of that sum: (i) £121,284 be raised as special expenses on the community areas of Acton, Caia Park, Offa and Rhosddu (£2.24), £7,225 on the community of Glyntraian (£0.13), £21,057 on the community of Llangollen Rural (£0.39) and £26,734 on the community of Chirk (£0.49) (ii) £86,530,996 be raised as general expenses (£1,594.75). (ii) Any additional funding received following publication of the Local Government Final Settlement will be applied as prescribed or used to reduce risks within the overall budget package. (iii) The Medium Term Financial Plan outlined in Appendix 4 to report COFI/08/24 be recommended to Council. (iv) The 2024/25 Capital Strategy (including the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement), Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy as outlined in Appendices 5 and 5a to report COFI/08/24 be recommended to Council. (v) To establish a budget mitigation reserve of £5m to help with the management of a number of risks associated with the delivery of the budget plan. Use of the reserve would be subject to approval by the Executive Board, following a recommendation made by the Chief Officer FICT. Reasons for decisions (i) To enable the Council to determine its revenue budget for 2024/25 and set the Council Tax for the year. (ii) To update the Medium Term Financial Plan and to make recommendations to Council on the 2024/25 Capital, Treasury Management and Investment Strategies, including the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement. (iii) To establish a reserve to as part of budget risk mitigation in 2024/25.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Mark Pritchard, resumed Chair of the Meeting from this point in the proceedings.
RESOLVED - That the press and public be excluded from the Meeting during consideration of the following items as it is likely that, if they were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 15 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).