CABINET

REPORT OF CORPORATE DIRECTORS GROUP

28 SEPTEMBER 2016

SECTION A – MATTER FOR DECISION WARDS AFFECTED: ALL DRAFT 2017/18 BUDGET FOR CONSULTATION 1. Purpose of Report

To seek Member approval to consult on draft proposals for financial savings and income generation for 2017/18 and beyond.

To confirm that consultation will take place to the end of December 2016 prior to reviewing responses and setting a balanced budget for 2017/18.

2. Executive Summary

Today's report does not seek final decisions from Members on priorities or on where financial savings should be made. The aim of this report is to seek approval to go out to consultation and listen to the views of our County Borough citizens and stakeholders in relation to the issues set out in this report. Final decisions on setting the Council's Budget for 2017/18 will be required to be taken in February 2017 following the end of public consultation and receipt of the Welsh Government's Final Local Government Settlement. The report identifies that due to projected UK Government spending cuts to beyond 2019/20 together with Welsh Health Service funding pressures it is projected that there will be a need for this Council to make budget savings of £11.2m for 2017/18 and £36 m over the next three years. The savings proposals set out in this report amount to £6.8m for 2017/18, which is short of the projected budget gap by £4.4m. Further work is continuing to be carried out to identify options to close this shortfall including work on income generation, reviewing

central budgets, amalgamating services and a further update will be provided to members following the Provisional Settlement announcement expected on 19 October 2016.

3. Background

On the 13 July 2016 a report was presented to Cabinet setting out the updated Forward Financial Plan Gap (FFP) for each financial year to March 2020. That report showed the various assumptions for each year including cost pressures such as pay award, inflation, new UK Government taxation in the form of an Apprenticeship Levy, together with population and specific service pressures. Further details of the pressures and inflation/other factors built into the budget are set out in Appendices 2 and 3. The report also reviewed and confirmed that £3.8m of the previously approved savings schedule for 2017/18 remained on target to help close the projected budget gap. The following table shows the projected Gap as reported at the July meeting:

Funding Gap @ June 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

£’000 £’000 £’000

Total Budget Gap 12,645 14,740 10,332

Less withdrawal of one-off budget allocated to Streetscene for 2016/17 **

-1,229 0 0

Budget Gap before Directorate Savings

11,236 14,740 10,332

Cumulative Gap 11,236 25,976 36,308

Savings @ June 2016 -3,815 -250 -250

Budget Gap @ June 2016 7,421 14,490 10,082

Cumulative Gap @ June 2016

7,421 21,911 31,993

** Members will recall that due to the better than expected Local Government Settlement for 2016-17 at a reduction of 0.5% this council provided and invested for this financial year only an additional £1.229m in Environmental / Streetscene Improvements and therefore this is the first call for closing the budget savings gap in 2017/18. Following the outcome of the National Assembly for Wales’ elections of May 2016 the Welsh Government will require the support of other parties to set its annual budget from 2017/18 onwards. During the election campaign the Health Service was one of the main areas of debate and it is likely that the Welsh Government Budget will again prioritise funding for Health at the expense of Local Government and hence we can continue to expect further funding reductions over the next few years. Following the result of the EU Referendum held on 23 June 2016 which saw the people of the UK vote to leave the European Union there has been a number of changes at UK Government level. We have a new Prime Minister and Cabinet. A new team has been established to plan for the UK’s exit from the European Union which will take place 2 years from the date the UK issues notice under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The UK Government has not yet confirmed the actual date of issuing the notice to leave under Article 50 but this is not now expected until 2017. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer has already confirmed that the previous target of balancing the UK budget by 2020 will not be achieved and further clarification on the Government’s strategy will be announced in the Autumn Statement due in November. As a consequence it is expected that the Welsh Government will only announce a 1 year budget providing funding for 2017/18 only. The Draft Welsh Government Budget is expected to be announced on the 18 October with the Provisional Local Government Settlement a day later on the 19 October, with the Final Settlement in late December. The Chancellor for the Exchequer has stated that the UK Government will guarantee to “back” until 2020 EU funded projects signed before this year’s Autumn Statement. Since 2010 this Council has already had to cut in real terms some £72m from its revenue budget and reduced its workforce by 20% through a combination of voluntary redundancies and a transfer of functions.

Neath Port Talbot Councils net revenue budget for 2016/17 is £270.9m and together with grants and income results in a gross budget or investment of some £417m in Council services across the County Borough. The Council also invests annually a further £50m+ through its capital programme.

4. Council Priorities 2016 - 2019 On the 20th May 2016 the Council published its Corporate Improvement Plan for the period 2016 – 2019. There are six improvement objectives that were established at the beginning of the term of the current administration, reflecting the Council’s priorities. The Council has retained the same six objectives for 2016/17 but with a particular focus and these have been used to establish the Budget Priorities for 2017/18. These are also referred to in the Chief Executive’s separate report to today’s meeting. The priority areas are as follows:-

Improve outcomes for children in need and children looked after by improving the performance of the Council’s Children and Young People Services Department.

Raise educational standards and attainment for all young people.

Maximise the number of adults who are able to live independently with or without support within the home of their choice within their community.

Support and invest in our town centres and communities to promote economic growth, regeneration and sustainability to maximise job opportunities and improve access to employment.

Increase the percentage of waste recycled and composted.

Improve customer/citizen access to services and functions provided by the Council, or on behalf of the Council, and to improve the efficiency of those services and functions.

5. Budget 2016/17 and FFP Gap 2017 - 2020

Neath Port Talbot Council approved its 2016/17 budget on the 3rd February 2016 and finalised the council tax at the meeting of 10th March 2016. The medium term budget forecast, at that time, assumed a 3.5% per annum reduction in Welsh Government funding for both 2017/18 and 2018/19 and a 2% reduction in 2019/20. As Members are aware, a 1% variation in the level of this funding equates to £2m. The forecast showed the need to identify savings solutions of circa £36m over the next three financial years. This is after making provision for increases in pay and price inflation, the introduction of an apprenticeship levy and other cost pressures. The report also showed that of this sum the Council had identified savings of some £4.1m for 2017/18 and £260k for 2018/19 thus reducing the amount of further savings required to set a balanced budget over the 3 years to £32m. The following table shows the summarised Council Net Budget and Funding for 2016/17.

Net Budget 2016/17 Budget Budget

£m %

Total Education, Leisure & Lifelong Learning (including Schools at £79.6m or 29%)

£ 103.208 38.10%

Social Services, Health & Housing

£ 75.138 27.80%

Environment £ 31.458 11.60%

Finance & Corporate Services £ 16.653 6.10%

Fire Authority £ 6.851 2.50%

Capital Financing £ 16.408 6.10%

Council Tax Support £ 17.404 6.40%

Other including Contingency £ 3.776

1.40%

Budget Requirement £ 270.896 100%

Funding 2016/17 Budget £m

Budget %

Revenue Support Grant £ 163.137 60.2%

National Non Domestic Rates £ 42.438 15.7%

Discretionary Rate Relief -£ 0.209 -0.1%

Council Tax £ 65.530 24.2%

Total Income £ 270.896 100%

As Members are aware the Council's Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) totals £258.331m. The SSA represents the Welsh Government's standard level of funding per service that it makes available to Local Authorities. As the Council spends £270.9m this is £12.6m or 4.86% above SSA. The following table illustrates the position per service area:

SSA Budget Variance Variance

£m £m £m %

Education £ 102.897 £ 100.572 -£ 2.325 -2.3%

Social Services £ 72.833 £ 83.565 £ 10.732 14.7%

Roads & Transport £ 7.660 £ 9.986 £ 2.326 30.4%

Other Services £ 35.633 £ 36.200 £ 0.567 1.6%

Capital Financing £ 15.385 £ 16.408 £ 1.023 6.6%

Council Tax Support £ 16.040 £ 17.404 £ 1.364 8.5%

Fire Service £ 5.524 £ 6.851 £ 1.327 24.0%

Deprivation Grant £ 2.359 £ - -£ 2.359 -100.0%

Total £ 258.331 £ 270.986 £ 12.655 4.9%

The above table shows that some £155m or 56% of the budget is spent directly on educating children in our schools (£80m) and providing social care to children, adults and the people with disabilities (£75m).

6. FFP Gap and Draft Savings for Consultation Attached at Appendix 1 is a schedule of draft savings for public consultation. The schedule totals some £6.8m for 2017/18, £1m for 2018/19 and £0.7m in 2019/20. Members should also note ongoing

work to identify areas for generating increased income and savings from service reviews and amalgamation. The total savings per Directorate included within Appendix 1 is as follows:-

In relation to council tax the 2017-18 Budget assumes a 3% increase. However, the actual council tax for next year will not be set until the Budget Meeting of February 2017. For information Members should note that every 1% increase in council tax generates some £600,000 of additional funding (£480k net of Council Tax Support). In addition members should note that the Local Government Pension Scheme is revalued every 3 years with the next valuation outcome due to be announced in early 2017 for implementation from 1st April 2017. The FFP includes an increase of 0.5% per annum for the employers’ contribution rate. In the current year this amounts to 24% of pensionable pay. The Government Actuarial Department is coordinating and requiring consistent assumptions be applied to all pension funds and there is potential for an even higher rat. A further 1% increase equates to approximately £750k of additional costs. Members should note that the Director of Social Services Health and Housing is chairing a group of senior officers and trade unions looking at Income Generation and Trading. Given the projected FFP Gap and hence the requirement for ongoing budget savings beyond 2018, it is critical that we look to maximise income over the next few years. This will help reduce budget savings and reduce the cost of council subsidies for some service areas such as leisure, parks etc. A separate report will be prepared for member consideration later in the year to identify those areas for development. A target of £3m to £5m over the next 3 years is being targeted into the Forward

Directorate 2017/18 £’000

2018/19 £’000

2019-20 £’000

Education, Leisure & Lifelong Learning including Schools

£1,794 £503 £152

Social Services, Health & Housing £2,802 £250 £250

Environment £1,285 £20 £33

Corporate £958 £306 £266

Total £6,839 £1,079 £701

Financial Plan. Additional income generated will further reduce the FFP Gap mentioned below. Members should also note that work is to be progressed to amalgamate the cross directorate catering and cleaning services and in 2017 commence to identify savings from services provided by both Education and Children Services to our young people. The following table shows the projected FFP Gap after updating the Savings Schedule proposals as set out in Appendix 1. The table shows that the gap remains some £4.4 m short of the savings target for 2017/18 and some £28m over the 3 years and work is ongoing to close this projected gap

Funding Gap @ Sept 2016 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

£’000 £’000 £’000

Total Budget Gap 12,465 14,740 10,332

Less withdrawal of one off budget allocated to Streetscene in 2016/17

-1,229 0 0

Budget Gap before Directorate Savings

11,236 14,740 10,332

Cumulative Gap 11,236 25,976 36,308

Updated Savings @ Sept 2016 -6,839 -1,079 -701

Budget Gap @ Sept 2016 4,397 13,661 9,631

Cumulative Gap @ Sept 2016 4,397 18,058 27,689

7. Other Funding Considerations A review of all non-directorate budgets including council tax support, capital financing and the levies/precepts will also be undertaken to help close the remaining budget gap.

Specific Grants also provide funding to underpin the delivery of many statutory services or Welsh Government Priorities. These include Pupil Deprivation Grant and other Education/School Improvement, Waste and Recycling Services, Supporting People, Community First etc. As in previous years it is critical that we receive early notification of these grants for 2017/18 otherwise they could provide even more service and financial challenges. As previously reported 76% of the Council’s funding comes from the Welsh Government settlement. Local Authorities, the Welsh Local Government Association and Trade Unions have over the past few months been setting out the case for a reasonable funding settlement for local public services and if successful this will also assist to close the budget gap.

8. Crime and Disorder Impact The Council has a legal duty under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to carry out all its various functions with “due regard to the need to prevent Crime and Disorder in its area”. Individual proposals are being assessed as to their impact on crime and disorder and should any specific impact be identified these will be identified against individual proposals and summarised in final proposals.

9. Equality Impact Assessment The Equality Act 2010 requires public bodies to “pay due regard to the need to: • eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act; • advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and • foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristics and persons who do not share it.” This report identifies the need to make budget savings of over £11m for 2017/18 and £36m over the next 3 years. The draft proposals will have different impacts on services provided across the whole of the

County Borough i.e. on citizens, on service users and various people included within the protected characteristics groups set out in the Equality Act 2010. Individual Equality Impact Assessments for specific proposals are being undertaken and will be made available to Members as part of the budget scrutiny process.

10. Workforce Impacts The workforce will be impacted by the reduction in budget funding available to run services. The Council has shared this report and information with trade unions and are having and will continue to hold staff briefings over the next few months. The Council wishes to minimise compulsory redundancies and is launching its early retirement/voluntary redundancy scheme in late October/November 2016.

11. Consultation The report to Cabinet of the 13 July 2016 commenced early consultation in relation to budget matters. The Chief Executive has also presented a separate report to today’s meeting setting out the external context and alignment with the Council’s Corporate Plan and this Budget. Today will commence the formal consultation with the public on the draft budget proposals for savings/income generation. Members will note the Budget Timetable as set out at Appendix 4 to this report.

12. Recommendations

It is recommended that Members authorise the Chief Executive to consult the public on the savings and additional income proposals set out at Appendix 1 of this report.

13. Reason for Proposed Decision

To commence the budget savings consultation for 2017/18.

14. Implementation of Decision

The decision is proposed for implementation immediately after consultation with the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee.

15. Appendices Appendix 1 - Draft savings for consultation Appendix 2 - Revenue Service Pressures 2017 to 2020 Appendix 3 – Inflation and other Factors Appendix 4 –Budget Timetable 2017/18

16. Background Papers Cabinet Report of 13 July 2016 – Forward Financial Plan 2017-2020 Budget working files

17. Wards Affected

All

18. Officer Contact

For further information on this report item, please contact:

Mr. Steven Phillips – Chief Executive Tel: 01639 763305 Email: s.phillips@npt.gov.uk Mr Hywel Jenkins – Director of Finance & Corporate Services - Tel: 01639 763251 E-mail: h.jenkins@npt.gov.uk Mr Aled Evans – Director of Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning – Tel: 01639 763393 Email: a.evans@npt.gov.uk Mr Nick Jarman – Director of Social Services, Health and Housing – Tel: 01639 763279 Email: n.jarman@npt.gov.uk Mr Gareth Nutt – Director of Environment Services Tel: 01639 686668 Email: g.nutt@npt.gov.uk

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

ELLL502 CYPE Home to School/College Transport

Chris Millis Continue to rationalise home to school transport routes as per agreed policy.

55

ELLL524 ECR Leisure Services Aled Evans Reduction in Celtic Leisure contract sum via contract efficiencies

200

ELLL604 ECR Restructure of library service / further reduction or transfer of library provision

Andrew Thomas

Transfer of Skewen and Baglan library to communities and other efficiencies.

54

ELLL605 ECR Reduction in subsidy for Cefn Coed Museum

Chris Millis Continue consultation and working with the friends of Cefn Coed Museum to make efficiency savings. Ongoing discussions with Welsh Government in relation to their site liabilities.

10

ELLL620 ECR Margam Park Andrew Thomas

Internal restructure within Margam Park has led to favourable income generation

75

ELLL624 CYPE Increase price of school meals

Chris Millis Increase price for schools meals charged to parents

30

ELLL626 CYPE Review of Welsh translation unit

Chris Millis Cost efficiencies and service charges 20

ELLL701 CYPE Reduction of Schools' Base Budget

Aled Evans Less funding for all schools. Potential job losses.

796

ELLL702 CYPE Reduce the DBS Budget Chris Millis Traditionally the LA has paid for DBS checks on behalf of schools. This is no longer sustainable. Schools will be required to comply with the Safer Recruitment Policy. Regional working has reduced the unit costs.

28

ELLL703 CYPE Full Cost Recovery - School Cleaning

Chris Millis Risk that schools may choose to opt out of using the service.

76

ELLL704 CYPE Age profiles of children attending out of county placements

Andrew Thomas

No major impact, pupils will have reached school leaving age. Possible potential savings in special school transport costs

135 213 72

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

ELLL705 CYPE / ECR

Vacancy Management Andrew Thomas / Chris Millis

Additional workload for staff. Prioritised workloads.

30

ELLL706 ECR Increase Income - NPT Works

Chris Millis Continued improvement in service delivery.

30

ELLL707 ECR Reduce Subsidy - Pontardawe Arts Centre

Andrew Thomas

Further reduction in funding to theatres, possibly a reduction in opening times

40 40 40

ELLL708 ECR Reduce Subsidy - Gwyn Hall

Andrew Thomas

More efficient management of Celtic Leisure contract.

40 40 40

ELLL709 ECR Re-structure community services and funding

Andrew Thomas

More effective use of grant funding to reduce core costs

39

ELLL710 CYPE / ECR

Innovative use of grant funding

Andrew Thomas / Chris Millis

Review existing grants in order to maximise the use of grant funding

100

ELLL711 ECR Further reduction in subsidy to Aberafan Seafront / Lifeboat Service

Andrew Thomas

Further reduction in Subsidy. Service may become unsustainable

5

ELLL712 CYPE Reduce Special Education Needs budget for schools

Andrew Thomas

Reduction in support for our most vulnerable pupils.

27 19

ELLL713 CYPE Negotiate a 10% reduction towards the Core Costs of ERW

Chris Millis Currently pay a contribution towards the central support team of ERW.

4

ELLL714 ECR Withdraw match support for Disability Sports Coordinator's post

Chris Millis Withdrawal of match funding support for a Disability Sports Co-coordinator

15

ELLL715 CYPE Implementation of the recommendations from the catering review

Chris Millis Reduction in the conditions of service for staff.

100

ELLL716 ECR Ensure that the running costs of Tir Morfa Education Centre are self-financing

Chris Millis Potential additional pressure on Adult Education, Skills and Training Unit and Youth Service Budgets.

76

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

ELLL717 ECR Twyn Yr Hydd Andrew Thomas

Potential rental opportunities for 2018. Value to be confirmed in due course

ELLL718 ECR Margam Park Andrew Thomas

Income opportunities being reviewed. Value to be confirmed in due course

SSHH514 SCHH / CYPE

Workforce Strategy Savings All SSHH Implement new grading structure 95

SSHH516 SSHH Homecare - Review of savings opportunities

N Jarman Continue to improve the efficiency of the Homecare Service

338

SSHH540 CYPE Children’s Services A Jarrett Savings arising from ongoing reductions in Looked After Children

614

SSHH543 SCHH Restructure of Social Work Teams

N Jarman Review of Social Work workforce to operate as efficiently as possible

125

SSHH605 SCHH Respite and day care N Jarman Modernisation of LD and OP respite and day care-rationalisation of premises and increase capacity utilisation (particularly Trem-y-Mor respite)

250 250 250

SSHH701 SCHH Complex Needs A Jarrett Modernisation of complex needs service - rationalisation of premises and increase capacity utilisation, transferring more packages of care internally.

250

SSHH702 SCHH Community Resource Team A Jarrett Improve the flow of service users through the whole system which will allow more efficient use of the reablement service. Anticipated savings should arise from reduced demand for long term residential care and reduced hours of domiciliary care.

300

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

SSHH703 SCHH Placements Budget A Jarrett Reduce Placements budgets (extend the PTI approach to all packages of care), implement Local Area Co-ordination model and re-introduce panel arrangements for elderly residential care.

500

SSHH704 SCHH Supporting People A Thomas Review of externally commissioned housing services.

330

ENV508 E&H / ECR

Workforce Strategy Savings All ENVT Implement new grading structure 14

ENV531 ECR Cease security contract for Authorities Estate

S Brennan Cease security contract costs 20

ENV533 ECR Property services S Brennan Property increase income and reduce expenditure

50

ENV534 ECR Reduce Building Maintenance expenditure

S Brennan Will reduce maintenance works on County's buildings

50

ENV556 E&H Waste Disposal M Roberts Anticipated procurement savings 160

ENV639 E&H Waste Collection M Roberts Savings from side waste restriction 40

ENV603 ECR Planning N Pearce Revised table of charges for pre-applications

10

ENV605 ECR Gypsy S Brennan Increase rent income and reduce expenditure, following the extension of Caegarw

25

ENV606 ECR /E&H

Civic Building S Brennan Additional rental Income at Pontardawe One Stop Shop

8

ENV611 E&H Car Parking D Griffiths Car Parking Income withdraw Christmas free parking. Possible impact on trade.

20

ENV612 ECR Sandfields Young Business Centre

S Brennan Increase Income 10

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

ENV614 ECR Planning N Pearce Reduce car allowances, professional fees, advertising costs

12

ENV615 ECR Building Control N Pearce Reduce office and general expenditure 8

ENV616 ECR Planning Policy N Pearce Reduce office and general expenditure 2

ENV617 E&H Wildlife, Countryside and Biodiversity

N Pearce Reduction in expenditure 11

ENV618 ECR Property division S Brennan Running costs savings re asset management, strategic development and land acquisition

33

ENV623 ECR Energy - Management / Business Support Fund

S Brennan Decrease Professional Fees Budget 9

ENV644 ECR Building Maintenance S Brennan Reduction in building maintenance budget 50

ENV626 ECR Planning N Pearce Reduce staff costs 36

ENV627 E&H Wildlife, Countryside and Biodiversity

N Pearce Reduce staff costs 36

ENV629 ECR /E&H

Civic Building S Brennan Reduce staff costs 20

ENV637 E&H Community Transport D Griffiths Savings from Social Service Day Services review resulting in reduced transport costs

260

ENV640 E&H Street furniture M Roberts Reduced maintenance 3

ENV641 ECR /E&H

Public Conveniences S Brennan/ M Roberts

Review and close public conveniences e.g. Resolven

15

ENV645 E&H Management of stray dogs M Roberts Full year's impact of savings partially delivered in 2016/17

10

ENV701 E&H Community Services

Transport Savings Dave Griffiths

Service review 200

ENV702 E&H Transport Admin staff

reduction Dave Griffiths

Dependant on ER/VR 23

ENV703 ECR /E&H

Cease to use MENTOR system

Michael Roberts

Functionality to be replaced by in-house solution

49

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

ENV704 E&H

Survey Team Michael Roberts

Reduction in staff costs 26

ENV705 E&H

Crematorium/ Cemeteries Michael Roberts

Amalgamation of the two services 20 33

ENV706 ECR /E&H Asset Sponsorship

Nicola Pearce

Income generation 75

ENV707 ECR Catering and Cleaning Simon Brennan

Cross Directorate Service review. Value to be confirmed in due course

CORP503 PRB Workforce Strategy Savings All CORP Implement new grading structure 40

CORP576 PRB Introduce revised access to service policy across council

Karen Jones

Implement the digital by choice strategy, moving more customers to self-serve options thus reducing the volume of telephone and face to face enquiries. The channel shift will reduce the staffing requirement across Customer Services and change the skills mix. New voice technology to provide opportunities to automate a significant element of the switchboard function. The target has been reduced from £150k due to delays in introducing new voice technology

22 75 36

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

CORP577 PRB Review of CCTV operation to further reduce costs

Karen Jones

Implement the decisions taken by Members to reduce the number of cameras across the County Borough to ensure all cameras meet the "necessity test". Complete discussion with the City and County of Swansea to establish if a business cases exists to create a joint CCTV monitoring service which would restore 24/7 monitoring across the remaining cameras but require fewer staff. The target has been reduced from £114k as Members elected not to pursue further reduction in the monitoring service.

44 30

CORP591 PRB Legal Staffing David Michael

Reduction in staffing via ER/VR. Further savings will need to be compensated for by reduced workload. There is a risk of destabilising teams.

100

CORP598 PRB ICT - Strategies to be identified

Steve John Identify new income streams - but if these cannot be identified will result in reduction of staff.

359

CORP602 PRB Human Resources Sheenagh Rees

Reduce non salary budget lines, e.g. car allowances, printing expenses, postage costs, etc.

15

CORP603 PRB Reduce Corporate Training Budgets

Sheenagh Rees

Reduced provision of corporate management development and equalities training, which will now be minimal.

11

CORP604 PRB Reduce Occupational Health Professional fees budget

Sheenagh Rees

Introduction of Occupational Health on line referral system and the referral hotline number will reduce unnecessary referrals to the service and increase capacity of professional nursing team, reducing the need for externally purchased service.

10 10

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

CORP608 PRB Democratic Services Karen Jones

Reduce budgets to reflect actual costs across a range of headings

15

CORP609 PRB Corporate Strategy - staff restructuring

Karen Jones

Remodelling of the staffing arrangements to take account of the impact of new legislation on the corporate strategy function

18 6

CORP613 PRB Financial Services - increase Income generation

Dave Rees Limited scope for income generation 23

CORP614 PRB Financial Services - reduce staffing across the division

Dave Rees Reduced capacity to provide services to the public and other directorates. Performance in key areas is likely to fall. Future year savings will increase risk that statutory functions are not delivered in full. Loss of experience. Target has been reduced from £280k.

210

CORP701 PRB Non staff savings Dave Rees Limited scope for further non staff savings 56

CORP702 PRB Staff reductions S John The ICT service will be significantly impaired. Development capacity will fall and service requests will take longer to effect. Income generation and/or collaborative opportunities may offset some job losses/service issues.

200 200

CORP703 PRB Increase Joint Resilience Unit charges for externally provided services carried out in relation to COMAH work to ensure full cost recovery.

Sheenagh Rees

The Council has a duty to address the statutory requirements of the COMAH regulations including the development, production, maintenance and testing of COMAH off site emergency plans. The Council is entitled to recover the costs for providing this service. The charging regime has been reviewed to ensure that costs match current service provision.

7

Appendix 1 Draft savings for consultation

New Ref Board Description Lead Main Impacts 2017/18 £000

2018/19 £000

2019/20 £000

CORP704 PRB Delete vacant Assistant HR Officer post

Sheenagh Rees

An Assistant HR Officer post has been recently vacated as a result of promotion of the postholder. The team will no longer have a 'training grade' post which has been used to grow our own HR Officers - as a result of this, should HR Officer vacancies arise which need to be filled, we will have to go to the external market to fill.

28

CORP705 PRB Human Resources Sheenagh Rees

Delete partial hours where post holders have reduced their working hours.

15

Total 6,839 1,079 701

ELLL 1,794 503 152

Social Services, Health and Housing 2,802 250 250

Environment 1,285 20 33

Corporate 958 306 266

Total 6,839 1,079 701

Appendix 2

Revenue Service Pressures 2017 to 2020

Ref Service area 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

£'000 £'000 £'000

ELLL5 Home to School Transport - Welsh Medium 2nd Campus

65 100 35

ELLL6 Ysgol Bae Baglan pay protection 121 -27 -53

SSHH44 Adult Services - Growth in numbers 100 100 100

SSHH48 Adult Services - Transition Growth 150 100 100

SSHH50 Living Wage - Contracts 450 595 630

ENVT11 Recycling, and additional residual waste freighter 200

ENVT12 Active Travel Plan - Integrated Network Maps 30

ENVT13 Japanese Knotweed - remediation of land 50

ENVT14 Borrowing for 2 backlane recycling vehicles. 31

ENVT15 Waste - Enforcement of side waste policy & recycling promotion.

100

ENVT16 Highway Bridges 30

ENVT17 Highway barrier safety, land drainage, pumping station new contract, signalling crossings

60

ENVT18 Housing Wales Act 2014 - Compulsory registration and licensing for landlords from October 2016.

46

ENVT19 Single Environment Grant - further reduction in quantum expected of circa 5%

142

CORP12 ICT service commitments 40

CORP13 Corporate Strategy - Loss of WG grant re PSB. 38

CORP14 Community Safety - Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015. Channel Panel Chair and Training.

25

CORP15 Court Deputy Service - 40% increase in case work. 45

CORP16 Housing Benefit Admin Subsidy Grant reductions. 70 70 70

OTH004 Workforce strategy (current strategy ends 31/3/18) 0 1,800

OTH005 Apprenticeship levy 700

OTH006 Living wage - NPT staff 227 219 416

OTH007 Auto Enrolment – provision Oct 2017 50

OTH008 Living Wage – non-social care 250 250 250

CONT1 General Contingency 250 250 250

Total 3,270 3,457 1,798

Cumulative Total 8,525

Appendix 3

Inflation and other Factors 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Expenditure

Teachers Pay Award (Sep) 1.00% 1.58% 2.00%

Non-Teachers Pay 1.00% 2.00% 2.00%

LGPS Employers Rate 2.08% 2.04% 2.00%

NNDR 1.00% 1.50% 1.50%

Supplies & Services 1.00% 2.00% 2.00%

General Inflation 1.00% 2.00% 2.00%

Waste - MREC 1.50% 2.00% 2.00%

CA Sites – (updated) 2.25% 2.50% 2.50%

Capital Financing 1.00% 2.00% 2.00%

Levies 1.00% 2.00% 2.00%

Income & Funding

Income - Inflation & Volume 1.00% 2.00% 2.00%

RSG -3.50% -3.50% -2.00%

Council Tax 3.00% 3.00% 3.00%

Appendix 4

BUDGET TIMETABLE 2017/18

Event Date Objectives

Cabinet 13th July 2016 To consider the updated budget forecast

Town and Community Council Forum

Originally 12 September 2016 amended to 31st October 2016

To brief town and community councillors on the emerging budget strategy and the consultation exercise

Voluntary Sector Liaison Committee

19th September 2016

To brief voluntary sector representatives on the emerging budget strategy and the consultation exercise

Cabinet 28th September 2016

To authorise consultation on the proposed budget strategy

Public Consultation Period Commences on 28th September 2016 until 28th December 2016

Partners 11th October 2016

To begin consultation with partners – partnership event

Staff 10th October onwards

Chief Executive sessions to explain the budget strategy and invite responses to the consultation exercise

CYPE Scrutiny Committee

17th October To formally scrutinise the budget proposals within the committee’s purview

Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee

18th October To formally scrutinise the budget proposals within the committee’s purview

ECR Scrutiny Committee 21st October To formally scrutinise the budget proposals within the committee’s purview

SCHH Scrutiny Committee

1st November To formally scrutinise the budget proposals within the committee’s purview

Appendix 4

Event Date Objectives

E&H Scrutiny Committee 8th November To formally scrutinise the budget proposals within the committee’s purview

Council 25th January 2017

Council Tax Scheme to be considered and agreed

Cabinet 31st January 2017

To agree final budget and proposals for 2017/18

Council 1st February 2017

Budget setting 2017/18

Council 1st March 2017 To set the Council Tax and agree the Pay Policy