Agenda item

To consider the information and the risks regarding the Capital Programme, and scrutinise the Cabinet’s decisions

·         To accept the report and note the relevant risks in the context of the capital programme of the Council and its Departments.

·         To accept the Cabinet's decision 18/01/2022

A report was presented by the Senior Finance Manager on the amended capital programme (position as at end of November 2021) and approval of relevant funding sources. Attention was drawn to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the capital programme, and it was highlighted that only 37% of the budget had been spent up to the end of November 2021, compared with 31% over the same period last year and 51% two years ago (2019/20 before the interruption of Covid19). It was added that an analysis per Department of the £127.7 million capital programme for the 3 years 2020/21 - 2023/24 had been included in the report.

Reference was made to the sources to fund the net increase of approximately £3.7 million since the last review, and it was added that the main conclusions were that the Council had specific plans in place to invest approximately £52.1 million this year, with £27.4 million of it, namely 53%, funded by attracting specific grants.

It was explained that £22.1 million in proposed spending had been re-profiled from 2021/22 to 2022/23 and 2023/24, with the main plans including

·         £6.2 million in Housing Strategy Plans

·         £5.8 million in Flood Prevention Schemes

·         £5.4 million in 21st Century Schools Plans and Others (21st century).

Attention was drawn to the main plans, as well as the additional grants list that the Council had succeeded in attracting since the last review, including:

·         £2.3 million School Maintenance Grant

·         £1.4 million Welsh Government Grant towards Flood Prevention

·         £0.4 million Economic Stimulation Fund Grant

·         £0.3 million Ysgol Treferthyr Childcare Grant.

At the meeting of the Cabinet (18 January 2022), it was resolved to accept the report and approve all the recommendations.

               Thanks were expressed for the report

During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by members:

·         The report reflected good news

·         The staff who found and succeeded in attracting additional funding should be congratulated - it was a significant sum and was an investment in the Council's capabilities.

In response to a question regarding 2022/23 schemes that had been re-profiled since the original budget (and that the figure was the same from year to year), and whether the implications of increasing costs / prices had been built into the likely plan or slippage, it was noted that inflation was at its highest for many years and therefore, while there was a specific sum in the budget for capital items, there were limitations on how far the funding would stretch. Reference was made to a discussion in the Cabinet in October 2021 on the end of August capital budget review where the Chief Executive noted that an intentional decision had been made to try to slip some capital schemes, in order to wait for the prices of some commodities, such as timber, to stabilise. It was added that a reflection of these slippages had been included in the figures.

RESOLVED

·         To accept the report and note the relevant risks in the context of the capital programme of the Council and its Departments.

·         To accept the Cabinet's decision 18/01/2022