In accordance with Open Government Council Meeting Procedure Rule 2, to receive any statements from the Leader of the Council and/or statements from Cabinet Portfolio Holders:
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council, Councillor A Morgan OBE, made a statement in respect of the Council budget and the disappointing outcome of the Autumn Statement. Welsh Government will receive an additional £305M but even with the additional funding, councils face a very difficult year ahead. In real terms thisthis is likely to be approximately £41M which is down to business rate changes which the Chancellor announced and approximately £4M for potholes. The Leader expressed his grave disappointment with the outcome despite concerns raised to the UK Government regarding the pressure on Schools, Social Care and the NHS.
The Leader advised that the core revenue funding for local government in 2024-25 will increase by 3.1% but RCT Council is likely to get below 3% due to its population and formula changes, which will be a very difficult situation. He added that Officers are working hard in the background to identify areas where savings can be made.
The Leader advised that twenty-six local authorities in England are facing a 114 notice in the next 12 months, which means they will be forced to declare financial bankruptcy with no reserves/savings resulting in them failing to deliver statutory services. The Leader advised that delivering a balanced budget for RCTCBC will be extremely challenging and he reiterated his disappointment with the outcome of the Autumn statement.
The Deputy Leader, Councillor M Webber advised that on the 10th November 2023 and on behalf of the Leader, she met with Citizens Cymru/Wales and Citizens UK in St. Catherine’s Church in Pontypridd to celebrate the Council’s accreditation as a Real Living Wage employer. The Council was presented with a trophy to celebrate the achievement. The Deputy Leader wished to thank Citizens Wales UK for that recognition.
The Deputy Leader stressed the Council’s continued recognition of its staff as its biggest asset and she felt proud to meet the Deputy Minister for Social Partnership earlier in the year with the Leader to formerly receive accreditation as a Living Wage employer. The Deputy Leader concluded that as the second largest Local Authority in Wales, RCTCBC is setting the bar high for other Welsh local authorities.
The Cabinet Member for Public Health & Communities, County Borough Councillor B Harris made a statement in respect of the Council’s acceptance of the prestigious National Sustainable Food Places (SPF Bronze award) on behalf of the RCT Food Partnership. It recognises the RCT Food Partnership’s outstanding work in promoting sustainable food practices within the communities. The Council’s Community Development Team, Sustainable Food Co-ordinator and its partners have been committed to promoting healthy sustainable food and their work has contributed widely to the Council’s commitment to addressing significant social challenges such as food poverty, diet related illnesses and the loss of independent food related retailers.
Councillor B Harris wished to extend his congratulations to the team and the partnership for being recognised for this prestigious award and also wished to extend his gratitude for making RCT one of only three Welsh Local authority areas to receive this award since its inception in 2015.