Agenda item

Annual Delivery Document (Improvement Plan) 2020/21

To present the report of the Head of Profession (Human Resources) and Transformation.

 

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation incorporating the Annual Delivery Document for the 18 month period from October, 2020 to March, 2022 was presented for the Committee’s consideration and scrutiny.

 

The Annual Delivery Document focuses on the work which the Authority will undertake to accomplish aspirations set in the County Council Plan 2017-22.

The Portfolio Member for Council Business introduced the report and highlighted the extended 18 month timeframe which the Document covers and referred to the challenge of drafting the document in the climate of uncertainty which the Covid-19 pandemic has created. The objective in crafting the Plan which will be reviewed as circumstances evolve and change was to be ambitious but realistic acknowledging through the inclusion of four themed recovery programmes the far reaching impact which the Covid-19 emergency has had on the Council, the Island’s inhabitants, society and economy. Those four programmes will focus on economic recovery, destination recovery, social and community recovery and organisational recovery.

 

The Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation agreed that it was important that the programme of work which the Delivery Document encapsulates as well as being aspirational should also be achievable irrespective of the current pandemic. The background to implementing the Document lies within the service business plans which attest to the deliverability of the measures. The longer than usual timeframe is in recognition of the current situation and affords time and opportunity to come out of the crisis and take the Plan forwards.

 

The Chair referred to the key scrutiny questions the first of which was about the limitations which potential financial pressures and lack of resources might place on the Council’s ability to deliver the proposed Plan given that it will be necessary to continue dealing with the pandemic. He invited the Portfolio Member for Finance to give his perspective on the financial position going forwards.

 

Councillor Robin Williams, Portfolio Member for Finance confirmed that the Executive would be provided with an update on the 2020/21 Quarter 2 revenue and capital budget position at its 30 November meeting. The data currently indicates that the revenue budget is underspent and in normal circumstances this would be welcomed. However given the prevailing uncertainty due to the ongoing pandemic crisis and the speed with which the situation can change, decisions need to be taken with caution and the Council will need to take stock after the financial year has run its course when it will be better able to assess the financial position and plan on that basis. At present, Welsh Government continues to provide financial support to local authorities.

 

The Head of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer advised that although the financial data appears promising at this point in time, there remains considerable uncertainty as to how the next three months will unfold. It is anticipated that greater clarity will be obtained with the announcement by Welsh Government of the provisional local government settlement for 2021/22 in December and the availability of Quarter 3 results for the 2020/21 financial year thereafter. Historically the winter period brings with it additional pressures especially in Social Services but the hope is that by the onset of Spring the financial situation will have become clearer and this data can then be fed through to the Executive to inform its decisions with regard to the 2021/22 budget.

 

The Deputy Chief Executive responding to questions about the Plan’s affordability given the Covid-19 context and the impact on Council performance advised that an important consideration is the capacity of the organisation to progress the work. Although Officers are confident that the programme set out in the Delivery Document is achievable and that the Council has within its workforce the capabilities and expertise to deliver it, it should be noted that activities and actions will be driven by the course which Covid-19 takes entering into the new year – an improving situation will enable recovery plans to be brought forward whereas if the situation deteriorates then staff may have to be re-deployed to help with the emergency response.

Addressing a question about the implementation of the four recovery programmes in tandem with the Delivery Document, the Chief Executive clarified that recovery is a process over time and that during this period the nature of the Council’s work will adapt and change. Whilst the Council’s core responsibilities will continue to be fulfilled any additional interventions will be dependent on national programmes and the availability of funding and capacity for local authorities to undertake further recovery work. Draft recovery plans have been formulated but if these are not to be implemented before Spring, then many things can change in the interim e.g. the recent decision to extend Furlough with implications for local employment. Given that the Delivery Document is an eighteen month plan, it is likely that it will be revisited to more effectively reflect the progress of the recovery process and the Authority’s recovery priorities and to afford the opportunity for political input, influence and challenge in respect of the plans presented. Priorities will be dictated by need be those by community or by sector not forgetting also the impending implementation of Brexit which is an additional complication in terms of the economy adding to the mix of factors which all need attention. However, as the Authority moves forward and gains confidence that it is progressing into the recovery period, under the guidance of the Chief Executive it will be giving consideration to its day to day work, to additional recovery work as well as to emergency work with a view to combining these elements into a new Action Plan that will meet the needs of the Island’s communities, its businesses and its economy.

 

Responding to a question about the importance of partnership working to the delivery of the document, the Leader gave examples of where partner contribution forms an important part of the document adding that the Authority has over many years forged productive working relationships with a range of key partners and the emergency has served to strengthen those links. The Deputy Chief Executive said that the Authority is committed to effective collaboration across services and portfolios with the emergency having brought this aspect to the fore; the Authority will continue to collaborate and to work in partnership where doing so enables it to gain influence, to have an impact and where it brings added value.

Further comments and questions were raised as follows –

 

           Whether the Authority’s commitment to utilising the Council Tax Premium to ensure that local people are able to access suitable housing in their local communities by developing 3 empty homes and making them available for purchase by local first time buyers is ambitious enough and whether it should be setting itself a more aspirational target for what the Committee considered to be a commendable initiative. The Head of Housing Service explained  the process whereby the Council works with owners of empty properties who choose to sell the properties to the Council rather than on the open market ; the Council refurbishes those properties and then sells them on to local first time buyers whilst retaining a share of the equity to ensure they remain affordable. The Officer clarified that for the period of the Plan the Housing Service has 3 such properties which it is currently renovating although it has already completed work on 7 properties.

           A follow up point was raised about the second homes tax “loophole” whereby second homes are re-designated as business properties (after being certified by the Valuation Agency Office as having met the criteria) meaning they do not pay the second home Council Tax premium nor Council Tax but pay business rates instead with a number of such properties then being eligible for small business rates relief. Councillor Robin Williams, Portfolio Member for Finance confirmed that concern expressed by the Executive regarding the loss of income due to the transfer of an increasing number of second homes from the council tax regime to business rates had been relayed in a letter to Welsh Government to which the First Minister had responded. The Portfolio Member for Finance read out the First Minister’s response which in summary referred to Wales as being the only country within the UK where discretionary powers have been conferred on local authorities to levy a Council Tax premium of up to 100% on second homes and long-term empty homes pointing out also that those provisions were introduced to help councils manage problems relating to local housing supply rather than as a revenue generating measure. Whilst Welsh Government recognises the problems which the transfer of second homes out of domestic tax to  business rates causes within communities in the North and the need to find appropriate solutions for those communities to ensure that local people are not priced out of the communities into which they were born, it states that there are no quick answers and that 4 potential avenues are being considered as ideas for the next administration namely to vary the higher level of land transaction tax regionally for second homes; to increase the time period for which a property must be let before becoming eligible for business rates; to introduce powers for local authorities to levy a tourism tax and creating advantages for local first time buyers. The Portfolio Member for Finance concluded that it appears that this matter will not be addressed by the current Welsh Government Administration which does not consider there to be a loophole; this is disappointing given that it is an issue in Anglesey and affects a number of other local authorities in Wales as well.

           Acknowledging the work being done to create affordable homes for local people including by bringing empty properties back into use, a point was made about the equally pressing need to increase the number of houses for rent given that houses designated as affordable homes are not within everyone’s financial reach. The Portfolio Member for Housing clarified that the Authority’s buy back of council houses is 30% above target and that new council housing continues to be developed (although below target this year because of the pandemic) with many units in the offing and several ready to be let as part of the aim of providing a sustainable housing stock.

 

Having considered the Annual Delivery Document for the eighteen month period from October, 2020 to March, 2022 and the additional information provided by Officers and Portfolio Members at the meeting, the Committee resolved to recommend the Annual Delivery Document 2020-2022 to the Executive (Councillors Aled Morris Jones and Bryan Owen abstained from voting).

 

NO ADDITIONAL ACTION WAS PROPOSED

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