Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any declaration of interest from a Member or Officer in respect of any item of business.

No declaration of interest was received.

No urgent matters at the time of dispatch of this agenda.

None to report.

To submit for confirmation, the draft minutes of the meetings of the Executive held on the following dates: -

•  28 November 2023

•  12 December 2023

The minutes of the previous meetings of the Executive held on the following dates were presented for confirmation –

·           28 November 2023

·           12 December 2023

It was resolved that the minutes of the previous meetings of the Executive held on the following dates be confirmed as correct –

·        28 November, 2023

• 12 December, 2023

To submit a report by the Head of Democracy.

The report of the Head of Democracy incorporating the Executive’s Forward Work Programme for the period from February to September 2024 was presented for confirmation.

The Head of Democracy updated the Executive regarding changes to the Forward Work Programme and the following were noted –

• Item 3 (Treasury Management 2023/24 – 6-month review), item 4 (Capital Strategy) and item 5 (Fees and Charges 2024/25) as new items for the 20 February 2024 meeting of the Executive.
• Item 10 (Strategic Equality Plan 2024-25) as a new item for the Executive’s 20 February 2024 meeting with associated item 17 (Annual Equality Report 203/24) becoming a delegated decision by the Portfolio Member to be published in March 2024.
• Item 21 (Corporate Asset Management Plan 2024-2029) as a new item for the 19 March 2024 meeting of the Executive.
• Items 32-36 (Performance and Budget Monitoring) as new items for the September 2024 meeting of the Executive.
• An additional meeting of the Executive arranged for 29 February, 2024 to consider the final draft Budget proposals for 2024/25.

It was resolved to confirm the Executive’s updated Forward Work Programme for the period February to September 2024 with the changes outlined at the meeting.

To submit a report by the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer.

The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer incorporating the initial draft Revenue Budget proposals for 2024/25 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Robin Williams, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance presented the report saying that Welsh Government’s provisional settlement showed an increase of £169.8m in the overall level of funding for Wales equivalent to a 3.1% increase in cash terms  The draft settlement has resulted in a 2.5% increase for Anglesey (0.6% below the Welsh average and the 17^th highest increase from the 22 authorities) which after the main budget changes have been taken into account leaves a funding deficit of £14.391m before any change in Council Tax. Bridging this gap through Council Tax alone would mean raising Council Tax by 30% which the Executive believes is unacceptable and unrealistic. The Executive is therefore proposing that the shortfall be made up by a combination of budget savings of £4.773m (funding of schools at 2.5% below inflation, workforce reductions, other budget savings as per Table 4 and Appendix 3 of the report and use of Council Tax Premium to support service costs), the use of £4.425m of reserves (£1.6m from General Balances and £2.825m from Earmarked Reserves) and a Council Tax increase of 9.78% plus an additional 1.12% to fund the increase in the Fire Service Levy (noting that based on the latest information, this could  change)  making a total rise of 10.9%. This would take the Band D charge (excluding Police and Town/Community Council precepts) to £1,592.37, an increase of £156.51 or £3.01 per week.

Councillor Robin Williams whilst emphasising that the level of increase int the Council Tax is not something the Executive is comfortable with referred to the difficult financial context and uncertain financial climate which has made preparing the provisional revenue budget for 2024/25 a challenging task. The Council is legally required to deliver a balanced budget and despite the proposed Council Tax increase which is at a similar level to indicative increases by other authorities, Anglesey remains one of the lowest Council tax charging authorities in Wales having exercised prudent financial management in previous years which has strengthened its financial position and is helping it deal in the short-term with the challenges it is facing. The draft Budget proposals if approved, will subsequently go out to public consultation for a two-week period.

The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer took the opportunity to explain the budget setting process and the options available to the Council in setting a balanced budget which is a legal requirement and he highlighted the limits and constraints on the sources of funding open to the Council. The majority of the Council’s funding comes from Welsh Government in the form of the Revenue Support Grant which the Council can spend as it wishes to meet local needs and priorities. The grant is distributed according to a funding formula based on various datasets including population, number of people in receipt of benefit and school pupils etc which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To submit a report by the Head of Adults’ Services.

The report of the Head of Adults’ Services seeking the Executive’s approval to set the rate of community based non-residential social care services fees and charges for 2024/25 was presented for consideration.

Councillor Alun Roberts, Portfolio Member for Adults’ Services presented the report which set out the proposed fees and charges for community based non-residential social care services for the 2024/25 financial year in accordance with the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014. It is usual practice to review the charges in respect of domiciliary services annually to coincide with Central Government’s revision of pension and benefit levels.

The Head of Adults’ Services provided the context for each category of fees and charges and explained the rationale for the fee level proposed in each case.

It was resolved to approve the following –

·      That the maximum threshold for home care services endorsed by Welsh Government be applied.

·      Charges for Telecare services as outlined in Table A of the report:

Tier 1 – everyone will be paying £75.14 per quarter

Tier 2 – everyone will be paying £149.63 per quarter

·      Telecare annual charges as outlined in Table B:

Services and Maintenance £140.00

Services Only £90.00

One-Off Installation £56.00

·      A rate for Direct Payments of £15.95 per hour

·      That a charge of £17.00 per hour be implemented for Micro Carers

·      That a charge of £10.00 be maintained for the administration of Blue Badge requests and replacements as outlined.

·      That the fee for purchasing day care services in independent residential homes be increased by 6.7% to £44.33 per day.

·      That Domiciliary Care fees be increased by £1.72 per hour to comply with new legislation.

·      Charges for Meals in Day Services as outlined in Table C:

Meals in Day Services for adults (excluding people with learning disabilities) - £7.65

    Mid-day snack in Day Services for people with learning disabilities - £3.25

    Other refreshments (tea/coffee/cake) in Day Services - £1.80

To submit a report by the Head of Adults’ Services.

The report of the Head of Adults’ Services seeking the Executive’s approval to set the rate for independent sector care home fees for 2024/25 was presented in accordance with the requirements of the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014.

Councillor Alun Roberts, Portfolio Member for Adults’ Services presented the report which set out the proposed fee levels for Residential, Residential EMI, Nursing, and Nursing EMI care for the 2024/25 financial year. The Local Authority is required to review independent sector care home fees annually to coincide with Central Government’s changes to benefits and pensions levels.

The Head of Adults’ Services reported that in setting fee levels for independent sector care homes, the Council needs to show that it has fully considered the cost of the provision in determining is standards care fees. This is done in collaboration with the other North Wales local authorities and the Heath Board by utilising a Reginal Fee Methodology as a benchmark. This model has been used as a benchmark for 2024/25 and the regional methodology toolkit has been adapted to include a market supplement for EMI provision again this year. Currently there has been no confirmation that all authorities in North Wales will use the regional methodology as a basis to set their fees for 2024/25. Work is ongoing with the Council’s counterparts in the region to ensure that Anglesey’s fees are comparable. Having regard to local circumstances, the availability of provision, demand pressures as well

as the regional formula, Anglesey proposes to increase its fees by 8.8% for 2024/25 in recognition of the financial pressures faced by providers. This exceeds the inflationary uplifts calculated using the regional methodology and is well above the 2.5% increase in the Council’s settlement from Welsh Government. Anglesey’s proposed fees for 2024/25 are set out in Table 2 of the report. The 8.8% increase if approved will apply to homes which accept the Council’s standard rates. Anyone currently in receipt of fees above the indicative rate will be asked to share financial information with consideration of a monetary uplift. The Authority will consider individual submissions from providers regarding fees and if it can be shown that the fee set is not sufficient in any individual case, the Authority will consider exceptions to the fee rates in accordance with the process outlined in the report.

It was resolved –

·      To approve the recommendation to increase the fee levels as follows –

Residential Care (Adults) - £774.47 per week

Residential (EMI) - £865.46 per week

Nursing Care (Social Care Element) - £851.81 per week

Nursing Care (EMI) (Social Care Element) - £1,005.03 per week

·      To authorise Social Services and the Finance Service to respond to any requests from individual homes to explore their specific accounts and to utilise the exercise as a basis to consider any exceptions to the agreed fees. Any exceptions to be agreed with the Adults’ Services Portfolio Member, the Director of Function (Resources)/ Section 151 Officer and the Head of Adults’ Services from within current  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To submit a report by the Head of Adults’ Services.

The report of the Head of Adults’ Services seeking the Executive’s approval for proposals to modernise and transform day services for adults with learning disabilities in the Holyhead area was presented for consideration.

The reason for the report was to respond to the aspirations of service users and offer a better and more varied experience, and to realise the Adults’ services vision that as many day activities as possible are provided from community settings, encouraging opportunities for people with learning disabilities to attend mainstream activities and integrate into the everyday life and activity of their communities. Engagement with day activity users to ascertain their opinions about activities provided from community settings took place in August and September 2023 with a cross section of responses from the exercise provided at Appendix 1 to the report. A formal consultation on the future of the day activities at the Morswyn Centre in Holyhead was held from 23 October to 1 December 2023 and a summary of the responses was provided at Appendix 2 to the report.

Councillor Alun Roberts, Portfolio Member for Adults’ Services presented the report saying that realising this vision would allow people with learning disabilities to choose where and when they wish to attend activities. He described his own engagement with people with learning disabilities which together with the responses to the consultation have shown that they are clear about what they like and enjoy and what they want in terms of experiences, a fuller life, and more control over what they do and it is they who are driving the changes. It is recognised that individuals have different needs and that some individuals will need more support than others; the Service will look at supports that respond to the needs of individuals.

1.    The Head of Adults’ Services reported that traditionally, day activities for people with learning disabilities have been provided from a designated building. The Council has four specific sites which provide activities for approximately 110 people including the Morswyn Day Centre in Holyhead. Although attending the centres responds to a number of people’s needs and keeps people safe, the model focuses on attending a setting and undertaking formal activities which can limit the choices available to individuals and restrict their personal control over their own lives. As the centres only provide for people with learning disabilities, they do not always promote the aim of improving the confidence and independence of people with learning disabilities nor provide people with learning disabilities with opportunities for integrating into the everyday life of their communities. In the Holyhead area the Department has looked at an alternative approach to meeting users’ needs where day activities are provided from community buildings/settings and the reaction had been positive as attested to by the responses from the engagement and formal consultation. Where concern has been expressed about supporting people with complex needs in the community the Service will work with these individuals to identify how best to meet their needs.

The proposals involve terminating the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.