The budget for next year continues to dominate CMT’s work and we’ve been wrestling with some emerging issues to try to finalise our proposals.
The removal of some grants and increased spending pressures, including unfunded pay awards, have made the task of setting a balanced budget much more difficult this year. Over the coming weeks the details will be finalised with Cabinet before we report to Council following consultation.
I know this is a difficult time for staff and decisions will need to be taken that we wouldn’t consider if the financial position was easier. Where staff are under threat of redundancy I’ve asked for particular efforts to be made to ensure that our redeployment processes operate quickly and effectively.
I’m also conscious there’s been a good deal of misinformation circulating about the proposed funding for schools. Our Section 151 Officer, Ben Smith, and I will be writing to head teachers next week setting out the facts clearly so that the record can be put straight.
Local Government collaboration.
Yesterday the Leader and I met Alun Davies AM, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services in the Welsh Government to discuss local government reform. I’m speculating but I think it’s possible that there might be a change of emphasis and it is always possible that the issue of merging councils might reappear over the coming weeks. This would have an impact on the current collaborations we’re involved in, particularly those involving education and economic development. We’ll find out more by mid-February and I’ll keep you posted on developments. In the meantime large amounts of my time, and that of colleagues, is tied up with regional collaborations and below is an update on the three main programmes.
ERW
This week I’ve been speaking to the six education directors in the ERW region about what needs to be done to improve the governance and effectiveness of the regional consortium and I’ll be meeting Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams in a few weeks to set out the position and make some recommendations for the future.
Western Bay
Last Friday I chaired the Western Bay Leadership Team where we discussed the progress made on the proposed move of Bridgend CBC to the Cwm Taf health board area. This will be a real challenge for all involved but it’s essential we retain a focus on services to the citizen, so I was pleased to hear about the excellent progress being made by the Western Bay partnership.
The Leader and I, along with colleagues from our three partner councils, met the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, and the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford. We discussed the issues that remain outstanding before we can proceed to signing the Joint Working Agreement and I’m optimistic we can resolve these so that a report can be made to Council before the end of the financial year.
Over the past few months I’ve been working with our Corporate Innovation Officer, Rhys Curtis, on a seminar for lead members and officers on what a smart and connected Swansea will look like as we progress the City Deal projects. I’ll say more about this in a couple of weeks but I’m anxious that we reach a wider audience of staff, councillors and partners so that the vision for the future can be shared and debated. The seminar will be held in early February and I’ll report back and add links to the presentations as soon as possible.
Thanks and well done
Thanks to the staff in ICT who arranged the migration of CMT to Office 365 this week. It was a smooth transition for which I’m very grateful.
Thanks to Mark Gosney and the High 5 team who this week organised a tea for this year’s winners with the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House. This followed the kind offer that the Lord Mayor made at the High 5 Awards ceremony.
On Monday evening the Mansion House was the venue for a thank you event for all our partners in the City of Culture bid which gave the opportunity to remind everyone that we’ll continue to work with Welsh Government to make Swansea the Welsh capital of culture.
Our city centre rangers dealt with 21,015 incidents last year, ranging from enquiries from the public to working with the police to report and tackle anti-social behaviour. They also support city centre events and activities, help businesses with their questions and queries, and put safety and security arrangements in place. Well done to all involved.
Next week is the last working week for Greg Jones in our Communications team. Greg is leaving to join the City Deal team so our paths will continue to cross frequently. I’d like to thank Greg for all his hard work over the years and wish him well for the future.
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