Budget approved

This week Council approved our budget for 2018/19.  The last few weeks have been a hectic time for Ben Smith and the Finance Team and I’ve written to them to thank them for their work which is greatly appreciated.  Amendments were proposed and debated and after over two hours of deliberation the budget was agreed.  The overwhelming message for me from the debate was that austerity has arrived in Wales with a vengeance but members of Council are determined to protect core services and ensure that allocation of resources reflects our five corporate priorities.

Officers and members must now work harder than ever before to bring spending in line with the budget as there’s no longer any wriggle room or potential to rely on reserves as a fall-back.  There’s never been a greater need for financial discipline in the organisation.  Corporate Management Team will be working with Cabinet to ensure that the reporting mechanisms are fit for purpose and that risks are managed effectively.

Linked to this, the consultation period for staff in Corporate Services ended yesterday and during this time we’ve managed to reduce the previous number of staff at risk down from 26 to 10.   Discussions are ongoing with the remaining staff and whilst there’s still uncertainty for them, we’re still making efforts to look for redeployment and to reduce this number further.  It’s also worth reminding staff our enhanced ER/VR scheme is in place until the end of the month and even those who may previously have been turned down can apply again. My thanks to the HR staff involved in supporting at-risk staff.

Immediately before the Council meeting there was a photoshoot of our female councillors outside the chamber as part of our celebration of International Women’s Day.

 

 

Thanks to the councillors and staff who’ve worked on the programme to celebrate women’s achievements and promote gender parity. I know Councillors Gibbard and Sherwood have worked hard with Chris Sivers, Lucy Hyde and others to raise the profile of IWD across our organisation. Thanks to all involved.

When we build again

I have to confess if anyone had asked me 10 years ago if we would see councils building houses for rent again I’d have dismissed it pretty quickly.  I remember reading a book 30 years ago called “When We Build Again” and formed my views at that time, but this week I’ve been proved wrong! The fact that we’re amongst the first pioneers in this new drive to provide affordable housing for direct management by the Council makes me very proud.

Yesterday Carwyn Jones AM, the First Minister of Wales, officially opened our new housing development at Cwrt Trefor, Colliers Way. All of the tenants have moved in and are happy in their new homes which are modern and energy efficient. The scheme has had so many extra benefits, including energy bill savings of up to £100 a year for each home, it provided 450 apprentice learning days, two long-term unemployed people secured work, we created 15 trade-based jobs and during last week’s “Beast from the East” storm the homes were heated using only solar power. There are too many people to thank but I met most of them on site yesterday.  Thanks, you’ve done a fantastic job

Collaboration

This week the Leader and I met with our counterparts at Cardiff Council to discuss our continuing collaboration on a range of issues including education funding, economic development and migration.  Clearly both councils are concerned about the future impact of Brexit on trade and economic growth and we discussed our strategies for mitigating the possible risks and impacts.  I’m convinced that partnerships between the Welsh cities is the right approach and over the coming months we’ll explore ways of work together along with our neighbours.

On Tuesday the Leader, Deputy Leader and I met Rhys Curtis, our innovation co-ordinator, to develop proposals for building on the Smart Cities seminar we held last month.  Over the next few months we’ll be engaging with schools, colleges and universities, the health board and businesses to raise awareness about the future direction of technology and digital developments through the City Deal.  We’ll be holding a second seminar for these partners and I’ll say more about this nearer the time.

Congratulations and thanks

Congratulations to Nigel Fletcher from the Waste Commercial Team who has gone 10 years without a day of sickness.

 

 

The Jig-so Integrated team of midwives, family facilitators, early language development practitioners and nursery nurses has won the Reducing Inequalities Award at the annual national Royal College of Midwifery Awards. This is great news for the families supported by the team and I’m particularly pleased because this project has reported to the Public Services Board over the last 18 months. It shows the PSBs influence in sponsoring such collaborative working and in this instance bringing together our Early Intervention Services and ABMU’s Midwifery Service to work together to benefit both the young parents and their children. Thanks and congratulations to all involved.

Finally, I know I mentioned it last week, but thanks once again to all the staff who kept services going during the winter storm.