The first phase of our work on the budget proposals for the next financial year were completed this week, following a meeting of CMT and Cabinet. The UK financial outlook is challenging and there’s the usual uncertainty due to the Chancellor’s budget coming soon and its impact on Welsh Government and local authority funding. In Swansea we’ve completed the review of directorate budgets, with further work on capital budgets and the Housing Revenue Account to come in November. Our overall assessment is that we’re in a fairly positive position to manage the financial challenges we’ll be facing in the coming months. Council will set the budget in March and between now and then you’ll have a formal chance to have your say on the proposals. I will keep you posted in the meantime.
A key part of our work to stay on course budget-wise is our transformation strategy, Successful and Sustainable Swansea. The strategy sets out how we’re changing the services you deliver every day so that they are modern, meet the expectations of residents and deliver the financial savings we need to keep the budget on track. Find out more about progress here. It’s supported by a transformation board of officers and Cabinet members which meets quarterly to monitor progress. The latest meeting was yesterday. I’m pleased to say that, thanks to your efforts, good progress is being made, and the plan is broadly where it needs to be. Challenges are being addressed around homelessness and social services due mainly to rising demand for services that all councils face. There’s also good evidence to show our work on other strands including digital transformation, regeneration, schools waste services and More Homes are delivering results for staff and residents. My thanks to all of you for helping make the difference in our communities every day.
Congratulations to our Community Engagement Team, CMET and all other council staff who helped support this summer’s Chill City youth engagement project in the city centre. They staged almost 100 events and activities that helped contribute to a reduction in anti-social behaviour in the city centre during the school summer holidays for the second year running. You can read more about that here. Working with police and more than 60 other partners it saw the initiative shortlisted for the Best Problem Solving in Partnership Award at this week’s South Wales Police Awards held at the Brangwyn Hall. Although we did not win, to be nominated as a Top Three finalist was a great achievement. Well done to all involvement.
My thanks to all the teams who helped deliver this summer’s IRONMAN 70.3 event. Our latest economic impact assessment revealed this week shows it contributed more than £4.3m to the local economy, boosting jobs, tourism and hospitality businesses. It’s a significant increase on last year and adds further endorsement of its growing popularity in Swansea and far beyond that enhances our reputation for delivering great events.
As our Central Library staff continue their work on the big move to Y Storfa, they’ve been praised by the people they serve. One message from a member of the public read: “In your Civic Centre base you gave us book recommendations, a kind smile – and so much more. We look forward to the new library opening!” Y Storfa, complete with the new library and a range of other public services, is due to open before Christmas and my thanks to all the teams who are working to ensure this complex operation goes well.
Well done to our cleansing teams who are currently on their annual rounds clearing tonnes of autumn leaves from our roads and paths to keep traffic on the move and drains as free from blockages as possible.
And, finally, if you’re in the city centre tomorrow it’ll be almost impossible to miss Spooks in the City events and Swansea Market’s ‘Terror at the Market Garden’. My thanks to all the teams involved in ensuring they’ll be a spectacular success.
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