Agenda and draft minutes

The following interests were identified in business items to be considered at the meeting.

 

Agenda Item 4:- Voluntary Merger between Conwy County Borough Council and Denbighshire County Council.  Personal interests were declared by all Councillors present.  The reason for the declarations was that the respective implications for County Councillors if their terms of officers were extended as a result of a merger.

 

Councillors S.A. Davies, H. Hilditch-Roberts and D.I. Smith declared an additional personal interest in Agenda Item 4 because their partners were employees of the Council.

 

No items were raised which in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972.

 

To consider a report by the Chief Executive (copy enclosed) to provide an update about the work done on the voluntary merger option since the Council meeting of 9 September 2014, and to recommend that the Council agrees to submit the attached Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Welsh Government by the end of November 2014.

 

A copy of a report by the Chief Executive (CE), which  provided an update on the work done on the voluntary merger option since the Council meeting of the 9^th September, 2014 and recommended that the Council agrees to submit the attached Expression of Interest (EOI), Appendix 2, to the Welsh Government (WG) by the end of November 2014, had been circulated prior to the meeting.

 

The CE introduced the report, and provided a detailed summary of the following key areas of the PowerPoint presentation circulated with the report:- 

 

-        Denbighshire County Councils position.

-        Progress since the 9^th September, 2014.

-        Details pertaining to the Expression of Interest (EOI).

-        EOI: The Case for Merger (1) and (2).

-        Options for Council Tax harmonisation.

-        Staff Pay and Grading.

-        Advantages of Voluntary Merger.

-        Risks and Conclusions.

-        Road Map to Voluntary Merger and the Next Steps.

-        Recommendations.

 

A summary of important developments since the Council meeting in September was provided and included:-

 

·                 Conwy Council having passed a similar motion, agreeing to investigate the option of voluntarily merging with Denbighshire, on 18 September 2014.

 

·                 WG had published its ‘Prospectus’ for voluntary merges: “Invitation to Principal Local Authorities in Wales to Submit Proposals for Voluntary Merger”

 

·                 Denbighshire and Conwy had agreed to commission CIPFA to carry out a savings and costs exercise, Appendix 1, and to proceed to drafting a joint EOI for Members of both Councils to be considered at their Council meetings on 17 November.

 

·                 The Group Leaders in Denbighshire and a cross-party group in Conwy had been established to oversee the merger developments.

 

·                 Discussions had been held with WG officials and a high-level meeting held with the Minister for Public Services on 12 November 2014.

 

A summary of the report by CIPFA, Appendix 1, on the Strategic Implications of a Voluntary Early Merger between Conwy and Denbighshire Councils was provided by the CE.  The report advised on the following matters:-

 

-                    The likely costs of voluntary merger;

-                      Any additional costs associated with being an early adopter or pathfinder;

-                    Likely ongoing financial benefits of merger;

-                    Advantages and disadvantages of early voluntary merger.

 

It was emphasised by the CE that the EOI set out the Case for voluntary merger, but was not the Business Case for merger.  He responded to concerns expressed by some Members and advised not to commit to voluntary merger until a full Business Case had been developed and carefully considered, following which a Statement of Intent could be submitted.  The CE highlighted the four important reasons for submitting an EOI and proceeding to develop a full Business Case.  These included:-

 

(i)              Similarities between the Local Authority areas and Local Authorities, EOI detailed in Appendix 2.)

(ii)             The costs and savings exercise done by CIPFA, detailed in Appendix 1.

(iii)           Encouraging early support from WG.

(iv)           Advantages of voluntary merger over compulsory merger.

 

On the 18^th September WG published its “Prospectus” for voluntary mergers: “Invitation to Principal Local Authorities in Wales to submit proposals for voluntary merger”.  The document had been vague about the financial support available to voluntary mergers.  However, it stated encouragingly:-

 

“We intend to make resources available, distinct and separate from the Revenue Support Grant, in order to support voluntary mergers.”           P3.

 

Less encouragingly it stated that “Given the severe financial pressures we face, it is unrealistic to expect the WG to provide large injections of cash to support a process of merger.”                                                                          P5.  Since publication dialogue had taken place with senior WG Officials about the proposals, and WG’s acknowledgement of the cost and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.