Agenda, decisions and draft minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Ruthin and by video conference
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No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES Additional documents: Decision: There were no
apologies. Minutes: There were no
apologies. |
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Additional documents: Decision: No declarations of interest had been raised. Minutes: No declarations of interest had been raised. |
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URGENT MATTERS Notice of
items 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. Additional documents: Decision: Minutes: |
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To receive the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 27 May 2025 (copy enclosed). Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 27 May 2025 be received and confirmed as a correct
record. Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 27 May 2025 were
submitted. RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 27 May 2025 be received and confirmed as a correct
record. |
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WELSH GOVERNMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT BORROWING INITIATIVE (LGBI) FUNDING To consider a report by the Corporate Director: Economy and Environment (copy enclosed) regarding an urgent decision made on 12 June 2025 to approve the acceptance of the Welsh Government Borrowing Initiative (LGBI) funding. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet note the decision and reasons
why the decision was urgent and needed to be made prior to the next available
meeting of the Cabinet. Minutes: Councillor Delyth Jones presented the report
regarding an urgent decision taken by the Corporate Director: Economy and
Environment on 12 June 2025 to approve the acceptance of the Welsh Government
(WG) Local Government Borrowing Initiative (LGBI) funding. The record of the urgent decision had been
attached to the report. The LGBI would provide circa £4.8m of
funding for highway maintenance works during 2025/27 with WG providing revenue
funding to support borrowing over 20 years and no material financial impact on
the Council as the entirety of the funding would be covered by WG. The reasoning behind the urgent decision was
to move forward with delivering the full programme of works, at pace, within
challenging timescales and scarce resources at the optimum time. The Corporate Director added that the
necessary consultation with Member Area Groups (MAGs) on the proposed programme
had been carried out ahead of the decision.
Councillor Barry Mellor also supported the decision to ensure no undue
delay and was pleased to report that work had already commenced on those
highway works. Cabinet welcomed the additional capital
funding for highway improvements and start of the two year programme. In response to questions the Corporate
Director: Economy and Environment provided assurances regarding ongoing
communication with residents about those works over the next two years and to
showcase the work carried out. Officers
had attended MAGs to discuss the proposed programme for next year which
included both the Council’s own capital funding and the additional funding from
WG with further consultation prior to the end of the financial year to confirm
priorities for the second year. The
prioritisation of roads for improvement was discussed with MAGs on an annual
basis. In response to questions from
Councillor Bobby Feeley officers gave assurances regarding the prioritisation
process and input from local members in that regard together with the funding
process which essentially enabled the Council to spend circa £4.8m over two
years funded by borrowing that was repaid through the Revenue Support Grant
from WG over 20 years. It was an
established funding mechanism similar to the coastal defence scheme but in this
case, it was 100% funded by the WG. The
two year programme of work had been developed to fit the amount of funding WG
provided. The Leader welcomed the input of MAGs to
ensure local feedback and knowledge was taken into account as part of the
prioritisation process for those works and highlighted the importance of
maximising the opportunity to deliver the full programme within timescale. The
importance of communication was also reiterated. RESOLVED that Cabinet note the decision and reasons
why the decision was urgent and needed to be made prior to the next available
meeting of the Cabinet. |
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To consider a report by Councillor Julie Matthews, Lead Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy, Equalities and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) presenting the Council’s Performance Self-Assessment for 2024 to 2025 and six-monthly Performance Update Report (October 2024 to March 2025) for Cabinet’s consideration and confirmation prior to submission to Council. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) notes the contents of the
report, including the feedback from Committees summarised at Appendix V to the
report; (b) confirms the content of
Appendices I to IV for submission to Council in July for approval, and (c) notes the key messages
arising from the Self-Assessment and the October to March Performance Update
Report (particularly the improvement actions). Minutes: Councillor Julie Matthews
presented the report and Council’s Performance Self-Assessment for 2024 to 2025
and Performance Update Report (October 2024 to March 2025) for Cabinet’s
consideration ahead of its submission to Council. Cabinet was guided through the
report which consisted of an Executive Summary (Appendix I) highlighting
performance against objectives and the seven governance areas; the Performance
Update Report October 2024 to March 2025 (Appendix II); all improvement
activities generated since 2023 (Appendix III); new Citizen Voice report
(Appendix IV) triangulating a range of data, and recommended changes by Governance and Audit and Performance Scrutiny
Committees (Appendix V). Councillor Matthews reflected that the Council should be proud of what had been achieved in difficult circumstances over the past twelve months with clear evidence of delivering to high standards. She highlighted the 5 key achievements over this period together with the 5 key challenges and areas for improvement (Appendix I). The Head of Corporate Support Service: Performance, Digital and Assets thanked the Strategic Planning Team for producing the documentation and for the input of both Governance and Audit and Performance Scrutiny Committees, and Cabinet was asked to consider and accept or otherwise their recommended changes (Appendix V). She also highlighted the legislative requirements for monitoring and reporting performance and identifying improvement actions, with 9 improvement actions identified for this period set out in section 4.3 of the report (wording adjustments to improvement actions ii and iv recommended by Performance Scrutiny Committee). Cabinet was also updated on progress with improvement actions previously identified in the report over past years (Appendix III). The Strategic Planning and Improvement Officer provided further context advising that 20% (16) of corporate plan indicators had been categorised “red” and the team would be working to pre-empt indicators going forward to prevent deterioration and undertake further work to make reports more user friendly and easier to navigate. She proceeded to highlight and elaborate on a number of areas of excellent performance “greens” together with “red” areas where challenges were faced. Cabinet thanked officers for the substantial report and hard work carried out. Main areas of debate focused on the following – · the importance of the documents as a performance management tool was highlighted and officers encouraged the various governance boards within the council to identify areas for further scrutiny and populate their work programmes · the Citizen Voice report was a new approach to include a range of data from council services who had direct engagement with individuals that provided valuable perspectives on some of the detail captured in the Corporate Plan in addition to the annual Stakeholder Survey. In some cases, the data held by services reinforced the findings of the Stakeholder Survey but in other cases there was contrast, with service data perhaps providing a more representative response given the Stakeholder Survey was subject to self-selection bias. Improvement action ix focused on alternative arrangements for stakeholder feedback to improve confidence in the data gathered with a number of options currently being considered including conducting randomised stakeholder surveys and using benchmarked data such as the National Residents Survey and the intention was to continue with the Citizen Voice report in future. Proposals would be brought before Cabinet for consideration in due course · concern was raised that the analysis in the Citizen Voice report relating to a number of corporate themes found that whilst data had demonstrated good performance, there had been a significant and unexplained difference in residents’ perspectives, which was an area to be addressed. Officers advised that improvement actions v and ix worked together to better communicate with stakeholders, ensure the triangulation of data in the Citizen ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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REVIEW OF SECOND HOME (SH) / LONG TERM EMPTY (LTE) COUNCIL TAX PREMIUMS To consider a report by Councillor Delyth Jones, Lead Member for Finance (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet’s review of the existing Council Tax premiums and recommended changes to the policy. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet recommends to Council that – (a) Second Homes and Long Term Empty (standard
premiums) remain at current levels of 150% from April 2026; (b) premiums for Long Term Empty properties
that have been empty for over 5 years are increased annually by 25% up to the
maximum of 300%, resulting in current premiums of 200% rising to 225% from
April 2026, 250% from April 2027, and so forth, and (c) introduce two new
categories of premium relief within the S13a Discretionary Relief Policy as set
out within paragraph 4.7 – 4.9 of the report. Minutes: Some background was provided on the legislative changes introduced by
the Welsh Government since 2017 allowing local authorities to raise Council Tax
premiums on Second Homes (SH) and Long Term Empty (LTE) properties and the
Council’s previous approvals of premium increases in that regard. The aim of the policy was to reduce the
number of SH and LTE properties and increase affordable housing in the
county. The report updated Cabinet on
the latest review of those premiums to understand the impact of the current
policy and recommended policy changes. The outcome of the review and recommended changes were set out. In brief – ·
numbers of SH had remained stable and not a concern in comparison with
other North Wales Councils – it was considered too early to assess the full
impact of the recent increases to premiums and therefore no change was
recommended ·
early indications suggested the increases in premiums on LTE properties
(standard) was having the desired effect with a reduction in numbers –
therefore no change was recommended at this stage and it be kept under review ·
LTE properties empty for over 5 years had been more of a challenge and
the Council had the joint second highest proportion of such properties out of 5
North Wales Councils – therefore it was recommended to introduce an additional
25% premium increase, year on year, on those properties from April 2026 ·
acting on feedback to support new owners of LTE properties where the
relief discount had been used prior to their ownership, 2 additional categories
of support had been recommended: General Renovation and Major Renovation. The Head of Finance
and Audit added that the report would also be considered by Communities
Scrutiny Committee prior to submission to Council for a decision and would
ensure plenty of notice for those affected by any changes implemented. Cabinet discussed
the report with the Lead Member and officers and was pleased to note the
learning from the findings of the review which had resulted in tailored
recommendations for Denbighshire, supporting new owners where appropriate and
maintaining pressure on those LTE properties that presented the most persistent
challenges. In response to questions
officers explained the definitions for the two new categories of support which
had been prescribed in legislation with general renovations mainly relating to
cosmetic works and major renovations to structural works, but the discretionary
exemption would be applied on a case-by-case basis. Members were pleased that a common-sense
approach was applied to the discretionary exemptions and referred to cases they
were aware of where the approach had resulted in positive outcomes for
residents. Cabinet hoped that
implementation of the recommendations would have the desired outcome and the
Lead Member confirmed the most difficult element related to the LTE properties
for over five years where the proportion had increased hence the recommendation
to increase the premium to specifically tackle that issue alongside the
additional relief to assist new owners and encourage those properties back into
use. Officers also reported on the
collaborative process undertaken and targeted approach and signposting property
owners to empty homes grant funding etc. to bring those properties back into
circulation together with regional working across North Wales. Other local authorities in the region were
taking a similar approach. The
recommendations also provided notice of the Council’s intention going forward. Councillor Bobby Feeley highlighted the low percentage of SH / LTE properties in the county and felt the measures rather punitive. She also raised questions on the cost implications and ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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CABINET FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME To receive the enclosed Cabinet Forward Work Programme and note the contents. Additional documents: Decision: Minutes: The Cabinet work
programme was presented for consideration. Members
noted the rescheduling of items relating to the Agricultural Estate Strategy
Review and Future of Cefndy from July to September. RESOLVED that Cabinet’s forward work programme be noted. |
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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RESOLVED that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act
1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following item
of business on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of
exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the
Act. Additional documents: |
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CYNNIG WORK OPPORTUNITIES CONTRACT EXTENSION To consider a confidential report by Councillor Elen Heaton, Lead Member for Health and Social Care (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval of a contract extension. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
approve the issuing of an extension to the contract from 24 July 2025 to 31
March 2026 to allow time to undertake the work required to evaluate this
provision and reach a decision on how this must be shaped and delivered in the
longer term. Minutes: Councillor Elen
Heaton presented the confidential report seeking Cabinet approval to extend the
current work opportunities contract delivered by Cynnig. Cabinet had
approved a 1-year extension to the contract in July 2024 (with the option to
extend for a further 12-month period) to enable a review of the current methods
of service delivery to be carried out ahead of any retendering exercise. Due to capacity issues work had not
progressed as planned and therefore a short and final extension of the contract
had been requested to complete that work.
Details of the service provided, and the current contract had been set
out. Officers
responded to questions, elaborating on the work to be carried out over the next
eight months in terms of options appraisals and cost benefit analysis. In addition to that work individual citizens
who received services had annual reviews of their care and support plans
demonstrating an ongoing dynamic process from both an individual commissioning
basis and service commissioning basis.
The Council needed to continually review all its services in order to be
sustainable and provide cost effective and appropriate services to meet the
needs of residents. RESOLVED that Cabinet
approve the issuing of an extension to the contract from 24 July 2025 to 31
March 2026 to allow time to undertake the work required to evaluate this
provision and reach a decision on how this must be shaped and delivered in the
longer term. The meeting concluded at 12.25 pm. |