CCBC costs and cutting

[SteveH]

North Wales council chief to step down - with search on to fill ?130K role
Chief executive Iwan Davies is to retire after more than a decade in the job

Conwy will advertise the role of chief executive next week after Iwan Davies announced he was stepping down. Mr Davies has been in the role for more than a decade and has spent 29 years working in local government.

The local authority will now look for a new chief - who will pocket a salary of at least ?129K. Conwy?s senior employment committee excluded the press and public to discuss the matter behind closed doors this afternoon.

According to council figures, the chief executive?s salary is between ?129,195 and ?137,103, taking into account yearly increments, with pension contributions of around ?27K. The committee is responsible for agreeing the details around the new appointment and is expected to finalise the recruitment details today.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-council-chief-step-24610796

[Helig]

Gone are the days when local government employees were paid a reasonable amount for their office. It seems to be a case of how much they can get away with these days. An MP's salary is ?84,144. This makes for interesting reading:

https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/town_hall_rich_list_2022

The words fat and cat come to mind.

[SteveH]

Conwy councillor criticises speed limit changes and urges action on housing crisis
26th August

Read more https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/20775909.conwy-councillor-criticises-speed-limit-changes-urges-action-housing-crisis/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Not mentioned below, are the running costs and underuse of the Council offices in Colwyn Bay ? perhaps this post should be in the Incompetence thread.


CONWY County Council could face a shortfall of 18.5m in the next financial year, impacting on services across the board.

Councillors met as part of the finances and resources overview and scrutiny committee to discuss planning the budget for 2023/24, voting for a review of services to avoid a salami slice approach.

But proposals for a public consultation regarding service cuts and council tax were thrown out after a second vote, following talks of a 6% council tax rise.

The final decision, though, will lie with cabinet once the debate and processes are complete.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/21223238.conwy-council-facing-18-5m-shortfall/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589


WELSH Government has been criticised for the newly revealed running costs and underuse of their buildings in Llandudno Junction

The building in Llandudno Junction was part of a 91.5 million strategy to decentralise services from Cardiff in 2002, with more than 550 posts moved from the Welsh capital to three new offices in Merthyr Tydfil, Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction.

The construction of the Conwy building reportedly cost around ?23million, and despite having more than 390 people contracted to work there, recorded an average daily attendance level of 18 people last September.

Rebecca Evans MS, Minister for Finance and Local Government, has disclosed the average monthly running costs for the Llandudno Junction office for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years are as follows:

2020/21 - ?136,895
2021/22 - ?130,967

Commenting on the running costs, Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders said: ?The figures mean that around ?1.6million was spent on running costs in 2020/21 and ?1.5m in 2021/22, a time that saw hybrid working and as little as 18 people attending the buildings daily.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/21119804.aberconwy-ms-slams-government-conwy-buildings-costs/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Conwy Council warns it could cut jobs, raise tax and slash services to balance the books
The authority faces the prospect of plugging a huge ?18.5m funding gap in what has been described as the most difficult financial year in memory

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwy-council-warns-could-cut-25128924?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[norman08]

So as well as truss making a mess of the country her mates at Ccbc did the same,  yes it was the Tory led cabinet last time.

[SteveH]

Conwy's plan to 'rapidly rehouse' homeless people
The county council wants to offer support to those in need and it aims to end youth homelessness

A new "rapid re-housing" strategy to help to help vulnerable homeless people has been backed by Conwy Council's cabinet. and will now go out to consultation. The report ? the Draft Housing Support Programme - outlined how Conwy could deliver a high-quality housing support service around the needs of those who find themselves homeless or at risk ? with an emphasis on rapid housing.

Earlier this year figures revealed that Conwy had the fourth-highest number of people living in temporary accommodation in Wales. The new strategy is aimed to help people suffering from problems such as complex needs, domestic abuse, and addiction.

Priorities include rapid rehousing to homeless prevention, ending youth homelessness, and increasing the availability of services for offenders. The strategy also sets out a commitment to helping those with complex needs and additional services for people fleeing domestic abuse.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwys-plan-rapidly-rehouse-homeless-25241923

[SteveH]

Conwy council facing 'perilous' budget situation as members are told to 'prepare for the worst'
Leader Charlie McCoubrey said he would get committee chairs and vice chairs together to see where savings could be made 
{reduce the number of committee chairs and vice chairs ? }

The savings, he said, could include pausing and dropping current projects the council has already committed to. Last month, cabinet member for finance Cllr Mike Priestley warned the council is facing a shortfall of around ?18.5m ? a figure that could rise.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwy-council-facing-perilous-budget-25323267

[SteveH]

Conwy councillors will meet behind closed doors this week to decide who to employ as Conwy?s next chief executive. Current chief executive Iwan Davies is set to step down this month and retire after 11 years at the helm, and Conwy?s senior employment committee met this morning to discuss his replacement.

The press and public were excluded from attending the discussions. A special council meeting will also take place on Thursday morning when the matter will again be discussed away from the public eye.

A Conwy County Council spokeswoman said: ?A special meeting of Conwy County Borough Council will be held on Thursday 27 October to appoint a new chief executive. Councillors will receive presentations from the shortlisted candidates recommended by the senior employment committee.

"The successful candidate will be formally announced once due process has been completed.? Although the exact date of the announcement is not known, a decision is expected relatively quickly, given that the current chief executive is retiring.

Mr Davies, 58, has been with the council for 29 years and was given the top job in 2011. According to council figures, the chief executive?s salary is between ?129,195 and ?137,103, taking into account yearly increments, with pension contributions of around ?27K.

In July Conwy?s leader Cllr Charlie McCoubrey paid tribute to the departing chief executive. ?It?s a wrench to see Iwan go after many years of dedicated service, but we?re looking forward to welcoming a new chief executive,? he said.

[SteveH]

CONWY County Borough Council has appointed its new chief executive.

Rhun ap Gareth, currently head of law and governance, has been appointed to the role.

He will succeed Iwan Davies, who will retire at the end of November

Leader of the council, Cllr Charlie McCoubrey, said: ?It?s been a rigorous selection process for this demanding role, and we were pleased to attract a number of strong candidates, who all performed to an extremely high standard.

?I?d like to congratulate Rhun on his appointment and I look forward to working with him to deliver the council?s priorities to make meaningful improvements to the lives of our residents, especially the most vulnerable.?    ref pioneer

[SteveH]

Conwy care home funding review slammed as 'absolute betrayal of the most vulnerable people'
The chair of Care Forum Wales said a review of fees was a 'sham' and betrayed people with dementia who cannot fend for themselves

The upshot is that Conwy pays ?5,300 a year per resident less for the care of residents with dementia than they do across the border in Gwynedd. That means a 40-bed care home in Llanfairfechan in Conwy would receive ?214,000 less a year than a similar sized home in Bangor ? for providing exactly the same level of care that meets Welsh Government standards.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwy-care-home-funding-review-25463691?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

From past experiences, we usually get a few saying they do not want the pay rises, BUT it always seems to go through anyway...

Councillors have expressed discomfort at a proposed pay rise during the cost-of-living crisis. The proposals, for councillors in Conwy, amount to an increase of 4.76% to the basic salary, with a ?2,700 pay rise for Conwy?s leader and a ?1,890 increase for the deputy leader.

Executive members such as cabinet members are set to enjoy an extra ?1,620 a year. Meanwhile, committee chairs and the leader of the opposition will get an extra ?807 a year under the proposals. ?Backbench? councillors are set to get a rise of ?800 a year.

The proposals have been put forward by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW) as part of a consultation process, setting the payment levels for 2023/24, which the authority must accept. The IRPW is required to publish its final report by February, 28, and the council?s democratic services committee discussed the proposals.

Whilst the committee welcomed the "evidence-based" salary changes, councillors agreed to write to the IRPW and suggest that it should consider reducing the number of senior councillor salaries. But before a decision was reached, several councillors questioned the ethics of raising councillors? salaries during the current economic crisis

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pay-rise-plan-conwy-councillors-25525008

[Cambrian]

Didn't the IPR award 16 percent during the current year.  This 4.6 iseems to be for 2023/24.  20 per cent over 2 years is not bad.

[norman08]

Cambrian isn?t it great this independent board award mps and councillors great rises,   But the likes of nurses have to accept a very low rise,  I don?t like % pay rises, an example in the NHS. You have 800 nurses on over ?100 k the low salary for majority of nurses can be ?20/30 k, so who gets the better rise.    This rise for the Ccbc councillors is not over 2 years it is from next April (23) to march (24), l know of one c ounty councillor can?t be contacted and can?t do anything in the day time as he has a job in the day, ?17 k is great for not being available.

[SteveH]

Residents complaining about Conwy councillors often do so from a position of ignorance, a councillor has claimed. A second councillor also said Conwy needed to improve its communication so residents knew more about councillors? levels of dedication and commitment.

The democratic services committee debated an increase in councillors? salaries, proposed by an independent remuneration panel as part of a consultation process. The debate saw several councillors admitting they were uncomfortable receiving a salary increase during a cost-of-living crisis, but others said a fair wage encouraged diversity within the council.

Councillors accepted the "evidence-based" salary increase proposed by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales but agreed to write back, suggesting the panel considered reducing the number of senior councillor salaries. But during the discussions, a number of councillors addressed the public perception of councillors, especially around how this appeared on social media.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/facebook-moans-councillors-come-from-25530379