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Capital Programme

Published: 10/11/2020

Flintshire County Council’s Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be asked to consider and comment on a report on the Council’s Capital Programme 2021/22 – 2023/24 when it meets on Thursday, 12 November. The report will then be presented at Cabinet the following week.

The Council’s Capital Programme covers investment in assets for the long term to enable the delivery of high quality and value for money public services. Assets include buildings (such as schools and care homes), infrastructure (such as highways, IT networks, and waste transfer stations) and assets not owned by the Council (such as works to improve and adapt private sector homes). The proposed capital investments are aligned to the portfolio service business plans and the Council Plan. 

The Council has limited capital resources from Welsh Government to support Council priorities, needs and liabilities. However, it has the powers to fund Capital schemes by borrowing - this is temporary and ultimately, the cost and repayment of any borrowing is charged to the Council’s revenue budget, therefore they need to be carefully considered. 

The report divides the Council Fund Capital Programme into three sections: 

  • Statutory / Regulatory - allocations to cover regulatory and statutory works, including:
    • Disabled Facilities Grant;
    • Equalities Act- where the budget needs to increase from £0.50m to £0.300m to continue delivery of school adaptation work.
  • Retained Assets - allocations to fund infrastructure works necessary to ensure service and business continuity:
    • Upgrade of kitchen equipment for schools – a new scheme is included in the budget to upgrade old equipment;
    • Laptop/PC replacements – a "just in time" replacement programme to ensure the Council maximises the useable life of its laptops and PC;
    • Upgrades to public space CCTVs – a project to upgrade the existing CCTV cameras to state-of-the-art technologies.
  • Investment - allocations to fund works necessary to remodel services to deliver efficiencies outlined in portfolio business plans and invest in services as outlined in the Council Plan:
    • Improvements to Castell Alun High School in Hope;
    • Extension to the Marleyfield residential care home in Buckley;
    • Adaptations to foster carers’ homes to be able to provide a suitable environment to support a child;
    • Joint Archive Facility for Flintshire and Denbighshire – a modern facility to replace current facilities, both of which are old and not fit for purpose.

Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance Councillor Glyn Banks, said: 

"In recent years, much of the Council’s programme has been funded from capital receipts, but the ability to generate these is getting harder and is almost exhausted. We will, wherever possible, look for assets to sell to help fund the Capital Programme."

Options to fund the shortfall include a combination of future capital receipts, alternative grants, and scheme phasing as the expenditure profile of large complex projects could change. Every effort will be made to ensure that other sources of funding are used to fund the programme.

However, should other sources of funding not materialise the Council will need to use prudential borrowing to finance the shortfall. 

Councillor Banks continued: 

"We will look to ensure the funding streams mentioned above are fully utilised so that, despite facing unprecedented challenges, we continue with our clear and ambitious Capital Programme for infrastructure and schools. I’m pleased that we will be able to undertake these improvements in our schools and care homes, showing that Flintshire continues to be a forward-thinking, innovative Council investing in the well-being of the residents of our County."