Social Value Ideas for Conwy County Borough Council

Consult on Welsh-medium change

The committee agreed to start a public consultation on changing Ysgol Esco Penrhyn from category 2 transitional bilingual provision to category 3 Welsh-medium education. This is being advanced as part…

“I'm pleased to present this report which proposes to start a consultation to change the language category of to a category 3 Welsh medium school. This…”

Closure decisions paused

For both schools, the committee rejected proceeding to statutory notice and instead recommended not continuing with the closure process. This creates a policy pause for cabinet, which must now conside…

“So the process now is that we go to the vote, the electronic vote, to support or not the proposal from councilor David seconded by councilor Tristan t…”

School cost pressures driving change

Members repeatedly highlighted that the two proposed closures are driven by very high per-pupil costs, low rolls and sustainability concerns. Ysgol Esclobatiafan was described as one of the county's m…

“My concerns around this school, well, small schools in general, I think this one is the eleventh most expensive school per child in Wales and potentia…”

Proceeding with rural school closures

Cabinet approved statutory notices for the proposed closure of two small rural Welsh-medium primary schools: Ysgol Esclobatiafan and Ysgol Betws-y-Coed. Members framed the decisions as necessary for s…

“Okay, the exact wording is that cabinet approves proceeding to the next stage of the statutory process by issuing a statutory notice in respect of the…”

Budget on track

The finance report said the 2025-26 audit is nearly complete, the revenue budget is slightly underspent and the projected variance is only around a quarter of one per cent. A £714,000 allocation of hi…

“Um, so those members who are present will remember that the change in the net budget was because an amount was moved from specific grant into general …”

2027/28 budget framework approved

The committee considered and approved the formal business planning framework for setting a balanced budget in 2027/28. The discussion highlighted severe demand-led pressures, inflation, capital financ…

“"this report this morning covers the planned timetable and governance arrangements regarding the business planning framework. The two appendices as yo…”

2025/26 revenue outturn returned to surplus

The council’s 2025/26 revenue position improved from a quarter three forecast overspend to a final small surplus, while reserves rose above the 5% policy minimum. The outturn was helped by service imp…

“So this report compares the actual 2526 financial outturn with both the original budget estimate and the quarter three forecast, which was standing at…”

Parental support policy approved

Cabinet approved a new paternity and parental support policy for council staff. The policy creates a clearer standalone framework, makes paternity leave a day-one entitlement, extends support to adopt…

“So we've got, our paternity and parental support policy coming before you today. I'm very I very much welcome this policy. Like our other HR policies,…”

New parental support policy

Cabinet approved a paternity and parental support policy that creates a clearer standalone HR framework and improves employee entitlements. The policy makes paternity leave a day-one entitlement, exte…

“So we've got our paternity and parental support policy coming before you today. I'm very I very much welcome this policy. Like our other HR policies, …”

Recruitment audit positive

Audit Wales reviewed recruitment and retention arrangements and concluded the council understands the challenges and is proactively using a range of approaches. The only recommendation was to strength…

“"our final report's very favorable. It's concluded we understand the challenges and are proactively using a range of approaches to deal with them. We …”