Frank Little

Councillor for East Central ward on Coedffranc Town Council Learn more

Archive for the ‘finance’ Category

Even though we’re not part of the Welsh Government, we’ve managed to secure our flagship Pupil Deprivation Grant to support pupils from deprived backgrounds with reading and numeracy skills. This is a relatively prosperous area, but even in Cadoxton there are families feeling the pinch. Here’s how the recent Welsh budget settlement will help local schools: […]

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The sort of decision a community councillor has to make

by franklittle on 25 January, 2012

I couldn’t possibly comment on the discussion that went into setting the Blaenhonddan precept for 2012/13, for reasons stated earlier, but I found this posting from a Liberal Democrat parish councillor in England summed up well what invidious choices face community councillors. In passing, I should say that I am glad that the Welsh Government […]

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Councillors now salaried, but remuneration cut

by franklittle on 30 December, 2011

At present, Neath Port Talbot council members are paid an annual basic allowance of £13,356 (see this pdf). The council used to determine this allowance itself, but using the advice of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRP) as a basis. For the last two years, there has been a standstill, in spite of the […]

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Budgets

by franklittle on 14 December, 2011

Local council budgets dominated business this week. On Monday night, Blaenhonddan Community Council spent some time discussing the figures on which we would have to base our decision on the 2012/13 precept. It was clear that we needed more time to make sure we get it right, and we will meet again early in the […]

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Income inequality

by franklittle on 5 December, 2011

Thanks to Mark Valladares a fellow LibDem councillor in England for this observation, inspired by a new report (Tax and the coalition: fairness and responsibility?) : “There is a valid debate to be had in terms of how fair our tax system already is, and the Gini coefficient (a measure of a population’s overall income […]

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Plug the energy debt

by franklittle on 23 November, 2011

In these difficult times for paying energy bills, Consumer Focus Wales has issued advice: http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/get-advice/energy/plug-the-debt

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Budget data not quite complete

by franklittle on 26 October, 2011

Finance director Derek Davies presented an overview of the Welsh Government’s proposed support for local government in 2012/13. While not as rushed a job as last year, when councils were left in the dark by Cardiff for far too long, there are still one or two grey areas, particularly in relation to specific grants and […]

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Business assistance

by franklittle on 2 October, 2011

Unfortunately, I missed a recent seminar on the council’s support for business, because of a cold. However, members have been sent relevant literature. It is too voluminous to reproduce here, but I can at least pass on two URIs. The main web pages are at www.npt-business.co.uk. There is also an email address for a programme […]

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Playground equipment

by franklittle on 30 September, 2011

A special meeting of Blaenhonddan community council yesterday approved estimates for repairs to playground equipment across the community. These will bring swings, roundabouts, slides and so on up to current standards and will be initiated as soon as practicable. We also endorsed  a rolling programme of improvements to surfaces in the playgrounds. Because finance is […]

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Icelandic banks

by franklittle on 2 May, 2011

The Evening Post headline today reminds me that I haven’t posted about the council’s Icelandic investments since http://franklittle.mycouncillor.org.uk/2010/06/16/treasury-management/ . My comment in http://franklittle.mycouncillor.org.uk/2010/01/01/icelandic-banks/ that the only winners from the Iceland adventure will be accountants and lawyers seems to be coming true. There is nothing much new in the Post article. It has been established that […]

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