Here is a summary of the Flintshire County Council meeting held on 23 September 2025. Councillors approved the new Council Plan 2025-2030, received an overview of the Panel Performance Assessment, and approved the Annual Performance Report 2024/25 and the Treasury Management Annual Report 2024/25. Additionally, they discussed and responded to several notices of motion, including support for Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) women and addressing developer misconduct.

Council Plan 2025-2030 Approved

The council approved the new Council Plan 2025-2030 and the Council Plan Part 2 document. The plan outlines the priorities and well-being objectives for the council over the next five years. It sets three high-level priorities:

• People: Residents in Flintshire feel happy, safe, and healthy
• Places: Flintshire is a place where people want to live, visit, and work
• Prosperity: Flourishing communities and thriving businesses in Flintshire

The plan aims to address escalating budgetary pressures while maintaining effective and efficient services. It was developed considering feedback from a recent Audit Wales review and public consultation to ensure it reflects the views of Flintshire's diverse population.

Panel Performance Assessment Overview

The council received an overview of the Panel Performance Assessment, scheduled for November 2025. The assessment will evaluate how effectively the council:

• Exercises its functions
• Uses its resources economically, efficiently, and effectively
• Has robust governance arrangements

The assessment will focus on workforce planning and partnership working to address demand pressures in social services and education. The Panel Performance Assessment will involve a desk-based review and discussions with stakeholders.

Annual Performance Report 2024/25 Approved

The Annual Performance Report 2024/25 was approved, highlighting key achievements, areas for improvement, and performance against the Council Plan. Key areas covered in the report include:

• Key achievements of the council
• Areas of improvement
• Council plan performance
• Budget monitoring
• Social value
• Risk management
• Annual governance statement
• Corporate self-assessment
• Regulation, audit and inspection
• Strategic equality plan
• Welsh language
• Partnership and collaboration / PSB
• Climate change

The report noted that 75% of activities made good progress during the year, and 68% of performance measures met or exceeded their targets.

Treasury Management Annual Report 2024/25 Presented

The Treasury Management Annual Report 2024/25 was presented, outlining the council's treasury management activities during the financial year. The report highlighted that the treasury function operated within the limits detailed in the Treasury Management Strategy 2024/25. Despite a decrease in the UK Bank Rate, the average interest rate on income earned during the year was 4.93%. The council took out £25.861m in Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) loans to support long-term borrowing requirements, with £0.861m on-lent to NEW Homes for affordable housing.

Notice of Motions

The council discussed and resolved the following notices of motion:

• Support for WASPI Women and Fair Compensation: The council resolved to support the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign's call for fair and fast compensation, urging immediate action from the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and local members of Parliament and the Senedd.
• Shining a Light on Local Decisions: The council resolved to call upon the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee (CJC) to webcast its meetings live and make recordings available online to improve transparency and public accountability.
• Use of Premises Church Street Flint: The council resolved to ask officers to draw up plans for the cessation of the use of Church Street, Flint flats for temporary accommodation, keep Flint members informed of progress, and prepare a feasibility study on securing the continued use of the flats for general purpose accommodation.
• Protecting Flintshire from Overdevelopment: The council resolved to note the original Notice of Motion, recommend it to the Planning Strategy Group, and invite the mover and seconder to join the Planning Committee and the Planning Strategy Group.
• Protecting Residents from Developer Misconduct: The council resolved to reaffirm its commitment to protecting residents from developer misconduct and ensure that developments are carried out in accordance with agreements with the council.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Flintshire Council Services: The council resolved to adopt a statement of principles for the use of AI in Flintshire council services and base policy on these principles.
• Tackling Flooding in Flintshire: The council resolved to adopt the report from its flooding inquiry and adopt the recommendations as far as these are council responsibilities, referring those that are not to the appropriate body.

Questions from Councillors

Councillors asked questions of the Cabinet Member for Waste and Transportation about supporting the Refuse Collection team, the Cabinet Member for Environment, Regeneration, Countryside and Tourism about data on public toilet usage, and the Cabinet Member for Highways, Assets and Public Protection about improvements to Flintshire's roads and lessons learned from illegal waste dumping at Riverside Lane. Councillor Alasdair Ibbotson questioned the Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Transformation Growth and Place about the use of AI in council services and the Cabinet Member for Customer and Corporate Services about the council's social media advertising spend.