Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Ann Davies and Peter Evans both declared a personal interest in item 6 as they are members of the Fire Authority Board.

 

No urgent items.

 

At this juncture members were informed that there would be three questions put forward as follows:

 

(i)            Councillor Glenn Swingler raised the following question:

 

“Can the Lead Member responsible, please update the council on work carried out so far on the proposal to provide free sanitary products to young ladies in our schools?”

 

Response by the Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People, Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts:

 

“Work has been carried out and all schools contacted to understand the needs of the issue. It was quite categorically clear from the schools and head teachers that they did not feel there was a need and shortage at this time and it was well managed.  However, what we have done over and above that is, we are investing £23,732 into sanitary equipment in schools which is being distributed using the school element of the capital funding formula and also there is a further £7,388 which is being distributed using the latest standard local government spending assessment formula.  This has been passed through the homelessness team who has arranged for Ty Golau to procure, store and issue feminine hygiene products.  £1,000 will be retained for ad hoc products.  This is in terms of the letter which has been received from the Minister in Cardiff supporting this.  Also what has really been at the forefront of the schools is the campaign to end period poverty.  This has been used by the schools in raising awareness and the pads are only available to UK state schools and at least 1% of girls eligible for free school meals.  We have done as much as we possibly can within the budget constraints we have and we gave that assurance last time at Council.”

 

Councillor Glenn Swingler then asked if the issue would be put before Cabinet at the next meeting.

 

The Head of Legal, HR & Democratic Services confirmed the item was not on the agenda for the next Cabinet meeting as actions taken did not require a formal decision but, if members were discontent with that, they could speak to the Lead Member about any future proposals to put it on any future agenda.

 

 

(ii)          Councillor Rhys Thomas raised the following question:

 

“According to the Local Government Association, there is grave concern that financial restraints are making it increasingly difficult to protect vulnerable children from harm.  In the last 2 years, all Local Authorities in Wales have seen an increase of about 10% in the number of children coming into Local Authority care.

 

This Council has pledged that protecting vulnerable children from harm is a top priority. Can the Lead Member assure this Council that no children or young people in Denbighshire will come to harm because of financial restraints on the departments involved and could he/she explain to this Council how our ability to protect these vulnerable children and young people will be maintained and even expanded according to the need?”

 

Response by the Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People, Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts:

 

“For those who had attended the Children Service briefing earlier in the year, there was a budget which Karen I Evans and Julie Moss took us through the process of looked after children here in Denbighshire.  There is a really strong message which came out of that workshop and that is Denbighshire will always put looked after children at the forefront.  No budget constraint will hold back the care those children deserve.  We have already seen in the budget where we have anoverspend in the area because if somebody is in need here in Denbighshire, and we have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

A list of civic engagements undertaken by the Chair and Vice-Chair for the period 26 June 2018 to 2 September 2018 had been circulated prior to the meeting.

 

The Chair highlighted two events, one being the National Armed Forces Day VIP Reception which had been held in Llandudno and also the Tom Price exhibition which had been held in Denbigh.  All events attended had been a great success.

 

RESOLVED that the list of civic engagements undertaken by the Chair and Vice-Chair be received.

 

To receive the minutes of the meeting of County Council held on 3 July 2018 (copy attached).

 

The minutes of Full Council held on 3 July 2018 were submitted.

 

Matters Arising:

 

Page 8 (item 3) – Councillor Arwel Roberts requested further details of the Task & Finish Group which had been set up by GwE for the needs of children with communication issues through the medium of Welsh. 

 

It was confirmed by the Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People, Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts that information was expected later in the month.  Information had not been received to date due to the summer holiday break.

 

Page 8 (item 5) – Councillor Mabon ap Gwynfor requested an update on the situation regarding Enforcement and Kingdom.

 

The Lead Member for Housing, Regulation and the Environment, Councillor Tony Thomas, confirmed a report would be presented at Cabinet on 25 September 2018 but no decisions had been taken to date.

 

Page 10 (item 7) – Councillor Emrys Wynne asked to which Scrutiny Committee would the issue of Single Use Plastics be submitted.

 

It was confirmed by the Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm and the Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services that the item would be discussed at the Scrutiny Chairs & Vice-Chairs Group in October and a report would be presented at Full Council in either May or June 2019.  A Scrutiny Task & Finish Group comprising of 8 members (2 from each political group) had been set up to discuss the use of plastics.  The issue was being dealt with but it was too early in the process to present an update.

 

RESOLVED that, subject to the above, the minutes of Full Council held on 3 July 2018 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Presentation by the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority.

 

Councillors Ann Davies and Peter Evans declared a personal interest as they were members of the Board of the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority.

 

Members of the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority were in attendance to present the 2019/20 Financial Update and Consultation.

 

In attendance were:

Chief Fire Officer – Simon Smith

Assistance Chief Fire Officer – Helen MacArthur

Assistance Chief Fire Officer – Sian Morris, and

Deputy Chair of the Board of North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority – Councillor Peter Lewis.

 

Councillor Peter Lewis introduced the officers and explained the presentation was to inform Council of the work carried out by the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority together with financial difficulties which will be faced in the future.  

 

The Chief Fire Officer, Simon Smith, explained the focus of the presentation would be on the resources available.  The presentation coincided with the launch of the Fire Authority’s consultation document and they were seeking informal responses from Councillors but also a formal response from Denbighshire County Council.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Sian Morris explained all six Local Authorities in North Wales were represented on the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority Board.  The Board was not based on political balance. 

 

Both Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Sian Morris and Assistance Chief Fire Officer, Helen MacArthur led members through the presentation.

 

Duties of the Fire and Rescue Authority were far reaching.  They had a duty to ensure all fire fighters were fully trained and equipped to respond.  The majority of fire fighters employed were retained fire fighters.

 

The budget outgoings were set out within the presentation as follows:

·         Transport – 3%

·         Premises – 5%

·         Capital Financing – 8%

·         Supplies – 10%

·         Employees – 71%, and

·         Outsourcing and support – 2%

 

Throughout the previous five years steps had been taken to reduce expenditure:

·         Savings

Ø  £2.1m removed from staff budgets and £0.7m from non-pay budgets

·         Efficiencies

Ø  Changes of policy. No longer responding to:

§  automatic fire alarms but wait for the 999 call, and

§  large animal rescue

Ø  Continued emphasis on reducing demand (prevention)

·         Occasional windfall gains

·         Using the reserves that it had built up

 

The Chief Fire Officer confirmed he was reticent regarding income generation as it could cause issues and did not encourage sponsorship preferring to keep their independence, credibility and reputation in good stead.

 

An increase in the levy paid to the North Wales Fire Authority would have an impact on Denbighshire due to the cuts faced by Local Authorities and how the pressures were to be dealt with.

 

The Section 151 Officer confirmed that that the proposal and financial plan put forward would see a level of increase proposed to be a cash increase of £258,000 which would be just under a 6% increase.  This would cause an additional implication for 2019 as budget figures had been calculated on the assumption of a 2% increase.  This would have an effect on the level of Council Tax and funding prioritised from other services.

 

The Chief Fire Officer confirmed that within the consultation document were all the options which had been considered and the cost implications of each.  It had been agreed no frontline services would be cut.

 

RESOLVED that Full Council noted the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority presentation.

 

At this juncture (11.35 a.m.) there was a 25 minute break.

 

The meeting reconvened at 12.00 noon.

 

 

To consider a report by the Democratic Services Manager (copy attached) to provide an update in respect of mandatory and discretionary training and possible sanctions.

 

The Lead Member for Corporate Standards, Councillor Mark Young, introduced the report (previously circulated) to provide members with an update in respect of mandatory and discretionary training and possible sanctions.

 

A report had been considered at Full Council on 10 April 2018 on Member Training and Development and it had been agreed that a further report be submitted in respect of mandatory and discretionary training and possible sanctions.

 

Members had commended the excellent standard of in-house training provided during this new Council term.

 

The previous Council had not set any sanctions (other than that for the Planning Committee) if a member failed to undertake mandatory training.

 

Councillor Paul Penlington asked if training courses were cross-transferable due to the fact that he undertook training as part of his job.  The Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services confirmed they could be taken into consideration.

 

Personal Development Reviews (PDRs) were offered to all members but they had a choice whether to take part or not.  PDRs were a way to identify and support a Councillor’s training and development needs.

 

Any training identified as being “mandatory” would be offered at appropriate times to enable Members to fulfil their obligations.  E-learning for Members was being developed and would offer modules including safeguarding and domestic violence.  In some instances, e-learning modules would be cost-effective and a convenient way for Members to access training.

 

Following discussion, it was agreed the following would be mandatory training courses:

 

·         Code of Conduct – it was a requirement of the Code itself for training and to date had 100% attendance by Members.

·         Planning – Two training events to take place per annum.  If the training sessions had not been attended then the individual concerned could not take part in any discussions or vote.

·         Licensing – if the training sessions had not been attended then the individual concerned could not take part in any discussions or vote.

 

Mandatory training was also agreed for the following:

 

·         Finance – Local Government Finance – training to take place once during a council term.

·         Safeguarding – training to take place once during a council term.

·         Corporate Parenting – training to take place once during a council term.

·         Data Protection (GDPR) – training to take place annually.

 

It was agreed that the following sanctions be put in place for non-attendance of mandatory training:

 

·         Publication on the website once a year as to who had and who hadn’t attended mandatory training courses.

·         It had originally been discussed that a list of non-attendees be sent to Standards Committee for the Councillors to account for their non-compliance at the public meeting.  During discussions it was suggested and agreed that a list of attendees and non-attendees be distributed to Group Leaders and they would then consult with their Members to ascertain the reasons of non-attendance.

 

RESOLVED that the following training courses are mandatory:

 

(i)            Code of Conduct

(ii)          Planning

(iii)         Licensing

(iv)         Finance – Local Government Finance

(v)          Safeguarding

(vi)         Corporate Parenting, and

(vii)        Data Protection

 

The sanctions to be set are that the names of attendees and non-attendees be added to the website on an annual basis and also a list of attendees and non-attendees to be circulated to Group Leaders to monitor.

 

To consider a report by the Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services (copy attached) to inform members of the work of the Corporate Governance Committee for the municipal year 2017/18.

 

Councillor Barry Mellor introduced the report, as Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee, (previously circulated) to inform all members of the work of the Committee for the municipal year 2017/18.

 

The Council was statutorily required under the provisions of the Local Government Wales measure 2011, to have an Audit Committee.  The Corporate Governance Committee (the Committee) was the Council’s designated committee for that purpose.

 

This was the first Annual Report of the Committee since the local government elections in 2017. 

 

The Committee recognised that it had been learning together about its roles and responsibilities during this period.  During the period covered by the circulated report, the Committee had received:

·         a number of internal annual reports on matters relating to governance.

·         a number of reports relating to financial matters

·         external regulatory reports

·         reports on the Welsh Audit Office (WAO) programme of work

·         regular reports from the Chief Internal Auditor on the progress made against the Internal Audit Plan

·         reports reviewing other corporate issues including the Strategic Risk Management Framework and the Council’s preparations for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation.

 

Councillor Barry Mellor took the opportunity to thank the representatives of the WAO and all officers who attend the Corporate Governance meetings.  In particular he recognised the amount of work undertaken by the Internal Audit team.  Thanks were extended to each member of the Committee as the agendas were often lengthy but the Committee members were always well prepared for the meeting.   Lead Members were also thanked for their attendance at Committees and for their support.

 

Members expressed their gratitude to the Chair and Committee members of Corporate Governance for all their hard work.  Councillor Huw Jones thanked the previous Chair of Corporate Governance, Jason McLellan for his hard work for the Committee.

 

RESOLVED that Members of Full Council noted the content of the report.

 

 

 

To consider the Council’s forward work programme (copy attached).

The head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services introduced the Council’s Forward Work Programme (previously circulated).

 

Following discussion, it was agreed to move the National Development Framework item from 5 November 2018 to 18 March 2019 as feedback was awaited from Welsh Government.

 

Cefndy Enterprise to be added to 5 November 2019 for a presentation by the Commercial Service Manager and the Operational Services Manager to inform all Councillors of the work undertaken by Cefndy Enterprises.

 

RESOLVED that, subject to the above, the Council Forward Work Programme be approved and noted.

 

 

THE MEETING CONCLUDED AT 1.00 P.M.