Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Ruthin
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APOLOGIES |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 116 KB Members to
declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be
considered at this meeting. Minutes: Personal
declarations of interest were received for agenda item 5, Verified External
Examinations and Teacher Assessments from Councillors: ·
Huw
Jones, governor at Ysgol Carrog and Ysgol Caer Drewyn; ·
Ellie
Chard, governor at Ysgol Tir Morfa; ·
Hugh Irving,
governor at Prestatyn High School; ·
Arwel
Roberts, governor at Ysgol y Castell & Ysgol Dewi Sant; ·
David
Williams as a parent of a child in a Denbighshire school; ·
Geraint
LLoyd-Williams, governor at St Brigid’s. ·
Huw
Hilditch-Roberts as a governor at Ysgol Brynhyfryd and Parent of a child in a
Denbighshire school. Together
with: · Co-opted member Neil Chambers Roberts, governor at Ysgol y Parc and Ysgol Cefn Meiriadog; · Co-opted member David James Lloyd, governor as Ysgol Y Llys, Prestatyn |
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URGENT MATTERS AS AGREED BY THE CHAIR Notice of
items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting
as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B (4) of the Local Government Act
1972. Minutes: No urgent matters were raised. |
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MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING PDF 487 KB To receive
the minutes of the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 29 November
2018 (copy attached). 10.00 – 10.05
a.m. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the
Performance Scrutiny Committee held on 29 November 2018 were submitted. Accuracy: Members noted that it was Co-opted member
Neil Roberts that declared a personal interest as a school governor of Ysgol Y
Parc. Matters Arising: Agenda item 5 – Provisional External
Examinations and Teacher Assessments – Page 12 – The Chair confirmed a letter
had been sent to Qualifications Wales highlighting the Committee’s concerns.
The Chair confirmed a response had been received from the Chief Executive of
Qualifications Wales. The Lead Member for Education, Children and
Young People informed members he had received a response from Kirsty Williams
AM, Cabinet Secretary for Education responding to the concerns of the
Committee. Councillor Hilditch-Roberts confirmed the importance to receive the
answers to concerns of the Committee for the children within Denbighshire. RESOLVED
that, subject to the above, the minutes of the Performance Scrutiny Committee
meeting held on 29 November 2018 be received and approved as a correct record. |
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VERIFIED EXTERNAL EXAMINATION RESULTS AND TEACHER ASSESSMENTS PDF 235 KB To
receive information
regarding the performance of Denbighshire schools in the 2018 external
examinations (copy attached). 10.05 – 10.50 a.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for
Education, Children and Young People introduced the joint report by the
Principal Education Manager and GwE Secondary Lead (previously circulated)
which presented the Committee with the verified information on the performance
of Denbighshire’s secondary school pupils at Key Stage 4 (KS4) and post
16 examinations in the summer of 2018. Following the
Committee’s consideration of the provisional examination results at its
November 2018 meeting the Chair had written to the Chief Executive of
Qualifications Wales registering members’ concerns on the significant increase
in threshold to attain a ‘C’ grade in the summer 2018 GCSE examinations, particularly
in relation to the English examination, and its detrimental impact on
students. A copy of the letter of response received from the Chief
Executive of Qualifications Wales was shared with the Committee. In his
letter the Chief Executive stated that similar concerns had been raised by GwE
and as a result a review of grading’s had been instigated. This review
had concluded that “the grade boundary had been moved appropriately” and
therefore no further action was required. Members were advised by the Lead
Member that Education officers and Education portfolio holders received a
similar response from the Chief Executive of Qualifications Wales, consequently
a meeting had been convened for mid-February between North Wales Directors of
Education, Education portfolio holders, GwE and Qualifications Wales’ Chief
Executive to discuss future external examination grading’s with a view to
ensuring that future students would not suffer such volatility in grade
boundaries. Education practitioners were resigned to the fact that
Qualifications Wales would not instigate a further review of the 2018
grading’s, therefore they were determined that future examinations should not
be subject to such significant volatility in grade boundaries. The
Lead Member agreed with Committee members’ views that there was no recognition
from Qualifications Wales of the impact of its decision to apply such a
considerable increase in the ‘C’ grade boundary on the lives and career
prospects of a significant number of individual students. The Head of
Education and Children’s Services, the Principal Education Manager and GwE’s Secondary Lead for Denbighshire: ·
emphasised
both officers and elected members’ disappointment that the verified results for
2018 had not changed despite their collective and concerted effort across the
region in discussing the above concerns with representatives from
Qualifications Wales, Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC), Welsh Government
(WG) etc. (a copy of a letter from the WG’s Cabinet Secretary for Education to
the Lead Member had been circulated to Committee members for
information). Whilst WJEC representatives had met with Education
officials, EAS officers and portfolio holders in the South East Wales region
(the EAS region) to discuss similar concerns the challenge was being led by
North Wales education leaders (the GwE region); ·
advised that, due to their concerns, they were
currently examining the provisions of the Qualifications Wales Act 2015 in
relation to the WJEC’s monopoly over external examinations in Wales, to see
whether the county’s schools could enter students for some examinations
administered by other reputable examination boards. It was acknowledged
that Welsh-medium examinations would only be administered by the WJEC; and ·
confirmed
that if the ‘C’ grade boundary for the English examination in the summer of
2018 would have been set at the same level as the previous year a further 107
pupils in Denbighshire’s schools, and 700 across North Wales, would have
attained a grade ‘C’ Responding to
members’ questions the Lead Member, Education and GwE officers: · confirmed that the gap in performance between boys and girls had generally increased in 2018, with more girls gaining Level 2 inclusive than boys. Year on year ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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At this juncture (11.30 a.m.),
there was a 10 minute break. The meeting reconvened at 11.40 a.m. |
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To consider the
Council’s performance at the start of the 6th Framework of Welsh
Public Library Standards 2017-20 and the progress made in developing libraries
as community hubs (copy attached). 10.50 – 11.30 a.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for
Developing Community Infrastructure introduced the Principal Librarian’s report
on the Library Service’s performance against the Sixth Framework of Welsh
Public Library Standards 2017-20 (previously circulated). Also outlined
in the report was the Service’s progress in developing libraries throughout the
county as community hubs. Chair and members
congratulated the Service on their excellent performance in delivering against
the majority of Core Entitlements and Quality Indicators (QI), as detailed in
the Welsh Government’s (WG) Museums, Archives and Libraries Division’s (MaLD) Annual Assessment report (attached as Appendix A to
the report). They also commended the Council on the range of services and
events offered in libraries across the county for people of all ages, which
were greatly valued by residents. Responding to
members’ questions the Lead Member, Head of Communications, Customers and
Marketing, and the Principal Librarian: ·
confirmed
that, similar to other services, the Library Service’s budget had been reduced
and as a consequence it had been unable to meet QI9 (spend per 1,000 population
on reading materials) of the Welsh Public Library Standards; ·
advised that QI13 (staffing levels and
qualifications) had only been partially met because staff in the County’s
libraries delivered a range of library and One Stop Shop services. Whilst
not all these staff were qualified librarians the range of services delivered
at the county’s libraries required a wide range of skills and officers were
confident that the Service’s staff had the appropriate skills set to deliver all
these services. The Head of Service informed the Committee that they were
currently exploring options on how to develop a qualification for Library
Service staff which could support career development within the Service.
Members were also advised that in recent years more male applicants were
applying for posts in the Service, this had not been the case historically; ·
confirmed that library staff were trained and
up-skilled on a regular basis. In the near future staff would be trained
on the new Library Management System (LMS) and Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) system. Two staff conferences per year were held which all Library
Service staff attended; ·
advised
that there were five professional librarian posts within the Service in
Denbighshire; ·
advised
that Llandrillo College was delivering levels 3 and 7
courses in library skills during the current academic year; ·
confirmed that the Council’s Library Service had
utilised young volunteers for a number of years, this scheme was aimed at
developing young people’s skills. Volunteers were used to complement and
support service delivery, they were not expected to replace remunerated Library
Service staff. The Council acknowledged that people of all ages were keen
to dedicate some of their time to a volunteering role, with a number wanting to
deliver voluntary services in libraries. As a result the Council was
currently developing a Volunteering Strategy and a Workforce Development
Strategy, with a view to supporting volunteers to develop their skills whilst
not compromising the role of trained, remunerated staff. The aim of the
Volunteering Strategy would be to add value to services and not to save money; ·
advised that the issue of applying financial
penalties for late returned books was being examined. If the practice was
to be discontinued it would impact on the Service’s income, therefore potential
new income generation schemes would need to be explored. In addition, in
order to secure the return of outstanding loaned reading materials an amnesty of
some sort would need to be facilitated; ·
confirmed
that the Service had an active marketing campaign for its service on a number
of media platforms, including social media; · advised that all members and residents had an important role ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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WAO NATIONAL REPORT ON WASTE MANAGEMENT IN WALES PDF 217 KB To consider the WAO report on ‘Waste Management in Wales: Municipal Recycling’, to scrutinise the findings and the response
of the council’s Waste and Recycling Service to address issues raised in the
report (copy attached). 11.45 – 12.20 p.m. Additional documents: Minutes: The Lead Member for
Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel introduced the Waste and Recycling
Manager and Head of Highways and Environment’s joint report (previously
circulated) which presented the Committee with the Wales Audit Office’s (WAO)
national report on Waste Management in Wales: Municipal Recycling
(Appendix 1 to the report). During his introduction the Lead Member
advised that the WAO expected greater collaboration between Welsh Government
(WG) and local authorities with a view to increasing recycling rates and consequently
reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. The WAO had made four
recommendations, the majority of which were directed at WG. However, the
Council had considered all four recommendations and its observations and
responses to each of them was contained in the covering report. Responding to
members’ questions the Lead Member and officers advised that: ·
the
Council welcomed the opportunity to support Welsh Government (WG) to better
understand the variations in costs between local authorities in respect of waste
management services; ·
the
report’s recommendations supported the Council’s proposed new waste recycling
model recently approved by Cabinet; ·
the UK Government was expected to consult in the
near future on reforming the UK packaging producer responsibility system.
Under the proposed new system full costs of managing packaging waste would be
placed on those businesses who used them with a view to them being able to
influence their design; ·
the
Government was currently examining whether packaging/labelling required
amending in order to provide clarity to the general public on which materials
were recyclable and which were not; ·
assisted collection arrangements would continue
to operate as present once the Council’s new waste recycling model came into
operation. However, the Service would be reviewing this service in the
near future to ensure that it was only those residents who required an assisted
services that were receiving it; ·
in the past Denbighshire had been reluctant to
adopt the WG’s blueprint model for recycling. However, things had changed
over time and moving to the WG’s blueprint model within the next few years
would now benefit Denbighshire and its residents due to the financial
implications of not meeting WG targets. Whilst adopting the WG blueprint
model for recycling was not a statutory requirement the financial incentives
currently on offer made it worthwhile for the Council to adopt this model for
the future; ·
the
Council agreed with the WAO’s recommendation in relation to improving cost and performance
benchmarking methods in order to ensure that a consistent approach was used for
data analysis and comparing purposes; ·
the proposed new recycling model would be far more
robust against market forces than the current recycling system. Whilst
market forces would always be a factor the new model would provide added
resilience to the Council’s service; ·
initially the Council proposed to undertake a
review of its waste management services at least once in any seven year period,
which coincided with the average lifespan of refuse vehicles. However, WG
and UK Government strategies in relation to waste management were changing on a
regular basis at present i.e. consultations were expected imminently on a
deposit and return scheme, reforming packaging producer responsibility
etc. Dependent upon the results of these consultations waste management
focus and priorities may change; ·
Communities
Scrutiny Committee was examining matters relating to the proposed new Waste
Recycling Service design, including the proposed education and communications
strategy being drawn up ahead of its introduction; · it was manufacturers and central government who had the powers to determine the types of containers and packaging that were produced and sold, the local authority’s responsibilities centred on waste management and the ethical disposal of waste products. Both the ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 137 KB To consider
a report by the Scrutiny Coordinator (copy enclosed) seeking a review of the
committee’s forward work programme and updating members on relevant issues. 12.20 – 12.35
p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Scrutiny Co-ordinator introduced the
report (previously circulated) seeking Members’ review of the Committee’s work
programme and providing an update on relevant issues. A copy of the “Member’s proposal form” had
been included in Appendix 2. The Scrutiny Co-ordinator requested that any
proposals be submitted to herself. The Cabinet Forward Work Programme had been
included as Appendix 3, the table summarising recent Committee resolutions,
advising on progress with their implementation, had been attached as Appendix
4. The date of the next meeting was confirmed,
it was explained the proposed agenda item on Dolwen
Residential Care Home had not progress sufficiently to enable it to be
presented to the Committee at the March meeting and would be rescheduled for a
future date. The Scrutiny Co-ordinator confirmed the
Chairs and Vice Chairs Group, where due to meet that afternoon, further reports
may be added to the forward work programme following debate. A list of the
Committee’s representatives on the Service Challenge Groups along with the
schedule of Group meetings for 2018-19 had been included in the “Information
Brief” document for members’ information. Councillor Geraint Lloyd –Williams
notified the Committee he was unable to attend the upcoming Service Challenge
group he represent the committee on. Following discussion the Chair agreed to
attend the meeting on behalf on the Performance Scrutiny committee. RESOLVED
that subject to the above, the Forward Work Programme be approved. |
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FEEDBACK FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES To receive
any updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and
Groups. 12.35 – 12.45
p.m. Minutes: Councillor Rachel
Flynn and Ann Davies informed members they had attended the Community Support
Services Performance Challenge meeting. It was stressed how informative and
interesting the meeting had been. A copy
of the notes from that Service Challenge meeting and other recent Service
Challenge meetings had been circulated to members as part of the ‘Information
Brief’ document.
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The meeting concluded
at 13:10 p.m. |