Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Ruthin
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POINT OF NOTICE Councillor Huw Jones (Chair) received a warm welcome on his return and he conveyed his thanks for all the good wishes and visitors he had received during his absence. |
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APOLOGIES Minutes: Councillor Hugh Irving (Vice Chair) together with Co-opted
Member David Lloyd Councillors Julian Thompson-Hill (Finance, Performance and
Strategic Assets) together with Karen Evans (Head of Education and Children’s
Services) Members noted that Co-opted Member David Lloyd’s term as a
Parent Governor was due to end in December following which he would cease to be
a member on the Committee. It was agreed
to send a letter to Mr. Lloyd conveying the
Committee’s appreciation for his service and contribution to scrutiny meetings. |
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS PDF 116 KB Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: No declarations of interest had been raised. |
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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 had been raised. |
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MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING PDF 299 KB To receive the minutes of the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 26 September, 2019 (copy enclosed). Minutes: The minutes of the Performance Scrutiny Committee held on 26
September 2019 were submitted. Matters Arising – Page 8 – Item No. 5 Hafan Deg, Rhyl – the Scrutiny Coordinator agreed to ascertain
whether the new leaflet promoting the service had been distributed and to check
on progress with arrangements for a members visit to Cefndy
Healthcare. RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2019 be received
and approved as a correct record. |
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SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AND PROVISIONAL L2 EXAMINATION RESULTS PDF 154 KB To consider a report by the Principal Education Manager (copy enclosed) on the performance of Denbighshire’s schools and provisional level 2 examination results for members’ review. 10.05 a.m. – 10.45 a.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: [The Head of Education and Children’s Services
and officers from GwE had been unable to attend for
this item due to a meeting with the Welsh Government and apologies for absence
had been submitted on their behalf] The Lead Member for Education, Children’s
Services and Public Engagement introduced the Principal Education Manager’s
report (previously circulated) on the performance of Denbighshire’s schools and
provisional level 2 examination results.
The report included the unverified performance of Denbighshire schools
and draft external examinations results at Key Stage 4 together with provision
of drafts results against national information and performance. During his introduction and in response to the
Committee’s concerns regarding the lack of comparable data in which to
scrutinise performance results the Lead Member explained that the information
contained in the report complied with national guidance and reflected recent changes
in the recording of performance data. He
referred to a joint communication from Welsh Government, the Welsh Local
Government Association and Estyn which strongly
advised that a broad range of un-aggregated data and information be used when
reporting on school performance. In
following that guidance local authorities were not sharing performance data and
therefore the report data had been restricted to the information currently
available and did not include comparisons with other local education
authorities. In addition, given the new
interim KS4 measures as part of the education reform programme in Wales and
differences across several indicators (as a result of first entry counting
rather than best outcome data) it had not possible to compare 2019 figures with
previous performance. In considering
future performance data it was recommended that provisional performance results
be considered by the Committee in September 2020 and a comparison with the
previous year’s verified results be made in February 2021. In reporting on the headlines messages the Lead
Member referred to slight dips but overall consistency. Both Rhyl High School and Blessed Edward
Jones situated in Wales most deprived ward areas had improved on the previous
year and reference was made to a recent Schools Standards Monitoring Group
(SSMG) meeting at the new Christ the Word school and positive outcomes found in
that regard. During his address to the Committee the
Principal Education Manager – ·
referred
to previous discussions with the Committee on the reporting of performance data
information and the need to provide scrutiny with as much information as
possible to ensure an open and transparent process ·
confirmed
the report conformed to national guidance and due to new school performance
measures the data was not comparable with previous years ·
referred
to the new curriculum with the main indicator of 5 GCSEs and schools were
focusing on ensuring improvements in that area together with providing a broad
and balanced education for pupils ·
explained
the reasoning behind the capped 9 measure that for pupils to have a broad and
balanced education GCSEs should be capped to 9 subjects including core subjects
English and Maths with greater opportunities for higher scores ·
proposed
that in future performance data should include an information sheet and draft
examination results in September/October with presentation of the verified
results in February together with exclusion and attendance data to provide an
overall picture of performance ·
advised
that whilst there was no formal comparable data with other local authorities
some had seen a general dip whilst Denbighshire had seen a slight improvement –
where local authorities published their verified performance results it would
be possible to gauge Denbighshire’s performance in comparison · reported upon the use of the Free School Meals (FSM) indicator in terms of performance with Denbighshire’s results generally being below the Welsh average and described how ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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AVOIDANCE AND REDUCTION OF PLASTICS IN DENBIGHSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL OFFICES PDF 212 KB To consider a report by the Strategic Planning and Performance Officer (copy enclosed) presenting the findings and recommendations/action plan of the Use of Plastics Members Task and Finish Group for consideration prior to submission to County Council. 10.45 a.m. – 11.30 a.m. Additional documents: Minutes: The Lead Member for
Waste, Transport and the Environment introduced the report which had been
produced by the Use of Plastics Task and Finish Group following a Notice of
Motion (July 2018) to Council where it was resolved that the Council ‘supports
in principle the reduction in the use of plastic but asks that it be referred
to Scrutiny for detailed consideration and a further report back to Council’. Councillor Emrys Wynne, Chair of the Use of Plastics Task and Finish Group detailed the work of the Group and considerations as to how best to meet the objectives set by Council. It had been agreed to focus on what was achievable and in the first stage to remove single use plastic where possible in Denbighshire’s council offices. Councillor Wynne proceeded to present the report findings and recommendations/action plan of the Group and explained how the Council could avoid and reduce its use of plastics in its own offices in a deliverable and sustainable way and he sought the Committee’s support for that report and its submission to County Council in January 2020. Members’ attention was drawn to the proposed action plan which also included the impact of taking those actions and any savings made as a result – however the driver had been to reduce single use plastic and not to make savings. Councillor Wynne proceeded to elaborate upon each of the proposed actions as follows – · stop the provision of plastic water cups at water coolers within council buildings · encourage the reuse of water bottles to refill at water coolers · remove water coolers altogether · stop the provision of cups at refreshment points within council buildings · staff campaign to ‘bring your own cup’ to work/office/meetings · remove refreshment stations altogether from council offices · reduce provision of plastic milk containers ‘jiggers’ at refreshment points / plastic stirrers (not applicable) – wooden stirrers · promote behaviour change to either avoid or reduce plastic use to council staff · stop purchase of plastic stationery wallets in all services · remove vending machines completely · arrange consultation with School Forum to challenge ‘avoidance and reduction of plastics’ in our council offices. The Committee was asked to support continuation of the Group to further explore and investigate options to avoid and reduce plastics in other areas of the Council (with the next focus on school catering), and to encourage staff to look at how to avoid or reduce plastics within the Council. The remainder of the report highlighted ways to reduce plastic use. Finally Councillor Wynne thanked the Strategic Planning and Performance Officer for producing the report and also welcomed a member of the public in attendance who had an interest in the environment and who had attended a recent talk he had given at a Friends of the Earth meeting. The Committee welcomed the report and thanked the Group for their hard work in devising ways of reducing and removing plastic use and fully supported their continuation to identify measures to support more environmentally practices. The following matters were raised during the ensuing debate – · the Committee was keen to publicise the good work being undertaken and in encouraging environmentally friendly practices and it was noted that in the event the recommendations were approved by Council a press release would be timely; the Scrutiny Coordinator also reported upon more general work to raise scrutiny’s profile and identify key messages and themes from meetings to highlight via the press office and social media · it was acknowledged that reduction in the use of plastics across the authority was a massive undertaking and therefore an incremental approach was proposed by the Group ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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HIGHWAYS CODE OF PRACTICE PDF 205 KB To consider a report by the Highways, Asset and Risk Manager (copy enclosed) seeking members’ views on the new Highway Code of Practice prior to its submission to Cabinet for formal adoption. 11.45 a.m. - 12.15 p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment and
the Highways, Asset and Risk Manager presented the new Highways Code of
Practice for members’ views prior to its submission to Cabinet for formal
adoption. Members were advised that the highway authority had a
statutory duty to maintain the adopted highway network safely but, to a degree,
the standard to which it should be maintained was at its discretion. Some background was provided in terms of the
legislative responsibilities placed on highway authorities and the potential
for litigation from claimants as a result of perceived failure of the Council
to fulfil those duties. To maintain the
highway network safely and defend against such claims the Council had aligned
its practices with an industry wide Highways Code of Practice (CoP) which was put in place in 2005. In 2016 a new CoP
was produced by the UK Roads Liaison Committee based on a risk assessment type
approach and, in recognition of diminishing budgets, allowed for a focus on
areas of greatest need. To enable a more
consistent approach across Wales a joint CoP document
had been produced by Welsh highway authorities setting out minimum standards
all authorities would work to and it was recommended that, following scrutiny,
the Committee endorse the new CoP for submission to
Cabinet and formal adoption. During the ensuing debate members were generally supportive
of the new CoP which clearly set out the minimum
standards required and the commitment of the authority to safety maintain the
highway network in the county, and they took the opportunity to discuss various
aspects of the new CoP and the inspection and
maintenance regime with the Highways, Assets and Risk Manager. In response to questions the Highways, Assets and Risk
Manager advised that – ·
funding would be targeted at areas of greatest
need to help deliver an efficient service within available budgets to manage
risk in a cost effective manner ·
during statutory inspections defects were
recorded by inspectors on electronic tablets with regard to the highway
inspection defect recording manual ·
in terms of defects reported through the CRM
system followed up by the service, reports should clearly define the defect
which would be assessed against the dimensional criteria measurements to
ascertain what action if any was required – it would be useful if reports
included a photograph of the defect which could be accommodated under the new CRM
C360 system ·
the definition of a pothole had been clearly
defined in the CoP in terms of its dimensions and the
defect would be categorised in accordance with those levels ·
the CoP did not relate
to resurfacing works which was a separate work stream ·
in response to concerns regarding the practice
of temporary repair work as a precursor to permanent repair, the new CoP would set minimum standards in order to focus funding
based on need and potholes would be filled in such a manner to fulfil the
Council’s statutory duty in that regard; there were other highways strategies
to address issues raised in terms of resurfacing schemes and patching works
which were outside the remit of the new CoP document ·
with regard to concerns over specific works
carried out by utility companies and developers resulting in a detrimental
impact on the highway it was confirmed that inspections were carried out by the
Council and action taken but it was a separate issue outside the remit of the
current report item ·
whilst the importance of dropped kerbs was
acknowledged it was not a statutory requirement and therefore had not been
included within the CoP · the minimum frequency of weed removal and ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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CORPORATE PLAN PERFORMANCE REPORT QUARTER 2, 2019 TO 2020 PDF 123 KB To consider a joint report by the Strategic Planning and Performance Team Manager and the Strategic Planning and Performance Officer presenting an update on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2017 to 2022 as at the end of quarter 2 (July to September 2019) for monitoring purposes. 1.00 p.m. – 1.45 p.m. Additional documents: Minutes: The Strategic Planning & Performance Team Leader introduced the
report explaining the use of the new accessibility template format and
consequent omission of the ROYG status flags. The report reviewed the Council’s
progress at the end of quarter 2 2019/20 in delivering the Corporate Plan. Housing. The Committee were apprised of the abundance
of activity on the Housing priority (page 96) including: ·
new
homes being provided through the renovation and conversion of the former house
in multiple occupation at 40 Brighton Road; ·
the
planning application for the development of 22 Passivhaus (extremely low energy
usage) homes in Denbigh and ·
69
empty properties being returned to use. The tranche review had identified further work
requirement amongst young people’s needs. The Young People and Housing Board
had devised an action plan on changing assessment results and would be
reporting back in quarter 3. Connected Communities. Referring to the quarterly table of measures
comparing 5 data points (page 103) it was explained that status note ‘Does not
apply’ was usually due to lack of data (new measure) or data that it would be
inappropriate to apportion a target to. Resilient Communities. Year to date figures reported an increase of 17.9% in repeat domestic
abuse victims. Whilst there had been a decrease over the whole of North Wales
there had been a larger increase in Denbighshire than Conwy. It was noted that
figures were reported quite late due to the delays in the Courts process. Support for carers
appeared to have made a significant drop compared to the same time last year.
Following conversations with the Head of Service, it was understood that this
drop was attributable to a data collection issue, which the Service was looking
to resolve.” Environment. Most of the data around this priority was recorded annually, most of the
projects were on target including: ·
reduction
of carbon emissions; ·
launch
of nature corridor (ENRaW Project) across Denbighshire, Flintshire and Conwy
and ·
reduction
of the Council’s use of plastics. Young People. The new attainment measure that locally focussed on the percentage of pupils achieving the level 2+ threshold would be reported in quarter 3 once the data had been validated. Responding to the Committee’s questions the Strategic Planning & Performance Team Leader advised: ·
the
Resident Survey sought responses from a broad cross-section of Denbighshire’s
residents, being promoted online, at libraries, one-stop-shops and council
receptions; ·
figures
reflect completed housing and tend to be a year in arrears. It was anticipated that going forward the
rate of progress would increase rapidly: ·
members
expressed their frustration with the pace of the roll-out in rural areas, but
that a new post, hosted by Wrexham and dedicated to Denbighshire, would
hopefully see improvements being made in the county, and ·
a new
project would train front facing service staff to recognise domestic abuse in
the community. RESOLVED that
the content of the draft Corporate Plan Performance Report Quarter 2, 2019 to
2020 be agreed. |
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CORPORATE RISK REGISTER REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2019 PDF 146 KB To consider a report by the Strategic Planning and Performance Officer (copy enclosed) providing an update on the review of the Corporate Risk Register and revised Risk Management Guide and seeking members’ views thereon. 1.45 p.m. – 2.30 p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Strategic
Planning & Performance Team Leader presented the Committee with the
Corporate Risk Register report (previously circulated) on behalf of the
Strategic Planning and Performance Officer. Attached to the report
appendix 2 listed the core changes. There were more amendments than usual due
to changes in service structures and lead member portfolios. In addition there
were two new risks: I.
00043 -
The risk that the council does not have the funds or resources to meet its
statutory obligations under the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and Education
Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 and II.
00044 –
The risk of Ash Dieback Disease (ADB) in Denbighshire leading to serious
disruption, budgetary impacts, risks to infrastructure and the increased
potential for deaths and injuries. The Strategic
Planning & Performance Team Leader advised the Committee that the Risk Management
Guide would now include guidance on Risk Appetite, highlighting to Members the
key changes within the document, what this means for analysing risk, and the
appetite statements agreed by senior management and Cabinet. Scrutiny Members
expressed approval of the Risk Appetite approach and statements. Henceforth, from
the February review, Appendix II would contain a new column detailing Corporate
Risks against the council’s Risk Appetite Statement – the level of risk
prepared to tolerate or accept as a Council in pursuit of long term, strategic
objectives. Responding to
Members’ questions the Strategic Planning & Performance Team Leader advised
that: ·
guidance
had been sought from the Authority’s Strategic Risk Consultant – Zurich Insurance
Ltd; ·
in
terms of digital security ICT ensures maximum security as an accredited
Authority; ·
the
Authority’s Geographical Location System would identify whether potentially
affected Ash trees were on Denbighshire County Council property and ·
Welsh Government
assumed that the ALN obligations would be cost neutral and no additional
funding would be provided. Councillor Martyn
Holland asked that consideration be given to potential income generation by
disposing of any Council owned felled ash trees profitably for fire wood. RESOLVED: - having considered the
amendments to the Corporate Risk Register, and subject to the provision of the
above information, to receive the revised version of the register. |
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SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 152 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. 2.30 p.m. – 2.45 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. Members were reminded that the proposal form for scrutiny forward work programme (appendix 2) should be completed for the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-chairs Group to review and allocate. The next meeting of the Performance Scrutiny Committee would be 30th January 2020. The following amendments were agreed: · the Customer Relationship Manager system be moved to the meeting on 19th March 2020 and ·
the Draft Sustainable Travel Plan be deferred to
16th July 2020. The Scrutiny Co-ordinator advised the Committee that at the previous Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-chairs meeting The Communications and Campaign Management Team Leader had requested that at the end of each scrutiny committee meeting a few key message/points of interest arising could be highlighted for the Communications and Marketing team to highlight on social media. It had been agreed to trial the idea for a few meetings. The Committee proposed the review of the avoidance and reduction of plastics in Denbighshire County Council offices be the key message from that meeting. Following a recent service restructure and the establishment
of Denbighshire Leisure Ltd. the committee was asked to review their quota of
Service Challenge representatives. Councillor Arwel Roberts was nominated to
represent the Committee on the Planning, Public Protection and Countryside
Services Service Challenge. All other
representation remained the same. The Committee was advised that the Scrutiny Chairs and
Vice-Chairs Group had appointed Councillor Huw Williams as the Scrutiny Chair
to serve on the Strategic Governance Board of Denbighshire Leisure Ltd. 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 2.45 p.m. – 3.00 p.m. Minutes: Councillor Arwel Roberts had attended the School Standards
Monitoring Group (SSMG) for the new Christ The Word school in Rhyl. Despite the
challenge of the increased size of the school he reported positive feedback on
both the new Head Teacher and school itself from a group of pupils. Councillor Ellie Chard had the SSMG meeting for St. Brigid’s
School and found it very interesting. She was surprised at the number of
children with Special Education Needs (30%) and free school meal uptake (7%). RESOLVED that the feedback be noted. Meeting closed at 14:35 |