Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Ruthin
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APOLOGIES Minutes: Councillors Bill Cowie, Rhys Hughes, Bob Murray and David
Simmons Cabinet Members – Councillors Bobby Feeley, David Smith and Eryl Williams |
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS PDF 58 KB Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: Councillor Brian Blakeley declared a personal interest in
agenda item 5 – Police and Crime Commissioner because he was the Council’s
representative on the North Wales Police and Crime Panel. Councillors Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Martyn Holland, Anton Sampson, Cheryl Williams and Cefyn Williams declared a personal interest in agenda item 6 – Denbighshire’s Draft Home to School Transport Policy because they were school governors. Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts also declared a personal interest in agenda item 9 – Scrutiny Work Programme because reference was made to the local Nat West Bank closures and he ran Ruthin Post Office which provided banking services. |
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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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To receive the minutes of the Communities Scrutiny Committee held on 15 December 2016 (copy enclosed). Minutes: The minutes of the Committee’s meeting held on 15 December
2016 were submitted. Matters Arising – Page 8, Item 4 Minutes (County-wide impact of the increase of car parking charges) – Mold Town Council had advised that they did not subsidise car park charges in Mold. A small amount of benefit from the Nett car parking income was received – not in “hard cash” but the Town Council was able to specify what projects the amount should be spent on. The works agreed were then carried out in partnership with Flintshire County Council and all projects were infrastructure related. Mold Town Council had also advised that Buckley Town Council had agreed to pay a set sum to Flintshire County Council over the Christmas period so that visitors would benefit from free parking for the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas. Page 10, Item 6 Water Management and Flood Mitigation – Councillor Martyn Holland referred to (1) discussions with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) at the last meeting who had advised of work to mitigate the risk to life and property of flooding from main rivers, and (2) the Council’s Bridge Maintenance Strategy recently considered by Performance Scrutiny Committee. Councillor Holland hoped that bridges would be included in the property categorisation referred to by NRW for the purposes of mitigation work given the potential damage to bridges as a result of fallen trees, etc., and subsequent repair/maintenance cost implications. It was noted that water and flood management in Denbighshire would be discussed at Council Briefing in June and it was agreed that the issue be raised at that time. RESOLVED that the minutes of
the meeting held on 15 December 2016 be received and approved as a correct
record. |
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POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER To discuss with the Police and Crime Commissioner his vision and priorities for the region. 9.35 a.m. – 10.15 a.m. Minutes: The Chair welcomed Mr. Arfon
Jones, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner who was attending the meeting
at the Committee’s invitation to discuss his vision and priorities for the
region. Members noted the distinction between
the Commissioner’s strategic role and the Chief Constable’s operational role in
policing and it was agreed to invite the Chief Constable to a future meeting to
discuss his vision and priorities. Prior to his formal address the Commissioner
advised that the Police and Crime Panel had earlier that week approved his
draft budget for 2017/18, which would result in 17 additional police officers
and 6 other members of staff being recruited.
Of the 17 additional police officers to be recruited, 10 would be
deployed ‘on the beat’ across North Wales to deal with low level crime, such as
anti-social behaviour, whilst the remaining 7 officers and 6 other members of
staff would be employed in specialist roles, mainly investigating child
exploitation and cyber-crime. To fund
this budget the Panel had agreed to set the Police precept at 3.79%, which
equated to an increase of £9 a year, or 17p a day, on a Band D property across
North Wales. Mr. Jones addressed the Committee outlining his
role and responsibilities as the elected Commissioner, the public’s
representative for liaising with North Wales Police. These duties included – ·
setting
the budget and precept for the Police Service ·
holding
the Chief Constable to account for fulfilling his main duty, of providing an
effective and efficient police service for North Wales, providing value for
money and reducing crime ·
allocating
revenue to prevent crime and disorder to groups across North Wales ·
drawing up a Police
and Crime Plan, setting out the strategic direction for policing in North
Wales. The Commissioner was currently in the process
of consulting on his Police and Crime Plan, his first plan since his election
in May 2016. As part of his consultation
on the Plan an online questionnaire had been available for residents to
complete and a series of public meetings had been held across North Wales. He informed members that following his
election he had not changed his predecessor’s Plan as he agreed with the
majority of the actions in it. However,
his Plan would reflect the changes and threats facing North Wales as well as,
where possible, residents, statutory agencies, voluntary sector and the
business community’s priorities across the region. The Commissioner’s Plan would focus on the vulnerability of people rather than seek to deal with everyone and everything. Consequently it would include plans to address domestic abuse, child abuse, modern slavery and human trafficking. Whilst the basic principles of policing had stayed the same as when he was a serving police officer, other aspects of policing had changed as had the types of crime they were dealing with on a day to day basis. Abhorrent crimes such as child sexual exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery were far more prevalent now as were cyber-crime incidents. Statistics now indicated that these days more crimes were committed online than on the streets. As a result more of the Police’s resources were required to deal with crime that was to an extent ‘hidden’, or not visible to the majority of the population. Whilst this ‘hidden’ crime could initially seem easy to investigate, the speed and power of cyber and social media crime meant it was a complex area which could extend around the globe and involve dozens, if not hundreds of perpetrators, i.e. the sharing of indecent images, etc. To emphasise the extent and complexities of these types of cases he referred to specific high ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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DENBIGHSHIRE'S DRAFT HOME TO SCHOOL TRANSPORT POLICY PDF 179 KB To consider a report by the Head of Education (copy enclosed) updating members on the review of Denbighshire’s Home to School Transport Policy and presenting the draft new policy for members’ consideration prior to consultation with stakeholders. 10.15 a.m. – 10.45 a.m. Additional documents: Minutes: The Head of Education introduced the report
(previously circulated) updating members on the progress to date with the
review of the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy. A copy of the latest revised draft of the
policy had been attached to the report for members’ consideration and
observations. The Committee was advised that the majority of
legal advice sought on aspects of the policy had been received and the version
presented to them had been amended in line with that advice. The Education Resource and Support Manager
highlighted the main changes in the draft policy as outlined in the report,
these being – ·
‘feeder school’ relationships were recognised in the new
draft policy. The current policy only
recognised nearest suitable school, and this factor could have a detrimental
impact on children being able to stay together at transition to secondary
school. Applications for secondary
school transport under the proposed new policy would therefore be assessed on
nearest suitable school or whether they had attended a ‘designated primary
feeder school’. Transport on the basis
of feeder school would be provided as a discretionary arrangement ·
that the
guidance in relation to pick-up points and hazardous routes would be
incorporated into the new policy to aid transparency and clarity ·
clarity on
discretionary travel provision ·
an
extended timescale for the appeals process to ensure that all elements relating
to an appeal were properly investigated, and ·
a number of other
minor changes throughout the document for strengthening or clarifying purposes. In response to members’ questions, officers – ·
informed
the Committee that the revised policy had been drafted having regard to the
requirements of recent legislation, i.e. the Social Services and Wellbeing
(Wales) Act 2014 and the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 ·
confirmed that for pupils
in the south of the county who attended faith schools, or who wished to access
faith based secondary education, their nearest faith based school would be in
Wrexham. They would not be expected to
travel to Rhyl ·
advised
that they would shortly be looking at improving transport links across county
boundaries with a view to exploring whether Denbighshire pupils could utilise
transport commissioned by other authorities to transport their pupils to
Denbighshire schools, and vice-versa to see if pupils from other counties could
travel on Denbighshire commissioned transport to schools outside of the county ·
informed
the Committee that the policy’s provisions in relation to designated pick-up
points and hazardous routes would require to be applied in a fair and equitable
manner, with due regard being given to all considerations presented ·
once the
revised policy was approved for consultation every effort would be made to
promote the consultation exercise via the media, schools and any other
appropriate methods, with a view to attracting maximum stakeholder engagement
with the process ·
the Education
Service worked closely with the Highways and Environmental Service in relation
to monitoring whether school routes could become hazardous during the growing
season, particularly those routes in the south of the county that were subject
to biodiversity verge cutting. The
safety of the pupils would always be paramount ·
confirmed that the
timetable for the new policy’s approval and implementation was as laid out in
paragraph 4.5.1. of the report. However, where able Education Support would
apply the same principles to school transport applications received in the
interim ·
advised
that as part of the consultation exercise on the policy a clear definition
would be communicated with respect of the term ‘discretionary transport’,
including information on the length of discretionary transport awards, and · confirmed that the actual cost of the policy could not be calculated until the consultation phase ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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WELSH AMBULANCE SERVICE TRUST To receive a presentation from the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust and discuss with them the problems and pressures faced by the Service in Denbighshire. 11.00 a.m. – 11.45 a.m. Minutes: Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (WAST)
representatives David Scott (Non-Executive Director), Sonia Thompson (Interim
Head of Operations Betsi Cadwaladr
University Health Board (BCUHB) Area) and Claire Bevan (Executive Director for Quality,
Nursing and Patient Experience) were introduced and welcomed. WAST representatives had been invited to
attend the meeting to discuss with the Committee the problems and pressures
faced by the service in Denbighshire and across Wales, and how they were
addressing those pressures. Through a PowerPoint presentation WAST
representatives illustrated to members – ·
data on
the number of calls and website enquiries received by the service last year,
which showed a substantial increase on the previous year, and the number of
patient care journeys undertaken by the service and its volunteer network ·
data on
the number of calls responded to by Community First Responder volunteers ·
the
perverse effect of meeting ambulance response times – being able to meet the
set targets, but not improving the experience or the outcomes for the patient,
apart from the most critically ill ·
the
measures being implemented with a view to improve call management and patient
assessment to aid appropriate dispatch of emergency ambulances and other
response vehicles, including the anticipated benefits of this approach to the
patient and to WAST ·
the
improvements realised to date from adopting the New Clinical Model, including a
38% reduction in the number of Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs) stood down ·
work
undertaken with Health Service and Police staff with a view to reducing the
number of ‘frequent callers’ and the Fire and Rescue Service in relation to
preventing falls ·
the
increase in the number of patients who had been clinically assessed by the
Clinical Telephone Assessment Team which had resulted in them not requiring an
emergency ambulance ·
the
pan-Wales Transition of Care Closer to Home initiative, which had led to fewer
patients being conveyed to hospital in North Wales than the rest of Wales ·
work
currently in progress and proposed to drive improvements with respect to
managing calls for assistance which were deemed to be non-emergency calls ·
the work
underway to try and improve handover times from WAST to the Health Board,
currently performance in BCUHB’s area against this specific indicator was
consistently the worst in Wales ·
initiatives underway
across North Wales with a view to driving improvements. These included a team of clinicians based in
the Police Control Centre and at WAST’s Control Room which could assess the
patient’s needs, and the development of Alternative Care Pathways – including a
Community Assistance Team in partnership with the Fire and Rescue Service,
District Nurse Pathway, a revised Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) Protocol, and in
March 2017 a Mental Health Pathway pilot would commence at Ysbyty
Glan Clwyd ·
in
addition a Rapid Handover Protocol would be rolled-out pan North Wales to
support the timely handover of patients who do not require a clinician to
clinician discussion, the Community First Responder Service would be expanded
to work in areas of North Wales which did not currently have a significant CFR
presence; and work would continue with frequent service users with a view to
supporting their needs without them having to call out the service. WAST representatives informed the Committee
that initial feedback from the public and Welsh Government (WG) Ministers to
the New Clinical Model approach had been favourable, staff morale had also improved. The Committee heard evidence from a member of the public in attendance on how he had called for an ambulance to an accident in Llangollen, and the delay experienced before an ambulance actually arrived as there were no ambulances available within close proximity to the town. Despite ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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DENBIGHSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL'S RESIDENTS SURVEY 2017 PDF 56 KB To consider a report by the Head of Business Improvement and Modernisation (copy enclosed) outlining a revised approach to the 2017 Residents Survey and seeking members’ views on the proposed new arrangements. 11.45 a.m. – 12.15 p.m. Minutes: The Head of Business Improvement and
Modernisation presented the report (previously circulated) which outlined the
proposed process for undertaking the 2017 Residents Survey in Denbighshire. In his introduction the Head of Service outlined
the importance of the Residents Survey exercise as a way of measuring citizens’
satisfaction with the Council’s services and for gauging their views on the
services they would like to receive in the future. He outlined the Council’s proposals for
increasing residents’ engagement with the survey process for the forthcoming
survey and advised that if between 2000 – 3000 respondents could be secured the
authority would regard that as an appropriate response rate. The survey responses would be analysed
alongside the responses to the Corporate Plan consultation and both analysis
would contribute towards the new Council’s strategic planning for future years. With a view to maximising residents’ engagement
with the process members requested officers to enquire whether an incentive
could be offered to entice residents to complete a survey, i.e. free 12 month
leisure membership for one/two people. The
Committee was keen that members had an opportunity to comment on the draft
survey before it was issued to residents, therefore the Committee – RESOLVED that – (a) subject to the above
comments and enquiries being made to establish whether an incentive in the form
of a prize could be given to one respondent for completing the survey, that the
proposed new arrangements for undertaking the Residents Survey be supported,
and (b) that
the draft Residents Survey be submitted to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chair’s
Group (SCVCG) for comments prior to its publication. |
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SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 72 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. 12.15 p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: The
Scrutiny Coordinator submitted a report (previously circulated) seeking
members’ review of the Committee’s work programme and
provided an update on relevant issues. Discussion
focused on the following – ·
it was noted that Nat West officials had declined
the Committee’s invitation to attend its meeting in March to discuss the
rationale for closing branches in the county and future proposals for
delivering banking facilities but had offered to meet with officers or members
on an individual basis. Members
expressed concern that Nat West officials had not been willing to engage and
discuss matters in a public forum with a view to working with the Council for
the benefit of customers and future delivery of services. It was agreed that a press release be issued
highlighting the Committee’s disappointment and frustration in that
regard. Councillor
Cheryl Williams asked that alternative means of delivering those banking
services to local communities be explored, including the use of one stop
shops. The Chair advised that Ruthin
Post Office provided some banking facilities ·
members
agreed to invite the relevant Lead Cabinet Members to attend the Committee’s
next meeting for items relating to Supporting Independence in Denbighshire;
Review of Primary School Provision in the Ruthin area, and Water Management (Glasidr area, Ruthin), and ·
the Committee also reaffirmed their decision to
receive a report back on Denbighshire’s Home to School Transport Policy
following the consultation process to also include the review of school
transport routes and pick up points. RESOLVED that, subject to the above, the forward work programme
as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report be approved. |
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FEEDBACK FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES To receive any updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups Minutes: Councillor Martyn Holland advised that the Equality Group was
reviewing the way in which it operated in the county in the future. RESOLVED that the verbal report be received and noted. The meeting concluded at 12.55 p.m. |