Agenda, decisions and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Ruthin
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APOLOGIES Decision: Councillor Barbara Smith,
Lead Member for Modernisation and Housing Minutes: Councillor Barbara Smith,
Lead Member for Modernisation and Housing |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 58 KB Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Decision: Councillors Joan Butterfield,
Meirick Davies, Bobby Feeley, Martyn Holland, Huw Jones, Merfyn Parry, Arwel
Roberts, David Simmons, David Smith, Julian Thompson-Hill declared a personal
interest in agenda item 5. Councillors Bobby Feeley, Hugh Irving and Julian Thompson-Hill declared a personal and prejudicial interest in agenda item 11 relating to Cefndy Healthcare. Minutes: The following members declared a personal interest in agenda item 5 – Councillor Joan Butterfield – Governor Ysgol Tir Morfa Councillor Meirick Davies – Governor Ysgol Cefn Meiriadog & Ysgol Trefnant Councillor Bobby Feeley – Governor Rhos Street
School Councillor Martyn Holland – Governor Ysgol Bro
Famau Councillor Huw Jones – Governor Ysgol Caer Drewyn
& Ysgol Carrog Councillor Merfyn Parry – Governor Ysgol Bryn
Clwyd & Ysgol Gellifor Councillor Arwel Roberts – Governor Ysgol y
Castell & Ysgol Dewi Sant Councillor David Simmons – Governor Ysgol Tir Morfa Councillor David Smith – Grandson in Ysgol Pen
Barras Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill – Governor Ysgol
Clawdd Offa Councillors Bobby Feeley, Hugh
Irving and Julian Thompson-Hill declared a personal and prejudicial interest in
agenda item 11 relating to Cefndy Healthcare. As those members had been nominated by the
Council to the Cefndy Healthcare Management Board
they had been granted an exemption under the Code of Conduct and permitted to
take part in the debate and vote on the item. |
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URGENT MATTERS 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. Decision: No urgent matters had been raised. Minutes: No urgent matters had been raised. |
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To receive the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 2 June 2015 (copy enclosed). Decision: RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 2 June 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed
by the Leader. Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 2 June 2015 were submitted. RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 2 June 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed
by the Leader. |
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To consider a report by the Scrutiny Co-ordinator (copy enclosed) detailing the conclusions of the Performance Scrutiny Committee following its consideration of the call-in of the Cabinet decisions taken on 2 June 2015 in respect of Ysgol Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd and Ysgol Pentrecelyn, and Ysgol Rhewl. Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED
that Cabinet – (a) receives Performance Scrutiny Committee’s conclusions and
recommendations in relation to both decisions that were made the subject of the
call-in notices, and (b) with regards to the recommendations relating to Ysgol Rhewl endorse the
additional work recommended to be undertaken, as outlined below – ·
officers be instructed during
the consultation period following the publication of the statutory notices to
undertake work to assess and mitigate the effects of the loss of Welsh language
provision on the community and to ensure that the loss of a dual stream school
will not disadvantage the area’s pupils in future ·
further work is undertaken with
pupils, parents, staff and other stakeholders of Ysgol
Rhewl to address their concerns relating to the
capacity of the Glasdir site, the transport
management of the new school site and road safety concerns for primary school
children walking between Rhewl and the Glasdir site, and · that the findings of the work outlined above is reported to Cabinet in the autumn of 2015 when presenting the objections report in response to the publication of the statutory notice. Minutes: Councillor David Simmons, Chair of Performance
Scrutiny Committee presented the report detailing the scrutiny committee’s
conclusions and recommendations following consideration of the call-in of the
Cabinet decisions in respect of Ysgol Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd & Ysgol Pentrecelyn, and Ysgol Rhewl. Following careful consideration Performance
Scrutiny Committee had upheld Cabinet’s decisions and made a number of
recommendations in the case of Ysgol Rhewl in order to alleviate community and stakeholder concerns. Officers confirmed they were happy to
implement the scrutiny committee’s recommendations during the consultation
process and report back thereon. As
local member for Rhewl, Councillor Merfyn Parry was invited to speak and confirmed he had
nothing further to add. Cabinet considered the report and agreed to
endorse the recommendations. For clarity
Councillor Simmons agreed to amend the wording of recommendation 3.2 to
reproduce the committee’s recommendations in full instead of referring to the
recommendations in Appendix 1b. This
would ensure the recommendations would be reproduced in full in the Cabinet
minutes. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) receives Performance Scrutiny Committee’s conclusions and recommendations in relation to both decisions that were made the subject of the call-in notices, and (b) with regards to the recommendations relating to Ysgol Rhewl endorse the additional work recommended to be undertaken, as outlined below – · officers be instructed during the consultation period following the publication of the statutory notices to undertake work to assess and mitigate the effects of the loss of Welsh language provision on the community and to ensure that the loss of a dual stream school will not disadvantage the area’s pupils in future · further work is undertaken with pupils, parents, staff and other stakeholders of Ysgol Rhewl to address their concerns relating to the capacity of the Glasdir site, the transport management of the new school site and road safety concerns for primary school children walking between Rhewl and the Glasdir site, and · that the findings of the work outlined above is reported to Cabinet in the autumn of 2015 when presenting the objections report in response to the publication of the statutory notice. |
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TOWN AND AREA PLANS PDF 120 KB To consider a report by Councillor Huw Jones, Lead Member for Community Development (copy enclosed) recommending approval of funding allocations for Town and Area Plan projects following evaluation. Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
approve the funding allocations recommended in Appendix 1 of the report. Minutes: Councillor Huw Jones presented the
report recommending approval of funding allocations for Town and Area Plan
(TAP) projects following evaluation. Cabinet had endorsed the TAP review recommendations in January
2015 and agreed to invite Member Area Groups to nominate remaining projects for
funding. The evaluation of those
projects had been set out in the report against criteria intended to test
benefit, value for money and deliverability.
Review dates had been set for each project and a contingency allocation
made for the Bodelwyddan Town Plan. Councillor Huw
Jones commended the work of the Town Champions in their evaluations and
presented their funding recommendations. The Leader welcomed the investment in communities and community benefits arising from the TAPs. He also reported upon future intentions to align TAPs more closely with the economic strategy and highlighted the importance of service departments supporting the plans delivery. Cabinet was satisfied clear processes had been established with an assessment criteria to promote fairness and transparency in funding allocations but sought further assurances regarding the swift progression of projects and match funding elements. The Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm reassured members regarding the robust monitoring processes in place to oversee the progression of projects within appropriate timescales. It was suggested further regular monitoring could be undertaken via an appendix to Cabinet’s regular finance report to show progress against spend and funding could be reallocated if projects failed to progress. Most of the recommended schemes had identified or secured match funding and the introduction of review dates would enable the match funding element to be assessed. Councillor Eryl Williams suggested a report back to the Town Champions or Group Leaders to ensure councillors were kept up to date with progress of particular projects. In terms of future funding of TAPs reference was made to the Rural Development Plan, windfarms and European funding as potential sources to continue the investment in towns/villages. As an aside Councillor Eryl Williams highlighted that local government reorganisation proposals would impact on the availability of external funding. In order that Denbighshire did not lose out in that regard he suggested clarification be sought on the financial implications directly from the Minister and Assembly Members. The Deputy Monitoring Officer/Solicitor agreed to draft a letter in that regard in consultation with the Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services. Members thanked officers for their hard work on various projects and highlighted the important role of the Town Champions within the process. Members also commented on various projects submitted for evaluation and expressed disappointment in cases where they had not been supported with no appeal mechanism in place. Councillor Huw Jones advised that projects not currently recommended for funding may have a further opportunity to bid from reallocated funding if other projects failed to progress. Work was underway to examine different ways of working and potential external funding sources to enable TAPs to continue in the future. RESOLVED that Cabinet
approve the funding allocations recommended in Appendix 1 of the report. |
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK & FINISH GROUP PDF 76 KB To consider a joint report by Councillors David Smith, Lead Member for Public Realm and Hugh Irving, Lead Member for Customers and Libraries (copy enclosed) seeking endorsement of the conclusions and recommendations from the Affordable Housing Task and Finish Group. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
endorses the conclusions and recommendations agreed by the Affordable Housing
Task and Finish Group (attached as Appendix 1 to the report) to be taken
forward through the Housing Strategy and accompanying Delivery Plan. Minutes: Councillor David Smith presented the report seeking
endorsement of the conclusions and recommendations from the Affordable Housing
Task and Finish Group. The Group had
been set up to review the Council’s approach to delivering affordable housing and
its recommendations would inform the Housing Strategy and be reflected in
Council’s strategies, plans and guidance as appropriate. During consideration of the report the following matters were discussed – · assurances were provided that further detail and timescales in which to progress the recommendations would be taken forward through the Housing Strategy · there was some frustration that due to national legislation it would not be possible to progress some recommendations as soon as members would like · much debate focused on the problem of ‘land banking’ where developers and landowners failed to proceed with development following planning permission and were waiting for land values to increase. The Council had some control over the timescale for developments to commence but could take no action in cases where development had commenced in line with planning permissions but not progressed – this aspect was governed by national legislation. It was agreed that Welsh Government be provided with evidence of the problem within Denbighshire and lobbied to change legislation to require completion of development within a defined time period. Officers agreed to progress the issue outside of the meeting and raised the possibility of a joint approach with other local authorities and putting forward alternative suggestions for consideration · an explanation was provided in terms of member involvement on the Housing Strategy Group with those Cabinet members having elements of housing in their portfolios being involved at an early stage to provide a member perspective before the strategy was submitted through formal channels – Communities Scrutiny Committee in September and full Council in October · Councillor Joan Butterfield referred to homelessness issues and difficulties finding suitable accommodation, advising of an existing case in order to illustrate the point, and the need to address the issue as a matter of urgency – officers confirmed that homelessness had been identified as a priority within the Housing Strategy and members would have the opportunity to scrutinise the strategy at Communities Scrutiny Committee in September. With regard to the existing case referred to, it was agreed that the matter be looked into further by officers outside of the meeting · concerns were raised regarding the Council’s eyesore sites and the need for a more vigorous approach to be undertaken to address them. Cabinet paid tribute to the work undertaken by the Group and its supporting officers in producing clear recommendations to deliver benefits in matters relating to affordable housing and noted some recommendations were already being actioned. Councillor David Smith reported upon the dynamic approach undertaken, most notably the Supplementary Planning Guidance approved by Planning Committee which permitted the conversion of redundant rural buildings for market housing. RESOLVED that Cabinet
endorses the conclusions and recommendations agreed by the Affordable Housing
Task and Finish Group (attached as Appendix 1 to the report) to be taken
forward through the Housing Strategy and accompanying Delivery Plan. |
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To consider a report by Councillor David Smith, Lead Member for Public Realm (copy enclosed) providing an overview of the new provisions for tackling anti-social behaviour contained within the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 and seeking delegated powers to relevant Heads of Service. Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED
that – (a) the Officers listed in
Appendix 1 to the report be given delegated authority to exercise the new powers
and additional functions brought in under the Anti-Social Behaviour,
Crime and Policing Act 2014 in order to enable the Council and its partners to
tackle anti-social behaviour in an appropriate,
consistent and proportionate way and within resource constraints; (b) the
level of fines for Fixed Penalty Notices issued as a sanction for breaching
Community Protection Notices and Public Spaces Protection Notices be set at
£100 which is the maximum under the legislation; (c) the
Monitoring Officer is instructed to amend the Officer Scheme of Delegation to
reflect these new and amended powers in respect of anti
social behaviour, and (d) the Monitoring Officer is
also instructed to amend the Officer Scheme of Delegation to reflect that the
Head of Planning and Public Protection has taken on the responsibilities under
a recent restructure in respect of the Councils housing functions and to carry
out a ‘tidy up’ of the listed legislation set out in the Scheme due to repeals
and amendments of legislation which are within the purview of the public
protection service. Minutes: Councillor David Smith presented the report providing an
overview of the new provisions for tackling anti-social behaviour contained
within the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 and seeking delegation
of powers to relevant Heads of Service to ensure effective implementation of
the new powers and reflect other changes in legislation and responsibilities
following the recent restructure. The new provisions streamlined tools for tackling anti-social behaviour with six new powers to replace the nineteen existing ones; there were also two new powers. The responsibility for dealing with anti-social behaviour was shared between a number of agencies and the new legislation encouraged those agencies to work in partnership to address anti-social issues. Examples were provided where the Council could work jointly with the Police on matters involving Community Protection Notices and Public Space Protection Orders. In response to a question regarding powers for dealing with street drinking in the Rhyl area, the Deputy Monitoring Officer/Solicitor advised that subject to resources the Council could exercise its powers in that regard but would need to rely on the Police to assist. She also made reference to one of the new powers – Community Trigger – which gave greater powers to victims to seek a review in cases where they felt local agencies had failed to respond effectively. The reforms were designed to give professionals flexibility to deal with any given situation. RESOLVED
that – (a) the Officers listed in
Appendix 1 to the report be given delegated authority to exercise the new
powers and additional functions brought in under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 in order to enable
the Council and its partners to tackle anti-social behaviour
in an appropriate, consistent and proportionate way and within resource
constraints; (b) the level of fines for
Fixed Penalty Notices issued as a sanction for breaching Community Protection
Notices and Public Spaces Protection Notices be set at £100 which is the
maximum under the legislation; (c) the Monitoring Officer
is instructed to amend the Officer Scheme of Delegation to reflect these new
and amended powers in respect of anti social behaviour, and (d) the Monitoring Officer is
also instructed to amend the Officer Scheme of Delegation to reflect that the
Head of Planning and Public Protection has taken on the responsibilities under
a recent restructure in respect of the Councils housing functions and to carry
out a ‘tidy up’ of the listed legislation set out in the Scheme due to repeals
and amendments of legislation which are within the purview of the public
protection service. |
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CORPORATE PLAN PERFORMANCE REPORT QUARTER 4 - 2014/15 PDF 171 KB To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Corporate Plan and Performance (copy enclosed) presenting an update on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2012 – 17 as at the end of quarter 4 of 2014/15. Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
receives the report and notes the progress in delivering the Corporate Plan
2012 – 17 as at the end of quarter 4 of 2014/15. Minutes: Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the
report providing an update on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2012 – 17 as
at the end of quarter 4 of 2014/15. The report covered three elements – ·
Corporate Plan
2012 – 17 – a number of indicators had been highlighted ‘Red’ which meant they
were identified as a ‘Priority for Improvement’ or where there was an issue
with the data that needed to be raised – an explanation behind the ‘Red’ status
of each indicator had been included within the report and elaborated upon
further at the meeting and in response to questions ·
Corporate
Project Register – there were no projects with a ‘Red’ Priority for
Improvement’ status, details had been provided of three projects at an ‘Orange’
Acceptable level where there were particular issues but they were as expected ·
Outcome
Agreement – the Council had achieved the required number of points for full
payment of the Outcome Agreement Grant for 2014 – 15, however reference was
made to two main areas where targets had been missed. Most Cabinet members had attended training on
the Verto Performance Management System and therefore
could access information in real time.
Training would also be rolled out to Performance Scrutiny Committee
members. Debate focused on the following – ·
it was
recognised that the green indicator for ‘the percentage of principle A roads
that are in overall poor condition’ could be misleading but it was in fact a
positive outcome – unfortunately it would not be possible to amend the wording
for the indicator as it was set nationally ·
‘the
percentage of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) that had a full licence’ had
missed its outcome agreement target by 8% - it was explained that recent
changes to the licensing regime had resulted in an increase in the number of
HMOs which required licensing. At the
request of Councillor Joan Butterfield the Head of Planning and Public
Protection agreed to report upon the recent changes and latest position to the
Rhyl Member Area Group ·
the two
red indicators from the Residents Survey in which residents had not responded
positively to the Council was queried as it seemed at odds with feedback and
meetings involving members – the Strategic Planning Team Manager advised that
the data was from the 2013 survey and results from the 2015 survey reflecting the latest views would be
available later in the year ·
members
reflected upon a recent training session about Corporate Parenting which had
been well received and included an overview of looked after children in
Denbighshire, routes into care and the support needs of looked after children
and care leavers – members felt it was important to publicise and promote
positive experiences and work carried out through the Communications Teams and
also discussed their own responsibilities in that regard ·
it was
clarified that the Council had protected their funding element of school
budgets but had no control over cuts to other elements of school funding
provided directly by Welsh Government – the management and mitigation of school
budgets by the Schools Budget Forum was also discussed. The Leader stated that the report provided
evidence of the robust and challenging processes implemented by the
Council. He highlighted the Council’s
significant achievement in maintaining a consistently high level of performance
despite the difficult financial climate and congratulated all those
involved. Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill
welcomed members’ comments on the report and asked that Cabinet receive and
note the report. RESOLVED that Cabinet receives the report and notes the progress in delivering the Corporate Plan 2012 – 17 as at the end of quarter 4 of ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Corporate Plan and Performance (copy enclosed) detailing the latest financial position and progress against the agreed budget strategy. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
notes the budgets set for 2015/16 and progress against the agreed budget
strategy. Minutes: Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the
report detailing the latest financial position and progress against the agreed
budget strategy. He provided a summary
of the Council’s financial position as follows – ·
a net
under spend on the revenue budget of £0.534m was forecast for service and corporate
budgets ·
savings of
£7.3m were agreed as part of the budget and at this stage 72% had already been
achieved and progress on the remaining 28% would be closely monitored with a
high degree of confidence that most would be achieved ·
highlighted
other key variances from budgets or savings targets relating to individual
service areas, and ·
a general update on
the Housing Revenue Account, Housing Capital Plan and the Capital Plan
(including the Corporate Plan element). The following matters were discussed in more
detail – ·
in terms
of treasury management an explanation was provided on the Council’s investment
strategies taking into account security, liquidity and yield factors ·
some
frustration was expressed over the involvement and reaction of some members to the
decisions made on the budget cuts and whether those decisions should be more
vigorously defended ·
much discussion
focused on the role of scrutiny’s Cutting Our Cloth Task and Finish Group and
the Chief Executive reported upon the first meeting during which its terms of
reference had been agreed – he clarified that their role was to scrutinise the
impact of some of the cuts on the public.
It was important to allow sufficient time for implementation of the cuts
to ensure an evidence based assessment and measurable outcomes. Members were encouraged to refer specific
cuts they wished to be scrutinised to the Group. Cabinet was keen for the Group’s outcomes to
be fed back to members and it was confirmed that findings would be reported
back to the relevant Scrutiny Committee, Lead Member or Cabinet as
appropriate. Lessons could be learned
from measuring the impact and inform future decision making. The Leader was keen for Lead Members to be
kept abreast of any work undertaken relating to their portfolio and it was
confirmed that the Group’s terms of reference allowed Lead Members to be called
when matters within their portfolios were being considered ·
assurances were
provided that the Council was financially better off after exiting the Housing
Revenue Account Subsidy System and any surplus over and above the Housing Stock
Plan would amount to additional funding to be invested in improving existing
housing stock or new build. RESOLVED that Cabinet notes the budgets set for 2015/16 and progress against the agreed budget strategy. |
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FINAL REVENUE OUTTURN 2014/15 PDF 68 KB
To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Corporate Plan and Performance (copy enclosed) on the final revenue outturn position for 2014/15 and proposed treatment of reserves and balances. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
notes the final revenue outturn position for 2014/15 and approves the proposed
treatment of reserves and balances as detailed in the report and Appendices 1
and 2 attached to the report. Minutes: Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill
presented the report on the final revenue outturn position for 2014/15 and
proposed treatment of reserves and balances. Members were guided through the detail of the
report and appendices. In brief the overall
outturn position showed an underspend against the
approved budget which, together with a better than forecast council tax yield,
strengthened the Council’s financial position.
Consequently it was possible to make recommendations for services to carry
forward balances and make transfers to specific reserves that would assist in
addressing future financial pressures and meet the cash commitments required to
deliver the Corporate Plan. The final
position on service and corporate budgets was an underspend
of £1.075m which was 0.57% of the net revenue budget. During consideration of the report the following
matters were raised – ·
the reasoning behind the creation of specific reserves
was explained, particularly in social care in order to accommodate peaks and troughs
in demand for care packages and placements.
With regard to Supporting People, this reserve had been created in order
to mitigate the threatened future removal of the Supporting People Grant by
Welsh Government – assurances were provided that reserves were reviewed on a
regular basis ·
grants received by the Council at the end of the financial year were
initially allocated to Revenue Grants Unapplied before being processed and
reallocated to individual services – there was flexibility during the year and
some grants had been reallocated earlier in the year ·
it was noted that earmarked reserves had been
considered as part of the budget workshops and that they were regularly
reassessed and reviewed on an annual basis.
In order for comparisons to be made with previous years Councillor Eryl Williams asked for a more detailed report showing both
historical figures and future projections with a view to identifying trends ·
work would soon be undertaken to review the Council’s reserves policy
following the requirement that all Welsh local authorities publish details of
their treatment of reserves in a manner that could be more easily understood –
it was suggested that Welsh Government should also be more open and transparent
about their reserves and that the issue be raised with them when the
opportunity arose ·
in terms of funding for the Corporate Plan it was confirmed that based
on current assumptions it was affordable and deliverable – any changes to those
assumptions would require a further review and it was recognised that the
Council was not in overall control over all elements within the plan ·
with regard to the schools balances in deficit
assurances were provided that each school had a financial recovery plan in
place. RESOLVED that Cabinet notes the final revenue outturn position for 2014/15 and approves the proposed treatment of reserves and balances as detailed in the report and Appendices 1 and 2 attached to the report. |
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CABINET FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 124 KB To receive the enclosed Cabinet Forward Work Programme and note the contents. Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet’s
Forward Work Programme be noted. Minutes: Councillor Hugh Evans presented the Cabinet
Forward Work Programme for consideration. RESOLVED that Cabinet’s
Forward Work Programme be noted. The meeting concluded at 1.20 p.m. |