Agenda, decisions and draft minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Ruthin
Media
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POINT OF NOTICE In the absence of the Leader Councillor Hugh Evans, the
Deputy Leader Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill took the Chair for the meeting. Additional documents: |
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APOLOGIES Additional documents: Decision: Councillor Hugh Evans Minutes: Councillor Hugh
Evans, Leader and Lead Member for the Economy and Corporate Governance |
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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. Additional documents: Decision: No declarations of interest had been raised. Minutes: No declarations of interest had been raised. |
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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. Additional documents: 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 20 November 2018 (copy enclosed). Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 20 November 2018 be received and confirmed as a correct
record. Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 20 November 2018
were submitted. Matters Arising – Page
8, Item 4 Minutes – Cabinet 30 October 2018 (Gypsy and Traveller Site
Provision) – Councillor Peter Scott was appreciative of the careful review of
all the information received from residents, the wider community and the
business sector in response to the pre-planning consultation into the proposals
and looked forward to the report being presented in Spring 2019. He was also pleased that Cabinet appreciated
the depth of feeling and concerns presented. RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 20 November 2018 be received and confirmed as a correct
record. |
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SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE (SuDS) APPROVAL BODY (SAB) PDF 169 KB To consider a report by Councillor Brian Jones, Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel (copy enclosed) regarding the legislative requirement for the Council to undertake the role of a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) Approval Body (SAB) and seeking Cabinet approval to delegate powers to officers to establish and operate the SAB. Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) notes the commencement of Schedule 3 ‘Sustainable
Drainage’ of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 made by the Welsh
Government on the 1st May 2018 and the legislative requirement for the Council
to provide a new service from 7th January 2019, and (b) approves the
delegation of powers to the Head of Highways and Environmental Services to
establish and operate the SAB. Minutes: Councillor
Brian Jones presented the report detailing the legislative requirement for the
Council to undertake the role of a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) Approval Body (SAB) and seeking Cabinet approval to
delegate powers to officers to establish and operate the SAB. The
Council would be required to undertake the role of SAB with effect from 7
January 2019 following implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water
Management Act 2010. The current
approach to managing surface water drainage for new developments had been
problematic with conventional drainage systems often exacerbating flooding
elsewhere. The SuDs
approach aimed to address surface water management in a different way thereby
reducing the wider flood risk problem.
The cost of establishing and operating the SAB function was assumed by
Welsh Government to be self-funded.
However there was a risk that the costs of carrying out the function
would exceed the fees received for applications requiring SuDs
approval. To mitigate that risk the
intention was to develop a collaborative regional SAB with local authorities in
Flintshire and Wrexham and ensure careful monitoring of the SAB costs and
income. It was confirmed that SAB
applications ran in parallel with the planning application process and
attracted a separate fee. Councillor
Mark Young questioned the risks and liabilities associated with the role. It was confirmed that the SAB role would not
apply to retrospective applications and following implementation on 7 January
2019 the SAB would enter into legal agreements with developers to protect the
Council from future risk or liability.
Given that it was new legislation there would be a learning process and
bedding in period but the eight week determination period for applications
should provide enough time to put the necessary arrangements in place to
provide sufficient protection. RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) notes the commencement of Schedule 3
‘Sustainable Drainage’ of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 made by the
Welsh Government on the 1st May 2018 and the legislative requirement for the
Council to provide a new service from 7th January 2019, and (b) approves the
delegation of powers to the Head of Highways and Environmental Services to
establish and operate the SAB. |
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SUPPORTING PEOPLE / HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION COMMISSIONING PLAN 2019 - 22 PDF 131 KB To consider a report by Councillor Bobby Feeley, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence (copy enclosed) presenting the draft Denbighshire Supporting People/Homelessness Prevention Commissioning Plan 2019 – 22 for approval prior to submission to the Regional Collaborative Committee and Welsh Government. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) approves the draft Denbighshire Supporting
People/Homelessness Prevention Commissioning Plan 2019-22, prior to its
submission to the Regional Collaborative Committee and Welsh Government in
January 2019, and (c) confirms it has
read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment attached
at Appendix2 to the report as part of their consideration. Minutes: Councillor
Bobby Feeley presented the report seeking Cabinet approval of the Denbighshire
Supporting People/Homelessness Prevention Commissioning Plan 2019 – 22 prior to
its submission to the Regional Collaborative Committee and Welsh Government. The
Council was required to submit a 3 yearly Commissioning Plan/annual update to
the Regional Collaborative Committee in January of each year. The Commissioning Plan provided an overview
of plans and priorities for 2019 – 22, primarily relating to Supporting People
commissioned service development. The
Plan was a key part of delivering against the Homelessness Strategy with a
focus on commissioned service development and five broad priorities. Commissioning was an important part of the
plan and contracts would be continually remodelled and developed to make them
more flexible and tailored to need with a focus on prevention. Full details of the Supporting People funded
development had been included within the Plan.
The Plan had been developed following extensive consultation and had
been considered at Partnerships Scrutiny Committee when it had been recommended
for approval. During
debate the need for sufficient social housing was raised and examples of
housing/homelessness cases were highlighted to illustrate points and problems
faced in that regard. In responding to
the issues raised and further questions arising from the report Councillor
Bobby Feeley and officers advised that – ·
the Council had a robust housing enforcement
regime and powers to deal with issues in the private rented sector and any
concerns in that regard should be directed to the Head of Planning and Public
Protection for his team to deal with ·
the Homeless Prevention Team worked with
Housing Enforcement to ensure only registered landlords were used and to report
issues of concern; links between Supporting People commissioned projects and
Housing Enforcement were also being fostered to ensure properties were of a
good standard ·
elaborated upon initiatives and ongoing work
to engage with reputable private sector landlords in order to support them to
provide homes for those requiring emergency, temporary and permanent
accommodation ·
homelessness was a corporate issue and there
were many council services involved to help tackle the issue in addition to the
Homeless Prevention Team ·
recognised
the impact of national policies such as Welfare Reform and reported on measures
to mitigate those impacts together with initiatives receiving Welsh Government
support such as the Denbighshire/Conwy Housing First Project. Cymorth Cymru represented the sector and campaigned on their behalf ·
assurances had been provided that next year’s
funding allocation would not be cut with a slight caveat that if savings could
be achieved they should be made however there was a potential issue about
changes to the grant distribution in future years and the subsequent impact on
the various regions ·
the
Housing Revenue Account was ring-fenced from wider council funds to be spent
around provision of service for tenants.
A project was currently underway to direct some of that funding into a
service provision for emergency temporary accommodation owned and managed by
the Council to assist the wider homelessness issue. In addition the Homeless Prevention Team was
leasing a number of properties from Community Housing to house those presenting
as homeless who could not currently be accommodated in the private sector ·
provided assurances that in addition to a
specific section on mental health issues it was a common theme threaded through
the Plan; support for people with mental health issues had been identified as a
priority area over the next two years and would be a consideration throughout
all service developments · acknowledged that it was far more challenging to source emergency temporary accommodation in rural areas and often those presenting as homeless had the option of bed and ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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NORTH WALES DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY STRATEGY AND LOCAL FULL FIBRE NETWORK PROGRAMME PDF 135 KB To consider a report by Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader and Lead Member for the Economy and Corporate Governance (copy enclosed) updating Cabinet on the digital work carried out to date by the North Wales Economic Ambition Board and seeking approval of authorisations for the work going forward. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) adopts the North
Wales Connectivity Strategy; (b) approves Denbighshire County Council’s
role as Lead Body on behalf of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board for the
LFFN Project and agrees that the Council enters into a suitable Inter Authority
Agreement with the other partner bodies in respect of the LFFN Project, and (d) authorises the
Corporate Director Economy and Public Realm in consultation with the S151
Officer, Monitoring Officer and Leader to agree the final terms of the Inter
Authority Agreement. Minutes: In the absence of Councillor Hugh Evans,
Councillor Richard Mainon presented the report updating Cabinet on the digital
work carried out to date by the North Wales Economic Ambition Board (NWEAB) and
seeking approval of authorisations for the work going forward. The NWEAB had approved a Digital Connectivity
Strategy for the region and the Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) project was an
important project to help deliver that Strategy. The Board had agreed to develop and submit a
regional bid to the UK Government’s LFFN Programme Challenge Fund and that
Denbighshire County Council would be the lead authority for the project. The LFFN Bid had been approved in principle
by UK Government and the proposal currently stood at approximately £9m
investment in the region. The investment
would be directed to improving connectivity across the public sector resulting
in wider enhancement of networks serving communities. Cabinet was asked to formally adopt the Digital
Connectivity Strategy and approve the Council’s role in delivering the LFFN
project. Councillor Mainon highlighted the benefits of
the project which would deploy a full fibre network throughout North Wales
linking up to 400 public buildings including schools, libraries, local
government offices and also involved the Health Board and GP surgeries. The project presented a positive step in
terms of bringing much needed digital infrastructure into the region and Denbighshire
was particularly well placed to benefit with 95 of the premises to be upgraded
located in the county. There was also
huge potential for ancillary benefits to other properties as part of that
process. The focus of the report was
improving public sector connectivity and there were other digital schemes
working in parallel to address digital requirements in other sectors. The Economic and Business Development (EBD)
Officer added that the intention was to commence the project in March 2019 for
completion in March 2021 which was a challenging timescale but given the
procurement route arranged by Welsh Government there was confidence that it
would be delivered. Cabinet welcomed the project and noted the
positive benefits across the region. In
response to questions Cabinet was advised that – ·
the
potential scope of public sector building upgrades had been detailed in the
Strategy however the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport had
recently asked that further sites be proposed with a view to further extending
full fibre into rural areas and a review would be carried out in that regard ·
in terms
of health partners the technology would enable them to modernise their services
and build further resilience – whilst they may choose to make Wi-Fi available
in waiting areas they would not be compelled to do so. There would also be huge benefits to other
public buildings such as schools and libraries ·
scrutiny
arrangements would be carried out locally at this stage and the project could
be called in for scrutiny by the Council; there was potential for regional
scrutiny of regional projects in the second phase of the Growth Deal. Questions were also invited from non-Cabinet
members and Councillor Mainon and the EBD Officer responded to those further
questions as follows – · regarding calls for other community buildings to benefit from the project it was confirmed that the distribution of smaller community/town council buildings across the region was potentially a means of deploying full fibre further into more rural areas – all of the work identified by the project would be subject to survey work by Openreach on a quarterly basis which would identify the extent and location of that impact on communities. Whilst much of the broadband work in Wales had been overseen by the Welsh ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) detailing the latest financial position and progress against the agreed budget strategy. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet
note the budgets set for 2018/19 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 – ·
the net revenue
budget for 2018/19 was £194.418m (£189.252m in 2017/18) ·
an
overspend of £0.964m was forecast for service and corporate budgets ·
detailed
agreed savings and efficiencies worth £4.6m including those which had already
been achieved with the assumption that all service efficiencies/savings would
be delivered – any exceptions would be reported to Cabinet if required ·
highlighted
current risks and variances relating to individual service areas, and ·
provided a general
update on the Housing Revenue Account, Housing Capital Plan and the Capital
Plan (including the Corporate Plan element). The following matters were raised during debate
– ·
funding
for the rise in teachers’ pensions was being considered as part of the budget
preparations for next year. Dialogue was
ongoing between UK and Welsh Governments in this regard and whilst it was
expected that the cost implication would be funded confirmation of that
position was still awaited ·
Councillor Arwel Roberts queried the
potential for school clusters to access community funding benefits arising from
Windfarm developments and Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts encouraged all school
clusters and other bodies to bid for additional funding to benefit their
communities. Councillor Richard Mainon
confirmed that the Council was well placed to help and support any groups
coming forward in order to put a good case together and maximise the chances of
success in accessing that funding ·
there was a total budget of £23.813m for the
Rhyl Faith School (£7.005m expenditure to date and anticipated expenditures of
£8.122m in 2018/19 and £8.686m in 2019/20); the funding was paid in tranches
throughout the term of the contract dependent on when certain points in
construction were achieved ·
there
was no financial impact arising from the Education Minster’s decision in
respect of Ysgol Llanbedr as the Council had
continued to fund the school whilst the decision was awaited and would continue
to do so – the Council’s decision had been based on surplus places as opposed
to funding issues. There had been a
change to the school organisation code and pupil numbers had increased and the
educational offer for the area was considered appropriate. RESOLVED that Cabinet note the budgets set for 2018/19 and progress against the agreed budget strategy. At this
juncture (11.40 a.m.) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break. |
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CABINET FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 434 KB To receive the enclosed Cabinet Forward Work Programme and note the contents.
Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet’s
Forward Work Programme be noted. Minutes: The Cabinet Forward Work Programme was
presented for consideration and it was noted that the following item would be
added to the future work programme – North Wales Learning Disability Strategy. RESOLVED that Cabinet’s
Forward Work Programme be noted. |
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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RESOLVED that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act
1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following item
of business on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of
exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the
Act. Additional documents: |
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PROPOSED NEW WASTE AND RECYCLING SERVICE DESIGN AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE (DEPOT) REQUIREMENTS To consider a confidential report by Councillor Brian Jones, Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel (copy enclosed) detailing the outcome of the modelling carried out to identify the best new operating model for waste and recycling services and seeking members’ determination on the suitability of the proposed new service design. Additional documents:
Decision: RESOLVED that Cabinet – (a) confirms that it
has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment
(Appendix III to the report) as part of its consideration; (b) note that the projected revenue savings
(Section 9 of the report referred) achievable from implementation of the
preferred Waste and Recycling service design and depot option B, are higher than
any other service delivery option modelled by WRAP (Appendix IV to the report); (c) note that the
social benefits and financial implications (Section 9.7 of the report) of
utilising the third sector for the collection of textiles and WEEE (Waste Electrical
and Electronic Equipment), and recommend the continuation and expansion of an
arrangement with a Denbighshire based Social Enterprise for the collection,
re-use and recycling of these materials; (d) approve the proposed new Waste and
Recycling service design as outlined in Appendix II [A] to the report to
implement the preferred Welsh Government (WG) Blueprint for Waste Collections,
subject to the expected revenue savings (for the first seven years) being at
least within the range of £500,000 to £750,000.
The expected revenue savings will be examined by the Council’s finance
team prior to any significant project gateway, for example, purchase of land; (e) approve the
Household Waste Collection Policy (Appendix II [B] to the report) designed to
support the implementation and regulation of the proposed service in order that
revenue savings and environmental targets are met; (f) note WG have confirmed capital funding
support of £900,000 in 2018/19, £4m in 2019/20 and a further £3m in 2020/21 for
the implementation of a kerbside sort recycling operation, and instruct the
Head of Highways and Environment to commit £900,000 of expenditure in 2018/19
in accordance with the terms and conditions of the grant funding to enable the
full grant to be claimed. Members should
note the risk highlighted in paragraph 13.3 of the report; (g) support the Option B (central depot) as
the preferred option for delivery of the new model, and authorise the Head of
Highways and Environment to liaise with the Head of Facilities, Assets and
Housing to pursue purchase of the land required for development of the central
depot, providing the acquisition price is reasonable and reflects the current
market value for such land; (h) grant permission for the Head of Highways
and Environment to submit a formal business case, through the North Wales
Residual Waste Treatment Partnership, to request that WG fund a further element
of Option B (central depot), which would reduce the prudential borrowing
requirement outlined in Section 9.3 of the report, and (i) approve depot Option A (the two site
option) as a contingency, and authorise the Head of Highways and Environment to
continue to develop costings and funding sources with a view to defaulting to
Depot Option A should we be unable to secure the land required for Depot Option
B (the preferred option). Minutes: Councillor
Brian Jones presented the confidential report detailing the outcome of the
modelling carried out to identify the best new operating model for waste and
recycling services and seeking members’ determination on the suitability of the
proposed new service design and associated depot requirements. Councillor
Jones advised that the proposal was centred on environmental improvement and
benefits included a reduction in the carbon footprint of the service,
generating more recycling and improving the quality of recyclable
material. The Welsh Government had set a
recycling target of 70% by 2025 with the expectation that the target would rise
to 80% in future and had committed £7.9m towards the proposed service which
would be used to develop the infrastructure necessary to enable the service
changes. The proposal would also result
in savings of at least £500k and create around 20 jobs. If the new service design was approved it was
anticipated that no changes would take place until at least 2020. The
proposed new service design would result in the majority of residents moving to
a weekly kerbside sort recycling service and a four weekly service for the
remaining non-recyclable waste. A free
weekly service for the collection of Absorbent Hygiene Products (nappies and
incontinence waste) would be introduced together with a fortnightly collection
for clothes and small electrical items.
The most economically advantageous solution also required investment in
depot infrastructure and the report outlined the preferred depot solution –
Option B (central depot) with Option A (two site option) as a contingency and
proposed how those requirements would be funded. Cabinet
welcomed the positive impact of the proposals on the environment and was
pleased to note the expansion of the recycling service to encourage
environmentally friendly practices.
Given the greater capacity for recycling offered to residents, the
proposal to move to a four weekly service for non-recyclable waste was
considered sufficient but it was noted that larger bins could be provided if
appropriate. Councillor Huw
Hilditch-Roberts highlighted a number of issues raised by Communities Scrutiny
Committee which had provided greater clarity on the proposed new service
including cost to new houses/households; new weekly collection service for
nappies; dealing with pet waste, and discussions with individual households on
a case by case basis. As a result of the
review by the Communities Scrutiny Committee the proposed charges for
containers had now been removed from the draft policy and all containers would
continue to be provided to households free of charge, including to new build
houses. Cabinet considered public
engagement and an effective and timely communication strategy to educate and
inform residents about implementation of the new service to be of paramount
importance and assurances were provided by Councillor Brian Jones and officers
in that regard. It was noted that there
were some areas which were proving difficult to engage but the officers were
working hard to tackle those problem areas before the roll out of the project
in order to stand the Council in good stead when implementing the changes and
it was recognised that there were particular cases where residents would still
need to use sacks or require more frequent collections and there were issues
still to be addressed in terms of access and fly tipping etc. The financial implications were also
discussed and Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill referred to the robust financial
modelling and rigorous scrutiny of the business case by the Strategic
Investment Group who had supported the proposals. Cabinet also discussed the infrastructure
requirements and agreed Option B to be the preferred option which provided the
Council with direct control and investment in the
county. Councillor Bobby Feeley ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |