Agenda item

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.

 

No urgent items.

 

 

(a)  Petition handed in from Cllr Mabon ap Gwynfor – the petition related to the demand for nursery provision in the Llandrillo community and had gathered over 600 signatures.  The Chair received the petition and confirmed he would pass it on to the relevant department.

 

 

(b)  Question put forward by Rhys Thomas –  The Ruthin Independent School is not under Local Authority control.  If it was, our officers would have acted at once and, if necessary, there would have been suspensions and sackings at the school.  They are not meeting their safeguarding responsibility.  Our own officers are caring and competent in the work they do.  Can we please be told what are our corporate responsibilities concerning the safeguarding of the children that attend the Ruthin Independent School and what actions have we so far taken?

 

Response by Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts – there is legislation, which directs the operation of independent schools, which is obviously different to that of our own local authority schools.  Regulation under the Education Act 2002 sets out the standards all independent schools must adhere to as conditions of the registration.  This includes condition around welfare, health, safety of pupils and condition related to the suitability of the proprietors and staff.

 

All independent schools must be registered with Welsh Government.  If an independent school fails to meet a condition of the registration, the Welsh Government, not the local authority, has the power to remove the registration.

 

No independent school can operate legally within Wales without meeting the conditions of the registration.

 

Independent schools are inspected by Estyn and if they have a boarding provision, by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW).

 

If an independent school fails to meet conditions of registration, the Welsh Government will require the school to take certain steps to address the concerns.  The process may include consultation with Estyn, CIW and may be inspected by both.  If Welsh Government remains dissatisfied, notice will be given of removal of the registration, subject to appeal.  So, in effect, the school can be closed. 

 

Independent schools must adhere to the requirements of the Social Services and Wellbeing Act.  The local authority has a duty to manage the process relating to this, act in partnership with other bodies regarding safeguarding and child protection concerns.  However, an independent school only has to have regard to the recommendations of the local authority, an independent school is not maintained by the local authority.  We talk about our officers and their involvement in this, it has been really difficult until now to speak regarding this publicly.

 

We have been involved with Ruthin School since April 2018.  We first escalated safeguarding concerns about Ruthin School to Welsh Government, Estyn and CIW in April 2018.  Myself, Karen I Evans and Nicola Stubbins have been involved with this process.  This led to an unannounced joint inspection by Estyn and CIW in May 2018.

 

Further safeguarding concerns were raised and referred to us in May 2019. We escalated these concerns to the Welsh Government, Estyn and CIW and a subsequent unannounced inspection took place in November 2019, hence the report last week and the surrounding press which had arisen from it.

 

I have every confidence in our officers and our partners who have worked with us along the way on this journey.  I am really pleased to see the recommendations which have been made by CIW and I urge Ruthin School to take the appropriate and decisive action.  Safeguarding of children is really important and we must ensure every child is safe in our communities.

 

 

(c)  Question put forward by Councillor Glenn Swingler – Following on from Kingdom Securities, we are interested in knowing how District Enforcement Ltd., are performing now that they have been active for a month.  Can we have brief details of how many fines have been issues, for what offences and in which parts of the county?

 

Response by Councillor Mark Young – District Enforcement Ltd., went “live” on 4 December 2019. 

 

Between 4 December 2019 and 22 January 2020, there had been 147 Fixed Penalty Notices issued (approximately 3 per day).

 

In addition to the enforcement activity, District Enforcement have:

 

Ø  Issued approximately 750 free dog bags to shops and dog owners in public areas;

Ø  Given out 500 stubby bags to smokers;

Ø  Advice and warnings provided to the public throughout duty time but not necessarily logged.  Officers speak to members of the public throughout the day.  There is a great deal of interest from the general public due to the colour of the uniform and the resumption of officer presence;

Ø  Dog order signs replaced and additional signs circulated in problem areas with further reviews of dog frequented areas – requested by Councillors and also DCC staff;

Ø  Yellow chalk spraying for public information in areas where officers have patrolled and identified poor dog fouling clean up;

Ø  Greater patrolling of promenade areas and exclusion areas;

Ø  Final arrangements of school deployments with Education Service for presentations by District officers in conjunction with Keep Wales Tidy.  Estimated commencement for the presentations post half term holidays;

Ø  Waiting for invitations to speak to public associations and organisations of all ages – any assistance with this element would be grateful;

Ø  Daily briefings are held with Tim Wynne Evans and the Team Manager

 

A Working Group is to be set up, on which Councillor Mark Young will be Chair, with a representative from each Member Area Group, and officers.  The Group will meet quarterly to discuss progress, good practice and any issues or concerns regarding the contract.  Regular activity statistics can also be circulated to all members via the Member Area Group meetings. 

 

We are also happy to attend Scrutiny Committee as and when required by members.

 

Supplemental Question put forward by Councillor Glenn Swingler – Are any of the operatives Welsh speakers?

 

Response by Councillor Mark Young – We abide by the law and support Welsh speakers.  At the moment, none of the officers are Welsh speakers but members of the public can request to speak to someone in Welsh.

 

 

(d)  Question put forward by Councillor Mabon ap Gwynfor – Is it possible to have an update on this Authority’s gritting policy please?

 

Response by Councillor Brian Jones – The gritting policy is on the Denbighshire County Council website and other social media outlets.  The policy covers the main classified roads, the A and B roads, the principal bus routes, access for police, fire, hospital, primary school routes are safeguarded, villages and communities.  It also extends to shopping areas and areas where it is known there are traditional issues, such as exposed areas, steep gradients etc.

 

In the past, teams have gone the extra mile and have made access to residents in rural areas for hospital appointments and other similar issues.

 

Supplemental Question put forward by Councillor Mabon ap Gwynfor – I appreciate the work which has been done by the gritters.  Occasionally, some do work harder than expected.  It appears occasionally that the rural communities are exempt and that the gritters do not reach the roads in the rural areas because priority is given to the main roads and B roads.  This means that some rural communities are isolated and the people living in those communities cannot even get to the main road to get to work.  Is it possible to ensure that every community is fully gritted so that everyone can get to their place of work safely?

 

Response by Councillor Brian Jones – the A and B roads are prioritised.  Rural areas do get cut off but there is communication there and if there are any emergencies, they will be dealt with on a case by case basis, but you cannot grit every road in the county within an hour.

 

We can look at it and come back to you but I am confident and know the officers and, more importantly, the workforce, are committed when we get spells of bad weather.  Rest assured officers are aware of the issues.