CABINET
MINUTES of a meeting held on 9th May, 2007.
Present: Councillor Ms. M.E. Alexander (Chairman); Councillor N. Moore (Vice-Chairman); Councillors R.F. Curtis, S.C. Egan, N.J. Gibbs, G. John, Mrs. M. Randall, Mrs. M.R. Wilkinson and C.J. Williams.
C3001 APOLOGY FOR ABSENCE -
This was received from Councillor C.P. Franks who was attending his first meeting as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales. Congratulations were offered to him on his election and to those other Members representing the area.
C3002 MINUTES -
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting held on 25th April, 2007 be approved as a correct record.
C3003 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -
Councillors S.C. Egan, N. Moore, Mrs. M.R. Wilkinson and C.J. Williams declared an interest in agenda item no. 14 in that each had a family member in the employ of the Council. All the above Councillors vacated the room during consideration of the matter.
C3004 PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY 2006 - RESULTS (REF - MINUTE NO. 1015) -
The Scrutiny Committee (Economy and Environment) had, on 17th April, 2007, considered the above report. The survey itself represented the third large-scale public opinion survey which the Council had conducted and had been designed to gain an insight into public opinion and a range of Council services, as well as the public’s general impression of the Council and the way in which it operated. The survey carried out in 2005 had used a market research company which had employed a quota sampling process to ensure representativeness. Given that it had been considered uneconomical to engage an external market research company annually, in 2006 the Vale of Glamorgan’s Citizens Panel (approximately 1,200 local residents) had been used as a means of collecting opinions. Whilst not totally representative of the population profile of the Vale of Glamorgan, the Committee had noted that in past years the responses extrapolated from the Panel had been reasonably accurate, closely reflecting the views obtained through external research companies. It was also noted that an impressive response rate of 73% had been received.
Following consideration of the survey results, subsequent discussion had focused primarily on the need for and methodology to be adopted should such need be established of undertaking a survey annually. The Committee had considered that, if either adequate funding could be made available to engage external consultants or a means of attracting a more representative response than simply using the existing Citizens Panel could be identified, it would be useful to undertake the survey annually. The Committee had subsequently recommended that Cabinet be urged:
§ to find ways of establishing a more representative sample of the population, and
§ carry out a survey for 2007.
It was explained that the current practice was to undertake the survey annually, utilising the Citizens Panel one year and an external company the next. It was confirmed that funding had been set aside to undertake a fully representative survey in 2007 by an external company (through random quota sampling). Work was also underway in engaging young people in consultation processes generally.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the position be accepted and a further report submitted to both Cabinet and the Scrutiny Committee (Economy and Environment) confirming the current process for undertaking the Public Opinion Survey for 2007 and future years.
Reason for decision
To clarify the position.
C3005 KNAP LAKE SHELTERS REFURBISHMENT (REF - MINUTE NO. 1017) -
The Scrutiny Committee (Economy and Environment) had, on 17th April, 2007 considered the above matter and referred the same to Cabinet for an Executive decision. In summary, authority was sought to increase the Visible Services Capital Programme by £100k. in order to procure works to refurbish two shelters at the Knap Gardens in Barry. The Section 106 Agreement for the Waters Edge Development featured a single payment of £100k. “on or before occupation of the development by any person”. Since that development was now approaching completion, payment of the Section 106 funds in full had been requested from the Developer. The terms of the agreement required implementation of an enhanced scheme for the area and, over the years, water ingress had led to deterioration of the historically important shelters at the Knap Gardens. One shelter had indeed been closed and the upper and lower shelter areas fenced off due to both water ingress and some minor vandalism. It was noted that the Knap Gardens were an important open space in Barry and were listed in the Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales published by CADW. The Council’s Property Section would procure the refurbishment scheme.
RESOLVED - T H A T the procurement of works to refurbish the Knap shelters and the request to increase the Visible Services Capital Programme be approved.
To progress the refurbishment project.
C3006 TIMETABLE OF MEETINGS: MAY 2007 - MAY 2008 (REF) -
Councillor Mrs. M. Kelly Owen had called-in resolution (2) of Cabinet Minute No. C2959, which had recommended to Scrutiny Committee Chairmen and the Mayor of the Council that meetings of Scrutiny Committees and Council scheduled for 6.00 p.m. in the timetable commence instead at 7.00 p.m. The matter had been considered by the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) on 24th April, 2007 and, following discussion on the matter, urged Cabinet to reconsider the aforementioned resolution (2).
RESOLVED - T H A T Scrutiny Chairmen be recommended to convene meetings of the Scrutiny Committees no earlier than 6pm and no later than 7pm, except in exceptional circumstances.
To facilitate the attendance of working Members.
C3007 MAKING THE CONNECTIONS - SOCIAL SERVICES COLLABORATION (CX) (SCRUTINY - COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND SAFETY) -
Consideration was given to an outline proposal for developing a collaborative approach to the provision of some aspects of Social Services across a number of local authorities in South East Wales as the next stage in implementing “Making the Connections”. It was noted that the Connecting South East Wales Board had commissioned a study into the feasibility of sharing back office services. The Strategic Outline Case had identified savings which could be achieved through the development of shared services. In considering the next stages of development, the South East Wales Chief Executive Group had concluded that efficiency savings of the order required could only be realised if a similar approach was taken with major frontline services. The Group’s Issues Paper as appended to the report had been developed to establish the overall approach and to identify the potential opportunities in relation to one of those major frontline services, namely Social Services.
The two key drivers for developing a collaborative approach were the potential efficiency savings and the need to improve the quality of service provision. That approach had been formally considered by the Connecting South East Wales Board in April 2007, following which the Board had agreed to proceed to the next stage of development and to seek the support of all ten Councils. “Making the Connections” proposed a Welsh model for public service delivery which, whilst recognising the importance of Councils as community leaders, would provide a collaborative framework to deliver services in a way that maximised efficiency and drove up quality. A model was set out in the appended Issues Paper as a basis to guide decisions on which functions were best delivered directly by individual Councils and which functions were best delivered at the sub-regional, regional or national levels. It was considered that that provided a possible framework for implementing collaboration between Councils in a distinctive Welsh policy context being developed by the WAG. Reference was also made to the requirement for an acceleration in pace and ambition in relation to the need to achieve 5% efficiency savings within the five year window previously given. Support was therefore sought for the strategic vision for collaborative working within Social Services which, if demonstrated to be a feasible option, would begin to contribute significantly to the scale of efficiency savings and service improvements required.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A T the approach to collaboration for frontline services as set out in the Issues Paper for the South East Wales Chief Executive Group be endorsed.
(2) T H A T the proposal for a feasibility study on the shared provision of some aspects of Social Services across South East Wales be endorsed.
Reason for decisions
To allow further progress to be made in implementing the WAG’s “Making the Connections” agenda.
C3008 DEMOCRATIC RENEWAL WORKING GROUP (CX) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Cabinet had, on 28th March, 2007 resolved to re-establish the Democratic Renewal Working Group and that membership be determined following the recent by-election held in Llantwit Major. The Group had originally been established to consider the recommendations contained in the report of the Audit Commission in Wales on Democratic Renewal and to draw up specific proposals for consideration by Cabinet and Council in response to the 15 recommendations of that report. The current position in respect of those 15 key recommendations was that significant progress had been made and a number of initiatives agreed and / or implemented. It was noted that proposals arising out of the Working Group’s further deliberations would be reported to Cabinet / Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) / Council as appropriate.
RESOLVED - T H A T the Democratic Renewal Working Group comprise 10 members and be politically balanced, with Group Leaders to notify the Chief Executive of their respective nominations within 1 week as follows: Conservative 4; Labour 3; Plaid Cymru 2; Independent 1.
To confirm the position regarding the Council’s response to the WAO report on Democratic Renewal and to consider any concerns raised by Members regarding the content / interpretation of the Council’s Constitution.
C3009 CABINET FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME: MAY TO JULY 2007 (CX) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Details were presented of the proposed Forward Work Programme of the Cabinet / Council for the period May to July 2007, together with information relating to those reports still to be received from the previous Forward Work Programme covering January to April 2007. It was noted that future work programmes would be prepared to cover periods of four months and would be updated quarterly, on a rolling basis, to maximise the opportunity for consultation and dialogue. An advertisement publicising the Forward Work Programme had been placed in the local press, together with details of where copies could be obtained. Details were also presented of reasons for the non-submission of items from the previous Forward Work Programme covering January to April 2007.
RESOLVED - T H A T the Forward Work Programme for May to July 2007, together with the publication of details of availability of the Programme, be noted.
To comply with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2000, subordinate legislation and the Council’s Constitution.
C3010 LOCAL ROAD SAFETY GRANT EXPENDITURE 2007/08 (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet was informed of the options available for the expenditure of the 2007/08 WAG’s Local Road Safety Grant which amounted to £324k. Of that amount, it was proposed that £98k. would be used to provide revenue for Road Safety Education Training and Publicity with the remaining balance of £226k. used to complete the list of Cabinet approved projects outlined in last year’s report to Cabinet on Grant Expenditure (and as listed within the current report) or in the implementation of new Road Safety Engineering projects. In addition to the details presented relating to engineering projects aimed at improving road safety, particularly outside or near schools, since the introduction of the grant in 2000/01 (which had either been completed or were due for completion in the current financial year), explanations were given on each of the proposed options for grant expenditure in 2007/08.
(1) T H A T the continuation of the employment of a Temporary Road Safety Officer (Post No. ED155) for 2007/08 be agreed.
(2) T H A T the funding through Road Safety Grant of the position of Road Safety Officer (Post No. ED136) for 2007/08 be agreed.
(3) T H A T the continuation of the expanded Kerbcraft Scheme to enable the temporary trainers to undertake additional schools and assist with the Council’s child cyclist training programme for 2007/08 be agreed.
(4) T H A T endorsement be given to the continuation of the Young Driver initiative.
(5) T H A T the additional funding of £15k. to supplement the Road Safety Team’s operational budget for 2007/08 be agreed.
(6) T H A T the continuation of the Children’s Traffic Club be agreed.
(7) T H A T the use of any residual funding from the Children’s Traffic Club to promote schemes which would reduce accidents to young, newly qualified drivers be endorsed.
(8) T H A T the Council provide training for staff and volunteers using the new cycling standards and guidelines.
(9) T H A T £226k. of the £324k. Local Road Safety Grant be included in the 2007/08 Capital Programme to undertake the following schemes:
§ Weston Square, Barry - remodel existing roundabout
§ St. Brides Road, Wick - new zebra crossing
§ Station Terrace, Aberthaw - new zebra crossing
§ Jenner Road, Barry - convert zebra crossing to controlled pedestrian crossing and improve footway
§ High Street, Cowbridge
§ Sully Barry Cycleway.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To allow the Road Safety Team to address the most pressing road safety education and training issues relating to child casualty reduction and the associated WAG targets.
(2) To allow the Road Safety Team to address the many “Safe Routes to School” issues that have arisen as a consequence of the increasing number of Transport Grant funded schemes that have been completed, or are due for completion, this year.
(3) To increase the number of schools participating in the Kerbcraft Scheme as well as providing cycle training for all Vale schools of a quality that will meet the new national standards for cycle training.
(4) To reduce accidents to young, new qualified drivers; this vulnerable group represents 11% of licence holders but have 25% of all accidents.
(5) To enable the Road Safety Team to continue its education training and publicity programme for 2007/08.
(6) To ensure the continuation of the Children’s Traffic Club for children of the appropriate age and their parents across the Vale.
(7) To ensure that any residual funds can be used on appropriate Cabinet approved road safety education schemes and allow the Council to draw down all of the available funding to ensure that the maximum funding available within the terms of the grant is claimed.
(8) To ensure staff and volunteers are able to deliver cycle training to a level that meets or exceeds the new Cycling Standards and Guidelines.
(9) So that the Council’s Capital Programme for 2007/08 reflects the grants awarded by the WAG.
C3011 BARRY TOWN CENTRE: PUBLIC ART IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
On 7th June, 2006 Cabinet had resolved, inter alia, to submit an application for funding to the Arts Council for Wales for capital funding in support of the programme of public art works in Barry Town Centre, and that the existing funds for both Holton Road improvements and Thompson Street footbridge public art components be utilised as match funding in the aforementioned application. In January, 2007, the ACW had confirmed its interest in the Thompson Street footbridge scheme only to a maximum of £90k. funding and had also confirmed that a condition of capital grant was for the applicant to have appointed a public art agency to prepare the necessary strategic documents and to assist in procurement and the appointment of artists generally.
In order to progress the Town Centre Public Art Implementation Strategy, therefore, Celfwaith: Art Management in Wales had been appointed. The fee bid of £10k. had been funded from the Capital Programme allocation for Holton Road public art. It was also proposed that Celfwaith assist officers with the ACW Capital Lottery funding bid, prepare public art proposals for Thompson Street footbridge and draw down fees to a total of £5k. from existing resources for that commission. To that end, consideration was given to the request to grant an exception under Standing Order 6.1.2, i.e. where services constituted an extension to an existing contract and to ensure continuity.
Following the decision by the ACW, discussions had been held with the WAG (DEIN) and agreement had been reached in principle to submit for public art funding as part of the wider Barry Regeneration Partnership programme for town centre improvements, the aim being to combine the Council’s existing Capital Programme allocation for public art, i.e. Holton Road £20k. together with Thompson Street footbridge £30k. to lever in a maximum of £200k. DEIN funding. Cabinet was, therefore, requested to endorse a formal Town Improvement Grant application to DEIN which would submitted in 2007/08 subject to approval through the External Funding Steering Group.
(1) T H A T the submission of a Town Improvement Grant application to the WAG (DEIN) in support of a programme of public art works in the town centre be endorsed, subject to the approval of the Council’s External Funding Steering Group.
(2) T H A T the existing public art budgets for both Holton Road improvements and Thompson Street footbridge be utilised as match funding in the application to DEIN.
(3) T H A T an exception under Standing Order 6.1.2 to allow the retention of Celfwaith: Arts Management in Wales as the consultant for public art matters as outlined in the report be agreed.
(4) T H A T the following composition of a Public Art Panel (in accordance with Minute No. C905 - 2003) be approved and that the Panel be delegated the final decision in appointing the artist for the selected work: Leader, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Tourism and one local Member from the Castleland Ward with representatives from the funding bodies invited to attend.
(1) To access available grant opportunities.
(2)&(4) To progress the proposed public art initiative.
(3) To comply with the Council’s financial procedures.
C3012 NOTIFICATION UNDER SECTION 28(1) OF THE WILDLIFE AND COUNTRYSIDE ACT 1981, AS SUBSTITUTED BY SCHEDULE 9 TO THE COUNTRYSIDE AND RIGHTS OF WAY ACT 2000: BARRY WOODLANDS SITE OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
The Council had received notification by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) that it was of the opinion that areas of woodland within the vicinity of Barry (Barry Woodlands) were of Special Scientific Interest. The correspondence associated with the notification was appended to the report and representations thereon were required by 3rd August, 2007. The notification had been reported to the Planning Committee in April, 2007 but, given the need for the Planning Committee to consider in due course planning application 04/01079/OUT relating to Pencoedtre Wood, the Planning Committee did not consider the merits or otherwise of the notification.
In terms of responding to the notification, the following comments as set out in the report and summarised below were considered:
§ the ecological merit of Pencoedtre Wood was noted and that part of the notification was therefore fully supported given the quality of the woodland;
§ as part of CCW’s research, an assessment of other woodlands had been undertaken and the site now comprised of 14 separate woodland blocks centred on Pencoedtre Wood to the east and Middleton Wood to the north-west; CCW advised that the woodlands were one of the most species rich of any type found in Wales;
§ the woodlands were notable for the large number of rare woodland plants and it was noted that the majority of the woodland that made up the notification was included in the provisional Inventory of Ancient Woodland for Glamorgan;
§ designation of a new Site of Special Scientific Interest was supported as it afforded legal protection to and would result in the positive management of a series of woodlands which represented the best example of a restricted habitat type in Wales.
Attention was also drawn to the fact that 2 areas of woodland (Middleton Plantation) lay adjacent to Weycock Road. The Council was currently in receipt of a Priority Road Grant from the WAG to upgrade Five Mile Lane. It was evident, therefore, that notification of several pockets of woodland in the vicinity of Five Mile Lane would clearly be material in carrying the above work forward and would need to be considered in future design work.
(1) T H A T CCW be notified that the notification of the Barry Woodlands Site of Special Scientific Interest be welcomed and supported.
(2) T H A T a copy of the report be issued to CCW as forming part of the Council’s support to the notification and that CCW’s attention be drawn to paragraph 3 of the aforementioned report which detailed the reasons for the Council’s support.
(1) To enable the Council to respond to CCW’s notification of Barry Woodlands S.S.S.I.
(2) To enable the Council to support the response to the Barry Woodlands S.S.S.I. notification.
C3013 MAKING THE CONNECTIONS: SHARED SERVICES IN SOUTH EAST WALES (DFICTP) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Cabinet was informed of progress to date of a multi-authority project in South East Wales to evaluate the feasibility of sharing certain “back office” and professional support services as part of the “Making the Connections” agenda. As reported to Cabinet in October 2006, the Connecting South East Wales Board had agreed a project to investigate the potential for sharing various “back-office” functions with a view to releasing resources to invest in frontline services. The project was due for completion by July 2007 and had been divided into the following three stages:
§ Phase 1 - to develop a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) examining seven functional areas with a view to sharing: Payroll and HR; Training; Council Tax and NNDR; Internal Audit; Procurement; ICT; and Debt Recovery;
§ Phase 2 - to develop an Outline Business Case for services with the greatest potential for sharing;
§ Phase 3 - to produce an Outline Implementation Plan for consultation.
Phase 1 of the project had now been completed and the Executive Summary and conclusions from the first phase of the Feasibility Study (Strategic Outline Case) prepared by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was appended to the report. It was noted that a full Lessons Learned Review would be carried out at the end of the project but the Steering Group overseeing the project had already identified a number of benefits which had emerged as a result of the work carried out in Phase 1, including:
§ recognition of successful shared service relationships and best practice methodology currently undertaken by Local Authorities;
§ improved communications between colleagues, counterparts and Local Authorities through various methods;
§ challenges to current status quos within Councils;
§ embedding of staff skills in the Shared Service sphere.
The main conclusions of the Feasibility Study, led by PwC, were appended to the report and were:
§ that, even without sharing services, there was scope for improvements and efficiency savings by learning from best practices in South East Wales and elsewhere and standardising and streamlining existing processes;
§ that there was scope for sharing across all seven of the services considered;
§ that the largest scope (i.e. with the greatest potential for improvement in efficiency savings) fell within HR / Payroll including Training, Council Tax / NNDR and Internal Audit;
§ that there was a need for up-front investment in order for savings to be realised in the longer term.
The main comments resulting from a consequent consultation exercise related to the accuracy of data. The Steering Group, having considered that, had concluded that the data was sufficiently robust for a decision to be made about which services should progress to Phase 2. Phase 2 would then allow further study of a narrower range of services, including a more detailed analysis of data with a view to making that consistent across the Councils involved, before a decision was made on how to progress to Phase 3. Following a risk assessment carried out by the Steering Group to determine the risks in taking forward each function to Phase 2 - Outline Business Case, the Steering Group accepted that there would be an element of risk in taking forward any shared services option to release benefits. The functions that presented the lowest risk were identified as Training; Internal Audit; and Procurement, with the two functions identified as having the greatest potential for sharing (Payroll / HR and Council Tax / NNDR) presenting medium and high risk respectively.
The recommendations of the Steering Group, as contained in the report and summarised below, had been agreed by the Connecting South East Wales Board on 5th April, 2007:
§ proceed to the Outline Business Case (Phase 2), reconfirming the scope for Training and HR and Payroll services with external support;
§ proceed to the Outline Business Case for Internal Audit services;
§ wait for the outcomes and learn the lessons from the North Wales Board Council Tax and Benefits shared services review before proceeding to the Outline Business Case;
§ not to progress the Procurement services project any further until the various national studies were completed;
§ ensure that the ICT Working Group continued to meet to identify opportunities to simplify and standardise current ICT related matters;
§ do not continue to explore the opportunity of sharing Debt Recovery services as part of the project;
§ review the management and delivery of Phase 1 of the project to date in order to learn from the experience;
§ continue to instruct consultants to support the project on Phase 2.
As part of the business case, it was noted that the Steering Group would explore the amount of initial investment needed in order to break-even and consider approaches to accelerate the pay-back periods. It was proposed to conclude Phase 2 by 30th June, 2007.
(1) T H A T the ongoing work to explore the feasibility of sharing back-office functions with neighbouring Councils be noted.
(2) T H A T the report be referred to the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) and the Audit Committee.
(3) T H A T the contents of the report be communicated to staff generally through the Council’s internal communication mechanisms.
(1)&(2) To keep Cabinet and the Scrutiny and Audit Committees abreast of progress on the Shared Services initiative in South East Wales.
(3) To keep staff abreast of progress and how it is likely to affect them.
C3014 AVOIDING REDUNDANCY (DLD) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Consideration was given to the proposed procedures for redundancy and redeployment as appended to the report which had been drawn up against the background of the challenging budget settlement for 2007/08 and the need to achieve efficiency savings and a consequent need for clear procedure to manage and seek to minimise potential redundancy situations. The key elements of the new procedure, as set out in the report, summarised below and, in respect of salary protection, amended at the meeting were:
§ Statutory Consultation - consultations with the recognised Trade Unions to take place as soon as a potential redundancy situation was identified;
§ Selection - new ‘matching’ arrangements would apply where there was a 70% match of duties to the new job and the proposed new grade was no more than one grade above or below the current grade;
§ Notice - notices of dismissal would not be issued until the consultation requirements were completed;
§ Redeployment - the search for alternative employment to run concurrently with any statutory consultation and individual notice periods;
§ Determination - the Head of Human Resources and Equalities to have clear powers to insist that managers accept redeployees where there was a reasonable potential that the trial period would succeed;
§ Training - properly organised training needed for successful redeployment to be funded by the employing service which initiated the redundancy procedures;
§ Notice Periods - where a potentially successful trial period/redeployment opportunity was notified in the latter half of the three months notice period, the notice period to be extended to the expiry of the trial period;
§ Salary Protection - to be on actual pay for one year following a successful redeployment;
§ Redundancy Pay - as set out in the procedure appended to the report.
The Trade Unions had expressed concern at a change of policy which would reduce the opportunities for redeployment because of reduced timescales but had welcomed the opportunity to discuss the matter with all Cabinet Members prior to the proposed procedures being submitted to Cabinet for approval.
(1) T H A T the new Redundancy and Redeployment Procedure, as summarised above and amended at the meeting, be agreed.
(2) T H A T a further report be submitted on the effect of the Employment Equality (Age) Discrimination Regulations (2006) on redundancy payments.
(1) To progress implementation of the Procedure.
(2) To ascertain the effect in order to take appropriate action (if any).
C3015 SECTION 180, HOUSING ACT 1996: VOLUNTARY SECTOR FUNDING PROPOSALS (DLPPHS) (SCRUTINY - COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND SAFETY) -
Approval was sought to allocate £23k. 2007/08 Section 180 funding to voluntary bodies and to utilise the remaining £17k. added with £30k. corporate funds to undertake a feasibility study, including capital and revenue costs, to develop a multi-agency information website and housing advice centre within existing resources in an accessible location in Barry.
In 2006/07 funding had been provided to
§ Home Access Trust - Accommodation Funding and Bond Board Services;
§ Llamau Housing - JIGSO;
§ Vale Furniture Grant Project.
The Scrutiny Review of Homelessness, undertaken by the Scrutiny Committee (Community Wellbeing and Safety) during 2006, had concluded that the current financial support allocated to voluntary bodies needed to remain in place in order to achieve the objectives of the Vale of Glamorgan Homelessness Strategy 2004-09. The Homelessness Review also recommended that a feasibility study utilising corporate funds be undertaken to develop a multi-agency information website and housing advice centre in an accessible location in Barry.
(1) T H A T the following Section 180 Funding allocations be made:
§ Home Access Trust - Accommodation Funding and Bond Board Services: money to be used to part fund salary of the Bond Officer - £5k.;
§ Llamau Housing - JIGSO - advice and assistance to single people aged 16+ who are homeless / threatened with homelessness: to include Bond Service, landlord / tenant support and generalist housing advice - £12k.;
§ Vale Furniture Grant Project - to provide grants to homeless people unable to fund the purchase of furniture - £6k.;
§ Feasibility Study - including capital and revenue costs to develop a multi-agency information website and housing advice centre within existing resources in an accessible location in Barry - £17k.
(2) T H A T £30k. of the corporate contingency fund be added to the remaining Section 180 monies to allow robust feasibility studies to be undertaken.
(3) T H A T the report be referred to the Scrutiny Committee (Community Wellbeing and Safety) for information.
(1) To allocate funding.
(2) To accommodate the agreed recommendations of the Review of Homelessness in the Vale of Glamorgan.
(3) For information as the Scrutiny Committee which led the Homelessness Review.
C3016 PUBLIC PROTECTION - PROPOSED FEES AND CHARGES (DLPPHS) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
The report was withdrawn, it being noted that a further report would be submitted to a subsequent meeting on any fees and charges requiring the determination of Cabinet.
C3017 COMPLAINTS OF MALADMINISTRATION AGAINST THE COUNCIL (MO) (SCRUTINY - COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND SAFETY AND ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Details were presented of two complaints of maladministration which had been submitted to the Local Commissioner (Ombudsman). One complaint had subsequently been withdrawn and, in respect of the second complaint, the Local Commissioner had, following consideration, declined to investigate further.
RESOLVED - T H A T the report be noted.
To inform the Cabinet and Council.