SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND
SAFETY)
MINUTES of a meeting held on 21st
May, 2007.
Present: Councillor Mrs. M.E.J. Birch
(Chairman); Councillor K.R. Stockdale (Vice-Chairman); Councillors
Mrs. S.M. Bagstaff, R.J. Bertin, Ms. R.M. Birch, Ms. L. Burnett, P.
Church, J. Clifford, H.J.W. James, G.C. Kemp,
Mrs. A.J. Moore, Mrs. A.J. Preston, B.I. Shaw and J.W.
Thomas.
Also present: Councillors S.C. Egan, G. John,
N. Moore and Mrs. M.R. Wilkinson.
17
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE -
These were received from Councillor W.C.
Vaughan and Mr. P. Phillips (Housing Federation).
18
MINUTES -
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 16th April, 2007 be approved as a
correct record, subject to it being noted that Councillor B.I. Shaw
had tendered his apologies.
19
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -
No declarations were received.
20
SECTION 180 HOUSING ACT 1996: VOLUNTARY SECTOR FUNDING PROPOSALS
(REF) -
Approval had been sought of Cabinet on
9th May, 2007 (C3015) 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.
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 Review had 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.
Cabinet, on 9th May, 2007, made the
following resolutions:
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the resolutions of
Cabinet be accepted.
21
HOUSING SUB-COMMITTEE - 19TH APRIL, 2007 - REPORT OF A
MEETING -
The following report of a meeting of the
Housing Sub-Committee held on 19th April, 2007 was
received, it being noted that the Cabinet Member, Councillor Mrs.
M.R. Wilkinson had tendered her apologies for the
meeting.
Present: Councillor K.R. Stockdale
(Chairman); Councillors P. Church, Mrs. A.J. Preston and J.W.
Thomas.
Also present: Mr. L. Lixton
(Shakespeare Resident’s Association)
(a)
Apologies for absence -
These were received from Councillors Mrs.
M.E.J. Birch, Ms. R.M. Birch, R.J. Bertin and Mrs. J.E.
Charles,
(b)
Minutes -
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 15th February, 2007 be approved as a
correct record.
(c)
Declarations of Interest -
No declarations were received.
(d)
Penarth Heights Update -
Mark White, Major Projects Officer, and
David Foote, Surveyor, attended the meeting to update Members on
the progress of the Penarth Heights Project. The project was
to facilitate the disposal of the Harbour View / Royal
Close estates through the process of marketing and selling the site
to a developer (who would be responsible for the delivery of a new
residential development), subject to the Council achieving vacant
possession of the site, and the developer securing planning
permission. Mark White summarised key developments to 2002
and outlined major progress in 2005/6 which included:
·
public exhibition held by Crest of their initial design concept
(in Paget Rooms on 3rd / 4th June 2005) to
seek early views from the local community
·
Crest worked-up detailed design – various pre-planning
application workshops and other technical meetings held between
Crest and the Council’s planners, highway engineers and other
officers. In 2006 contract negotiations were completed with
Crest Nicholson and the exchange and completion of conditional sale
contract occurred in June 2006.
The post contract stage of the project
commenced with the Council and Crest endeavouring to satisfy the
conditions of contract. Crest started preparing documentation
for planning applications and further community consultation was
held with the Community Consultative Group. Meetings were
offered to remaining residents including those with an option to
return to the new development.
On 15th and 16th
February, 2007, in Washington Gallery, Penarth, Crest hosted a
public exhibition of proposed design concept for planning
application for the new development at Penarth Heights. A
planning application was submitted by Crest at the end of
February 2007. Outstanding main actions to achieve handover
of the site to Crest included:
·
Planning Approval – Crest needed to secure a planning approval
for this scheme and a decision on the current planning application
was anticipated to be made in a few months time.
·
Vacant Possession – The Council need to achieve full vacant
possession and the current status was –
- 4 homes
remained occupied (2 long leaseholders and 2 secure
tenants)
·
Japanese Knotweed Eradication – advanced stage of 3 year
spraying programme would be completed in Summer of 2007.
Crest’s proposed scheme included 377 new
homes comprising:
·
235 houses (62% of total)
- 53 two bed
houses
- 83 three bed
houses
- 98 for bed
houses
·
142 apartments / flats (38% of total)
- 60 one
bed
- 78 two
bed
- 4 three
bed
·
20% or 75 affordable homes – to be managed by United Welsh
Housing Association (UWHA) to comprise
- 63 new
affordable houses
- 12 new
affordable apartments / flats
RECOMMENDED – T H A T the position with
the Penarth Heights development be noted and that Mark White and
David Foote be thanked for their informative update of the stage
this had reached.
(e)
Local Housing Market Assessment (DLPPHS) -
Section 87 of the Local Government Act
2003 required local authorities to produce housing strategies and
submit them to the appropriate authority i.e. The Welsh Assembly
Government. The Council was required to produce a revised
enhanced Local Housing Strategy by June 2007. Local housing
assessments were a crucial part of the evidence base to prepare
development plans and local housing strategies. The
assessments could also inform the planning of other services such
as education and transport.
Housing provision had to be responsive to
changes in the levels of housing demand and need in an area.
The reality was that it had to compete with other policy areas for
the public resources available. Housing market assessments
informed local authorities’ decision-making and allocation of
resources. Aggregated information could also play a similar
role for the Welsh Assembly Government. From a land use
planning perspective, housing needs assessments provided the
evidence base to support housing policies, which included
affordable housing policies and development plans.
In 2003 in response to the new local
housing strategy regime and as a means of improving understanding
of the cross-boundary nature of housing markets the 10 South East
Wales Authorities which comprised Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend,
Caerphilly, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport,
Rhondda Cynon Taff, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan commissioned
research to enable a better understanding of the Housing
Market. The central aim of the research was to provide an
analysis and understanding of the South East Wales Regional Housing
Market. The wider regional study identified a number of
housing market types in the South East Wales region. These
were as follows:
·
Heads of the Valley
·
Mid Valleys
·
North of M4 corridor
·
Three urban based areas – Bridgend, Cardiff and
Newport
·
Rural Monmouthshire.
Within the Vale of Glamorgan area two
housing market types were apparent; the Cardiff housing
market type and the Bridgend housing market type. The Council
in partnership with Cardiff jointly commissioned Fordham Research
Consultants to undertake a Housing market Assessment of the sub
regional area but allowed for each Authority to draw out Primary
and Secondary data for its own Local Housing Strategy and Local
Development Plan processes. Both Councils were successful in
bidding to the Welsh Assembly Government and the Social Housing
Management Grant regime and received a joint allocation of £44,000
to part fund the assessment. Additional funding was secured
from the 8 individual Registered Social Landlords, which equated to
an additional £40,000.
RECOMMENDED –
(2)
T H A T a further report be presented to the Housing
Sub-Committee on completion of the study.
(f)
Supporting People: Costs and Benefits of the Supporting People
Programme (DLPPHS) -
Prior to the introduction of Supporting
People Programme in April 2003 housing related support was
delivered in an ad hoc way throughout the country. There was
little or no strategic planning and little needs-led provision or
integration of services. Supporting People was developed to
change this situation through the development of specific policy
objectives and aims around supported housing and the development of
a coherent framework for the planning and commissioning of services
at a local level.
The aim of the Supporting People programme
was to enable vulnerable people to gain and retain independence to
remain in their own home and community, rather than the more costly
alternatives such as residential care or homelessness
services. Through the integrated funding framework, the
programme aimed to deliver high quality and strategically planned
housing related support services where were cost effective and
reliable and which complemented existing care services.
Supporting People linked to a number of
other Welsh Assembly Government areas which included “Making the
Connections”, “Fulfilled Lives”, “Supportive Communities”, “The
Strategy for Older People in Wales”, “Tackling Domestic Abuse: the
all Wales national strategy” and “National Homelessness
Strategy”. Supporting People services also contributed to
strategies at a local level such as the “Community Care Strategies”
and “Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Strategies”.
At the beginning of 2006, the Welsh
Assembly Government commissioned research from Matrix Consultants
in order to ascertain the potential benefits of Supporting People
services to a selection of client groups over the period of one
year. Even with all the impacts that could not be quantified,
the study had concluded that the total financial benefit as a
result of the Supporting People Programme was £180,064,389. This
was equivalent to £1.68 for every £1 spent. The value of the
benefits of the Supporting People Programme in the study was
calculated based on a series of assumptions and the report
concluded that the calculations in the models were likely to change
as more research around the programme was undertaken. In
addition to the saving to the public purse evidence of the
un-costed benefits – largely benefits to the individual service
user, their families and wider communities – was also likely to
improve over time.
RECOMMENDED –
(1) T
H A T the outcome of the Matrix Study commissioned by the Welsh
Assembly Government be noted
(2) T
H A T the report be referred to Scrutiny Committee (Community
Wellbeing and Safety) to provide useful information as the
Supporting People Programme linked to so many different service
areas.
(g)
Annual Report -
The Chairman referred to the Annual Report
for the Scrutiny Committee (Community Wellbeing and Safety) and
indicated this would include a suggestion that the Housing
Sub-Committee be reappointed to continue with its forward work
programme and members present were in agreement.
It was requested by members that, subject
to the reappointment of the Housing Sub-Committee, the Cabinet
members for Housing and Community Safety and Visible and Building
Services be asked to attend future meetings.
_________________
Having considered the report of the Housing
Sub-Committee, the Scrutiny Committee
RECOMMENDED –
(1) T H A
T officers pursue with Legal Services a request by Members to view
the contracts and agreements that had been signed with Crest
Nicholson in respect of accommodation.
(2) T H A
T in order to reassure the public, officers explore positive PR
opportunities when supporting people within the community.
22
REVENUE AND CAPITAL MONITORING FOR THE PERIOD
1ST APRIL 2007 TO 30TH APRIL, 2007 -
The Committee was advised that the figures at
Appendix 1 to the report identified the budget for each division of
service in the Social Services Directorate and reflected the
allocation of the temporary uplift of £3,641,000 which had been
approved by Council together with the efficiencies of £2m. required
in order to achieve a balanced budget. It also showed figures
for both Private and Public Housing.
Under Children’s Services, it was noted that
in order to achieve a balanced budget, the Children’s Placement
budget, staffing budgets and court associated expenses would need
to be rigorously controlled and monitored.
Similarly for Community Care and Health, the
previously recorded cost pressures, namely Community Care Packages,
Supported Housing Contract and staffing budgets would also be
required to be controlled and monitored in order to achieve a
balanced budget.
The report noted that the Public Sector
Housing Revenue Account was anticipated to outturn at £635k.
This would provide a surplus of £215k. which was mainly due to the
Review of the Housing Revenue Business Plan which had identified
that a reduction in the estimated capital charges would be
required. The favourable current variance was largely
attributed to staff vacancies and slow spends at the beginning of
the financial year.
In respect of Private Sector Housing, it was
anticipated that this service would outturn on target. There
was a current variance of £84k. which was mainly attributed to
staff vacancies and the moratorium on non-essential spending.
Appendix 2 to the report detailed the
financial progress on the Capital Programme, together with the
amount of £4,016,000 from the Major Repairs Allowance which Cabinet
had, on 21st December, 2006, approved for the allocation
of the 2006/07 Major Repairs Allowance.
Members queried the vacancy positions within
the Housing Services Department and were advised by the Cabinet
Member for Housing Services that a new structure was being prepared
by the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services,
which was due to be presented to Cabinet in the very near
future.
In respect of the significantly high figure
for the Major Repairs Allowance, Members requested that a report be
forwarded to the Housing Sub-Committee to look in detail at how the
money would be spent over the coming years. The officer also
advised that the Department was considering providing a number of
show homes throughout the Vale in order for the public to view the
detail of the required standards that the Welsh Assembly Government
had placed on local authorities under the Welsh Quality
Standards.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T a further report on the detail of the spend under the Major
Repairs Allowance be presented to the Housing Sub-Committee in due
course.
(2) T H A
T the Revenue and Capital Monitoring report be noted.
Reasons for recommendations
(1&2) To apprise members.
23
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION - ADULT SERVICES (IDSS) -
A revised format for the presentation of
Management Information for Adult Services was presented for
Members’ consideration. Performance Management Information
had previously been reported to Members on a quarterly basis and
the reports had involved a presentation of lists of Performance
Indicators, together with narratives. The appropriateness of
presenting information in this way to the Scrutiny Committee had
been raised during the Joint Review of Social Services and had been
further discussed at the Scrutiny Committee meeting on
12th March, 2007. The report proposed that the
number of PIs reported to the Committee be reduced to 7 and these
were listed in Appendix 1 to the report. Members were advised
that the Indicators covered key aspects of decision making within
Adult Services and would highlight any key operational issues that
elected Members would need to be made aware of. It was
further proposed that the information be used as the standard
management information within Adult Services and be circulated to
managers within that service on a regular basis.
During discussion of the report, the Interim
Director of Social Services advised that some of the information
could be further enhanced and the use of bar charts was a good way
of sharing information. Members confirmed that the
presentation was an enormous improvement from the previous reports
and requested that this new arrangement which would also be
reviewed on a regular basis, be the basis for future reports on
Management Information. Members further requested that a
glossary of terms or a key to the information be provided to assist
in identifying the terminology used within the Social Services
Department.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the revised format for the presentation of Management Information
in relation to Adult Services be approved.
(2) T H A
T officers be congratulated on the hard work and efforts made to
provide this information in the required format for Committee.
Reasons for recommendations
(1&2) To enable elected Members to analyse
performance data more effectively and to ensure the views of the
Committee are recorded.
24
SOCIAL SERVICES CHANGE PLAN 2007-2010 (IDSS) -
The Change Plan was a long term plan which had
been designed to achieve fundamental changes in the way in which
the Social Services Department operated. It sought to build
on some of the significant strengths of the service and to mark the
introduction of a culture characterised by high performance and
rigour. The Plan also addressed the areas of service
that had been identified by the recent Joint Review as requiring
improvement. The four key themes underlining the Plan
were:
§
Leadership
§ Budget
§
Performance
§
Quality.
It was noted that the service had to be
delivered within the budget allocation and the performance of all
the services had to be improved. The report also recognised
that the Social Services Directorate could not deliver the Plan in
total isolation. There would have to be very close working
with other Council services as well as partner organisations in
order to achieve the required outcomes. Some work had already
commenced and had been evidenced in the Change Plan that was before
the Committee, it would not only be monitored by the Department but
by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Joint Review Team who
would be considering the Action Plan on a regular basis.
Members raised concerns in relation to the
report where it stated costings would be within existing resources
and requested that figures be made available in more detail.
Officers responded by stating that a number of the actions in the
Change Plan had been designed in order to save money and that the
work would have to be undertaken before it could be ascertained how
much money was likely to be saved. Committee requested that
for the future, the reports detail both the savings and the costs
identified in the Plan and that they receive frequent updates on
its progress.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the Social Services Change Plan be accepted by the Scrutiny
Committee.
(2) T H A
T the Committee be regularly updated on the progress within the
Change Plan and that it include details of savings as well as the
costs.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) The
Change Plan was a vehicle to make the improvements required in
Social Services following the Joint Review in the performance and
quality of services.
(2) To
apprise Members.
25
STRATEGY PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND COMMISSIONING - SERVICE PLAN
-
The Head of Service presented the new
formatted Service Plan for Committee’s consideration. Members
commented on the Service Plan as follows:
|
Comment
|
Response
|
|
Request that all Members receive a copy of the
Vale Equalities Scheme.
|
To be forwarded as soon as possible.
|
|
Page 7 - What constitutes Level 1 of the Green
Dragon?
|
Level 1 was a basic action. There
were 5 levels of attainment.
|
|
Inability to deliver appropriate services in a
language of choice.
|
Welsh was included as a desirable feature.
|
|
What priority does the service area put on
Welsh as a desired quality?
|
The requirement for Welsh would depend upon
the job that had been advertised. All information that was
available to the public by the Social Services Department was
available bilingually.
|
|
What does the grading in the report 1‑4
mean?
|
The higher the number, the higher the
improvement required.
|
|
Page 10 - Supporting People. Do we have
any idea what the impact is for the Authority on unclaimed
benefit?
|
Not able to provide that information but the
Social Services Department and Finance Department had worked well
to ensure that people were aware of the benefits they could apply
for and they were also supported in completing the necessary
applications.
|
|
Page 19 - Appointment of Health Alliance
Officer.
|
The Health Alliance Officer had been back in
post since March 2007 and was currently preparing a robust Action
Plan for the coming year.
|
|
Page 23 - Local Democracy Week.
|
Further information to be fed back to
Committee in respect of this item.
|
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the information as detailed in the above columns be presented to
Members in due course.
(2) T H A
T the format for the new Service Plans be welcomed.
Reasons for recommendations
(1&2) To apprise Members.
26
INDIVIDUAL DISABLED PARKING BAYS -
The Scrutiny Committee had received a report
in respect of Individual Disabled Parking Bays at its meeting on
16th April, 2007. The report had outlined that the
Scrutiny Committee (Economy and Environment) had on
13th March, received a report from the Traffic Task
and Finish Group on the Provisions of Individual Disabled Parking
Bays. That report had outlined the procedure that had been
followed by the Council in allocating IDPBs had been in place for
many years and had been inherited from the former South Glamorgan
County Council. The Committee was further advised that the
current policy and procedure took no account of an applicant’s
needs, and in particular, the staff of the Engineering Department
did not have skills to assess applications on a needs basis and as
a direct result, discussion would have to take place with
colleagues in the Social Services Department.
The Interim Director of Social Services had
advised on 16th April, 2007 that he would wish to
undertake further investigatory work in respect of the matter and
report back to Committee on 21st May, 2007. The
report before Committee advised that the Interim Director of Social
Services had met with the Director of Environmental and Economic
Regeneration and suggested that the recommendation in the Appendix
attached to the report (i.e. page 4 recommendation (2)) should now
read, “In the exceptional event that the Director of Environmental
and Economic Regeneration is made aware of a case in which the
delay in provision of a parking bay caused by the length of the
waiting list is likely to lead directly to the failure of the
individual concerned to be able to stay in their own home and
require a move to a nursing home or similar accommodation, a
request may be made to the Interim Director of Social Services for
a view of the matter. The Interim Director of Social Services
may, in exceptional circumstances, make a recommendation that the
individual concerned be moved up the waiting list and up to three
such recommendations may be sought in any one year.
Having considered all the reports, the
Scrutiny Committee
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T recommendation 2 (of
page 4) of the report of 16th April, 2007 be amended to read as
follows:
- in the exceptional event that the Director of
Environmental and Economic Regenereation is made aware of a case in
which the delay in provision of a parking bay caused by the length
of the waiting list is likely to lead directly to the failure of
the individual concerned to be able to stay in their own home and
require a move to a nursing home or similar accommodation, a
requesst be made to the Director of Social Services for a view of
the matter;
- the Director of Social Services may, in such exceptional
circumstances, make a recommendation that the individual concerned
be moved up the waiting list;
- up to three such recommendations may be sought in any one
year.
(2) T H A T the recommendations outlined in (1) above and
the report of the 16th April, 2007 be referred to Cabinet.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) In order that the process and any such cases can be
reviewed by the relevant Director in one year.
(2) In order for a decision to be made.
27
REAPPOINTMENT OF HOUSING SUB-COMMITTEE -
The Housing Sub-Committee had been appointed
on 22nd May, 2006 by the Scrutiny Committee to comprise
of nine Members. The current Chairman of the Housing
Sub-Committee reaffirmed the Sub-Committee’s desire to be
reappointed for 2007/08 in order to continue with its forward work
programme.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the Housing Sub-Committee be reappointed under the following
terms of reference for the current municipal year:
·
Audit of housing need and the provision of affordable housing,
including allocations and the new housing developments;
·
Void management;
·
Cyclical maintenance programme;
·
Methods of paying rents;
·
Rolling programme of visits to housing estates;
·
Supporting People;
·
Homelessness;
·
Provision of Private Sector Housing Assistance;
·
Enforcement of Private Sector Housing Standards;
·
Housing Investment.
(2) T H A
T the membership of the Housing Sub-Committee consist of nine
Members as follows:
Councillors Mrs. S.M. Bagstaff, R.J. Bertin,
Mrs. M.E.J. Birch, Ms. R.M. Birch, P. Church, J. Clifford, Mrs.
A.J. Preston, K.R. Stockdale, and J.W. Thomas.
Reasons for recommendations
(1&2) To enable the Housing
Sub-Committee to be reappointed, be able to consider issues as
identified by the Scrutiny Committee and undertake a forward work
programme in the current municipal year.
28
TERMS OF REFERENCE OF TASK AND FINISH GROUPS -
At the last meeting of the Scrutiny Committee
held on 16th April, 2007, the Committee had considered
its draft Annual Report and Forward Work Programme for 2007/08 and
agreed to establish two Task and Finish Groups to review topics in
respect of the Shortage of Occupational Therapists in the Vale and
CCTV in the Vale. The terms of reference and scope for each
Task and Finish Group was attached at Appendix 1 and 2 to the
report and the report as recommended that the Task and Finish
Groups comprise of 7 Members and be politically balanced.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the scope for the reviews and terms of reference of the Task and
Finish Groups as detailed in the report and its Appendices 1 and 2,
be approved.
(2) T H A
T the Task and Finish Groups consist of 7 Members and be
politically balanced, the membership to be as follows:
Occupational Health Therapist Task and Finish
Group:
Councillors Mrs. S.M. Bagstaff, Mrs. M.E.J.
Birch, Ms. R.M. Birch, P. Church, G.C. Kemp, Mrs. A.J. Preston,
K.R. Stockdale.
CCTV Task and Finish Group
Councillors Mrs. S.M. Bagstaff, Ms. L.
Burnett, J. Clifford, H.J.W. James, Mrs. A.J. Moore, B.I. Shaw
and J.W. Thomas.
(3) T H A
T the reports of the Task and Finish Groups be referred to the
Scrutiny Committee (Community Wellbeing and Safety) for
consideration.
Reasons for recommendations
(1-3) To progress the
Forward Work Programme of the Scrutiny Committee.
29
SCRUTINY COMMITTEE DECISION TRACKING JANUARY 2007 - APRIL 2007
-
The purpose of the report was to advise
Members of references and call-in recommendations that had been
made to Cabinet in the last four months and their outcomes.
The report had been prepared to reflect the objectives of the
Democratic Renewal Process to monitor the Scrutiny Committee
function and performance.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the decision tracking
information be noted.
Reason for recommendation
To inform the Scrutiny Committee.