SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
(COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND SAFETY)
MINUTES of a meeting held on 22nd
October, 2007.
Present: Councillor Mrs. M.E.J. Birch
(Chairman); Councillor K.R. Stockdale (Vice-Chairman); Councillors
Mrs. S.M. Bagstaff, R.J. Bertin, Ms. L. Burnett, P. Church, J.
Clifford, H.J.W. James, G.C. Kemp, Mrs. A.J. Moore,
A.G. Powell, Mrs. A.J. Preston and J.W. Thomas.
Also present: Councillor Mrs. M.R.
Wilkinson.
473 APOLOGIES FOR
ABSENCE-
These were received from Councillors Ms. R.M.
Birch, B.I. Shaw, W.C. Vaughan (Vale of Glamorgan Council); Mr
Phillips (Vale Housing Federation) and Mrs. Gannon (Older People’s
Forum).
474 MINUTES -
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 1st October, 2007 be approved as a
correct record.
475 DECLARATIONS OF
INTEREST -
No declarations were received.
476 HOUSING
SUB-COMMITTEE: 20TH SEPTEMBER 2007 -
The following report was received from the
Housing Sub-Committee.
Present: Councillor K.R. Stockdale
(Chairman); Councillors M.E.J. Birch, Ms. R.M. Birch,
P. Church, J. Clifford, Mrs. A.J. Preston and J.W.
Thomas.
Also present: Councillors R.F. Curtis, G.
John and Mrs. M. Wilkinson.
(a)
Apologies for absence -
These were received from Councillors Mrs.
S.M. Bagstaff and R. Bertin.
(b)
Minutes -
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 19th April, 2007 be approved as a
correct record.
(c) Declarations of
Interest -
No declarations were received.
(d)
Welcome -
The Chairman welcomed Anthony Jaques, the
newly appointed Interim Head of Housing to his first
meeting.
(e)
Report of the Housing Investment Project Team (DLPPHS) -
The Council had commissioned Tribal HCH to
undertake a review of the Council Housing Investment options in
order to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standards by 2012.
The review had highlighted that the Council could retain its
housing stock rather than follow a stock transfer option.
Cabinet on 8th November, 2006 had resolved that a stock
retention strategy to enable the Council to meet the Welsh Housing
Quality Standards by 2012 be supported but that that resolution be
dependant upon the Council agreeing to a number of key issues and
actions identified through their recommendations. The
recommendations had subsequently been prioritised into
Implementation Plans.
The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business
Plan was presented to Cabinet for approval in April 2007 (Minute
No. C2998). The HRA Business Plan included a Base Model which
projected the financial position over 30 years based on the
existing service and decisions that had already been incorporated
e.g. reallocation of costs to General Fund for grounds maintenance,
waste and housing strategy totalling approximately £200k.;
use of Penarth Heights Capital Receipt; and repairs and maintenance
costs to rise in line with the Retail Price index. The Base
Model was consequently adjusted to take account of the effect of a
series of actions as outlined in the following resolution:
C2998 - RESOLVED -
(1) T
H A T a Housing Stock Retention Strategy to enable the Council to
meet the WHQS by 2012 be continued to be supported and that the
supporting Housing Revenue Account Business Plan be
adopted.
(2) T
H A T the Financial Strategy as outlined and exemplified in the
adjusted Base Model included in the HRA Business Plan be agreed and
the following actions be approved:
Action 1
Review Service Charges for implementation for 2008/09
Action 2
Reduce supervision and management costs in steps to reflect the
reduction in the housing stock due to Right -to-Buy sales.
Action 3
Reduce by £200,000 the recharge to HRA from Building Maintenance
Client from 2008/09 onwards.
Action 4
Housing Service to make Efficiency Savings of 1% per annum for 15
years on supervision and management costs.
Action 5
Identify potential HRA Land Asset sales totalling at least £3
million by 2008/09 and bring a further report for Cabinet to
consider.
Action 6
Approve in principle, Prudential Borrowing of £34.780 million
should Stock Retention remain viable from 2009/10.
The updated Implementation Plan, indicated
that the Tenancy Engagement Co-ordinator and Tenancy Engagement
Assistant posts had now been filled by James Penfold and Heather
Downey respectively. A majority of the high priority plans
included tenant engagement work and some of this work had commenced
which would include consultation on the use of fixed space heating
in living areas. The remaining work could be planned and
worked into the Implementation Plan timetable. In order to
ensure that the Implementation Plans were monitored and work loads
allocated and programmed effectively, additional project management
assistance was being agreed with the Director of Economic and
Environmental Regeneration. Their assistance would also
ensure project briefs were clarified and clearly allocated to
project managers with sufficient resources to carry out the
tasks.
The Housing Revenue Account Business Plan
was submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government in March 2007.
A meeting was currently being arranged with the Welsh Assembly
Government to discuss feedback on the Plan. The Welsh
Assembly Government had been advised that the Plan would be
reviewed once the findings of the latest house condition survey was
obtained. The draft results from the survey were due at the
end of September 2007. In addition, the local housing market
analysis findings were also due to be reported in September and
would help to shape the vision statements of the Business Plan and
local housing strategy. The short and long term cyclical
repair costs were crucial to the viability of stock retention as
specified in the Business Plan.
The Business Plan also included details of
the Council’s two year Interim Investment Programme. This
Programme was mainly funded by Welsh Assembly Government Major
Repairs Allowance and the Programme would be monitored closely to
ensure full spend of this year’s MRA allocation and the previous
year’s underspend. The Interim Investment Programme mainly
informed the Council’s Capital Programme but would also include
details of the Building Services Reactive Repairs Service and
planned maintenance programme. Inclusion of this information
would enable all public sector investment to be closely monitored
and enable the identification of all work being undertaken towards
achieving the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.
The Cabinet of the Council had sought to
ensure that Public Sector Housing was given sufficient resources to
maximise the opportunity of retaining the Council’s housing
stock. Housing Services had been separated from Social
Services and a new Head of Housing Services post established with
the responsibility solely of public sector housing. Pending
the post being re-advertised, an Interim Head of Housing Services,
Mr. Anthony Jaques, had been appointed and was due to start on
24th September, 2007.
It was proposed that future meetings of
the Housing Investment Project Team would be held on a monthly
basis and reports to the Project Board and Housing Sub-Committee
would be made at least on a quarterly basis. Councillor
Wilkinson welcomed the progress to date on housing investment and
referred to Carmarthen Council and indicated that it could be quite
useful to visit them to discuss their HRA Business Plan, which had
now been accepted by the Welsh Assembly Government. Other
Members and officers added their support to the suggestion and
thought that information could be very useful to inform the
Council’s further bid to the Welsh Assembly Government.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T
H A T the Housing Investment progress report be noted.
(2) T
H A T Democratic Services officers contact Carmarthen Council to
arrange a suitable date for a visit by Members and Officers and
number of places be confirmed following receipt of expressions of
interest.
(Councillors R.F. Curtis and Mrs. M.
Wilkinson were given permission to speak during consideration of
the above item.)
(f)
Environmental Health Housing Enforcement: Housing Act 2004
[presentation by Maggie Verrinder, Principal Environmental Health
Officer (Housing)] -
The presentation by Maggie Verrinder
focused on the changes to legislation in June 2006 and the
implications for the work undertaken by the section. The team
comprised five officers who were now well established and
experienced. They were there to:
·
investigate,
·
advise,
·
educate and
·
enforce.
Within these main areas enquiries could
relate to disrepair and fitness for properties, housing health and
safety rating system, houses in multiple occupation and matters
such as accumulation of rubbish within curtillage of dwelling,
overgrown gardens, filthy and verminous premises. On a
reactive basis the service had dealt with 859 separate
issues. Education also played a very important part in the
work of the section.
The Housing Act 1985 legislation had
concentrated on the unfitness of a dwelling but the Housing Act
2004 introduced 29 categories of hazard. Staff had to be
re-trained as the new procedures had a very technical risk base
system. It appeared to concentrate more towards the avoidance
of accidents that could result in people being admitted to
hospital.
Maggie Verrinder indicated that there was
a very pro-active programme to deal with high risk HMO’s.
Some very good relationships existed between the Council and
landlords fostered through a Landlord Forum which met twice a
year. There was also a range of information leaflets that
were distributed to landlords. Enforcement was very much a
last resort option however there could be problems with absentee
landlords who lived abroad and were difficult to contact.
Fees should be based on a self-financing arrangement calculated to
be £630 for a five-year licence. It had been agreed by
Cabinet to offer a 10% discount if a landlord belonged to a
professional organisation.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T Maggie Verrinder be
thanked for her very informative and interesting
presentation.
(g)
Energy Efficiency in Housing (Presentation by David Powell, Energy
Manager) -
David Powell gave an overview of the steps
that could be taken to improve energy efficiency in homes.
These included:
·
loft insulation
·
cavity wall insulation
·
draft elimination
·
effective space heating
·
temperature controlled radiators
·
low thermostat setting for hot water
·
condensing central heating boiler.
Various grants were available to help
people introduce energy efficiency measures into their homes.
Some grants however, could only be accessed for homes where some
efficiency measures already existed.
Education formed a major part of any
energy efficiency initiative. “Switching off” electrical
items created significant energy savings compared to leaving items
in a “standby” mode.
The legislative background
included:
·
building regulations
·
Home Energy Conservation Act
·
Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000
- target
to eliminate fuel poverty in vulnerable homes by 2010 and in social
housing by 2012; and
- in all
interested groups by March 2018.
The Welsh Housing Quality Standard sought
to introduce safe and secure, adequately heated, fuel efficient and
well insulated homes by 2012. This came from the National
Housing Strategy for Wales 2001. Energy performance
certificates would need to be provided as part of Home Information
Packs to be prepared every time a home was sold.
There had been a reduction in carbon
emissions of 23,000 tonnes per year in the housing stock in the
Vale of Glamorgan. This had been achieved through:
·
HEES (Home Energy Efficiency Schemes)
·
Health Through Warmth (accessing HEES)
·
Utility Schemes
- SOP
(Standards of Performance)
-
EEC (Energy Efficiency Commitment)
- CERT
(Carbon Emission Reduction Targets).
The number of people undertaking various
measures between April 2005 to March 2006 included:
·
cavity wall insulation - 1,520
·
loft insulation - 584
·
double glazing - 2,132
·
low energy light bulbs - 5420
·
home energy reports - 14,559
·
new condensing boilers - 255.
A number of other measures installed to
date through Health Through Warmth included
·
cavity wall insulation
·
loft insulation
·
draft-proofing
·
gas central heating
·
central heating repair
·
electric central heating
·
oil heating system
·
gas supply
·
security measures
·
hot water jackets
·
smoke alarms.
An issue for the future was that climate
change was not going to go away. Time was of the essence and
measures would have to be a combination of renewable and
insulation. Housing accounted for 25% of all carbon emissions
so it was essential that there was an overall reduction in this
sector.
Members made reference to the Penarth
Heights housing development as possibly the most major housing
initiative that the Council was going to be involved with in the
foreseeable future. Concerns were raised that initial
indications were that certain eco standards would not be met by the
developer. Other Councils had achieved a zero carbon impact
on their new developments and it was thought that this should be
the aim for this Council in this particular
development.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T
H A T the Scrutiny Committee (Community Wellbeing and Safety) be
requested to recommend to the Cabinet that an ‘Excellent’ (zero
carbon) Eco Homes Standard be required for the Penarth Heights
Development and any other new housing developments.
(2) T
H A T David Powell be thanked for his very informative and
interesting presentation.
_________________
Having considered the above report of the
Housing Sub-Committee, the Scrutiny Committee
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the report be noted.
(2) T H A
T the Scrutiny Committee Members be informed as soon as a date had
been arranged for the visit to Carmarthen Council in respect of the
HRA Business Plan.
(3) T H A
T the Housing Sub-Committee recommendation that an “Excellent (zero
carbon) Eco Home Standard” be required for the Penarth Heights
Development and any other new housing developments, be referred to
Cabinet.
Reasons for recommendations
(1&2) To apprise Members.
(3) In
order that Standards are enforced / maintained on future site
developments.
477 REVENUE AND
CAPITAL MONITORING FOR THE PERIOD 1ST APRIL, 2007
TO 30TH SEPTEMBER 2007 (IDSS & DLPPHS) -
The report highlighted that the Housing
Revenue Account was anticipated to outturn at £635,000 which would
mean a surplus of £250,000 which was attributed largely to staff
vacancies and a lower number of Right to Buy sales than had
previously been anticipated. The Private Sector service was
reported to outturn on target with the current favourable variance
of £65,000 being mainly attributed to staff vacancies. In
respect of Social Services the budget was expected to outturn with
a deficit of £3,056,000. Savings of £2,000,000 had been
needed to achieve a balanced budget and as such monitoring of the
budget would be regularly reported in order that the effectiveness
of proposals could be assessed. At its meeting on
3rd October, 2007 the Cabinet had requested to a
future meeting that a full and comprehensive report be presented in
relation to Social Services, specifically Community Care and
Health. The same report would also be presented to the
Scrutiny Committee (Community Wellbeing and Safety). Appendix
2 to the Revenue and Capital Monitoring report detailed the
financial progress on the Capital Programme and Appendix 3 provided
non-financial information on Capital Schemes. Members queried
the appointment of a Head of Housing and were advised that an
Interim Head of Housing had recently been confirmed, namely
Mr. T. Jaques. Members also raised concern in
respect of monies payable to voluntary organisations for example
Citizens Advice Bureau and requested that any issues affecting any
voluntary organisations be reported to the Scrutiny Committee as
soon as possible in order that Members can be kept abreast of
situations in view of queries that they receive in their capacity
as Councillors. Members were also advised that in relation to
the Southways Project, it was back on target to commence in
November with completion early 2008.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the Revenue and Capital
Monitoring report be noted and the report requested by Cabinet be
also presented to the Scrutiny Committee as soon as available.
Reason for recommendation
To apprise Members of the 2007/08 Revenue and
Capital Monitoring budget and ensure monitoring is continued.
478 PROGRESS REPORT ON
THE SOCIAL SERVICES CHANGE PLAN 2007-10 (IDSS) -
The purpose of the report was to inform
Members of the Scrutiny Committee about the Social Service
Department’s progress with the Change Plan. The Change Plan
was a long term plan and actions were scheduled for completion from
June 2007 - December 2009. The Change Plan was being
monitored on a weekly basis by the Change Team and the Change
Co-ordination Group which included key partners and the Wales Audit
Office had met to monitor its progress. Progress on the Plan
would also be made public and placed on the Council’s
website. Progress on each action in the Plan was identified
on the appendix to the report. The progress being made
was highlighted by the use of “smiley faces” and Members were
advised that there were only a small number of unhappy faces in the
progress column. The Operational Manager for Corporate Policy
and Communications explained that new governance arrangements
within the Social Services Department were in place and the
management of the service had improved.
The Manager further pointed out that there was
consistency across the Directorate itself and that managers were
working together and accepting of the challenges. Members
were advised that the main causes of concern for the Adult Services
Section were in relation to the Learning Disability service and the
interim care home fee arrangements. During discussion of this
report the following question and answer session ensued.
|
Reference
|
Answer
|
|
SP4 - reduce the numbers of
unallocated cases in adult services by 50%: In respect of
the figures quoted, Members requested a further report on the
categories involved and a report on matters in relation to
corporate parenting. At this stage Members also queried the
process for capturing data and whether it was adequate to meet the
needs required.
|
Further reports would be presented to the
Committee by the Interim Director in due course.
The Interim Director also advised that the
information being captured was fit for purpose and good use would
be made of the predictions.
|
|
SP24 - Undertake a pilot in the use of
mobile technology and remote working in the Fostering
Team:
|
The reference to mobile technology referred to
laptops and a system which would allow the Fostering Team to
complete assessments with the applicant which could
immediately be signed by the applicant and
downloaded on to the computer system in the office on their
return. One of the main advantages of this system would be
staff time. The system was due to be piloted shortly.
|
|
SP25 - Ensure carers’ assessments are
offered in a consistent and systematic manner.
|
Members requested that information in respect
of the number of carers’ assessments required be circulated as soon
as possible to all Members of the Committee.
|
|
SQ2 - Review all out-of-county /
agency placements and identify strategies to bring children back in
county where this is safe and appropriate.
|
Members were pleased to note the progress that
had been made in respect of this action and requested a further
report detailing the numbers categories and reasons why the
children had returned to the Vale of Glamorgan.
|
|
SQ6 & SQ7 - Review working
arrangements for the NHS Trusts and LHB
and Review all existing care packages
beginning with outstanding reviews.
|
|
|
SQ7 - Review all existing care
packages beginning with outstanding reviews.
|
Due to the difficulties that had been
experienced with care packages, Members recommended that under the
remit of invest to save, Cabinet be recommended to ensure
that extra staff are considered in order to ensure that care
packages meet the eligibility criteria and the service is
appropriate to meet client needs.
|
|
SQ8 - Review all Day
Services: What were the plans for Hen Goleg?
|
The Department would be addressing the issue
in order to identify a way forward. Members therefore requested a
further report in due course.
|
|
SQ13 - Develop internal partnering
arrangements with RSLs and work with external
providers.
|
Members requested a further report and that it
be presented to the Housing Sub-Committee in due course.
|
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the progress on the Social Services Change Plan be noted.
(2) T H A
T the reports as requested in respect of references
SP4 - Reduce the numbers of unallocated cases
in adult services by 50%;
SP25 - Ensure carers’ assessments are
offered in a consistent and systematic manner;
SQ2 - Review all out-of-county / agency
placements and identify strategies to bring children back in county
where this is safe and appropriate ;
SQ8 - Review all Day Services;
and
SQ13 Develop internal partnering arrangements
with RSLs, and work with external providers;
and as detailed in the columns above be
presented to the Scrutiny Committee and or Housing Sub-Committee in
due course.
(3) T H A
T in respect of SQ7 - “Review all existing care packages beginning
with outstanding reviews” Cabinet be recommended to ensure as a
matter of urgency that additional staff be appointed or reallocated
to ensure that the care packages meet the eligibility criteria and
that the service is appropriate to meet client needs.
Reasons for recommendations
(1&2) To monitor improvements
required in Social Services following the Joint Review on the
performance and quality of services.
(3) To
ensure that care packages are not delayed and that invest to save
initiatives are considered.
479 SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
- TRACKING OF RECOMMENDATIONS (DLPPHS) -
The Committee was advised of the progress in
relation to recommendations which had been made during the period
July to September 2007 attached at Appendix A to the report and to
consider the actions against the uncompleted recommendations for
the April to June quarter detailed at Appendix B to the
report.
The Democratic Services Officer informed the
Committee of progress to date against the remaining actions.
Members expressed their continued approval of such reports and
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T the
following recommendations be confirmed as completed Min Nos. 1010
(recs 1 & 2 ), 22, 201, 205 (rec 2), 285 (rec 2)
and ,
(2) T H A
T
(a)
3rd September, Minute No. 288 Bus Shelters: be
deemed completed and the observations of the Safer Vale Strategy
Group be presented to the Committee in due course.
(b) 3rd September,
Minute No. 290 Performance Experts: be deemed completed, it
being noted that the first meeting of the sub-group was due to take
place on 7th November, 2007.
(c) 16th
April, Minute No. 1010 Draft Annual Report May 2006 to April 2007
and Forward Work Programme for 2007 / 08: be deemed completed, it
being noted that a press release had been issued to the press early
in October 2007 by the Council’s PR office.
(d) 21st May, Minute
No. 22 Revenue and Capital Monitoring for the period 1st
April to 30th April 2007: be deemed
completed it being noted that the report and the minutes of the
Housing Sub-Committee had been presented to the Scrutiny Committee
at this meeting.
Reasons for recommendations
To maintain effective tracking of the
Committee’s recommendations.
480 MATTER WHICH THE
CHAIRMAN HAD DECIDED WAS URGENT -
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the following matter
which the Chairman had decided was urgent for the reason indicated
underneath the minute heading be considered.
481 PACT MEETINGS IN
THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN (DLPPHS) -
Urgent by reason of the need to update
Members prior to a training event on 19th November,
2007.
The Scrutiny Committee had requested as part
of its Work Programme for 2007/08 that consideration of a report on
the work of PACTs in the Vale of Glamorgan be presented. The
term PACT (Partnerships and Communities Together) was used to
describe how through meetings and other means members of the
community could discuss unidentified problems and solutions within
their neighbourhood. The overall aim was to provide a say in
how the local neighbourhood was policed and governed in order that
improvements could be made to the quality of life for the residents
of the area. PACT meetings were currently taking place
throughout the Vale of Glamorgan at a number of
locations.
The work of the PACTs was a joint
collaboration between the Police, the Local Authority and many
other partners who were committed to improving the quality of life
of residents and dealing with issues that affect wards throughout
the Vale. Other partners included voluntary and charitable
organisations, neighbourhood watch, youth centres, youth groups and
residents groups. It was reported that early PACT meetings
had not been effectively organised and the results had been
uncertainty in relation to their purpose and roles and
responsibilities. To this end a PACT guidance document had
been developed to assist the process, a copy of which was attached
at Appendix 1 to the report. However, despite the presence of
the PACT guidance, it had become apparent that there were still
inconsistencies in the way PACT meetings were being set up and the
way in which information / priorities were being highlighted to the
relevant departments.
A PACT Steering Group had been established in
June 2007 to look at the service, and it had met on a number of
occasions and had considered how to find suitable ways to improve
the current PACT guidance document The Steering Group
had also made a number of additional suggestions for the efficient
smooth running of such meetings and that the Safer Vale Partnership
together with the Police had worked together to develop a document
which had been designed to assist members of the community in the
Vale to understand the role of PACTs, who should be involved and
when, how and why meetings should take place. An example of
such a leaflet was attached as Appendix 2 to the report.
The Safer Vale Partnership together with the
Police had also suggested that four areas (wards) within the Vale
be piloted with a “going back to basics”
approach on how PACT meetings should be
managed and operated. The four suggested wards were Baruc,
Cadoc, Cornerswell and Llantwit Major. These had been
identified for the following reasons:
-
Baruc: Seasonal problems exist and the ward is slightly different
as it includes Barry Island and the West End of Barry who have
totally different priorities. There is a need for a mechanism
to be put in place to deal with this.
-
Cadoc: This is a red area in Barry and a lot of issues have been
raised.
-
Cornerswell: This is in the Penarth Sector and has had a lot of
youth annoyance.
-
Llantwit Major: In the rural Vale and has seen a lot of interest
from the community, however two way information communication
channels need to be set up.
The Scrutiny Committee welcomed the report and
the work undertaken by the Steering Group and noted that a
Networking Day had been arranged for Monday,
19th November, 2007 commencing at 09.00am to 4.00pm
at the Copthorne Hotel, Vale of Glamorgan, the purpose being to
bring partners together to highlight the work that was being
delivered locally and to provide people with the opportunity to
network in order to increase communication and have a greater
impact in tackling crime and disorder on a joint basis.
Councillor H.J.W. James also referred to
Accountability Panels that had been set up by South Wales Police
and one of the meetings was due to take place on Thursday,
25th October, 2007. To this end he requested the
Committee’s approval for the report to be presented to that meeting
to provide the Panel with the relevant details of the work that was
currently ongoing in the Vale.
Having considered the report and Councillor
James’ request, the Scrutiny Committee
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the progress and development of PACTs be noted and the suggested
ways forward as detailed in paragraphs 9, 10 and 11 of the report
be endorsed.
(2) T H A
T a further report be presented to the Scrutiny Committee in six
months detailing the progress made to date within the four
wards.
(3) T H A
T approval be granted for Councillor H.J.W. James to present the
report to the Accountability Panel of the South Wales Police on
Thursday, 25th October, 2007 and that feedback in
respect of the matter be presented to a future meeting of the
Scrutiny Committee.
Reasons for recommendations
(1&2) In order that awareness is
raised of the potential future options to ensure consistency for
all residents of the Vale of Glamorgan in respect of the work of
PACTs.
(3) To
apprise Members.