SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND
SAFETY)
MINUTES of a meeting held on 10th
March, 2008.
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, J. Clifford, G.C.
Kemp, B.I. Shaw and J.W. Thomas.
878 APOLOGIES FOR
ABSENCE -
These were received from Councillors Ms. L.
Burnett, P. Church, N.P. Hodges, H.J.W. James, Mrs. A.J.
Moore, Mrs. A.J. Preston and W.C. Vaughan.
879 MINUTES -
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 11th February, 2008 be approved as a
correct record.
880 DECLARATIONS OF
INTEREST -
No declarations were received.
881 PUPILS EDUCATED
OTHER THAN AT SCHOOL (REF) -
The Scrutiny Committee (Lifelong Learning) had
referred the reference and the report to the Scrutiny Committee
(Community Wellbeing and Safety) in order that the Scrutiny
Committee consider if all school age children within the Vale of
Glamorgan were known to the Council. The law required that
all parents should ensure that their children received an efficient
full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude,
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. The law
allowed parents to educate their children at home instead of
sending them to school if they fulfilled certain conditions.
The requirement on the Council was that it needed to be satisfied
that a child was receiving suitable education at home and a
specialist teacher would ask to meet with the family in order to
talk to the parent and to look at examples of work and
learning. However it was highlighted that Local Education
Authorities had no automatic right of access to a parent’s
home. It was reported that some 28 children within the Vale
of Glamorgan were being educated at home, 24 of which had been seen
by the LEA at least once per term. Whilst accepting the
principle of Home Education for Children, Members had expressed the
view that a child’s rights to a satisfactory education may not be
adequately satisfied at present, in view of the lack of continuous
assessment. The Committee had been advised that this concern
was also being supported by the Education Welfare Officer’s Group
on a national basis.
The Chairman drew attention to the fact that
there was also the possibility that a child could be adopted from
another country, brought into the area and the Social Services
Department could in some instances not ever know about the
child. The fact that a small number of children, as suggested
by the report, may not be known to the Council, was a concern to
the Committee. However, they were advised that if there were
any issues about safeguarding a childs welfare, the Social Services
Department would take the appropriate action. It was noted that
other local authorities would inform respective Councils if any
child moved into their area. Members also raised their
concern in relation to the fact that if a child was taught at
home, they may also not learn social skills nor have the
opportunity to mix with other children.
The Director of Social Services advised the
Committee that the “Safeguarding Children Board” would be the
appropriate forum to refer Members’ comments and suggested
that a further report be presented to the Committee after
consultation with the Board.
Having considered the reference, it was
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T recommendations (3) and (5) of the Scrutiny Committee
(Lifelong Learning) be endorsed :
·
That Cabinet be requested to consider ways in which officers of the
Council can monitor the performance of children educated at home
more frequently in order that the children’s progress can be better
assessed;
·
That Cabinet be asked to make representations to WAG to ensure the
right of LEA’s to better assess the performance of children
educated at home.
(2) T H A
T the Committee receives a report from the Safeguarding Children
Board in relation to the concerns raised at the meeting.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) To
consider ways in which the performance of children educated at home
can be monitored.
(2) For
Members information and consideration.
882 REVENUE AND
CAPITAL MONITORING FOR THE PERIOD 1ST APRIL 2007 TO
31ST JANUARY, 2008 (DSS & DLPPHS) -
The report highlighted the current position in
respect of the revenue and capital expenditure for the period
1st April 2007 to 31st January 2008.
The current forecast for services within the Committee’s remit was
for a balanced budget on the Housing Revenue Account and a deficit
of £572,000 for General Fund Services. The report also
highlighted that the Housing Revenue Account was anticipated to
outturn on target with an estimated surplus of £868,000 and the
Private Sector Housing was also anticipated to outturn on
target.
In respect of Social Services, the budget was
currently projected to outturn with a deficit of £572,000 which was
a reduction of £717,000 from the previous months figures. The
Director of Social Services had presented a revised action plan to
the Cabinet and Scrutiny Committee which had identified further
savings that could be achieved in the current year. However,
it was noted that many of the budget savings would be one-off and
that there still existed an underlying departmental overspend on
Care Packages which needed to be addressed during 2008/09.
For Children’s Services the probable outturn
was currently showing a surplus of £512,000 compared to £190,000
reported the previous month.
For Community Care and Health, the service was
projected to outturn with a deficit of £1,100,000 at the year end,
a decrease of £386,000 on the previous months reported figures and
similarly to Children’s Services the projected outturn
reflected the savings identified in the revised action plans.
Appendix 2 to the report detailed the Capital
Programme as at 31st January 2008 and Committee was
advised that the Youth Facility at Barry Fire Station had received
a further grant that had been awarded from the Welsh Assembly
Government Safer Communities Fund 2007/08. The sum of £25,000
had been granted for the refurbishment of a youth facility at the
Station and the money had to be spent by the end of March 2008.
With regard to Barry Hostel, it was
anticipated that the scheme would not be completed on target due to
the fact that additional unforeseen costs of re-plastering walls
before decoration and costs of telephony and IT requirements
for the hostel were currently un-funded.
During discussion of the report, Members
queried the outstanding reviews on Care Packages and whether
staffing issues were still exacerbating the problem. The
Director of Social Services advised that overall the review
of Community Care packages was being scrutinised by managers
at a senior level . Staff were aware of the responsibilities
and work was in progress but that there were also capacity issues
that needed to be addressed. A reprioritisation of need also may be
required. Joint working arrangements with the Health
Authority and Social Services Department was continually improving
and both had a strong commitment to working together. It was
acknowledged that there would always be funding stream issues and
it was anticipated that the new guidance in relation to continuing
health care may assist the Authority in addressing such
matters.
Members were also advised that the first
installation of the Telecare system had taken place in the previous
week but that further work would be undertaken to publicise the
system and its benefits.
An update on the Housing Investment Programme
was presented to Committee and Members were advised that the
Authority would be spending this years full commitment of available
MRA. A Member queried when the fascias on properties in
Gibbonsdown would be addressed and were advised that it was the
intention to develop with tenants and members improvement works and
that the repairs considered priority be undertaken in the first
instance.
As a result of a recent visit by Members to
the Occupational Therapy Team, mention was made of the possibility
of the purchase of laptops for use when visiting clients which
would enable the Team to respond and record more efficiently.
The Director advised that a pilot scheme had been trialled in the
Foster Care Team for staff to record assessments directly onto
laptops details of which to be reported in due course.
Having considered the report the Scrutiny
Committee
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the position with regard
to the 2007/08 Revenue and Capital Monitoring be noted.
Reason for recommendation
To advise Members of the position with regard
to the 2007/08 Revenue and Capital Monitoring.
883 SERVICE PLAN
2008/09 - PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY -
The Plan before Committee covered the Public
Protection Department for 2008/09. However, Committee was
advised that the areas to be considered within the Committee’s
remit were in relation to Private Sector Housing and Community
Safety. Members considered the Service Plans as to whether
the targets were achievable and raised questions in respect of
those actions that had not been completed. Discussion took
place as detailed below:
|
REF
|
Member’s
Question
|
Officer’s
Response
|
|
Investigate a possible restructure or
relocation of the Division. The success criteria for this was
noted as - restructure of the Division leads to reduced costs and
better integration with OneVale services
|
What effect has OneVale had on your
Department?
|
The ongoing integration with OneVale is
progressing. It will take time and effort in order to
integrate software packages to ensure that a joined up approach is
maintained. However, the opportunity is there for more
informative reports to be produced especially in relation to
Community Safety.
|
|
Declare a new Renewal Area for the Castleland
Area
|
The Local Authority should be engaging the
public more in the issue of the Renewal Area at Castleland.
|
Elected Members and the public have an
opportunity to make comments on any proposals to the Renewal Area
as part of the consultation process. Once declared all
stakeholders will be encouraged to shape any designs and projects
within the area.
|
|
Introduce New Property Appreciation Loan
Assistance. The success criteria - loans are made available,
allowing occupiers to improve their properties.
|
How is this working?
|
The Authority had joined with 7 other local
authorities to consider ways of sustainable regeneration. The
process for such loans will be handled through our internal grant
agency service. Grant officers will ensure only renovation or
other housing grant work is undertaken.
|
|
The average number of calendar days taken to
deliver a Disabled Facilities Grant. The report noted the
performance for 06/07 was 730 days and the target for 07/08 was 725
days.
|
How did you agree to consider the reduction of
5 days in the target? *
|
It was based on how many people came through
the system and it was a difficult indicator to determine. The
way in which clients came through the system affected the
target.
During discussion of the PI, Committee was
advised that clients with a greater need were dealt with in
priority. The OT Service regularly reviewed and monitored the
waiting list and it was important to note that the OT waiting list
affected the delivery of disabled facilities.
|
|
|
Members noted that a number of actions stated
that a member of staff would work on the matter for less than 20
days per annum. If this was the case, why wasn’t the work
being completed within 20 days as opposed to a start date of
1st April 2008 and a finish date of 31st
March 2009?
|
Although the work may only take 20 days to
complete it would have to be prioritised over twelve months in view
of the amount of reactive work that takes place. It was hoped that
the work would be undertaken sooner than 12 months but it provided
the department with flexibility in order to re-prioritise its
workload.
|
|
Investigate the feasibility of introducing a
selective licensing scheme in a defined area in St. Athan and
report the findings and recommendations to Cabinet.
|
A number of Members are aware of the
possibility of this scheme and would request further
information.
|
The officer advised that the action was only
to undertake a feasibility study and that any further proposals
would be reported to the Scrutiny Committee / Cabinet.
However, in the interim should any Member wish to receive any
further information on the subject, they were invited to contact
the relevant officer.
|
|
Air Quality Assessments
|
It was noted that Air Quality Assessments were
to be undertaken during the year and Members requested that copies
of the reports be also forwarded to the Scrutiny Committee
(Community Wellbeing and Safety).
|
To be reported as and when available.
|
During consideration of the report, Members
raised the issue of PACTS within the Vale and were advised that
agreement had been reached for a few pilot exercises to be
undertaken in wards in the Vale to consider operational
issues and that a progress report would be presented to the
Committee at its first meeting following the elections in
July. The cost of the process for Compulsory Purchase Orders
was also debated and Members requested details of the costs in
relation to the Penarth Harbour View orders.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the Improvement Plan actions detailed as completed on page 62 of
the report ( page 27 of the Plan) be endorsed.
(2) T H A
T the Improvement Plan actions not completed be accepted as
detailed on page 63 of the report (page 28 of the Plan).
(3) T H A
T the Service Plan actions detailed as completed on pages 64 –67 of
the report ( 29-32 of the Plan ) be endorsed.
(4) T H A
T the Service Plan actions not completed be accepted as detailed on
pages 68 and 69 of the report ( 33 and 34 of the Plan. )
(5) T H A
T the contents of the Service Plan be noted.
(6) T H A
T the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) be requested to
ensure that full and active standard high Air Quality Programmes
are being implemented.
(7) T H A
T further reports on any Air Quality Assessments undertaken during
the year be presented to the Scrutiny Committee (Community
Wellbeing and Safety) as well as the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate
Resources).
Reasons for recommendations
(1)-(7) In
order that effective scrutiny monitoring can be maintained.
884 PROHIBITING THE
CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL IN PUBLIC PLACES CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND POLICE
ACT 2001 (DLPPHS) -
The Scrutiny Committee had, at its meeting on
14th January 2008, requested to receive a progress
report on areas that had been designated under Orders under the
Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. It also provided an
update to Members on Police activity in enforcing the Orders and
Plans to evaluate the effectiveness of the Orders. Members’ views
would be sought on any further areas that might benefit from the
introduction of such Orders subject to the outcome of an evaluation
of Police activity. The report outlined that in December
2006, the Council had approved their introduction to cover 14 areas
within the Vale of Glamorgan where the consumption of alcohol when
asked not to do so by a Police Officer was deemed an offence.
The Orders became effective on 1st February 2007 and the
areas within the scope of the Order were detailed as:
Penarth
Alexandra Park including the tennis
courts
The Kymin including all grounds and the
Pavilion
Cogan Recreation Ground including all lay
areas and fields and the car park
Windsor Road Dingle also know as the
Dingle
Llantwit Major
The Square including the area around the
Town Hall and its car park. The area in front of the Old Swan
and the White Hart and the area around the New Globe also known as
the Tudor Tavern including Burial Lane. Church Street and
Wine Street as far as Wesley Street and the Old School. The
lanes around Island House as far as Anchor Cottages and to the
junction of The Strand.
Lorna Hughes Park including the footpath
and adjoining area.
Poundfield Shopping Area including the car
parks and The Precinct and pavement area between The Precinct area
and the public conveniences.
Windmill Playing Fields including the car
park and play areas.
Barry
Broad Street including the area in front
of The Savoy Club to the far end of Barry Hotel including pavements
to both sides of the road.
Chickenwood Park also known as Porthkerry
Road Open Space, off Porthkerry Road and to the rear of Romilly
Infant and Nursery School.
Pencoedtre Park within the boundaries of
St Brides Way, Pencoedtre Road, Raldan Close and the
allotment gardens.
Romilly Park including all areas within
the boundary fence including the tennis court, bowling green, and
all shelters and the grassed area surrounded by Romilly Park Road
just off Park Road.
Victoria Park including the bandstand,
playground, tennis courts.
Cowbridge
Twt Park from the entrance of Town Mill
Road to the footbridge over the River Thaw and to the access point
off the public footpath fro the High Street.
It was noted that briefing sessions had also
taken place with South Wales Police who had been and were also
continuing to be supportive of the initiative following the
declaration of the Order. The report highlighted that whilst
it was not an offence to consume alcohol within a designated area,
the Police had powers to control the consumption of alcohol within
that place if they believed someone was consuming alcohol or
intended to consume alcohol, they could require them to stop and
confiscate the alcohol from people whether the drinking vessel was
unopened or not.
Members were advised that should any issues be
raised within their Wards that the details be forwarded to the
appropriate department in order that evidence could be maintained
and recorded for possible Orders to be introduced if considered
appropriate.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the report be noted.
(2) T H A
T an evaluation report be presented to Committee prior to any
further extension to the initiative.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) For
Members information.
(2) In
order that records can be maintained.
885 ILLEGAL MONEY
LENDING PROJECT - AUTHORISATION OF OFFICERS (DLPPHS) -
The Committee’s support was sought for the
Vale of Glamorgan Council to authorise Cardiff City Council
officers of their Illegal Money Lending Unit (IMLU) to investigate
and institute proceedings against illegal money lenders operating
within the Vale of Glamorgan Council area. The report
highlighted that the Department of Business Enterprise and
Regulatory Reform had provided ring-fenced funding to provide
regional teams to combat illegal money lending through to
31st March 2009. In addition to exceeding the
expectations of the government, the project had also achieved
significant added value including expert support to other trading
standards authorities in tackling illegal money lenders in their
area. In order to extend the scheme into the Vale of
Glamorgan, the existing Cardiff Illegal Money Lending Unit required
proper officer authorisation to carry out the investigations and
for all the associated legal processes and costs thereof to be
delegated to Cardiff City Council. Attached at Appendix 1 to
the report was a protocol that contained all the required
conditions and consents to enable Cardiff City Council officers to
undertake investigations and legal procedures on behalf of the Vale
of Glamorgan Council. Members of the Committee welcomed the
report and
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the Cabinet be requested to approve that the discharge of
its function to enforce Part III of the Consumer Credit act 1974 be
carried out in the Vale of Glamorgan by Cardiff City Council,
pursuant to Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972,
Regulation 7 of the Local Authority (Arrangements for Discharge of
Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2002 as amended and the Local
Government Act 2000.
(2) T H A
T Cabinet be requested to agree the Protocol for Illegal
Money Lending Unit Investigations attached at Appendix 1 to the
report and authority be delegated to the Director of Legal, Public
Protection and Housing Services to enter into agreement on behalf
of the Vale of Glamorgan Council and approve minor alterations if
required.
Reasons for recommendations
(1)&(2) That
the Scrutiny Committee’s support be noted for the initiative and
the approval of Cabinet be sought.
886 CCTV IN THE VALE
OF GLAMORGAN - REPORT OF THE TASK AND FINISH GROUP OF THE SCRUTINY
COMMITTEE (COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND SAFETY) -
The Scrutiny Committee had appointed a Task
and Finish Group to examine CCTV systems in the Vale of
Glamorgan. The report detailed the Members that had taken
part in the review, the information that had been received in order
to reach its conclusions and the meetings and visits that had been
made in consideration of the topic.
Committee was also advised that the Task and
Finish Group had considered that CCTV in the Vale could have
considerable budget implications and that further work would need
to be undertaken that the Group had considered was not within their
remit. However, the Group had made 12 recommendations and
Members present at the meeting highlighted to the Scrutiny
Committee that one of its main concerns had been in relation to the
fact there was no overall responsibility for advice and guidance
that existed within the Vale in relation to the purchase of
equipment for CCTV on Council premises or for the siting of such
equipment. To this end one of the recommendations that the Group
had considered was particularly important was that a Lead Officer
should be designated to take overall responsibility for advice and
guidance, in particular on the purchase of equipment for CCTV on
Council premises, including schools throughout the Vale and prior
to any decision being made on the purchase or siting of such
equipment.
Having considered the report and the comments
from some of the Members who had taken part in the review it
was
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the 12 recommendations as detailed below together with the
report, be forwarded to Cabinet for consideration:
R1 T H A T consideration
be given to include the provision of CCTV in new developments
where appropriate through planning conditions or Section 106
agreements.
R2 T H A T
the Council continues at every opportunity to publicise the
presence and use of CCTV and its successes to assist the Police to
deal with crime and disorder in the Vale of Glamorgan.
R3 T H A T
a lead officer be designated to take overall responsibility for
advice and guidance, in particular on the purchase of equipment for
CCTV on Council premises, including schools, throughout the Vale,
and prior to any decision being made on the purchase and siting of
such equipment.
R4 T H A T the CCTV
co-ordinator contacts all departments / schools to offer advice and
guidance when considering the installation or upgrading of CCTV
equipment.
R5 T H A T any project being
undertaken within the Vale of Glamorgan Council be required to
consider CCTV requirements within its briefs.
R6 T H A T
an annual report be submitted to the Safer Vale Partnership, the
Council’s Cabinet and the Scrutiny Committee (Community Wellbeing
and Safety) in relation to the use of all new and existing CCTV
installations throughout the Vale.
R7 T H A T
the Lead Officer be responsible for ensuring that effective
communications exist between schools and Council premises in the
Vale that are not linked to or monitored by the Control Room.
R8 T H A T
the data protection principles and the Code of Practice issued by
the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) be fully considered and
adhered to when installing CCTV on Council premises.
R9 T H A T
the Safer Vale Partnership and Cabinet continue to consider the use
and location of new CCTV technology throughout the Vale.
R10 T H A T the
Council continues to develop close working relationships with the
Police to ensure strategic monitoring to enable them to use CCTV to
greatest effect in combating crime and promoting community
safety.
R11 T H A T the Safer
Vale Partnership be asked to develop links with the Transport
Police in relation to Security on railway stations.
R12 T H A T the Vale
Auditor’s report be presented to Cabinet for consideration at the
earliest opportunity.
(2) T H A
T the Scrutiny Committee takes this opportunity to thank the
Members of the Task and Finish Group for the work undertaken in
relation to CCTV within the Vale of Glamorgan.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) To
seek Cabinet approval
(2) To
offer thanks for the work undertaken.
887 SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME 2008/09 (DLPPHS) -
The report highlighted the outcome of the
Scrutiny Topics Suggestion exercise relating to potential topics
for review that had been undertaken for consideration for inclusion
within the Committee’s work programme for 2008/09. The report
advised that at a meeting on 30th January 2008, the
Scrutiny Committee Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen Group had been
presented with a report on issues relating to all Scrutiny
Committees work programmes for 2008/09. They had been advised
of the resource implications of both Members and Officers within
Scrutiny and Committee Services and the Improvement and Development
Team of supporting the delivery of the Social Services Change
Plan. The report also highlighted that the Improvement and
Development Team had recently been directed towards issues that had
arisen within the Youth Offending Team and that a significant
amount of work had already been underway in progressing and
implementing the actions contained within year one of the agreed
two year Scrutiny Review Action Plan by Scrutiny and Committee
Services Officers..
As a result of the above, it was reported that
the ability of officers to conduct formal reviews during 2008/09
was considered to be limited and to this end, it had been felt that
the Improvement and Development Team could only realistically
sustain the undertaking of one review in respect of each of the
Corporate Resources, Economy and Environment and Lifelong Learning
Scrutiny Committees. In relation to this Scrutiny Committee
it was noted that due to its anticipated workload in relation to
the Change Plan, it was not envisaged that any further formal
review work would be facilitated.
The recent request for submission of topics
that had been agreed had culminated in only one topic being put
forward for consideration for a formal review and that was to the
Scrutiny Committee (Economy and Environment). However,
Members were advised that issues could, of course, be addressed in
other ways during the year by the establishment of Task and Finish
Groups or officer reports to the main committee. A limited
budget was available to assist Scrutiny Members to undertake their
role if they wished to establish any Task and Finish Groups.
However it was important to note that the
Committee had established two Task and Finish Groups in
2007/08, the CCTV Task and Finish Group reported had
completed its findings and the Occupational Therapists Task and
Finish Group was currently undertaking its review. There had
been a delay in the setting up of the OT Group due to the staff
vacancy situation in the Occupational Therapy Team. However,
work had commenced in January 2008 and it was intended that the
report would be presented to the Scrutiny Committee by July
2008.
Having considered the report, the Scrutiny
Committee
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A
T the contents of the report be accepted
(2) T H A T the
position in relation to the CCTV Task and Finish Group be
noted.
(3) T H A
T the review being undertaken by the Occupational Therapists Task
and Finish Group be slipped into the Work Programme for
2008/09.
(4) T H A
T the Committee’s Work Programme for 2008/09 be agreed as
detailed below:
·
Quarterly Service Performance Monitoring
·
Revenue and Capital Expenditure Monitoring
·
Budget Proposals
·
Service Planning
·
Consider proposals from the Housing Sub-Committee
·
Receive progress reports on various Committee recommendations
·
Receive other reports as determined by the Committee as and when
appropriate, for example, Safer Vale Annual Report
·
Emerging strategies from the Corporate Plan and Community
Strategy
·
Decision tracking recommendations in order to evaluate and monitor
scrutiny performance
·
Consider the Cabinet Forward Work Programme
·
Occupational Therapists Task and Finish Group review.
·
To establish Task and Finish Groups in order to deal with any other
issues as and when appropriate.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) For
Members information.
(2+3) To note the current
position.
(4) To
confirm the Committees work programme for the forthcoming Municipal
year.