CABINET
MINUTES of a meeting held on 24th
October, 2007.
Present: Councillor N. Moore
(Vice-Chairman in the Chair); Councillors R.F. Curtis, S.C.
Egan, N.J. Gibbs, Mrs. V.M. Hartrey, G. John,
Mrs. M. Randall, Mrs. M.R. Wilkinson and C.J.
Williams.
C3249
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE -
This was received from Councillor Ms. M.E.
Alexander.
C3250
MINUTES -
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting
held on 17th October, 2007 be approved as a correct
record.
Arising from consideration of Minute No.
C3239, Councillor G.John announced that the monies for the Big
Lottery Fund: Landmark Wales and Cardiff International Airport
would not now be forthcoming from the Big Lottery Fund and that the
scheme had therefore been deferred.
C3251
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -
Councillors R.F. Curtis and N. Moore declared
an interest in Agenda Item No. 6 in that they were Governors
of affected schools.
Each Member declared that the Standards
Committee had granted dispensation to speak on matters of a general
educational matter.
C3252
REVENUE MONITORING FOR THE PERIOD 1ST APRIL, 2007 TO
30TH SEPTEMBER, 2007 (CMT) (SCRUTINY - ALL)
-
Cabinet were advised of the progress of
revenue expenditure for the period 1st April, 2007
to 30th September, 2007.
The projected outturn for the 2007/08 Revenue
Budget was shown in comparison with the Revenue Budget at Appendix
1 to the report. The current forecast was for a deficit of
£3,056,000 on the General Fund and a surplus of £215,000 on the
Housing Revenue Account. The deficit on the General Fund
would be eliminated if Social Services achieved their target in
reducing their overspend.
Education Service - as had been previously
reported, although there were a number of pressures on the service,
it was currently projected that there would be efficiency savings
of £267,000 at the year end, and this would be used to fund
overspends elsewhere in the Directorate.
Learning and Development - the service
continued to predict a potential adverse variance of
£147,000. Actions would be implemented in an effort to reduce
this figure and consequently reduce the support needed from the
Strategy and Performance budget. Any variations would be
reported in future monitoring reports.
Catering - this service continued to predict a
potential adverse variance of £120,000. The service was
currently being reviewed in order to achieve a balanced
budget. Cabinet on 3rd October, 2007 had requested
that a further report detailing the current position in relation to
the Catering budget and proposals for the future be submitted to a
future meeting.
Social Services - the figures shown in
Appendix 1 to the report showed the budget for each division of
service and reflected the allocation of the Temporary Uplift of
£3,641,000 approved by Council and the savings of £2,000,000
originally needed to achieve a balanced budget. Projecting
the outturn figures for 2006/07 and using information on current
commitments the budget was projected to outturn with a deficit of
£3,056,000. The schedule of savings previously reported
identified action to be taken to achieve savings of £2,000,000 but
further actions would be required to achieve a balanced
budget. Monitoring of the budget would be regularly reported
so that the effectiveness of the proposals could be assessed,
reflected in the outturn figures, any problems or cost pressures
identified and further remedial action taken.
Children’s Services - the probable outturn,
which reflected the level of the one off uplift and efficiencies
allocated to the service, was currently showing a deficit of
£226,000, a reduction of £153,000 from the previously reported
figure. This was mainly attributable to a reduction in the cost of
children placements £79,000, a vacant post £30,000 and additional
savings as a result of negotiations on service level agreements
with the not for profit sector £42,000.
Community Care and Health - the service was
still projected to outturn with a deficit of £2,830,000 at year
end. This position reflected the continued pressures on
Community Care packages.
Cabinet on 3rd October, 2007, had
requested that a full and comprehensive report in relation to
Social Services, specifically Community Care and Health, clearly
indicating the progress that had been made and had to be achieved,
be submitted to a future meeting.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the position with regard to the Authority’s 2007/08 Revenue
Budget be noted.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Learning and Development submit, within the next
three weeks, a report on the current position in relation to the
Catering budget and proposals for the future.
(3) T H A
T the Director of Learning and Development submit to a future
meeting a comprehensive report about other adverse variances on the
Learning and Development budget.
(4) T H A
T the Corporate Management Team submit to a future meeting a
comprehensive report in relation to Social Services, specifically
Community Care and Health, clearly indicating the progress that had
been made and had yet to be achieved.
Reasons for decisions
(1) That
the Members are aware of the projected revenue outturn for
2007/08.
(2-4) To update Cabinet.
C3253
CAPITAL MONITORING FOR THE PERIOD 1ST APRIL, 2007 TO
30TH SEPTEMBER, 2007 (CMT) (SCRUTINY - ALL)
-
Cabinet were advised of the progress on the
2007/08 Capital Programme for the period 1st April, 2007
to 30th September, 2007, and where necessary considered
requests for changes to the programme.
Specific matters brought to Cabinet’s
attention included:
Director of Education
SBIG Schools Building Investment Grant - a
grant approval in the sum of £9m. had been received in order to
further the development of three comprehensive schools. The
grant was to be phased over three years as follows:
£ 500,000 for 2007/08
£5,500,000 in 2007/08 and
£3,000,000 in 2009/10.
It was therefore requested that the Capital
Programmes for 2007/08 to 2009/10 be increased accordingly.
The 2007/08 allocation was to be used to fund the fees of
Consultant Project Design Team, Davis Langdon, appointed following
approval by Cabinet on 5th September, 2007.
Director of Environmental and Economic
Regeneration
Penarth Headland Link - following the decision
to cease progression of this scheme, it was not possible to
immediately cease the consultants’ work on the scheme. The
additional fees required to bring the work to a sensible
conclusion, in the sum of £20,000 could be met from the Visible
Service Maintenance Fund.
Policy
Barry Town Hall - Cabinet on 18th
July, 2007 referred a request for additional funding for this
scheme to Council for approval. At the Council meeting on
3rd October, 2007 it was agreed that additional
funding of £167,000 be met from capital receipts.
It was anticipated that the following schemes
would not be completed on target.
Director of Education
Rhws Primary School Development - the progress
on this scheme had been delayed due to heavy workloads within the
Property Section following the recent schools flooding. As
such, it was requested that an amount of £355,000 be slipped into
the 2008/09 Capital Programme.
Additional Schools Investment Strategy - the
2007/08 budget allocation of £500,000 would not be required this
financial year as the Project Design Team had just been
appointed. As such, the works themselves would not be due to
commence until 2008/09 and it was therefore requested that the
whole budget of £500,000 be slipped into 2008/09.
Policy
Dyffryn Renovation - the budget of £1.1m.
needed to be slipped into 2008/09 as Arad Consulting were just
embarking on a Business Plan for Dyffryn House and Gardens whereby
options for its future management and operation were to be
appraised. As such, the current year’s budget for renovation
works would not be required until 2008/09, hence slippage of the
whole budget was therefore requested.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the following changes to
the Capital Programme be approved:
(i) Rhws Primary
School Development - reduce the budget to £800,000 (carry forward
£355,00 into 2008/09)
(ii)
Additional Schools Investment Strategy - reduce the budget to nil
(carry forward £500,000 into 2008/09)
(iii)
Dyffryn Renovation - reduce the budget to nil (carry forward
£1,100,000 in 2008/09)
(iv)
Penarth Headland Link - increase the budget by £20,000 in 2007/08,
to be funded from the Visible Services Maintenance Fund.
(v)
SBIG - increase the budget by £500,000 in 2007/08, £5.5 million in
2008/09 and £3 million in 2009/10.
Reasons for decisions
(i-iv) To allow schemes to
be undertaken / completed in future financial years.
(v)
To allow schemes to be undertaken in this financial year.
C3254
SCHOOL FLOODING (DLD) (SCRUTINY - LIFELONG LEARNING) -
On 20th July, 2007, exceptional
rainfall resulted in the flooding of four Barry schools.
Oakfield School was entirely flooded and none of the accommodation
was able to be utilised. At Gwaun y Nant, two new classrooms
which had been “handed over” in July were not flooded, but no other
part of the school was usable. At St. Richard Gwyn, the
flooding damaged approximately 40% of the teaching areas, main
hall, gymnasium and kitchen. At Bryn Hafren, the flooding of
the lower teaching levels resulted in damage to 13 classrooms,
staff areas, the drama studio and ICT facilities.
The flooding occurred on the last day of
term. At each school, pupils were evacuated safely.
Whilst there was significant damage to the fabric of the buildings,
fixtures, fittings and loss of learning resources, teaching staff
on each site appropriately and effectively managed the priority of
ensuring safety of children.
Cabinet were updated on the actions taken in
response to the flooding of these schools and were advised on the
progress made to reinstate the schools.
The report advised of the actions taken to
address the situation in all schools under the following
headings:
Security
Cleansing
Salvage
Storage
Timescales
Sourcing temporary accommodation
Emergency planning
Emergency powers / financial controls
Communication
Legal issues
Temporary accommodation
Delays in opening
Alternative provision
Health and Safety
Elected Member involvement
Community communications
Project management
Catering
ICT
Building services
Changes to the school day
Insurance / loss adjustor.
Whilst good progress had been achieved to
date, there were a number of outstanding matters, as follows:
(i) A major
programme of building and refurbishment needed to be progressed and
monitored
(ii)
Final estimates of the costs of flood damage, temporary
accommodation and refurbishment needed to be concluded with the
Loss Adjuster.
(iii)
Plans needed to be put into place to enable the temporary
accommodation to be removed and for pupils to return to the
refurbished school accommodation.
(iv)
Effective representations needed to be made to relevant agencies to
consider remedial action to reduce the risk of recurrence.
As part of the review of the Council’s own
performance in this matter, the Emergency Planning Team had been
asked to consider a review of the corporate response to the school
flooding to identify areas of good practice and possible areas for
improvement. The report and advice was awaited.
The Emergency Planning Team had been asked to
undertake a similar task for each school so that the emergency
response arrangements and actions could be examined and if
possible, improved.
On 11th October, the Director met
the Headteacher and Chair of Governors at Oakfield School, who had
identified a number of concerns. Whilst the majority of
issues related to management and detail of flood repair work,
school governors had raised a specific anxiety about the potential
for future flooding of the site, the consequential risks to pupils
and the stress / anxiety levels of staff. Arrangements had
been put into place for a further site risk assessment and review
of emergency evacuation procedures at the school.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the actions taken in response to school flooding be noted.
(2) T H A
T a further report be presented to Cabinet detailing final costs
and progress towards reopening the schools.
(3) T H A
T officers, teachers and parents be thanked for their assistance
and co-operation in this matter.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
apprise Cabinet Members.
(2) To
enable Members to consider progress.
(3) To
express appreciation.
C3255
PROGRESS REPORT ON PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO THE WELSH PUBLIC
LIBRARIES STANDARDS (DLD) (SCRUTINY - LIFELONG LEARNING)
-
Cabinet were
-
updated on the Library and Information Services progress in
the context of the Welsh Public Libraries Standards
-
informed of the feedback from the Welsh Assembly Government on the
Annual Report submitted for 2006/07.
There were 22 Standards and they measured
performance in a number of key areas in the Library and Information
Service:
·
location and accessibility of libraries
·
availability and use of information technology
·
effectiveness of systems for reserving and supplying items for
customers
·
use made of the service
·
user satisfaction
·
staffing
·
quality of library resources provided for customers
·
suitability and quality of library spaces.
It was reported that steady progress had been
made in performance, with 13 of the 22 Standards achieved by March
2007 compared to 10 in March 2006. A further four Standards
were partly achieved in March 2007. Feedback from the Welsh
Assembly Government notes in particular the improvements in mobile
library provision, library opening hours, investment and management
of the book stock and other library resources, and further
anticipated improvements arising from the opening of the new County
Library.
The areas where performance was below the
Standard were:
·
visitor numbers
·
IT facilities on mobile libraries
·
website visits
·
opening hours
·
staff qualifications
·
provision of Welsh language resources
·
library floor space available.
It was expected that further progress would be
made in some of these areas during 2007/08 and the Council was on
target to achieve a further three of the Standards by the end of
March 2008.
A number of the Council’s targets had been
revised to reflect the anticipated impact of efficiency
savings. Further improvements in opening hours would not now
be implemented and it was possible that reductions in expenditure
on library resources would impact on the Council’s performance in a
number of Standards relating to the range and quality of resources
available to customers. The service was committed to minimise
the impact of such measures on user satisfaction levels and visitor
numbers.
It was noted that the current framework of
performance assessment came to an end in March 2008 and that the
next Three Year Framework (2008-11) was currently being
finalised. This incorporated a number of anticipated changes,
the key ones being:
·
a broader range of assessment tools
·
more emphasis on service effectiveness and efficiency
·
a better balance between input and output measures
·
more emphasis on demonstrating the links between corporate and
library priorities
·
no requirement for a Three Year Plan, but more reliance on the
Annual Return for assessing performance and progress.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the continued improvement in performance in the Library and
Information Service during 2006/07 be accepted.
(2) T H A
T the budget of the Library and Information Service be reviewed
with a view to examining the budgetary pressures on the
Service.
(3) T H A
T the WLGA be informed of this Authority’s opinion that the Welsh
Libraries Standards should be simplified.
(4) T H A
T the Director and his staff be thanked for the significant
improvement in the Standards during 2006/07.
Reasons for decisions
(1-3) To keep Members
informed of progress.
(4) To
record Cabinet’s appreciation.
C3256
MATTER WHICH THE CHAIRMAN HAD DECIDED WAS URGENT -
RESOLVED - T H A T the following matter, which
the Chairman had decided was urgent for the reason stated beneath
the minute heading, be considered.
C3257
MEDIA FOR SCHOOLS AWARD -
Urgent by reason of the need to
announce the outcome of the Media for Schools Award
It was announced that the results of the
“Media for Schools Award” had been awarded that morning, and that
Llantwit Major Comprehensive School had won with a short film
entitled “The Bottom Line” made entirely by the students of the
school about the consequences of under-age drinking and anti-social
behaviour.
The school had won equipment, supplied by
Sony, for the use of the school.
Members expressed their congratulations to the
pupils of the school on their success.