CABINET
Minutes of a meeting held on 3rd
June, 2009.
Present: Councillor G.C. Kemp
(Chairman); Councillor T.H. Jarvie (Vice-Chairman); Councillors
Mrs. J.E. Charles, P. Church, G.A. Cox, A.M. Ernest, A.D. Hampton,
H.J.W. James and Mrs. D.M. Turner.
C458
APOLOGY FOR ABSENCE -
This was received from Councillor R.L.
Traherne.
C459
MINUTES -
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting
held on 20th May, 2009 be approved as a correct
record.
C460
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -
Councillor G.A. Cox declared a personal but
non prejudicial interest in Agenda Item No. 14 in respect of
Poplars Park, Cowbridge in that he was a member of Cowbridge with
Llanblethian Town Council.
C461
VOLUNTARY ACTION SCHEME PRIORITIES FOR FUNDING 2010/11 (REF)
-
The Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee
had, on 29th April, 2009, considered the arrangements
and priorities for funding in respect of the Council's Voluntary
Action Scheme for 2010/11 and had requested that Cabinet consider
the adoption of the revised Priorities for Funding as set out
below:
·
“Safer Vale” (Community Safety), projects that
(i) Target and
reduce crime.
(ii) Reduce substance
misuse (including alcohol).
(iii) Reduce domestic
abuse.
(iv) Reduce anti-social
behaviour.
(v) Create a safer
environment for the community.
·
Health and Wellbeing, projects that
(i) Help people to
live independently in their own homes.
(ii)
Support people in the greatest need in a way, and at a time,
which will make the most positive
difference to their lives.
(iii) Keep
people fit and healthy.
·
Lifelong Learning (Vale Learning Network), projects that
(i) Promote
continuous improvement in educational attainment and
achievement for children and young
people of school age and
beyond.
(ii)
Promote continuous development of a broad, balanced and
relevant curriculum for all children and
young people.
(iii)
Promote improved outcomes for all vulnerable groups of
children and young people.
(iv)
Promote continuous development of the educational
infra-
structure.
(v)
Promote the development of a highly skilled workforce, including
the development of
essential skills, up-skilling and re-skilling, Welsh, sector
specific skills, and wider employment
considerations.
(vi)
Promote preparation for employment for the economically
inactive;
(vii) Promote
“learning for life”, including Adult Community
Education, community focused schools and volunteering.
·
Children and Young People, projects that
(i) Improve the
transitional arrangements at key points in the lives
of children and young people
(ii) Provide focused
services for clearly identifiable groups of
children and young people in greatest need
(iii) Ensure children and young
people have the best possible
emotional and mental health
(iv) Focus on specific groups
of children and young people who are
disadvantaged in terms of physical activity, play and culture
(v) Promote inclusion and
cultural bilingual diversity
·
Economic and Environmental, projects that
(i) Encourage the
conservation, reuse and recycling of resources.
(ii)
Sustainable community led improvements to rundown or derelict
sites or buildings
for the benefit of the community.
RESOLVED - T H A T the revised Priorities for
Funding as recommended by the Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison
Committee be accepted.
Reason for decision
To progress the Voluntary Action Scheme of
capital 2010/11.
C462
ECONOMIC VALUE OF VOLUNTEERING WITHIN THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN (REF)
-
The Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee
had, on 29th April, 2009, received a report from the
Voluntary Sector on the Economic Value of Volunteering within the
Vale of Glamorgan which also included information on
demographics.
By way of background, the report explained
that the annual audit of voluntary activity had been firstly
undertaken by the Vale Volunteer Bureau in 2000 when the monetary
value of volunteering had been calculated to be £8,207,136.
Last year a figure of £20,721,144 had been calculated as the
average monetary value of voluntary activity in the Vale. The
Vale Volunteer Bureau had commenced the exercise to monitor
voluntary activity at the beginning of 2009, sending questionnaires
to all recruiting organisations based in the Vale and registered
with the Vale Volunteer Bureau. Following an analysis of the
information received, it was shown that figure had increased to
£24,080,411. Attention was drawn to the fact that the Council
provided £719,000 to the Voluntary Sector by way of grant aid and
to the consequent staggering return on that investment. The
Committee had referred the report to Cabinet for information.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the information within the report be noted and the importance of
volunteering within the Vale fully recognised.
(2) T H A
T the Vale Volunteer Bureau be congratulated on being recently
awarded Investors in Volunteers.
Reason for decision
(1) To
have regard to the significant contribution made by the Voluntary
Sector.
(2) To
offer the congratulations of the Council
C463
PROSIECT GWYRDD - A REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF A
RESIDUAL WASTE TREATMENT SOLUTION (REF) -
The Scrutiny Committee (Economy and
Environment) had, on 27th May, 2009, considered the
report appended to the reference and had included within its 14
recommendations 'that the report be referred to the Scrutiny
Committee (Corporate Resources), Cabinet and Council for
approval.' In addition to the recommendations contained
within the report, that Committee had also recommended
·
that the Council's existing Waste Strategy be updated to reflect
the Welsh Assembly Government's emerging policy, and
·
that a presentation on all technologies available to provide
Residual Waste Treatments be made to both the Scrutiny Committees
(Corporate Resources) and (Economy and Environment) within the next
few months.
In respect of the presentation on the
technologies available (referred to above) the Leader suggested
that the presentation would be beneficial to all members of the
Council; the Cabinet Member for Visible Services indicated that a
presentation was to be arranged on the afternoon of the next
Council meeting in the Council Chamber to which all Members of the
Council would be invited.
The report had been considered by the Scrutiny
Committee (Corporate Resources) on 2nd June, 2009 when
the Committee had unanimously supported the recommendations
therein.
The purpose of the report was to seek approval
to participate in partnership with the four other Prosiect Gwyrdd
Partners to seek the procurement of a future residual waste
treatment solution for all residual waste which could not be
reused, recycled or composted. All the recommendations within
the report were common to the reports being taken to the five
individual Prosiect Gwyrdd authorities. The report also
highlighted that Prosiect Gwyrdd had identified that a fundamental
risk to any waste procurement project was the availability of a
suitable site that had reasonable opportunity of obtaining full
planning permission. Other risk aspects that could be
anticipated were financial, regulatory, procurement, design and
political planning, construction and commissioning, and operational
and environmental. With regard to procurement decisions,
those would be overseen by a joint committee which would be taken
forward by an Officer Project Board as detailed in Schedule 1 of
the JW1 provided at Appendix D of Appendix 1 with a fully resourced
project team to deliver the complex procurement stages.
Prosiect Gwyrdd had taken three years to reach the procurement
stage and it was likely to take a further five to six years before
any solution was operational; it was considered that no other
procurement option would deliver a successful outcome before the
expiry of the current contract with Biffa Waste Service for
landfilling residual waste in 2018. WAG had made it clear
through its future strategic direction papers that resources were
expected to be directed towards local authority policies which were
based on very high levels of recycling and composting. The
current rate of recycling for the Vale was approximately 40% and
the challenge referred to in the report for reaching the levels of
recycling expected was considerable.
Following further consideration of the above,
the contents of the report and the views of both Scrutiny
Committees referred to above, it was
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T it be agreed that the three conditions, as set out in Appendix A
of the report dated 17th December, 2008 that approved
the Outline Business Case (OBC) for Prosiect Gwyrdd, had been
satisfied.
(2) T H A
T the OBC Health Check Addendum 2009, as appended to the report,
which represented the revised Outline Business Case for Prosiect
Gwyrdd be approved.
(3) T H A
T the proposed strategic approach to procurement for Prosiect
Gwyrdd be approved, which included:
(i) proposals to
develop the evaluation criteria and weightings that will be a
matter for the joint committee to determine following stakeholder
consultation
(ii)
is premised upon a publicly owned site being made available to
bidders (note well that this does not preclude bidders putting
forward proposals based at other locations/sites within their
control ) and that the site proposed be Tatton Road, Newport
subject to:
·
Newport City Council agreeing to the same.
·
All five authorities agreeing to the terms and conditions
pursuant to which such site is to be acquired or an option secured,
which terms will address how the same is to be financed by the five
authorities and what is to happen at the end of the project
life.
(4) T H A
T the procurement costs as provided in paragraphs 62 to 68 of
Appendix A - Common Report to Preferred Bidder stage for the
Project be approved.
(5) T H A
T that the Council proceed with the procurement on the basis of
affordability range contained in appendix G and that the financing
options set out in paragraphs B be approved.
(6) T H A
T the Council enters into a Joint Working Agreement (JWA1) with the
other authorities, in the form set out in appendix D to this report
and that pursuant thereto and amongst other things:
(a) a Joint
Committee, with the delegated authority set out in the JWA1 be
established and that the Cabinet Members with responsibility for
the time being for waste management and financial matters be
appointed to represent this authority on the Joint Committee;
(b) subject to
Cardiff Council agreeing the same, that Cardiff Council will act
and shall have full authority to act on behalf of all the
authorities as Lead Authority for the procurement process;
(c) that
the decision as to award of contract will be a matter for each
authority, though it should be noted that the JWA contains
provision that if the proposed solution meets the output
requirements and is within the Affordability Envelope then damages
will be payable should an authority withdraw from the procurement
process or determine not to award a contract, with such damages
being capped at £3,000,000;
(d) a Project
Board comprising of officers from each authority will be
established with the delegated authority set out in the JWA1.
(7) T H A
T stakeholder consultation on the Project be carried out in
accordance with the approach set out in appendix OBC Health Check
Addendum, appendix B.
(8) T H A
T the procurement for Project Gwyrdd be commenced subject to:
(a) JWA 1 being
concluded by all authorities;
(b) the matters
set out in recommendation 3 (ii) is agreed by all authorities;
and
(c)
Cabinet receiving confirmation from WAG that the WPPO Scrutiny
panel is satisfied that the terms and conditions of the funding
package (see WAG letter dated 30.3.09 appended to this report as
OBC Health Check Addendum, appendix B.) have been met prior to
posting OJEU Notice.
(9) T H A
T the matter be reported back to Council when a decision is sought
to award the contract or before hand if the Joint Committee wishes
to refer any matter back to Council.
(10) T H A T the
report be referred to the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources)
for approval.
(11) T H A T the final
commitment that will be required to achieve the recycling and
composting levels approaching 65% be approved.
(12) T H A T the
report and all comments received from this Committee and the
Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) be referred to Cabinet and
then Full Council for approval.
(13) T H A T the
Council's existing Waste Strategy be updated to reflect the Welsh
Assembly Government's emerging policy.
(14) T H A T a
presentation on all technologies available to provide Residual
Waste Treatments be made to all Members of the Council.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
confirm compliance with the requirements of Minute No C269 resolved
by Cabinet on 17th December, 2008.
(2) To
ensure that Cabinet/Committee are satisfied that the OBC Health
Check represents the revised outline business case for Prosiect
Gwyrdd.
(3) That
the proposed Procurement Strategy and land actuations proposals are
accepted.
(4) That
the equal sharing of procurement costs is acceptable.
(5) That
procurement is carried out where it is consistent with the OBC
affordability range and finance options.
(6) That
the Joint Working Agreement (JWA1) is acceptable and jointly
entered into with the other Prosiect Gwyrdd local
authorities. With the setting up of a Joint Committee, lead
procurement authority and compensation clauses for any partner
authority deciding to not more to award of contract at the end of
the procurement process.
(7) That
appropriate Stakeholder Consultation is carried out.
(8) That
subject to the specified conditions that the procurement of a
residual treatment solution for the Prosiect Gwyrdd local
authorities is commenced.
(9) That a
further report be brought to Council following or during the
procurement process in order to consider Award of Contract.
(10) To ensure
consideration of the report details by the appropriate Scrutiny
Committee.
(11) To ensure that
sufficient resources are available to meet WAG's future recycling
and composting targets.
(12) To obtain an
Executive and Full Council decision, to enable this Council's
involvement in the project to continue.
(13) To ensure that
the Council's information is updated.
(14) In order that all
Members can be apprised of up to date technologies available to
provide the service.
C464
MAINSTREAM SCHOOL TRANSPORT: RESULTS OF TENDERING EXERCISE AND
AWARD OF CONTRACTS (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT AND
LIFELONG LEARNING) -
Tenders had been invited for 41 School Bus
Services, 39 operating under the Terms of the Education Act and 2
operating under the Transport Act. The exercise covered 22
primary and 19 secondary school bus routes. Of the 73
operators sent tender documentation, 35 had submitted valid
returns. Analyses of the tender submission were weighted in
accordance with the agreed criteria with regards to price, vehicle
age, the availability of seat belts and CCTV. As a
consequence, it was proposed to award not all the contracts to
companies submitting the lowest price and a summary of tender
results together with the recommendations for the award of
contracts were detailed in the Appendix to the report. It was
recognised, however, that although the exercise had resulted in a
5% reduction in prices for those services tendered at this moment
in time, past experience suggested that not all operators would
accept the contracts offered which would result in the contract
being awarded to another operator at an additional cost.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
Having regard to all of the above and to the
contents of the report, it was
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the award of contracts for School Bus Services as detailed in the
Appendix to the report be approved.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services in
consultation with the Director of Environmental and Economic
Regeneration and the Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation
be authorised to prepare, complete and execute the necessary
contracts upon such terms and conditions as they deemed appropriate
arising from Resolution (1) above.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
ensure continued School Bus provision from September 2009 which the
Council has a statutory obligation to provide.
(2) To
ensure that the Council's position is adequately protected.
C465
LOCAL ROADSAFETY GRANT EXPENDITURE 2009/2010
(DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
The total grant available to the Council for
2009/10 under the Welsh Assembly Government's Local Road Safety
Grant amounted to £305,000. Of that amount, it was proposed
that £115,000 would be used to provide revenue for Road Safety
Education, Training and Publicity; £185,000 would be used for Road
Safety Engineering Projects, and the balance of £5,000 would be
used as a contingency fund for the capital schemes. Details
were contained within the report of the options available together
with specific details on each of those options. In addition,
details of the Engineering Projects aimed at improving road safety
in the Vale, particularly outside or near schools which had either
been completed or were due for completion within the current
financial year were contained within the report.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the continuation of the employment of a Temporary Road Safety
Officer (Post No. ED155) for 2009/2010 be agreed.
(2) T H A
T the funding through Road Safety Grant of the position of Road
Safety Officer (Post No. ED136) for 2009/2010 be agreed.
(3) T H A
T funding be allocated for the temporary child pedestrian trainers
to continue with the expanded Kerbcraft Scheme at the additional
schools.
(4) T H A
T endorsement be given to the continuation of the Young Driver
Initiative.
(5) T H A
T the continuation of "The Children's Traffic Club" be agreed.
(6) T H A
T the funding of £25,000 to supplement the Road Safety Team's
operational budget for 2009/2010 be agreed.
(7) T H A
T the use of any residual funding from "The Children's Traffic
Club" to promote schemes that would reduce accidents to young,
newly qualified drivers be endorsed.
(8) T H A
T £185,000 of the Local Road Safety Grant be included in the
2009/2010 Capital Programme to undertake the following schemes:
·
Cardiff Road / Little Moors Hill, Barry (£25,000);
·
Thompson Street Footbridge Crossing (£35,000);
·
A48 Pentre Meyrick (£45,000);
·
Tynewydd Road, Barry (£30,000);
·
Murch Junior School (£15,000);
·
Engagement of specialist Road Safety Advisor on Agency Employment
Terms (£30,000 maximum);
·
£5,000 contingency fund for Capital Programme; and
·
Revenue Programme to include the request for planning permission of
elements of previous safe routes in communities schemes for surveys
for road safety issues and future potential schemes.
(9) T H A
T it being noted that should funding for the A48 Pentre Meyrick
Scheme be made available through the Safety Camera Partnership, the
Local Road Safety grant allocation would be transferred to the
Thompson Street Footbridge Scheme.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
allow the Road Safety Team to address the most pressing road safety
education and training issues relating to casualty reduction,
particularly child casualty reduction and the associated Welsh
Assembly Government targets, including health, environmental issues
and modal shift.
(2) To
allow the Road Safety Team to address the many "Safe Routes to
School" and the "Safe Routes in Communities" issues that have
arisen as a consequence of the increasing number of Transport Grant
funded schemes that have been completed, or are due for completion,
this year.
(3) To
allow for the existing number of schools participating in the
Kerbcraft Scheme to continue.
(4) To
reduce accidents involving young, newly qualified drivers that
account for a significant number of all accidents.
(5) To
ensure the continuation of "The Children's Traffic Club" for
children of the appropriate age and their parents across the
Vale.
(6) To
enable the road safety team to continue with their education
training and publicity programme for 2009/2010.
(7) To
ensure that any residual funds can be used on appropriate, Cabinet
approved road safety education schemes and allow the Council to
draw down all of the available funding. This will ensure that
we claim the maximum funding available within the terms of the
grant.
(8) So
that the Council's Capital Programme for 2009/10 reflects the
grants awarded by WAG.
(9) To
make effective use of available funding.
C466
BARRY WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES: RESULTS OF CONSULTATION
EXERCISE (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
The purpose of the report was to advise
Cabinet of the findings of the public consultation carried out on
the draft Barry Waterfront Development Principles Document and to
seek agreement of the aforementioned document, as amended following
consultation, so that it might approved for development control
purposes and for preparing further detailed Briefs and master
planning documents for the Waterfront. Cabinet had considered
the draft document in April 2008 when the draft document had been
endorsed for the purposes of consultation and a further report
detailing the outcome of the consultation process requested.
The results of the consultation exercise which had taken place
between 15th September, 2008 and 14th
November, 2008 were appended to the report. During the
consultation period a total of 65 consultation responses had been
received, most consultees being satisfied with the Draft
Development Brief and considering that it adequately interpreted
the Waterfront Development Area and surroundings as well as
outlining clearly the key Planning and Transportation requirements
for the site. As a result of the consultation exercise, the
following changes had been made to the Principles Document:
·
the Planning History Section had been updated to include reference
to the latest applications that had been determined for the
site
·
the Policy Section had been updated and expanded to include
reference to further important policy documents which needed to be
considered as part of any future planning applications for the
site
·
the 'Mix of Uses' Section had been amended to recognise that local
shops and local business uses might be appropriate for inclusion in
the development
·
the Planning Submission Requirements Section had been changed to
explain that further clarification and advice on the documents that
were needed to accompany any future planning application(s) could
be obtained from the Council's Planning and Transportation
Division
·
Appendix 2 - Planning Obligations had been deleted and the main
planning obligations section expanded to make it simpler and easier
to understand the requirements of the Council in respect of
Planning Obligations. That section also contained additional
recognition that the Council would negotiate with the developers to
ensure that the planning obligations and community infrastructure
was delivered in a timely manner whilst having regard to the
economic viability of the entire development to avoid undermining
the delivery of the development of Barry Waterfront
·
all photographs within the document had been properly sourced
·
some minor changes to the text had been made to make the document
easier to read for the general public.
The final proposed document was attached at
Appendix B to the report.
The Cabinet Member for Planning and
Transportation referred to a recent letter from advisers to the
Consortium and to points of concern raised therein. Those
points related to matters in respect of
·
affordable housing
·
mix of uses
·
the road linking the town centre with Barry Island.
The advisers proposed that, in respect of
affordable housing, the allocation be reduced to 20%; the Cabinet
Member proposed instead that the words 'minimum of' be replaced
with 'up to' to reflect the figures contained within the Local
Development Plan. The advisers had two concerns relating to
'A Mix of Uses' in that they had asked that the range of retail
uses include a supermarket and had expressed concerns in relation
to the number of new residential units proposed. The Cabinet
Member indicated that, whilst not prepared to insert the word
supermarket, he would remove the word ‘local’ from each instance
where it appeared to allow greater flexibility. As regards
the minimum number of new residential units, he commented that the
Barry Waterfront Development Principles document was an
aspirational document and that the figure for residential units was
reflected to a large extent in the LDP. The advisers had also
asked that the road linking Barry Island with the town centre be
built on a phased basis. The Cabinet Member indicated that
the completion of the road before beneficial occupation of any
properties was a key aspiration for the Council and proposed no
amendment to the document in that respect – a stance upheld by all
Members.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T subject to consultation
with the Planning Committee and the Scrutiny Committee (Economy and
Environment):
(1) The
findings of the public consultation exercise in respect of the
Draft Barry Waterfront Development Principles Document be noted and
the consultation responses included in the Consultation Report
contained at Appendix A be approved.
(2) The
Barry Waterfront Development Principles Document at Appendix B as
amended as indicated below be approved for development control
purposes and for use in preparing a Barry Development Brief and
Master Plan for Barry Waterfront:
·
Under the heading of Affordable Housing amend the sentence
commencing 'in light of the evidence contained ...' by the removal
of the words 'at least 30% affordable housing provision ...' to 'up
to 30% affordable housing provision ...'.
·
Under the heading of A Mix of Uses, remove the word 'local’ on each
occasion it appears in the 1st paragraph.
(3) The
consortium of house-builder developers comprising Persimmon Homes,
Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Homes be advised of the results of the
consultation exercise including the views of the public on what
future uses should be placed in the Waterfront.
(4) The
results of the consultation exercise together with the final Barry
Waterfront Development Principles Document be placed on the
Council's website.
Reasons for the decisions
(1) To
inform Cabinet of the consultation responses and to seek approval
of the responses to them and the proposed changes to the Principles
Document.
(2) To
have regard to concerns expressed by the advisers to the Consortium
and, thereafter, to provide guidance about the future development
at Barry Waterfront for all interested parties.
(3) To
inform the prospective developers of the Waterfront of the views of
local people.
(4) To
make the final document generally available.
C467
VISIBLE SERVICES ASSET RENEWAL 2009 - 2010 (DEER) (SCRUTINY -
ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet had, on 25th February, 2009
agreed an asset renewal allocation of £800k. for Visible Services
(Min. No. C353 refers). Details were contained within the
report of the proposed allocation of the budget under the following
headings:
·
Parks and Grounds Maintenance - £140k.
·
Highway Maintenance - £175k.
·
Engineering Design and Procurement - £385k.
·
Waste Management and Cleansing - £100k.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
Having considered the detail of the report, it
was
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the Asset Renewal Budget for Visible Services for 2009 / 2010 be
allocated as follows:
|
Celtic Way Bowling Green - Replacement of
Surface.
|
£ 38k
|
|
Cosmeston Lakes - Refurbish Play Area.
|
£ 32k
|
|
Gladstone Park - Refurbish Staff Toilets.
|
£ 3k
|
|
Knap Lake - Purchase of Rowing Boats.
|
£ 9k
|
|
Romilly Park Staff Facilities.
|
£ 8k
|
|
Victoria Park Bandstand - Re-coating.
|
£ 9k
|
|
Victoria Playing Fields - Refurbish Play
Area.
|
£ 30k
|
|
Windmill Lane Skateboard Facility
|
£ 11k
|
|
Replacement of Defective or Dangerous Lighting
Columns.
|
£ 50k
|
|
Highway Surfacing and Footway Renewal
Schemes.
|
£125k
|
|
Address Backlog of Unfunded Highway Structure
Schemes.
|
£ 90k
|
|
Continue Investigations at Beach Road and
Cliff Hill, Penarth and undertake other works as identified
following inspections.
|
£ 30k
|
|
Address Traffic and Parking Issues in Central
Penarth.
|
£175k
|
|
Part Fund Construction of Pedestrian Crossing
on Dock View Road to serve the Thompson Street Footbridge.
|
£ 35k
|
|
Undertake Highway Improvements on Barry Docks
Link Road.
|
£ 25k
|
|
Undertake Minor Works to complete Highway
Development Schemes.
|
£ 30k
|
|
Public Convenience Refurbishments.
|
£ 50k
|
|
New Rescue Boat for Whitmore Bay.
|
£ 10k
|
|
Pre-season Coastal Improvements.
|
£ 40k
|
(2) T H A
T, in respect of the scheme to address traffic and parking issues
in central Penarth referred to above, detailed proposals be
submitted to Cabinet for consideration prior to the implementation
of any such scheme.
Reason for decision
(1) To
obtain the authority of Cabinet to progress works.
(2) To
allow consideration of the proposals.
C468
COMMUNITIES FIRST PEOPLE'S ALLOTMENT GROUP: PLOTS 1 - 6 OLD
PENCOEDTRE ALLOTMENTS, BARRY (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT) -
Authority was sought to bring back into
productive use plots 1 - 6 at Old Pencoedtre Allotments and to
enter into a lease for the land with a local community group.
By way of background it was explained that a request had been
received for the creation of community allotments in the Pencoedtre
area of Gibbonsdown in Barry and that officers had, in discussion
with the Communities First Gibbonsdown and Court 3 Development
Worker, looked at ways of providing such a space. The area
identified was shown on a plan appended to the report.
Residents in the area had formed a group known as the Communities
First People's Allotment Group and had developed a plan to re-fence
the site, install a cabin and cultivate the plots involving the
community. Due to the time since those plots had been used,
planning permission would now be required to develop the site for
that purpose.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the Director of Finance, ICT and Property in consultation with
the Director of Environmental and Economic Regeneration and the
Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services in
consultation with Cabinet Member for Visible Services be authorised
to submit a REG 3 Planning Application for allotment land at 1 - 6
Old Pencoedtre, Barry.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Finance, ICT and Property in consultation with
the Director of Environmental and Economic Regeneration and the
Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Visible Services be
authorised to lease plots 1 - 6 Old Pencoedtre, Barry to
Communities First People's Allotment Group.
(3) T H A
T, subject to the agreement of the National Assembly for Wales, the
Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services be
authorised to prepare, complete and execute the required legal
documentation to lease plots 1 - 6 Old Pencoedtre, Barry to
Communities First People's Allotment Group.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
enable the re-use of land as allotments.
(2) To
develop a community allotment facility.
(3) To
facilitate management of the land in a manner that benefits this
Council whilst adequately protecting its interests.
C469
CARDIFF DEPOSIT LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2006 - 2021 (DEER) (SCRUTINY
- ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Cardiff Council had now released its Deposit
Local Development Plan 2006 - 2021 (LDP). The report
highlighted matters which could have cross-boundary implications
for the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
In brief, the Cardiff Deposit LDP
comprised:
·
the role and purpose of the Plan
·
the strategic issues for Cardiff
·
the vision, 7 strategic objectives and monitoring
targets/indicators
·
the strategy and 12 strategic policies, and
·
detailed county-wide area specific and topic criteria based
policies.
The Deposit LDP was accompanied by a Proposals
Map on an Ordnance Survey base which showed the geographical
location and extent of the site specific development and protection
policies which were included within the Plan. The report
detailed the relevant issues and options as summarised below:
·
in respect of housing, although the new dwelling requirement was
supported, concern was expressed regarding the heavy reliance on
windfall sites and changes of use to residential; in addition,
there appeared to be no mention of the type and mix of windfall
development
·
Policy SP3 (B) referred to a new allocation for an International
Business Park (IBP) on land north of Junction 33 on the M4 – it was
noted that the Council had previously expressed concerns with
regard to its need, acceptability and location, one of the key
concerns being its likely impact on the strategic highway
network
·
the Draft LDP sought to provide a framework for a more sustainable
integrated transport system and highlighted the important
relationship between land use and transport provision. It was noted
that the reference to a park and ride facility at Culverhouse Cross
had been replaced with the following supporting text to Policy
TRANS 1 – “ the Council will continue to liaise with officers in
neighbouring authorities to help bring forward sites for
development”
·
in terms of sustainable development, the Draft LDP contained
several policies which included the aim of reducing carbon
emissions, protecting and increasing carbon sinks, adapting to the
implications of climate change and avoiding unnecessary flood
risk. Such measures were all supported
·
with regard to the natural heritage, the Draft LDP identified and
protected features such as trees, hedgerows, recreational routes
and priority habitats and species. The Council’s Ecologist had
already provided suggestions in respect of certain policies and
objectives. It was considered that it would be useful to identify
the recreational routes on the proposals map so that consideration
could be given to linking them with similar schemes in neighbouring
authorities
·
in respect of retailing, the Draft LDP supported the vitality,
viability and attractiveness of existing district and local centres
and stated that a key priority was to control the nature and size
of out-of-centre retail development – an approach welcomed by this
Council
·
it was considered that the Draft LDP (which failed to refer to the
proposed Defence Training College at St. Athan) should acknowledge
that St. Athan was identified as a strategic opportunity area and
Barry a primary key settlement in the Wales Spatial Plan. It was
felt too that greater emphasis should be given to Cardiff Airport
and to WAG’s proposal in respect of access to the airport.
Other issues included within the report
referred to the provision of gypsy and traveller accommodation,
quarrying and the management of waste arisings.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the comments contained within this report be approved for
submission to Cardiff Council on the appropriate forms as the Vale
of Glamorgan Council's formal response to Cardiff Council's Deposit
Local Development Plan consultation.
(2) T H A
T the specific objection to the allocation of an International
Business Park on land north of Junction 33 of the M4 motorway be
approved and highlighted given the unsustainable nature of such an
allocation.
(3) T H A
T a copy of this report be submitted to the Planning Committee for
information purposes.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
obtain Cabinet's endorsement to submit the comments to Cardiff
Council by 9th June, 2009.
(2) To
allow specific concerns to be expressed in respect of the
International Business Park proposal.
(3) To
ensure that Planning Committee is informed of progress with Cardiff
Council's Local Development Plan.
C470
LAND AT HILLSIDE COTTAGES, BARRY (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT) -
By way of background it was explained that
solicitors acting on behalf of the owner of No. 3 Hillside Cottages
wished to clarify issues in respect of the title to the land in
question given that the owner had a licence over two areas of
Council land. The garden land to the north of the property
was owned by the Council and was subject to an occupation licence
which had existed since 1977; the garden land to the south was
owned by the Council and was subject to a separate occupation
licence which had existed since 1952. Both areas of land were
identified on a Plan appended to the report. Both parcels of
land were used as gardens for No. 3 Hillside Cottages. The
land was not accessible to members of the general public and had
been used as private gardens since 1952 and 1977
respectively. If the land were retained by the Council it
would not be possible to effect any meaningful access and, as a
consequence, it was proposed to declare the area as surplus to
requirements and to arrange for its disposal at the appropriate
market value to the owner of No. 3 Hillside Cottages. The
terms of sale would restrict use of the land for garden purposes
only.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the aforementioned land used as private gardens at Hillside
Cottages, Barry, be declared surplus and disposed of.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Finance, ICT and Property be authorised to
negotiate terms and conditions for the disposal of the land in
consultation with the Director of Legal, Public Protection and
Housing and the Director of Environmental and Economic Regeneration
and Cabinet Member for Visible Services.
(3) T H A
T Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing and the Director
of Environmental and Economic Regeneration be authorised to
prepare, complete and execute the required legal
documentation.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
facilitate disposal of the land in a manner that benefits this
Council and adequately protects its interests.
(2) The
Director of Finance, ICT and Property obtains best value for the
land in consultation with the Director of Legal, Public Protection
and Housing and the Director of Environmental and Economic
Regeneration.
(3) To
legally formalise disposal of the land declared surplus.
C471
DYLAN CLOSE, LLANDOUGH AND POPLARS PARK, COWBRIDGE - DECLARATION OF
LAND SURPLUS TO REQUIREMENTS (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT) -
The land in question at Dylan Close, Llandough
was approximately 3,000 square metres and positioned at the top of
a highway embankment. Several adjoining residential
properties had established access onto the land and were using it
as additional garden or recreation land. Discussions had been
undertaken between officers and neighbouring residents, a number of
whom had expressed interest in acquiring portions of the
land. It was considered as there was no identified practical
access to the land from the housing estate, the best way forward
was to declare the land surplus and negotiate with the seven
adjacent owners for them to purchase portions of the land between
themselves to incorporate into their respective gardens.
The land at Poplars Park, Cowbridge, comprised
104 square metres. In July 2008 Cabinet had approved the
transfer to Cowbridge Town Council of 240 square metres of land
previously forming part of Y Bont Faen Primary School for
incorporation into the Limes Cemetery at a nominal
consideration. This proposed transfer, if agreed, was in the
same context and would complete the exercise; the transfer would be
for nominal consideration but subject to a covenant restricting use
of the land for cemetery purposes only.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the land at Dylan Close (identified in Appendix A to the report)
and land at Poplars Park (identified in Appendix B) be declared
surplus to Council requirements.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Finance, ICT and Property in consultation with
the Director of Environmental and Economic Regeneration and the
Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services and
Cabinet Member for Finance, ICT and Property be authorised to
negotiate terms and conditions for disposal of the Council's
freehold interest in the land at Dylan Close to adjoining
landowners for private garden purposes only subject to the proviso
that Poplars Park was transferred to the Cowbridge with
Llanblethian Town Council for nominal consideration and with a
covenant restricting its use to cemetery purposes only.
(3) T H A
T the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services be
authorised to prepare, complete and execute the required legal
documentation.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
enable the disposal of under-utilised land to adjoining landowners,
regularise use of the identified land and reduce the financial
implications to this Council.
(2) To
facilitate disposal of the land in a manner that benefits this
Council and adequately protect its interests.
(3) To
execute and complete the transfer of land.
C472
FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE VALE (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT) -
Members were updated on the current steps that
were being progressed to address flood risk management issues
within the Vale and informed of additional actions that were
required to be taken to put in place an authority-wide flood risk
management process for the Council.
Following nationwide flooding in the autumns
of 1998 and 2000, the Welsh Assembly Government had made funds
available to Local Authorities to carry out pre-feasibility studies
into flooding incidents in their areas with a view to finding
solutions. Initial investigations had identified 22 sites in
the Vale where properties were at risk from flooding from the sea,
ordinary watercourses or overland flow of surface water from
fields. Following an assessment of the options and cost
estimates to allow cost/benefit analyses and economic appraisals to
be undertaken at the identified sites, eight sites had been given
high priority, eight medium priority, five low priority and one
site failed to meet the criteria. Subsequent to the flooding
events in 2007/08, a number of other locations had been added to
the list of flood risk areas bringing the total number of sites in
the Vale to 40. Appendix A attached to the report listed
those sites examined with the cost/benefit ratio indicated.
It was noted that a number of issues were required to be addressed
before flood risk management works could proceed; these included
Catchment Studies, Project Appraisal Studies, Land Acquisition,
Environmental Impact Assessment, Environment Agency Consent and
Planning Consent (in some instances). Many of those issues
would require a lead in period prior to works commencing which
meant that funding allocated for flood risk management schemes
needed to be identified as part of an ongoing Capital Programme so
that those advanced activities could be properly addressed in a
timely manner.
Details were contained within the report of
current proposed actions at the following specific flood risk
locations:
·
Llanmaes - a cost estimate of £1.14m. had been determined for the
capital works required in respect of a number of options to
mitigate the flood risk; a decision was currently awaited from WAG
on whether grant aid of 85% for the detailed design phase of the
scheme would be provided.
·
Coldbrook, Barry - it was proposed to commission a Catchment Study
and Model to inform a Project Appraisal Study for the catchment
which would identify the discrete problem areas and should provide
sufficient information to inform appropriate flood risk management
measures.
·
Ham Lane, Llantwit Major - a Project Appraisal had been submitted
to WAG and was currently under review. The works proposed
involved constructing an intake structure at the culvert to prevent
blockage and consequent overtopping and flooding of the caravan
park.
·
St. Richard Gwyn School, Barry - the school was located in an
extremely vulnerable area and works had been undertaken by both the
Environment Agency and Welsh Water to ameliorate the
situation. A protection bund and ditch had been installed by
the Council and further surveys were to be arranged to identify the
on-site drainage of the school grounds; the Head Teacher had, in
fact, paid tribute to the Council for the work undertaken.
The Council was working closely with the school and its consultants
to determine accurately the site layout and the existing drainage
provision. The flood risk to the school would also be
considered in further detail in the Catchment Study of the
Coldbrook.
·
Corntown - a Project Appraisal Study was to be commissioned
·
Boverton Culvert - approval was sought to update the scheme options
for this location and agreement would be sought from WAG to
progress the chosen option to the detailed design stage.
It was reported that the pre-feasibility
studies had been carried out on the remaining 18 locations subject
to flood risk and that it was intended to take each of those to
Project Appraisal stage to identify the options for the mitigation
of flood risk.
The Pitt Report identified that local
authorities were best placed to deal with local flood risk
management issues. Local authorities would be required to
consider widening their flood risk management capability and
establishing a suitably equipped resource to effectively address
that function. The draft Flood and Water Management Bill
would formalise those proposals and a fact sheet published by the
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) was
appended to the report outlining the contents of the draft
Bill. It was noted that further report would be presented to
Cabinet on the recommendations and implications of the Pitt Report
and the Flood and Water Management Bill in due course. It was
noted too that the Council could, if it so wished, undertake land
drainage works to mitigate the effects of flooding under the Land
Drainage Act 1991. Those powers were, however, permissive and
should the decision be made to undertake such works, appropriate
resources and funding would need to be provided.
The preparation of an Asset Register should be
seen as part of the Council's asset management process. Such
a register would eventually provide the basis of a management
process which should effectively address flood risk management and
the proper maintenance of all the Council's flood defence
assets. The Asset Register would inform the maintenance
schedule for all flood defence assets and also identify those
locations which involved the flow of water from land under the
control of the Council. The preparation of the database had
already commenced using existing resources with staff being trained
to input raw data on the Council's GIS system. Funding had
been identified in 2008/09 to commence that activity and further
allocation would be required in subsequent years to develop the
database further and roll it out to other departments. As
regards Catchment Studies and Environmental Impact Assessments, the
Council did not currently have the necessary expertise to undertake
such tasks which were presently outsourced. It was
considered, however, that it might prove more cost-effective in the
future to address the increasing need for flood risk management
capability in-house as proposed by the Pitt Review.
Under the heading of Sustainable Urban
Drainage Systems (SUDS) and the Impact of Surface Water, it was
considered that the Council would need to take a more proactive and
flexible approach to both develop and facilitate the use of such
drainage solutions as part of new development proposals. It
was also vitally important that such schemes were maintained
appropriately after construction and, since the responsibility was
likely to fall on the Council, funding for such maintenance should
be a consideration within the planning process. The new
approach to flood risk management would involve closer co-operation
between WAG, the Environment Agency, Welsh Water and local
authorities. It would be risk-based with residents being
expected to take greater responsibility for their own flood
protection measures. It was recognised that the Council and
other agencies were unable to provide protection against flooding
in all circumstances and more effort would be put into raising
awareness of flooding issues and possible mitigation measures
including increasing the resilience of properties. To that
end, the Council could take steps to inform and educate the public
as to the implications for the new approach and to provide them
with advice and information on the availability of flood risk
management resources.
£200,000 had been allocated in 2008/09 from
Visible Services Asset Renewal to address immediate flood risk
management issues at specific locations as described within the
report. £140,000 was still available and a request for the
slippage of that sum would be made in June with Council approval
being required before further progress could be made. A
breakdown of the anticipated funding requirements for 2009/10 was
contained within the report; that breakdown assumed that the
Council would provide 15% of the capital cost and that WAG would
provide grant aid of 85%.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
Following consideration of the above and
related issues, it was
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the actions currently being progressed for the management of
flood risk from Council-owned land be endorsed.
(2) T H A
T the actions proposed for future flood risk management throughout
the authority be endorsed.
(3) T H A
T the report be referred to the Scrutiny Committee (Economy and
Environment) for consideration.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
ensure that the Council meets its obligations as riparian owner
with respect to the Land Drainage Act 1991.
(2) To
clarify the Council's position in meeting its future
responsibilities for flood risk management.
(3) To
allow further discussion on the matters raised.
C473
SICKNESS ABSENCE MANAGEMENT - 1ST APRIL, 2008 TO
31ST MARCH, 2009 (DFICTP) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE
RESOURCES) -
Sickness absence information for the financial
year April 2008 to March 2009 together with progress on the
Sickness Absence Management Action Plan was contained within the
report. The corporate figures showed significant reductions
as the new Management of Attendance Policy took effect.
Overall performance had been outstanding with targets being
bettered by 18%. It was recognised that the challenge going
forward would be to maintain momentum and bed-in cultural
change.
The new Management of Attendance Policy did
not apply in schools. Whilst school staff absence was
traditionally lower than corporate absence, given the reductions in
corporate absence the percentage of time lost was now approximately
equal.
The Steering Group had considered a variety of
measures to reduce or prevent long term absence and had highlighted
various forms of healthcare, exercise schemes and thank you letters
to staff as areas for detailed investigation. Detailed
analysis of reasons for absence and absence rates was
underway. Areas with high sickness were being targeted and
action plans being drawn up in consultation with members of staff
in those areas. Full details of the actions
completed/underway were appended to the report.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the position be noted and the report referred to the Scrutiny
Committee (Corporate Resources) for comment.
(2) T H A
T staff be commended for their efforts in bringing the scheme to
fruition and in its implementation to date.
Reason for decision
(1) To
bring matters to the attention of Cabinet and to seek the views of
the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources).
(2) To
recognise the work undertaken.
C474
LOCAL EMPLOYMENT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (DFICTP) (SCRUTINY -
CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Approval was sought to sign a Local Employment
Partnership Agreement with Jobcentre Plus. By way of
background it was explained that Local Employment Partnerships
(LEPs) involved Jobcentre Plus and local organisations working
together to assist the long term unemployed and other priority
jobless groups into work. The signing of an LEP agreement
sought to consolidate a number of government employment initiatives
and set out clearly how an employer would work with Jobcentre Plus
to ensure disadvantaged job seekers could benefit from training and
employment opportunities. As part of the agreement, Jobcentre
Plus would seek to ensure access to job ready clients and skills
training. In real terms, it was noted, that participation in
the initiative should not generate any additional costs for the
Council. The most significant implication for the Council in
formally signing up to such an agreement was the commitment that it
would be giving in partnership with Jobcentre Plus to support those
unemployed within the communities to gain access to the employment
opportunities available within the Council. Discussions had
taken place with Jobcentre Plus in order to clarify the details of
the commitment that the Council would be required to make and it
had been agreed that any agreement could be implemented in
stages. It had also been agreed that it would be appropriate
and beneficial to highlight job types which might be suitable for
the LEP scheme and that activity be focussed in those areas.
It was thought likely that those areas would be concentrated on
manual work (particularly in the Visible Services), Community Care
and clerical/administration groups.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the Council enter into a
Local Employment Partnership Agreement with Jobcentre Plus, the
Agreement to be drawn up to the satisfaction of the Director of
Finance, ICT and Property in consultation with the Cabinet Member
for Human Resources and Equalities.
Reason for decision
To increase opportunities for those
disadvantaged and economically inactive people within the Vale to
gain appropriate experience, employment within the authority and to
safeguard the Council's interests.
C475
RE-DEVELOPMENT OF ST. CYRES COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL (DLD) (SCRUTINY -
LIFELONG LEARNING) -
The re-development of St. Cyres was a priority
within the Schools Capital Investment Strategy. The estimated
cost of the necessary development works for St. Cyres was
£750,000. An allocation of £468,000 School Building
Improvement Grant towards the costs of those works had been
approved in April 2009, leaving the balance of £282,000 which could
be met from the school rationalisation revenue reserve. The
development study brief for St. Cyres would take the Vale of
Glamorgan up to RIBA Stage G which meant that the authority would
be in a position to invite tenders for the construction work.
That would place the Vale in a strong position in terms of meeting
WAG's readiness criteria and increased the probability of being
placed at the front end of the 21st Century Schools
Funding Programme which extended up to 2018. The development
study would include:
·
preparation of a Development Study brief
·
implementation of the design brief and additional data
·
preparation of concept design including outline specification and
preliminary cost plan
·
design development
·
completion of project brief and application for planning
permission
·
preparation of technical design and specification sufficient to
co-ordinate components of the project
·
preparation of detailed information for construction and
applications for statutory approvals
·
preparation of tender information.
The development study would be managed by
Davis Langdon. There was, however, it was noted, an element
of risk inherent in funding the development study prior to WAG's
confirmation of the Vale's position in the programme and whether
full funding for the re-development of St. Cyres would become
available in that, should the Vale be placed at the end of the
programme, aspects of the development study could become out of
date and need to be carried out again thereby incurring additional
costs.
In response to a question as to the future
potential uses of the lower school site in Dinas Powys, the Cabinet
Member for Education and Lifelong Learning referred to a timetable
having been devised, the Head of Strategic Planning and Performance
indicating that a development strategy would be reported back to
Cabinet within the coming year.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the application of £282,000 revenue reserve funding to the cost
of development works required to progress the replacement of St.
Cyres be approved.
(2) T H A
T the commencement of development works at the upper school site be
approved.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
ensure the necessary development works were fully funded.
(2) To
complete development works necessary to progress the scheme to the
point at which tenders for re-development of the school could be
invited should the necessary funding be secured.
C476
REVIEW OF LIBRARY CHARGES (DLD) (SCRUTINY - LIFELONG LEARNING)
-
The Library Charges (England and Wales)
Regulations (1991) defined which services a public library
authority might charge for and those which were required to be
provided free of charge. Library charges had not been
increased since 2001 and details of proposed charges for 2009/10
were contained within the report, as summarised below. The
proposals focussed on increasing some charges to off-set the cost
of reducing charges in other areas. The proposals would also
align this Council's approach with the move towards a common set of
library entitlements across Wales.
|
|
Current
|
Proposed
|
|
Books - adult
|
30p a week
|
40p a week (Max. £5.00 or the cost of
replacement, if greater)
|
|
Books - children
|
10p a week
|
No charge
|
|
Music CDs - adults
|
50p a week
|
60p a week (Max. £5.00 or the cost of
replacement, if greater)
|
|
Music CDs - children
|
25p a week
|
No charge
|
|
Talking Books - adults
|
50p a week
|
60p a week (Max. £5.00 or the cost of
replacement, if greater)
|
|
Talking books - children
|
25p a week
|
No charge
|
|
DVD – adults & children
|
£1.50 a week
|
£2.50 a week (Max.£10.00 or the cost of
replacement, if greater)
|
|
Music CDs - adults
|
50p (1or2 parts)
£1.00 (3+ parts)
|
£1.00 / 3 weeks
|
|
Music CDs - children
|
50p (1or2 parts)
£1.00 (3+ parts)
|
No charge
|
|
Talking Books - adults
|
50p (1or2 parts)
£1.00 (3+ parts)
|
£1.00 / 3 weeks
|
|
Talking books - children
|
50p (1or2 parts)
£1.00 (3+ parts)
|
No charge
|
|
DVD – adults & children
|
£1.50 a week
|
£2.50 a week
|
It was considered that reservation charges
for customers to reserve a specific book could represent a
significant barrier to accessing books and other resources; it was
therefore proposed that reservations should be free for items that
were in stock or could be obtained from within Wales. The
proposals for 2009/10 could be summarised as
|
|
Current
|
Proposed
|
|
Items in stock
|
50p
|
Free
|
|
Items available in Wales
|
£2.00
|
Free
|
|
Items obtained outside Wales
|
£2.00
|
£2.00
|
Reference was also made to the sale of
withdrawn library stock where the scale of charges applied was
based on original price, stock category and sale potential. A
charge was also made for items lost or damaged by customers.
It was now proposed that the present system of basing the charging
on the original purchase price as recorded in the library catalogue
be continued but with a minimum of £5.00 levied. Sales of
various items ranging from art works to items such as jute bags and
USB drives also generated income. It was proposed that the
commission on art sales be increased with that applied elsewhere in
the Council and that the rental of glass display cases or display
areas be offered as an alternative to commission on sales.
The proposals were, therefore,
|
|
Current
|
Proposed
|
|
Art/craft sales
|
20% commission
|
30% commission
|
|
Display cabinets
|
n/a
|
£10 a month
|
|
Various shop items
|
Prices set individually
|
No change
|
|
Replacement library card
|
£1.00
|
£2.00
|
It was also proposed that a charge be made
for the use of a library space or library computer suites as
follows
|
|
Current
|
Proposed
|
|
Meeting rooms/library space
|
£3.00 an hour (when participants have paid a
fee)
|
No change
|
|
Flip chart etc
|
n/a
|
£1.00
|
|
Computer room
|
n/a
|
£10.00 an hour (when participants have paid a
fee)
|
This was a matter for Executive
decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T
H A T the proposals for library charges indicated above and
detailed in the report be approved to take effect from
1st August, 2009.
(2) T
H A T a Library Amnesty be arranged for a period of two weeks
immediately prior to the implementation of the new charges.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
enable the service to realign its library charges while meeting its
budgetary obligations.
(2) To
provide an opportunity for people to return overdue items without
penalty before the new charges come into force.
C477
MATTER WHICH THE CHAIRMAN HAD DECIDED WAS URGENT -
RESOLVED - T H A T the following matter
which the Chairman had decided was urgent by reason of the need to
ensure Members received the most up- to-date information available
to ensure the timely delivery of the Action Plan, be
considered.
C478
CASE MANAGEMENT INQUIRY ACTION PLAN - PROGRESS REPORT (DSS)
(SCRUTINY - SOCIAL CARE AND HEALTH) -
Progress was being made in delivering the
considerable and challenging Change Programme which the Plan
required. A more detailed schedule of the work needed to
deliver each of the actions in the Plan had been produced for use
within the Directorate and to ensure effective co-operation.
An updated version of the Plan was appended to the report which
showed all the actions scheduled for May had been completed.
The Social Services Improvement Agency (SSIA) had agreed, as a
matter of urgency, to consider how it could support the Council in
the delivery of the Plan. The relevant statutory bodies,
including the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW),
had been notified and kept informed. The Local Safeguarding
Children Board had decided to conduct a Serious Case Review in
respect of the matter, as required by WAG guidance - to which the
Council would be expected to contribute fully. Where staff
had been the subject of disciplinary proceedings, the Care Council
for Wales had also been involved. The Deputy Minister had
asked CSSIW to advise her about how the matters raised in the
report were taken further. The Chief Inspector had
consequently written to the Director of Social Services enquiring
as to
·
the management of the case;
·
compliance with the Employers Code of Conduct for Social Care
Workers; and
·
the implications of the findings.
It was anticipated that further
discussions would be held with the Chief Inspector about the
report, the Action Plan and the further information provided in
response to the above questions.
In respect of senior management capacity
within the Directorate, new arrangements had been put in place in
January 2007. The new management structure introduced at that
time had been intended to remain in place only until a new and
permanent Director of Social Services took up post. Following
that appointment, Cabinet subsequently approved immediate
implementation of an interim management structure which included
the two new posts of Head of Adult Services and Head of Children
and Young People Services and agreed that the interim structure
would be reviewed in 2009. There followed a substantial delay
in appointing to the above posts. Since their appointments,
however, (in October 2008 and February 2009 respectively) the Head
of Adult Services and the Head of Children and Young People
Services had started to make a significant and growing contribution
to:
·
systems for quality assurance, at team and service level;
·
robust financial and performance management;
·
effective working with other agencies and organisations;
·
good strategic planning, based on more rigorous needs analysis;
and
·
focussed use of resources to address areas of concern.
Whilst many of the actions in the Plan did
not require additional resources, the report highlighted that staff
were working with issues where other local authorities also
encountered difficulties in providing positive outcomes for service
users because of competing priorities in Social Services.
Specific attention was drawn to the post of the Head of Adult
Services which was funded jointly with the Local Health Board for a
period of one year. Positive discussions were ongoing with
the new Local Health Board about locality management arrangements
and the need for joint posts. However, to guarantee that the
post was a permanent part of the structure within the Social
Services Directorate, funding for meeting all the costs was
required to be set aside. It was noted that those costs could
be financed by savings on management costs elsewhere in the
Directorate.
This was a matter for Executive
decision.
Having considered the above, it was
RESOLVED -
(1) T
H A T the progress on the programme of work arising from the Action
Plan be accepted.
(2) T
H A T the progress report be referred to the next meeting of the
Scrutiny Committee (Social Care and Health).
(3) T
H A T the posts of Head of Adult Services and Head of Children and
Young People Services be maintained within the management structure
for the Social Services Directorate.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
ensure that Cabinet is aware of the progress made in delivering the
Action Plan and that actions in the Plan are achieved promptly and
with the right outcomes for people who depend upon good quality
social care services.
(2) To
ensure that the Scrutiny Committee is able to exercise effective
oversight of the way in which the Action Plan is implemented.
(3) To
ensure that the management structure for the Social Services
Directorate:
·
delivers leadership and direction for all Social Services
functions;
·
fulfils statutory roles and organisational requirements; and
·
enables managers to continue tackling the need for efficiency
savings within the budget.
C479
EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC -
RESOLVED - T H A T under Section 100A(4) of
the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded
from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds
that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as
defined in Part 4 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act, the
relevant paragraphs of the Schedule being referred to in brackets
after the minute heading.
C480
APPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL TAX RELIEF (DFICTP) (EXEMPT INFORMATION -
PARAGRAPHS 12, 13 AND 14) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES)
-
Consideration was given to applications
for relief from rates and Council Tax received from charitable and
other organisations and individuals as summarised in paragraph 9 of
the report and as detailed in the appendix thereto.
This was a matter for Executive
decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the following
applications be approved as determined below:
·
Jubilee Playgroup - 80% Mandatory
·
Dinas Powys Golf Club - 80% Mandatory
·
Action for Children - 20% Discretionary.
Reason for decision
All applications had to be considered
individually.