CABINET
Minutes of a meeting held on 2nd
February, 2011.
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, R.L. Traherne and Mrs. D.M. Turner.
C1199
MINUTES -
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting
held on 19th January, 2011 be approved as a correct
record.
C1200
CARDIFF BAY ADVISORY COMMITTEE -
The following minutes of a meeting held on
19th January, 2011 were submitted:
Present:
|
CouncillorP.
Church(Chairman)
|
Vale of Glamorgan Council
|
|
Mr. S. Jones
|
Quay Marinas
|
|
Mr. T. Rees
|
Glamorgan Anglers Association
|
|
Mrs. S. Newbold
|
British Marine Federation
|
|
Councillor A.M. Ernest
|
PenarthTown Council
|
|
Mr. N. Ajax-Lewis
|
Wildlife Trust of South and West
Wales
|
Also present:
|
Mr. S. Howell
|
CardiffHarbourAuthority
|
|
Mr. P. Burgess
|
Environment Agency Wales
|
|
Mr. C. Hope
|
Vale of Glamorgan Council
|
(a)
Apologies for absence -
These were received from Dr. S. Howard
(Countryside Council for Wales), Mr. M. Chidlow (Associated
British Ports), Mr. R. Harvey (Canoe Wales) and Councillor Nigel
Howells.
(b)
Minutes -
AGREED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 24th November, 2010 be accepted as a
correct record.
(c) Matters
arising -
PenarthMarina Escarpment -
arising from the request that an update be brought to the Committee
on the issues surrounding the Penarth Marina Escarpment, the
Chairman advised that there had been problems with the scheme in as
much as the Vale of Glamorgan Council had been unable to gain
Environment Agency approval to discharge the drainage outfall into
the harbour. The scheme would not therefore be going ahead,
and a more detailed report would be provided to the Vale of
Glamorgan Cabinet in May by which time the Council would have
received further reports relating to the lease on the car park and
other related issues, and would be in a better position to
determine the scheme's position in the next financial
year.
(d)
Progress Update - Cardiff Harbour Authority - Mr. Simon
Howell -
Mr. Howell, Operational Manager for the
Harbour Authority apprised the Committee on the following
matters:
Barrage and
Bay
The barrage had operated well over the
past two months with no major problems caused by the extreme cold
weather or the more recent high rainfall when flows through the
barrage reached 342 cumecs.
CardiffBaywas
effectively frozen over for a short period of time during Christmas
Day and River Ely for longer periods. Barrage control
received several enquiries asking whether there were any ice
breaking responsibilities.
The major maintenance work on lock 1
should be completed next week with new seals, bearings and
hydraulics and new pontoon rollers being in place ready for the
increase in activity in the Spring.
The development of the outdoor sports area
'Adi-zone' was being progressed and was likely to be built before
the end of March.
Dredging of the outer harbour was due to
commence at the start of February and dredging around the water bus
stops at Taff Mead and the Castle would commence on 7th
February.
The demolition of the old oil wharf near
the Canoe Slalom facility on the River Ely would commence on
14th February and should be complete before the end of
March.
Environment
There had been no failures of oxygen
standard since the last meeting. So far this month the high
river flows had brought significant amounts of debris into the Bay
following December when virtually none was collected.
General
issues
The Cardiff Bay Visitors Centre move into
the Wales Millennium Centre continued to prove a success with shop
takings increasing by 60% and footfall figures up by 160% since
opening.
The Norwegian Church refurbishment was
progressing well and was expected to open around the end of
April. When complete, it was suggested that the Advisory
Committee use the Church as a venue for one of its meetings, and
the proposal was AGREED.
Councillor A.M. Ernest referred to the
lack of signposting in the Barrage pointing towards Penarth Town
Centre and enquired if the Cardiff Harbour Authority could consider
this matter. Mr. Howell referred to the recent improvements
made as part of the Pont Y Werin project and agreed to
forward a copy of the signage plan to Mr. Hope for
circulation.
Mr. Howell advised that it may be possible
to add signs to the posts that are in place provided there was
sufficient space,if these were needed.
Mr. T. Rees enquired if any species of
invasive shrimps had been identified within the Bay and was advised
that, prior to Christmas, a non-native species of invasive shrimps
had been identified, which fed on other organisms.
There was no way of eradicating these
species from the Bay, only controlling the spread to other water
areas. The Harbour Authority had already introduced a series
of bio-control measures as a result of the presence of Zebra
mussels, and following liaison with the Environment Agency were
reviewing these arrangements and were likely to install a fixed
pressure washer which would be used to clean boats on the public
slipway at Channel View and were liaising with the other
organisations including clubs and marinas to ensure that they were
aware of the measures that are needed.
(e)
Sky Flier -
Simon Howell advised the Committee of the
possibility of a further visitor attraction that may be introduced
to the Barrage, namely a tethered balloon, called the Sky Flier
that would carry up to 35 people to a height of
125m.
The proposed site on the barrage could
incorporate the former Tube Visitor Centre and may also involve the
provision of additional parking bays.
Illustrations were provided of what the
Sky Flier could look like.
A Planning Application in respect of the
proposal was expected to be submitted shortly. Members were
requested to provide any comments on this proposal to Mr. Hope so
that these can be collated as a formal response from the
Committee.
AGREED - T H A T the presentation be
noted.
(f)
Executive Response to the Economy and Culture Scrutiny Committee
Report into the Future of Cardiff Harbour Authority -
The Economy and Culture Scrutiny Committee
of the County and City of Cardiff had made recommendations to the
Council’s Executive Business Meeting on 13th
January.
The Committee’s report had identified 13
key findings, and had made 12 recommendations which were outlined
in the report.
The Executive’s proposed response to the
12 recommendations was detailed in Appendix 1 to the
report.
(g)
Date of Next Meeting -
Wednesday, 16th March 2011 at
5.15 p.m. in the Cardiff Harbour Authority Offices.
- - - - -
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes be noted.
Reason for decision
To be aware of the views of the Cardiff Bay
Advisory Committee.
C1201
ECONOMIC VALUE OF VOLUNTEERING WITHIN THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN (REF)
(MIN. NO. 539) -
The Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee
had, on 7th October, 2010, received a report in respect
of the above which indicated that the economic value of
volunteering within the Vale amounted to £25,653,586 - an increase
of £1,573,175 over the previous year. It was considered that
the rise could be attributed to the increase in the number of
volunteers recruited through the Vale Volunteer Bureau, outreach
and young persons’ services. This Council provided £744,000
to the Voluntary Sector by way of grant assistance and the
Committee had considered that the grant investment provided a
staggering return in voluntary activity within the Vale. The
Committee had referred the report to Cabinet for
information.
RESOLVED - T H A T the reference be noted and
volunteers within the Vale congratulated on their effort.
Reason for decision
To have regard to the views of the Voluntary
Sector Joint Liaison Committee and to recognise the work of
volunteers within the Vale.
C1202
IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN ON THE COUNCIL AND ITS SERVICES
(REF) -
The Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources)
had, on 24th January, 2011 received the final report of
the Budget Task and Finish Group in respect of the above. The
work of the Group had encompassed the following areas:
·
consultation exercises and interviews with stakeholders
·
analysis, prioritisation and challenge of all budget Cost
Centres
·
the preparation of a strategy for the way forward
·
the formation of initial views on possible areas for savings.
The comprehensive report of the Group was
appended to the reference. Generally the Group had been of
the opinion that cuts in service provision should only be
considered as a last resort. Instead, services should make
every effort to continue to achieve their objectives and outcomes
by fundamentally rethinking how they were presently organised and
delivered. If additional savings became necessary, the Group
recommended that, in the first instance, those should have a low
impact on the client. Accordingly, the Group had refused
suggested options for savings put forward by services following the
latest Medium Term Financial Plan. The Group’s deliberations
had resulted, therefore, in certain aspects of the proposals not
being accepted. A full list of the possible areas for savings
that met the Group’s criteria was set out in Appendix F to the
report and totalled £9.3m. phased over the 3 year period 2011 to
2014.
The Committee had been reminded that work on
the 2011/12 budget had yet to be completed with the final
settlement not being known until February 2011 and that no decision
has been made by the Council as to any potential Council tax
increases. The Committee had also been reminded that the
information contained in Appendix F related to non-school savings
proposals, the savings required in schools requiring consideration
by individual Governing Bodies.
Discussion had ensued at the Committee in
respect of the following matters:
·
Concern was expressed in regard to the proposals set out in
Recommendation 10 of the report and in particular any consequential
reduction in support for Scrutiny Committees in the event of
further reductions in resources provided by Scrutiny and Committee
Services.
·
It was suggested that the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources),
dependant upon Cabinet acceptance of the proposals of the Task and
Finish Group, receive a further report on the position of Vale
Schools' proposed Capital Programmes expenditure to ensure that it
was realistic and deliverable. The report should also include
the Council’s progress in delivering Community Focussed
Schools.
·
In regard to the Youth Service, concern was expressed at the
proposed reduction in the related staffing establishment.
·
Clarification was provided in respect of the correlation between
proposals set out in S2, S8 and S18 as detailed in Appendix F to
the report and how the related services were likely to be
reconfigured to ensure stipulated savings were deliverable.
·
The attention of Cabinet was drawn to proposal E16 (Appendix F)
given the level of public interest in the matter and it be
recommended to Cabinet that this proposal should not be introduced
until the financial year 2012/13.
·
In regard to proposals C1, C5, C8, C9 and C10 (Appendix F) concern
was expressed regarding the ability of the stated activities
proposed to be reconfigured / absorbed being undertaken,
particularly where it was indicated that related work would be
completed overnight or at weekends. Specific reference was
made to the potential conflict between monitoring CCTV cameras and
the undertaking of work linked to C10, C9 and C8 being adequately
resourced and that lone working should not arise as a
consequence. It was suggested that Cabinet be requested not
to initiate option C1 as a saving until the financial year
2012/13.
The Committee had endorsed the report of the
Budget Task and Finish Group and forwarded it to Cabinet in order
that Cabinet could have regard to its contents and the following
specific recommendations of the Group when making final proposals
for the 2011/12 budget and when setting the financial strategy for
future years:
(1) The
Strategy as set out in Section 4 of the report be adopted.
(2)
Directors’ savings targets for the period to March 2014 be set as
follows:
|
Directorate
|
Savings Target
2011/12 to 2013/14
|
|
|
£’000
|
|
Learning & Development – Non
Schools
|
1,926
|
|
Social Services
|
4,903
|
|
Environmental & Economic Regeneration
|
3,558
|
|
Legal, Public Protection & Housing
Services
|
677
|
|
Finance, ICT & Property
|
878
|
|
Chief Executive
|
475
|
|
Review Senior Management
|
200
|
|
Total
|
12,617
|
(3)
Directors ensure that all specific measures required to achieve the
above are identified by June 2011 to be included in the Medium Term
Financial Plan.
(4) One of
the measures to be to reduce senior management structures achieving
a minimum saving of £200,000 by 2012/13.
(5) Where
inflation exceeds 2%, Directorates savings target be increased
accordingly.
(6) Should
a housing stock transfer take place, the balances transferring to
the General Fund from the HRA be used to cover the consequential
increased costs falling on the General Fund until measures to
reduce it can take effect.
(7) On the
strict proviso that the mitigating actions identified in the
Service Implications are implemented, the areas for savings
detailed at Appendix F to this report be progressed by the relevant
Directors, and that the year indicated be regarded as the latest in
which the saving should be realised.
(8) Any
savings which exceed the overall required target for 2011/12
(estimated at £900k) be invested in highways to improve the
infrastructure and assist in repairs.
(9) The
Director of Finance, ICT and Property carry out the following and
report back to Cabinet:
·
Consider the merger of the Schools IT service into the Council’s
ICT Division to achieve 10% savings
·
Review insurances within the Council to consider ways the Council
can reduce the cost.
(10) The Chief
Executive carry out the following and report back to Cabinet:
·
Consider an amalgamation of services for Cabinet Support, Scrutiny
and Committee Services, Improvement and Development Team, Mayor’s
Office and Members’ Services to achieve savings in the region of
10%.
·
Review the Equalities Team in order to ascertain future savings and
whether the responsibilities for the staffing aspects of equalities
should transfer to the Human Resources Division.
(11) The Director of
Social Services incorporate within his Change Plan a review of the
service areas under Business Management and Innovation, and a
review of the possibility of shared training on a regional
basis.
(12) The Director of
Environmental and Economic Regeneration carry out the following and
report back to Cabinet:
·
Investigate the rationalisation of the service areas of Planning
Policy and Transportation, Policy and Conservation, Road Safety and
Public Transport to achieve savings
·
Investigate the rationalisation of the service areas for Urban
Regeneration, Business Development and Town Management to achieve
savings.
(13) The following
areas be pursued by the Corporate Management Team:
·
Eliminating non-essential expenditure (e.g. printing, publications,
furniture, conferences, use of non-Council buildings for training
purposes etc.)
·
Developing a protocol for engagement of consultants and agency
staff
·
Seeking further ways to reduce the pay bill (e.g. voluntary
reduction in working hours, use of the voluntary/third sector)
·
Building upon the current work to develop a robust programme for
workforce planning.
(14) Consideration be
given by Cabinet to the Citizens’ Panel response to an incremental
increase in Council tax over a reasonable period in order to bring
the Vale in line with the Welsh average.
(15) The Director of
Social Services engage with the Vale Council for Voluntary Services
and Citizens Advice Bureau on their ideas for more efficient and
effective involvement of the voluntary sector, eliminating any
areas of duplication and identifying saving, as part of the new
Social Services Change Plan and report back on progress in this
regard to Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources).
(16) Equality Impact
Assessments for each proposed area of saving be undertaken by the
relevant chief officer.
(17) Consultation is
undertaken with the recognised Trade Unions.
(18) The Director of
Finance, ICT and Property bring a regular quarterly monitoring
report, commencing in June 2011, to the Scrutiny Committee
(Corporate Resources) on progress against the recommendations in
the report.
(19) The progress on
the actions identified with ** in Section 3.6 of the report be
reported to Scrutiny Committee as part of the usual recommendation
tracking process.
(20) The
recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) on
the initial budget proposals for 2011/12 be referred to Cabinet for
consideration as part of their deliberations on the final budget
proposals.
(21) T H A T Cabinet
be requested to ensure that saving options E16 and C1 (Appendix F)
are not implemented until the financial year 2013/14.
The Leader drew attention to the fact that
recommendation no. (21) above should read “… the financial 2012/13
year”.
RESOLVED - T H A T the reference from the
Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) be referred to the Budget
Working Group.
Reason for decision
To feed the recommendations into the budget
process.
C1203
CAPITAL MONITORING FOR THE PERIOD 1ST APRIL TO
31ST DECEMBER 2010 (L) (SCRUTINY - ALL) -
Financial progress on the Capital Programme as
at 31st December, 2010 was detailed in Appendix 1 to the
report. The report itself contained further details of
specific schemes as outlined below.
Director of Learning and
Development
·
Llantwit Major Comprehensive School - the allocation of £896k. had
been established in order for feasibility studies to be prepared
for the proposed remodelling of the school as part of the Council’s
21st Century Schools Initiative. It had now been
decided that feasibility works should be placed on hold pending the
outcome of the Strategic Outline Programme which had been submitted
to WAG in December. It was noted that a separate report in
respect of those matters would be brought to Cabinet in the near
future.
·
Welsh Medium Schools - £890k. had been included in the Capital
Programme for the proposed establishment of two Welsh Medium seed
schools at Barry and Llantwit Major. Since that time it had
been ascertained that the purchase of the buildings offered better
value for money in comparison with leasing in the medium to long
term. That change to the original specification for the
scheme had meant that costs had risen and had been
re-profiled. It was noted that a separate report on the issue
would be submitted.
·
Barry Regeneration Area 2010/11 - WAG grant of £9,500 has been
accepted in respect of a youth pod / shelter in Bendrick Park,
Barry.
Director of Social
Services
·
Day Care Re-configuration - In December Cabinet had approved in
principle proposals for modernising the Vale’s current Day Care
facilities which had necessitated amendments to the Capital
Programme.
·
Community Equipment Grant - grant in the sum of £110,781 had been
awarded to the Council towards a joint initiative for improved and
integrated joint social services.
Director of Legal, Public Protection
and Housing Services
·
Barry Regeneration Area 2010/11 - details were contained within the
report of the allocation of the WAG grant of £3m., it being noted
that all 2011/12 allocations were being incorporated into the final
proposals for the 2011/12 Capital Programme report which would be
submitted to Cabinet shortly.
Director of Environmental and Economic
Regeneration
·
Waste Reduction / Recycling Initiatives - notification was given
that the remaining £82k. from the WAG grant of £204,745 would be
used to purchase a 7.5 tonne recycling vehicle to collect household
recycling and assist the collection of recycling from the Council’s
“Bring Site” provision.
·
Penarth Marina Escarpment - £205,000 had been included in the
Capital Programme to resolve drainage problems at the escarpment
site at Penarth Marina. It was now proposed to postpone any
works on site until the development at the Penarth Heights
proceeded as it was considered that could alleviate the
problem.
·
Barry Regeneration Area 2010/11 - details were included in the
report of the inclusion of various budgets in the Capital Programme
and the WAG grant of £100,000 on play area improvements at Weston
Square.
·
Five Mile Lane - Principal Road Grant of £400,000 had been awarded
to cover expenditure on ongoing design development and
environmental survey work in respect of the above.
Discussions with WAG as to the way forward were awaited.
Policy
·
Civic Offices Partial Roof Replacement - it was considered likely
that the total spend for the year would be approximately £55,000
out of a £185,000 budget. Members noted that should the works
be contractually committed by the end of the financial year, the
relevant sum would need to be slipped into 2011/12.
·
Carbon Management Fund - the sum of £472,000 was currently
available for energy efficient schemes on Council properties.
Delays with several high value projects planned for the current
year meant that slippage would be required in order to fund further
schemes next year.
The report then detailed those schemes with a
variance between the actual spend to date and the profiled
spend. Appendix 2 to the report provided non-financial
information on capital schemes with a budget of over £100,000.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the following changes to the Capital Programme be approved:
·
Barry Regeneration Area 2010/11 (Youth Pod in Bendrick Park) -
include a budget of £9,500 in the 2010/11 Capital Programme (funded
from WAG grant).
·
Community Equipment Grant - include the sum of £110,781 in the
2010/11 Capital Programme (funded from WAG grant).
(2) T H A
T Council be requested to approve the following changes to the
Capital Programme:
·
Llantwit Major Comprehensive Schools - reduce the 2010/11 capital
budget to £28,000.
·
Welsh Medium Seed Schools - reduce the 2010/11 capital budget to
£202,000 and slip the sum of £688,000 into 2011/12.
·
Penarth Marina Escarpment - reduce the 2010/11 capital budget to
£11,000 and transfer funding of £194,000 to the Visible Services
Asset Renewal 2010/11 budget.
·
Five Mile Lane - reduce the 2010/11 capital budget to £190,000.
·
Carbon Management Fund - reduce the 2010/11 budget to £189,000
(carry forward £283,000 to 2011/12 and augment it with £51,000
income repaid on previous projects).
Reason for decisions
(1&2) To allow schemes to be
undertaken in this or future financial years.
C1204
REVENUE MONITORING FOR THE PERIOD 1ST APRIL TO
31ST DECEMBER 2010 (L) (SCRUTINY - ALL) -
The projected outturn for the 2010/11 Revenue
Budget was shown in comparison with the amended Revenue Budget at
Appendix 1 to the report and showed an estimated favourable
variance of £1.190m. Further details in respect of the above
were contained in the report as outlined below:
·
Education and Schools - overall the Education Budget was projected
to outturn with a surplus of £55,000.
·
Lifelong Learning - the service was anticipated to outturn with an
adverse variance of £55k.
·
Children and Young People’s Services - the anticipated outturn on
the service was a favourable variance of £135k.
·
Adult Services - the anticipated outturn on the service was an
adverse variance of £135k.
·
Visible Services - overall the service was anticipated to outturn
on target.
·
Private Sector Housing / Community Safety - the service was
anticipated to outturn with a favourable variance of £40k.
·
Policy - there was an anticipated underspending on the service of
£1.150m.
·
YOS - the service was anticipated to show a favourable variance at
outturn of £40k.
·
Housing Revenue Account - the forecast was for an estimated
balanced budget on the amended HRA.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the position with regard to
the Council’s 2010/11 amended Revenue Budget be noted.
Reason for decision
To be aware of the projected revenue outturn
for 2010/11.
C1205
AMENDMENTS TO CABINET MINUTE NO. C1169 - JOB EVALUATION / EQUAL PAY
(L) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Authority was sought to amend the above minute
to reflect the discussion at Cabinet in relation to the preamble of
Minute No. C1169 on 5th January, 2011 and to approve the
content of the revised Appendices as reported to the Scrutiny
Committee (Corporate Resources). It was noted that the
finalised proposal in relation to a new pay structure would need to
be approved by the Council. The amendment of the minute was
however an Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the penultimate sentence of the preamble in relation to Minute
No. C1169 be amended to read “The Cabinet Member drew attention to
minor amendments required to the spreadsheet shown at Appendix 1
and extensions to the Appeals process as set out in Appendix 6 of
the revised Appendices”.
(2) T H A
T the Appendices revised in light of the Cabinet decision on
5th January, 2011 be affirmed and delegated
authority granted to the Director of Finance, ICT and Property, in
consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Member for Human Resources
and Equalities, to make any necessary further amendments prior to
its submission to Council.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
reflect accurately the discussions.
(2) To
ensure that the amended Appendices are forwarded to Council.
C1206
TIMETABLE OF MEETINGS: MAY 2011 - MAY 2012 (L) (SCRUTINY -
CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
The draft timetable, as appended to the
report, largely reflected current arrangements. It was noted
that the scheduling of meetings of the Welsh Church Act Estate and
Trust Committees would be dealt with separately.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the timetable of meetings
for May 2011 to May 2012, as set out in the appendix to the report
be approved, subject to any future changes in arrangements to
meetings deemed appropriate by the Mayor of the Council or the
relevant Committee Chairman.
Reason for decision
To approve / publish a calendar of meetings
for the forthcoming municipal year.
C1207
SCHOOL INSPECTION REPORTS (ELL) (SCRUTINY - LIFELONG LEARNING)
-
All schools were inspected under Section 10 of
the Schools Inspection Act 1996 as amended by the Education Act
2002. Inspectors were required to report on the standards
achieved by pupils, the quality of education provided by the
school, the quality of leadership and management of the school,
whether the financial resources made available to the school were
managed efficiently and the contribution made by the school to its
pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It
was noted that there were three types of inspections, namely short,
(where inspectors would not be required to report on standards in
subject specific areas), standard (where inspectors would report on
no more than six subjects or areas of learning) and full (where
inspectors would report on all subjects and areas of learning).
Appended to the report were the findings of the following
three Primary Schools inspected in the Summer of 2010:
·
Evenlode Primary School (Short)
·
St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School (Standard)
·
St. Brides Church in Wales Primary School (Standard).
The Director of Lifelong Learning referred to
a meeting he had attended earlier in the day with the Education
Minister at WAG, when the Minister had referred to some 20 new
initiatives in his proposals to deal with the challenges in the
Welsh Education system. The Director of Lifelong Learning
would submit a report on the issues raised to a future meeting of
Cabinet.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the School Inspection Reports as appended to the report be
noted.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Learning and Development ensure that school
action plans to address identified areas for development be
monitored as part of the School Improvement Service work
programme.
(3) T H A
T the schools concerned be congratulated on the positive elements
within their respective reports.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
have regard to the information received.
(2) To
ensure areas for development are addressed.
(3) To
recognise the achievement of schools.
C1208
ESTABLISHMENT OF TIER 2 PROVISION FOR PUPILS WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM
DISORDER (ASD) (ELL) (SCRUTINY - LIFELONG LEARNING) -
Approval was sought to proceed with the
statutory process in relation to changing the nature of Tier 2
provision at St. Illtyd Primary and Fairfield Primary
Schools. The Tier 2 provision for children and young people
with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) consisted of specialist
resource bases for children with speech and language difficulties,
hearing impairment, behavioural difficulties and Moderate Learning
Difficulties (MLD). There were currently four specialist
provisions and, over the past year, numbers in two of those
provisions had significantly reduced. In September 2011 there
would only be four pupils at Fairfield Primary and one pupil at St.
Illtyd Primary School. Given the position as outlined above
and the fact that there was currently no Tier 2 provision for
pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it was proposed that
the two MLD resource bases referred to above should be changed into
Tier 2 ASD provision. The two MLD classes based at Jenner
Park Primary would be retained. In future, pupils with MLD
throughout the Vale could be considered for placement at Jenner
Park although current trends indicated that parents tended to
choose to send their children to mainstream classes as opposed to
specialist provision. In relation to the five remaining
pupils a range of options would need to be considered. The
new resource bases would cater for up to eight pupils as KS1 and 2,
and would be staffed by one specialist teacher and two Learning
Support Assistants. Pupils would be placed at the provisions
through the weekly SEN Panel.
Following approval by Cabinet the statutory
processes would commence in keeping with WAG guidelines on
consultation and it was intended that, if possible, the changes be
implemented in September 2011.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the proposals to proceed
with statutory process in relation to changing the nature of Tier 2
provision at St. Illtyd Primary and Fairfield Primary Schools be
approved.
Reason for decision
To allow the statutory consultation process to
commence.
C1209
WAG CONSULTATION ON SEATBELTS ON SCHOOL TRANSPORT PROVISION (PT)
(SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet was notified of the Consultation
Document issued by WAG in respect of the above. The proposed
safety on Learner Transport (Wales) measure had been developed to
ensure a consistent high safety standard across Wales, the aim
being that every child should have a seatbelt on dedicated school
transport provided under the terms of the Education Act.
Whilst the aim was to be applauded, it did not, however, address
the issue of compliance to wear a seatbelt and it would not apply
to local bus services operated under the Transport Act 1985, even
if they carried school children going to and from school.
Members were asked to note that it was not a legal requirement for
children under 14 or younger to wear a seatbelt on a bus or coach
although it was clearly desirable that all passengers had seatbelts
available for use. Further details in respect of the
foregoing were contained in the report, including the position as
currently operated within the Vale. WAG recognised that there
might be financial implications to the proposals and Members
considered it appropriate that additional funding should be
channelled through revenue grant.
The main criticism of the proposals was that
it would lead to what was in effect a two tier system which the
general public might have difficulty in understanding and, as such,
it was considered that the policy was likely to result in
complaints to the Council, those complaints arising from those
using transport procured and operated under the terms of the
Transport Act 1985 to which the measure would not apply.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the consultation response
as appended to the report be approved.
Reason for decision
To take an active role in the consultation
process and respond by the deadline of 4th February
2011.
C1210
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 items of business on the grounds
that they involve 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 headings.
C1211
TENDER FOR A NEW WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN) (L) (EXEMPT INFORMATION -
PARAGRAPH 18A) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
The Council’s wide area network (WAN) contract
provided by BT since 2003 had expired. A new contract was,
therefore required. Having undertaken testing in the open
market, four tenders had been received.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the contract be awarded to
Networks by Wireless Limited (NBW) in line with the report to be
funded from the project fund subject to satisfactory terms and
conditions being negotiated by the Director of Finance, ICT and
Property and subject to the approval of a 2011/12 capital bid in
the sum of £620,000 be approved.
Reason for decision
To allow the award of the contract and the
implementation of a new wide area network for the Council.
C1212
PORTHKERRY COUNTRY PARK: CAFÉ (TL) (EXEMPT INFORMATION - PARAGRAPHS
12 AND 14) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Authority was sought to vary the existing
lease arrangements for the café at Porthkerry Country Park by
extending the demise and varying the rent. Officers were
working with the new leaseholder to improve the overall facility
and the operator sought to lease additional land from the Council
for the purposes set out in the report. Appendix 1 to the
report showed the existing café and the proposed extended area.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services be
authorised to sign a new lease for land adjacent to the Porthkerry
Country Park café as set out in the report subject to no objections
being received in line with a notice to be issued pursuant to
Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services, in
consultation with the Cabinet Members for Legal and Public
Protection and Tourism and Leisure, be authorised to prepare,
complete and execute the aforementioned lease.
Reason for decisions
(1&2) To allow practical
improvements to the Country Park.