73
THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE CITY & COUNTY OF CARDIFF
The County Council of the City & County of Cardiff met at City Hall, Cardiff on Thursday 21 July, 2011 to transact the business set out in the Council Summons dated 15 July 2011. Present: County Councillor Delme Bowen, Lord Mayor (in the Chair); County Councillor Jayne Cowan, Deputy Lord Mayor.
County Councillors Ali, Aubrey, Aylwin, Berman, Bowden, Bridges, Burfoot, Burns, Carter, Chaundy, Clark, Ralph Cook, Richard Cook, Cox, Kirsty Davies, Foley, Ford, Furlong, Gasson, Goddard, Goodway, Gordon, Grant, Greening, Griffiths, Clarissa Holland, Martin Holland, Hooper, Howells, Hudson, Hyde, Ireland, Islam, Jerrett, Brian Jones, Margaret Jones, Jones-Pritchard, Joyce, Kelloway, Macdonald, McEvoy, McKerlich, Montemaggi, David Morgan, Derrick Morgan, Elgan Morgan, Page, Jacqueline Parry, Patel, Pearcy, Pickard, Piper, David Rees, Dianne Rees, Robson, Rogers, Salway, Singh, Stephens, Wakefield, Walker, Walsh, Williams and Woodman.
Apologies: County Councillors Finn, Lloyd, Linda Morgan, Keith Parry, Rowland-James and Smith
(Prayers were offered by Professor John Morgan) 39 : MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2011 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 40 : DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
The Chairman reminded Members of their responsibility under Article 16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct to declare any interest, & to complete Personal Interest forms, at the commencement of the item of business. (Councillor Kirsty Davies declared a personal interest in Items 4 and 16 matters relating to the Cardiff & Vale Music Service as her mother works for the Music Service. Councillor Pearcy declared a personal interest in Item 6 Estyn Inspection Report as her husband works in a Welsh Medium Secondary School in Cardiff) County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 74
41 : LORD MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
(a) Microphone System, Webcasting and recording of proceedings
Members were reminded of a decision of the Constitution Committee on 10 July, 2008 to webcast the Council meeting. Members were also reminded that the Constitution Committee had previously agreed that Council proceedings be recorded for administrative purposes.
Formal approval to record the proceedings was granted.
(b) Awards
The Lord Mayor was pleased to advise Council of the following Awards:
Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation Awards 2011
The Council has received a ‘Highly Commended Award’ at the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation Awards 2011 for the Queen Street Gateways Public Realm Enhancement Scheme. Input into this scheme was made by a several Council officers: Huw Williams, Emergency Planning, Michael Barnett, Strategic Planning and Environment, Ray Hanigan and Paul Thomas, Transport Network Management team. County Councillor Judith Woodman had attended the awards with the team.
Green Flag Award
Congratulations to the Cardiff Harbour Authority, on the achieving the standard, once again for the Green Flag Award for the Cardiff Barrage.
(c) Welcome
The Lord Mayor welcomed the Chair of the Standards & Ethics Committee, Akmal Hanuk, and other Members of the Committee to Council. Council would receive the Annual report from the Committee later on the Agenda. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 75
(d) Message of Sympathy
The Lord Mayor on behalf of Members expressed his condolences to the family of Guy Weinzweig following his untimely death and their sad loss. Guy was a very well respected and dedicated Officer of the Council, who passed away on 14 July 2011. The funeral would take place on 22 July 2011 in Swansea and donations were to Cancer Research Wales.
(e) Get Well Soon Message
Members will be pleased to hear that Councillor Brian Finn is recuperating at home after a recent spell in hospital. Councillor Bob Smith had also been in hospital again and was making good progress at home. Members best wishes were sent to Councillor Ann Rowland-James who was recovering at home from a car accident. The Lord Mayor indicated that he would write to each Member with Council’s good wishes and hoped to see them all soon.
(f) Paul Orders Corporate Director
The Lord Mayor advised that Paul Orders Corporate Director (Place) would be leaving the authority shortly to take up the post of Chief Executive of Dunedin City Council in New Zealand. This was a great opportunity for him and it was good to see senior figures from Cardiff being recognised with such high-level appointments. Paul will be missed and on behalf of the Council the Lord Mayor wished him all the very best for the future.
Councillors Berman, McEvoy, Walker, Goodway and Robson all added their own thanks for his work with the Council and their best wishes for the future. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 76
42 : PUBLIC QUESTIONS
QUESTION 1
Question: Essex Havard
I understand that the Chief Schools and Lifelong Learning Officer has informed Cardiff Council Music Service staff of his intention to move the Service from The Friary to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The outline date for this move is September 2011. Parents and tutors have many justifiable concerns and questions regarding this proposed move. Initial feedback from parents and staff of the Music Service, amongst several issues, suggests there are major concerns regarding space available at RCWMD, the lack of a risk assessment for the move, and the timing of the proposed move (September does not allow for adequate feedback from stakeholders due to the summer holidays).
Can I ask Cllr. Salway that her officers implement a proper consultation process, beginning in September 2011, in order to make an informed decision on this proposed move. Such a consultation should include all stakeholders: parents, children, Music Service staff, and both Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama staff and students?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
Thank you for your question. I can confirm that the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) approached Council Officers with a proposal to accommodate the Music Service at their premises on North Road and as a result officers have been in discussions with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama about the potential for moving the Music Service from the Friary into recently refurbished and brand new facilities, state of the art premises on North Road.
Discussions with the college are ongoing and once a full business case has been developed officers will report back to the Executive. Any decision on the future of the music service will only be taken following full and further consideration of the issues and in the meantime Officers have written to staff and parents updating them on the current position, clarifying that the music service will not be moving from the Friary in September, and if you are a parent you should have had a letter. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 77
Supplementary Question: Essex Havard
Thank you Councillor Salway for clarifying who made the initial contact towards the move of the Cardiff and Vale Music Services into the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, I can confirm that I have had no letter from anybody in the Council about this move. However, unless full and further consideration of the issue (which are your words) means a proper stakeholder consultation, including parents, staff and pupils of the Cardiff and Vale Music Service and staff and students of the Royal College, then unfortunately you have in no way answered my question.
What is the Council’s motivation for considering a potential move of the Cardiff and Vale Music Service from a purpose built orchestral space into a space which, is albeit modern and high quality, too small to accommodate the full service, and that is from staff of the service themselves; is it to save money or is it to improve the service provided to the musically talented children of Cardiff, the capital city of a cultured nation?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
Firstly, can I say you can have this copy of the letter, it is dated 18 July 2011 so you should have had it by now, but who can say with the Royal Mail.
There are a number of reasons why it is under consideration, one of which is the fact it is, or it will be when it is up and running fully, a world ranking conservatoire, but we are aware that it cannot accommodate the full junior schools orchestra and we were looking, and we still will be looking at other options for that, so we are being quite up front with all people, and the Head of the Music Services actually, was aware of that, and in fact I have made a visit with the Head of the Music Service to the College of Music and Drama.
Also it is financial, because the cost of the Friary building is astronomical believe it or not, not least the business rates that we have to pay, albeit to this Council, although I suppose it goes to the Assembly and we get some back. Business rates in the city centre, particularly near to Queen Street are very very high. So that is the truth, as I say we are considering all the issues and they won’t begin to be considered, although work will be going on whilst I am away, because I am away for 4 weeks, so certainly nothing will happen in the near future. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 78
QUESTION 2
Question: Roman Corria
Will the Council's plans for libraries and leisure centres lead to an end in the provision of library and leisure services at any sites in Cardiff, which in turn may lead to job losses?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
Thank you Mr Corria. The simple answer is no.
Supplementary Question: Roman Corria
I must admit that I was expecting a rather more meat on the answer to be perfectly honest so that I could draft a supplementary question in a different way, and I would say having read the written document that I have received I am a bit miffed that in writing I wasn’t actually thanked for the letter unlike the first question, but I assume that some Councillors are more professional than others. Thank you for being very precise in your answer and as a citizen of Cardiff who took part in the recent consultation and review of library and community services, I am concerned that the re-training of staff to deliver additional services will invariably mean that those who are currently doing that work will find their jobs at risk. Can you please confirm that the people who work in offices which are under review, due to your transformation agenda, and may close and have that work transferred to either a library or leisure centre, will not have their jobs put at risk as a result of the review of library and community services?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
I think you are confusing the “Our Space” project with what we are trying to do with our libraries. I have been quite clear in the 7 years that I have been responsible for leisure and library services that we as an Administration wanted to transform the way we deliver leisure and library services, and I can be very proud of our record. Over the last 7 years we have completely refurbished Western Leisure Centre; we have upgraded Star Centre providing a new gym and training rooms; we have upgraded Penylan Community Centre with a new gym and many other County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 79 new facilities; we have added a gym and a dance studio to Maindy; we have replaced the old Athletic Stadium and in the process have created a new gym with exercise rooms; we have upgraded the gym in Llanishen; and have added new pool features and brand new gym equipment recently in Pentwyn Leisure Centre. In respect of Libraries, since 2004 we have spent over £26m in our libraries. We have refurbished branch libraries in Ely, Fairwater, Rhydypennau, Llandaff North and Cathays. We have built new libraries in Splott, Grangetown, Penylan and Llanrumney, and of course we have created a new iconic fantastic Central Library, right in the heart of the city centre; a library which recently was voted by the Sunday Times Travel Magazine as one of the top six libraries in the world. On top of that we have introduced state of the art technology RFID in our libraries, you can tell I am passionate about libraries, which will allow our libraries and their staff to deliver more than just issuing and collecting books, and we are currently upgrading the computer stock in our libraries. We are not going to stop there, and just this month or next month we shall be submitting a planning application for a complete refurbishment of Radyr Library and Officers are working up costings at the moment for the much needed refurbishment of Canton Library. This is in stark contrast to the previous Labour Administration who basically left our leisure centres and our libraries to decay and they even wanted to close Cathays and Roath libraries, so all I can say to you is judge us by our record. Our libraries and leisure centres are safe in our hands.
43 : ESTYN INSPECTION REPORT (Councillor Pearcy declared a personal interest in Item 6 Estyn Inspection Report as her husband works in a Welsh Medium Secondary School in Cardiff) The Executive at its meeting on 14 July 2011 considered a report on the main issues and recommendations from the Estyn inspection report January 2011 of the Council’s education services for children and young people. The Executive referred the report for debate at full Council.
The Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Councillor Salway introduced the report. The Executive is actively dealing with the judgement of the inspection report; the adequacy of current provision; and the opportunities for improvement. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 80
The report covers three broad areas of the Authority’s education work: · Learner outcomes – judged as Good; · Provision – judged overall as Adequate, but Good in some areas; · Leadership and management – judged as Adequate.
There were 6 key recommendations contained within the report, and the two main areas of focussed were: · Improving the strategic leadership, the scrutiny and outcomes of partnership working; and · Continue to raise standards at Key Stage 4; to improve attendance; reduce exclusions; and reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
The Council is required to produce a post-inspection action plan (PIAP) by 12 August, 2011 for approval by Estyn, outlining how it proposes to address the report’s recommendations. As a first step, officers have drafted a high level outline plan of proposed actions that will be developed into the full PIAP. In addition, the Chief Executive has established an implementation board to oversee the development and implementation of the PIAP, with membership from senior officers, head teachers, Welsh Government and WLGA. The recent Minister for Education’s announcement has also underlined the need for a clear focus on accelerating the progress being made on Key Stage 4 and narrowing the gap in school performance.
As part of the PIAP the Council has agreed a specific partnership programme with the Welsh Government and the WLGA to target additional support to some secondary schools. Details of this programme will emerge over the next 2 months.
The Executive Member indicated that performance had seen an incremental pattern of improvement in all four key stages in Cardiff, and learner outcomes in Cardiff were above the Welsh average in Key Stages 1 – 3 and 6th form. At all key stages Cardiff was making quicker progress than other Welsh Authorities, but the inspectors had indicated that this was not quick enough. When compared with some comparator English Authorities, Cardiff ‘s relative performance had slipped at Key Stage 4. Pupils receiving free school meals are achieving above the expected level; and girls continue to out perform boys at each key stage, but the gap in Cardiff is narrowing. The achievement of minority ethnic groups was generally higher in 2010, than 2009. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 81
Literacy remains a high priority for the Council. In 2009, 25% of pupils entering secondary schools were not functionary literate, however a significant improvement had been made in 2010, particularly in school piloting the Literacy strategy, and early indications are that in September this year the % will have dropped to 18% with one primary school improving by 6% in one year.
Cardiff has significant challenges with non attendance and wide variation at both secondary and primary schools. It is a matter being tackled by the Council, head-teachers, officer with parents and pupils. The Council has invested to improve attendance and welfare. The Council continues to make progress on exclusions.
The Lord Mayor invited the group Leaders and the Education spokespersons to comment before opening the general debate on the report.
Members made a number of comments and observations with regard to literacy issues, and welcomed the work of the Children & Young People Scrutiny Committee; outcomes and improvements required at Key Stage 4; performance differentials and achievements across schools; strategic management and leadership; the need for the remit of the Schools Sub Committee to consider standards; the effectiveness of the Children & Young People Partnership; child poverty and the stigma of free school meals; resourcing of schools and funding formula review; need for a more holistic approach to education, unemployment, child poverty and young people partnerships; issues around exclusions and discipline. Although resources and financial support are important, particularly in ensuring the fabric of schools are fit for purpose, head teachers, teaching staff and support staff ‘s commitment was vital to improvements.
It was noted that the Leader had met with business leaders to seek their involvement in the education in Cardiff and the development of children and young people and that further links and partnerships would be explored.
Members were keen to that the PIAP contained measurable outcomes and targets that are consistently monitored and noted that the Children & Young People Scrutiny Committee would continue to take an active role in scrutinising performance, and the monitoring of the action plan outcomes County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 82
RESOLVED – That
(1) the report be noted;
(2) the Post Inspection Action Plan be submitted to Estyn by 12 August 2011.
44 : BUDGET STRATEGY 2012/2013
The Executive Member, Finance and Service Delivery, set out the financial strategy in preparation for 2012/13 and other financial pressures facing the Council in the medium term. The strategy was set within the context of continuing financial uncertainties and restraint both at national and international level with issues of national debt forecasts; issues in both the Euro-zone and America.
The timetable for the release of the provisional budget settlement from the Welsh Government will revert to that prior to 2011/12, with an announcement in October, and final settlement in December. Reference was made to proposed change in policy in England on the localisation of business rates to be contained in the Local Government Finance Bill. Such changes to the allocation of business rates in Wales would provide councils with greater freedom to utilise these resources in more effective ways.
The setting of the budget remained challenging in the medium term and the Council was facing a significant funding gap next year. Transformation savings would contribute to the savings, adding to the savings already made from the transformation programme this year and last year.
The report set out the pressures on capital financing and the impact of a reduction in funding. Work carried out by the WLGA had established a significant increase in the value of prudential (additional) borrowing undertaken by councils in Wales. The continued pressure on capital financing requires that consideration be given to potential instruments that could deliver further funding, which may include Tax Increment Financing, Community Investment Levy and Enterprise Zones.
The Executive Member indicated that the budget would be about protecting services, and the Welsh Government would require councils to County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 83 protect schools and social care budgets. Councils were also taking on board the principles set out in the Simpson report of collective cross region activity, together with ongoing collaborative work.
Lord Mayor invited debate on the budget strategy.
RESOLVED - That the budget timetable outlined as set out in Appendix 1 be adopted and the work outlined be progressed with a view to informing budget preparation.
45 : STANDARDS AND ETHICS COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2010/2011
The Lord Mayor welcomed the Chair and Members of the Standards & Ethics Committee.
Mr Hanuk introduced the seventh Annual Report of the Committee and his fifth report. The report detailed the work of the Committee and outcomes and achievements of the past 12 months in areas including Member Development, Code of Conduct, Social Media, and an update on planning procedures. Mr Hanuk welcomed the input received from the new Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer and expressed his thanks for the support and professional experience given by the former Monitoring Officer, Kate Berry who left the authority in March. The Committee continued to build links with Community Councils, and invited the Group Leaders and Whips to regular meetings during the year.
This year was an important year for the Council and its Members and the work of the committee will reflect on the principles of public office and the conduct; preparation for a new council following elections in May and support and development for Members.
Mr Hanuk expressed his thanks to Ann Morgan, Vice Chair and Independent Member for her invaluable support and contribution to the Committee during her period of office. She was standing down in accordance with an informal agreement among the five independent members of the Committee to step down from the Committee prior to the expiry of their respective terms of office in order to support a staggered appointments process and to retain a level of experience among independent members of the Committee. In addition, Mr Hanuk, thanked all Members of the Committee and supporting officers of the Secretariat County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 84 for their advice and support and looked forward to working with them to meet the challenges and take work forward.
Mr Hanuk responded to a number of matters raised in relation to the report including the request for clarity and guidance for Councillors on issues relating to Members public and official roles and personal views; cross party representation on the Committee; the Community Council Charter; accessibility of public meetings; the conduct of Members at meetings; and member development and appraisals
In conclusion, the Lord Mayor expressed his thanks to the Chair and his Committee for the work undertaken.
RESOLVED – That the seventh Annual Report 2010/11 of the Standards & Ethics Committee be received.
46 : APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF LEA SCHOOL GOVERNORS
The Council was recommended to approve the appointment of LEA School Governors as listed in the appendix to the report.
RESOLVED - That the following appointment of School Governors be approved: (a) Appointment and Removal of LEA School Governor
School Ward Start of Applications Vacancy Allensbank Primary Gabalfa 24/06/2011 Mr J Rae Cardiff High Cyncoed 29/06/11 Councillor F Salway Christ the King RC Llanishen 31/08/2011 Mrs L Toscano Primary Radnor Primary Canton 02/02/2011 Ms S Lewis Riverbank Special Caerau 29/10/2008 Miss K Alexander Whitchurch High Whitchurch 09/06/2011 Mr M Vine Ysgol Glantaf Llandaff 12/05/2011 Mr E Havard North County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 85
(b) Future LEA Governor Vacancies
School Ward Start of Applications Vacancy Adamsdown Primary Adamsdown 21/10/2011 Mr A Mir Albany Primary Plasnewydd 02/09/2011 Ms G Nicols Bryn Hafod Primary Llanrumney 16/09/2011 Councillor Derrick Morgan Cathays High Gabalfa 16/09/2011 Mr K Daniels Glyncoed Infant Pentwyn 18/10/2011 Councillor Carter Hawthorn Primary Llandaff 16/09/2011 Miss C Rawlinson North Llanedeyrn High Pentwyn 27/09/2011 Mr B Etherington Llanedeyrn Primary Pentwyn 16/09/2011 Mr D Jennings Ninian Park Primary Grangetown 18/10/2011 Mr P Codron Rhiwbeina Primary Rhiwbina 15/09/2011 Councillor Cowan Rhydypenau primary Cyncoed 27/09/2011 Dr E Cole Rumney High Rumney 28/10/2011 Mr P James Rumney Primary Rumney 15/09/2011 Mr W Cashin Stacey Primary Adamsdown 16/09/2011 Councillor Howells Thornhill Primary Llanishen 28/10/11 Mr M Imperato
(c) Appointment to the Temporary Governing Body for Third Welsh Medium Secondary School School Ward Applications Eastern School Llanrumney LEA Governor (2) Mrs H Morgan Councillor Ireland Whitchurch Primary School Whitchurch Community Appointment (1) Mr A Seary County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 86
47 : CORPORATE STATEMENT (County Councillor Berman)
Eventia Conference
On Monday 27 June, the Leader was pleased to have the opportunity to give the opening speech at the Summer Eventia Conference, the conference of the trade association for the events industry in the UK. Brought to the city by Cardiff & Co, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to showcase Cardiff as ‘the’ event and conference capital of Wales.
Cardiff Story Museum
I was delighted to attend the official opening of the Cardiff Story Museum by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall on Tuesday 28 June. The Museum charts Cardiff’s journey from its birth as a small market town to the European Capital City it is today and includes contributions from people across the city. During the opening ceremony, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall unveiled a commemorative edition of the poem prepared by the national poet for Wales, Gillian Clarke, dedicated to the story of Cardiff and The Old Library Building.
Cardiff Ambassadors Event
On Monday 4 July, the Leader together accompanied by the Chief Executive, attended and spoke at the Cardiff & Co Ambassadors Event in London. The event was planned to launch the Central Business District project to the London market. Over a hundred people attended the event including significant London-based investors and the Council has subsequently received significant private sector interest in the project.
Business & the Literacy Strategy
The Leader on 20 July attended a dinner hosted in partnership with PWC with business leaders, head teachers and Council representatives which enabled discussions to take place regarding the contributions and benefits local businesses can achieve through working with our schools to improve literacy. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 87
Noeux-les-Mines & Nantes
The Leader advised that he and the Chief City Development Officer would be visiting France between 25 and 28 July to learn about a number of new initiatives that could support the successful delivery of Cardiff's Central Business District and International Sports Village major projects, and our emerging sustainable city programme.
On 25 July, a visit will be made to a modern artificial skiing, snowboarding and recreational facility at Noeux-les-Mines near Lille. Given the recent decision by the Executive to proceed with the procurement of a development partner for the International Sports Village, this is an important opportunity to understand modern cost- effective snow and ice technologies that will help to deliver a further outstanding sports and leisure facility in Cardiff.
On 26 July, we will travel to Nantes, Cardiff’s twin city to visit the very successful ‘La Machine’ project. La Machine has created spectacular tourism and cultural events and attractions for cities around the world, and the Council has been investigating opportunities to work with the company in Cardiff.
On 27 July, a meeting ahs been arranged with Nantes Metropole to learn more about their major city centre project at Ile de Nantes and their current European Green Capital status. This will involve a tour of the Ile de Nantes site – a regeneration project of European significance – to provide inspiration and lessons for our Central Business District proposal. I will also visit some of Nantes’ renowned city parks, and learn about key parks’ educational initiative linked to ‘La Machine’. Finally, the Leader advised that he would meet with Nantes Metropole cycling team to learn about the city's expansive cycle network and related initiatives.
As there hasn't been an official visit to Nantes since 2004, this visit will also help to cement bilateral relationships with our twin-city.
Forthcoming Executive Business
The next scheduled Executive Business Meeting will be held at 2.00 pm on Thursday 15 September 2011. In accordance with the usual arrangements, I wish to advise Members that reports on the matters set out below will be coming forward for consideration by the Executive in the near future. The consideration of each item of business will be County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 88 subject to the Council’s established business arrangements and timetabling constraints. In accordance with legal requirements, the papers for Executive Business Meetings will be circulated at least three clear days prior to each meeting and posted on the website prior to the meeting taking place.
The following items are currently scheduled to be considered on 15 September 2011:
Corporate: Councillor Rodney Berman · Annual Performance Report 2010/11
Education & Lifelong Learning: Councillor Freda Salway
· Schools Organisation Planning: Welsh-medium Planning Ysgol Pwll Coch
Environment: Councillor Margaret Jones · Procurement of Organic Waste Treatment Solution: Stage 1 Outline Business Case
Finance & Service Delivery: Councillor Mark Stephens · Commissioning and Procurement Strategy · Budget Monitoring – Month 3 Report · Statement of Accounts 2010/11 Annual Treasury Management Report 2010/11 · Flaxland Allotments De-Designation
Health, Social Care & Wellbeing: Councillor Kirsty Davies · Director of Social Services Annual Report
Sport, Leisure & Culture: Councillor Nigel Howells · Cardiff Harbour Authority – Groundwater Code of Practice · Insole Court – Community Asset Transfer
Traffic & Transportation: Councillor Lisa Ford · Strategic Cycle Network Plan County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 89
· Park and Ride Strategy · Cardiff a Sustainable Travel City: Future Strategy (2011/12 – 2013/14) · Review Of Criteria For Resident Only Parking Scheme · Review of Disabled Persons Parking Place Installation Sequence
48 : CORPORATE QUESTIONS
Question: County Councillor Walker
Why did councillors and the public have to hear about plans to close the Friary centre from rumours and press reports?
Is the Leader aware of the reputational damage caused by the inept communication of this important and contentious matter?
Will he today clearly and fully set out his proposals for the Friary so that Council and the public are able to evaluate and respond to them?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
I want to confirm that, at this moment in time, no decision to close the Friary Centre has been taken. The centre currently provides accommodation for the Music Service, part of the Council’s Basic Skills and ESOL provision, the Disability Advisory and Resource Team (DART), DART courses and the Race Equality First service. Consideration is being given to the relocation of the DART team and courses, not least because of the access problems users of these services experience at The Friary.
The Friary is not owned by the Council. We have a lease with the Principality Building Society for which we pay a notional rental. Being a city centre building the actual running costs are in the region of £350,000 per annum. This includes Business Rates (£125k), Cleaning Costs (£50k), Energy Costs (£30k), Caretaker Costs (£50k) and Service Charges (£67k), with remaining costs coming from telephone and communication charges, other equipment and minor repairs. Each of the services using the building contributes towards the costs of the building proportional to their usage. These costs, together with the needs of services users, will clearly need to be weighed up as part of any future decision on the location of services at the Friary. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 90
With regards to the music service, as Councillor Salway stated earlier, I can confirm that Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) approached Council Officers with a proposal to accommodate the Music Service at their premises on North Road. However, the Executive has not yet been formally briefed or consulted on any proposals to move the Music Service from the Friary to the RWCMD as I understand that there are a number of complex and interlinked issues that have to be addressed in the first instance by officers. I have asked the Chief Executive to ensure that a full business case is developed in relation to any such proposals and that this be brought to the Executive to be considered in the Autumn. No decision will therefore be taken until all the facts have been properly considered.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Walker
I wonder if you could address the first question in my series of links there on why Councillors have to hear from rumours and the press? What locations or what options are there for the full orchestra to rehearse, because I understand that the Royal College hasn’t got such a facility, what would be the alternative options for rehearsals of a large orchestra like the Youth Orchestra?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
I would hope Councillor Walker, that like me, you would want to be making decisions with the full facts in front of you, and I think sometimes the problem is that when you want to look into the potential usage of a building or whether you want to move from one building to another, in order to find out whether it is feasible, you have to undertake a degree of consultation.
In undertaking that degree of consultation sometimes there is an opportunity for people to start making an issue out of it before any decision has even been reached as to whether or not you are going to go ahead with the move. So I suspect that is why some things have appeared in the press before any of us have particularly known about it, because I think it is only right and proper that sometimes Officers investigate the feasibility of things before they bring them to Councillors, to decide whether or not they want to do them. I think the alternative to that would be that we would be making decisions without really understanding what the issues were, and without really understanding what the needs of the County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 91 particular users of that building were. So unfortunately sometimes things like this happen, and I am not sure this is necessarily always the best way to deal with that.
On your second question, and I did note you asked two questions not one, as to where the Orchestra might go, I think that is the sort of thing I would like to get some information on from the Officers before I decide whether or not this might be something that I might want to support.
At this point in time we do not yet know what the options might be.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Cowan
What information has been provided to all staff, not just management in the music services so far regarding any possible moves from the Friary?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
I don’t have that information to hand but I am sure we could get back to you on that.
Question: County Councillor Joyce
Now that the new ice rink will begin a new tender process and we appreciate the financial restraints can you assure Council you will endeavour to secure a two pad ice rink to benefit all skaters and is befitting for the Capital City of Wales?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
The administration’s position on this matter is clearly outlined in the report that was agreed by the Executive last week. In summary, we agreed to progress the ice rink in the context of the wider waterfront development project at the International Sports Village (ISV). This will have significant benefits, not least due to the potential to deliver a major ice rink facility in conjunction with a wide range of other facilities. The procurement exercise will also include a ski slope, multi- storey car park, hotel, bars and restaurants. Clearly, bidders will be making commercial judgements and this will shape the various solutions that are put forward. In this respect, it would County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 92 not be wise to pre-judge the outcome of the tender process. However, the Executive has agreed that additional weighting will be given to bidders who offer more extensive facilities and more ice time, such as that which could be provided by a twin pad solution. This reflects the absolute commitment of the Executive to deliver an outstanding ice facility for the people of Cardiff.
Question: County Councillor Robson
When was consideration first given regarding moving musicians from the Friary into the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
I refer you to the answer provided earlier to the related question from Councillor Walker.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Robson
Thank you Lord Mayor and Councillor Berman for the answer to Councillor Walker which you refer to, on clarification of the process, what dates did the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama approach Council Officers with the proposals to accommodate the music services at their premises on North Road?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
I don’t have that sort of information to hand, I mean if you want to have answers to such specific questions it is helpful to give us a bit of notice. Again I am sure we can try and get back to you on that one.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Jones-Pritchard
You mentioned in an earlier response that it will be going to the Executive in the autumn, can you commit to a full consultation now including all stakeholders, including parents and users of the facility?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
I have no idea whether or not we are going to go ahead with this or not at this stage. I and the rest of the Executive don’t really have that much County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 93 information because Officers have been trying to ascertain the facts of what may or may not be possible before they come to us with any particular concrete proposals or not.
So therefore I can’t really answer your question because it is still very early days in terms of whether or not this is something that we may or may not pursue.
Question: County Councillor Wakefield
What procedures do the Executive have in place to monitor the response times to reports that are sent to them by Scrutiny Committees?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
The Executive receives a monthly monitoring report detailing Scrutiny reports which have been received by the Executive, together with the response target date as agreed at EBM and progress towards meeting those target dates. This provides the Executive with a regular opportunity to review any issues regarding responding to those reports with senior officers, and to understand why it may on occasions not be possible for responses to meet target dates.
In some cases it may be logical for responses to be postponed. For example, it has not been considered appropriate to respond to the Environmental Scrutiny Committee Report on Bus Station Modernisation Consultation & Appraisal (December 2010) due to a) the public consultation that was previously underway and b) the subsequent decision of the Scrutiny Committee to produce a further report on the subject of the bus station. This is currently the only outstanding response which has exceeded the target date and I understand that this has been conveyed to scrutiny officers.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Wakefield
The twenty reports that have gone to the Executive over the last three and a half years, the average turnaround time has been just over five months and I noticed at the last EBM you actually asked the relevant Executive Members what they thought the turnaround time would be. Could you consider doing this for all the reports, as I take your point that some reports need a little more consideration, so that we in scrutiny can just County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 94 have some expectation as to how quick a response will be and then we won’t have people saying “where is the answer”?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
I think we have actually been doing that since 2004, but it may be that sometimes there are unrealistic expectations that we can try to respond to scrutiny reports within two cycles, normally our standard protocol.
Ordinarily we would seek to advise Scrutiny Chairs at the outset whether or not we think we can adhere to that two cycle timescale. However, if the statistics are as you say, and that actually the average is higher than that, then perhaps we may need to look at the reports a bit more carefully when we receive them to determine how long it is going to take us to respond to them.
We do endeavour at all times to keep Scrutiny Chairs informed. The Executive Business office should be passing on information to the Scrutiny Officers who can then inform the Scrutiny Chairs when we have an issue with completing our response to a report according to the timescale that we hope to meet.
Question: County Councillor Walker
Following the Council debate on the Estyn Report, how does the Leader propose to evaluate options, research best practice and make proposals on how to address the shortcomings and opportunities arising from that report and the Literacy Scrutiny recommendations?
Will he seek to involve interested parties amongst elected members, officers, parents, educationalists and external experts in seeking to move forward with broad support?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
The Executive has invested, and is continuing to invest, additional resources to improve outcomes with regard to literacy. Significant work has already been done to research best practice – for example, in West Dunbartonshire, where a ten-year programme between 1997 and 2007 has been largely successful in eradicating illiteracy in the school-age population. The key elements of the strategy have under-pinned the County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 95
Cardiff approach. Professor Mackay, who was responsible for the programme, has been advising the Welsh Government on the national strategy for Wales.
In addition, Professor David Egan of UWIC is currently conducting an evaluation of the Cardiff strategy and the early view is a positive one. It is likely that the strategy will be the subject of a long term study and that its findings will be reported widely. There can be no higher priority than that concerned with improving the standard of pupils’ literacy. The Executive has already taken significant steps to bring this to the attention of the Cardiff wider community through a communications strategy which has also involved the media.
The work will need to be sustained over the medium and longer terms if the damaging consequences of poor literacy skills to the life chances of individuals and to wider society are to be combated. The combined contributions of Elected Members, officers, head teachers, teaching and support staff and, not least, parents will be crucial if we are to succeed.
Towards that end an event has already been held involving the leader, the deputy leader, the Chief Executive, head teachers of secondary and primary schools, senior education council officers and representatives of the business community to explore the contribution that local businesses can make both to raising literacy standards and, equally importantly, inspiring young people to world of work. Work will be undertaken in the coming weeks to identify the expected outcomes from this engagement and a strategy will be developed to identify how these outcomes will be met. Work will also begin to start matching schools with businesses.
These issues are expected to be considered by the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee in due course. As always, I will in addition give full and proper consideration to any requests that I receive from Members for additional meetings or discussions to further consider such important issues.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Walker
I am really trying to establish whether there will be some sort of strategy emerging from all of this work and you talk about work happening. I just wonder whether there is some overall plan at the start of this, in terms of literacy and the various elements of the Estyn report, and some other County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 96 things raised about key stages, and I was wondered whether there was something that one could look at and say “this is what they are going to try and do, this is the way they are going to do it, these are the dates and so on”, or some sort of strategic plan that we could look at?.
Reply: County Councillor Berman
Yes.
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
I understand that some of the six Neighbourhood Management Teams have yet to agree and publish their 2011/2012 Action Plans, can you confirm whether this is the case?
If it is the case please explain to Council how we can be reassured that those teams that have not completed their plans are spending their funds (each have £10,000 available to spend within their areas), in accordance with agreed objectives?
How can Members confirm that any expenditure made to date by Management Teams that have not yet produced agreed plans underpins appropriately the objectives of “What Matters” and the Council’s Corporate Plan?
In your answer, please identify those teams – if any – yet to complete their Action Plans.
Please also list the 2011/12 expenditure of all six teams to date, together with the title and objectives of the expenditure and also please list any agreed future or planned funding for each area Management Team (together with the purpose of that expenditure).
When will all six areas have drawn up their plans and when will they be compiled into a single document and made available to Members? Reply: County Councillor Berman
The ‘What Matters’ Integrated Partnership Strategy (IPS) was only formally signed off by the Joint Partnership Board on 18 May 2011 and has subsequently been progressing through individual partner agencies’ County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 97 decision-making processes, with approval by Cardiff & Vale University Health Board on 7 June 2011 and by the Council on 16 June 2011.
Ordinarily, strategic direction would have been established in time for the commencement of the new financial year (1 April) with programme and spending plans falling into line thereafter. As this is a transitional year, the delivery and implementation of the strategy through neighbourhood- focused or thematic action plans is being phased in throughout 2011/12. Therefore, there is no expectation that the £10,000 Transforming Neighbourhoods funding from the Council budget, which has been allocated to each of the six multi-agency neighbourhood management teams, will need to align directly with the agreed objectives of the ‘What Matters’ strategy, although this is clearly desirable where this can be achieved.
Nevertheless, each of the six teams were presented with their respective 2010/11 strategic needs assessment reports at the start of the financial year (Cardiff South West on 31 March 2011; Cardiff South East on 4 April 2011; City & Cardiff South on 7 April 2011; Cardiff East on 11 April 2011; Cardiff North on 18 April 2011, and Cardiff West on 19 April 2011) and work to develop their outcomes-based action plans – in line with the ‘What Matters’ strategy – commenced thereafter. The City & Cardiff South team has almost completed its action plan and all six plans should be completed by the end of next month. These plans will be made available to Members throughout September 2011 and I have also asked that copies of the strategic needs assessment reports are made available to Members.
In the meantime, each of the six teams has been determining the use of the Transforming Neighbourhoods fund to tackle emerging priorities by considering evidence-based business cases where necessary, although only 2% of the fund has been allocated to date, leaving £58,944 to allocate in line with agreed objectives and action plans under the ‘What Matters’ framework.
To date, the only agreed expenditure has been as follows: · £400 to support a community day at Pentwyn Leisure Centre (Cardiff North); · £500 to support the Operation Stay Safe activities (City & Cardiff South); County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 98
· £156 to support an initiative to address on-street sex worker issues (Cardiff South East).
These initiatives clearly align to the agreed ‘What Matters’ objectives around improving community cohesion, youth participation, improving community safety and perceptions of safety and safeguarding vulnerable people. Further expenditure is on hold until the completion of the six neighbourhood action plans in order to ensure future alignment.
Question: County Councillor Robson
What consultation was undertaken with parents and other users of the Friary regarding the possible relocation to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama?
Reply: County Councillor Berman
I refer you to the answer provided earlier to the related question from Councillor Walker.
49 : ENVIRONMENT QUESTIONS
Question: County Councillor Robson
Is the Council going to apply to become European Green Capital 2014?
Reply: County Councillor Margaret Jones
The Council is currently in the process of bringing forward a new programme of initiatives to develop and promote Cardiff as a ‘Sustainable City’.
European Green Capital status does provide an opportunity for the city to receive recognition for the major progress made over recent years in this area including: · Signing the Welsh Government Sustainable Development Charter stating that sustainable development is the central organising principle for the Authority.
· Signing the EU Covenant of Mayors in 2010 committing the city to reducing carbon emissions by at least 20% by 2020. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 99
· Becoming the world’s first Fair-trade Capital City in 2004 and Wales first Sustainable Travel City in 2009. · Becoming the first UK city to give all households a food waste collection in 2008 and now achieving a municipal recycling/ composting rate of 42%.
· Putting in place a Carbon Lite Cardiff Action Plan with Vision Forum partners.
· Progressing sustainable building standards - good recent examples the Central Library, Ty Gwyn School and John Kane Children’s Home attaining BREEAM Excellent.
Applying to become the European Green Capital 2014 could potentially support the City to further improve its high environmental standards and progress its ambitions for environmental improvement and sustainable development. Consequently, we will be discussing with partners in Bristol and Nantes, previous finalists for European Green Capital award, about the extent of resources required to complete an application and the potential benefits of applying.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Robson
Lord Mayor, I don’t know if you recall that you and I were lobbied on this particular issue in Rhiwbina by a constituent of mine. Councillor Jones, I would like to urge you to pursue this and hopefully put in a bid which would ultimately be successful. I believe this is the sort of thing that the Council should be going for to talk about the international links which we all know so much about in this Chamber.
Reply: County Councillor Margaret Jones
As I have said in my answer, we will be looking at it.
Question: County Councillor Cowan
Does every street in the Council ownership receive cleansing each week?
Reply: County Councillor Margaret Jones County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 100
You will recall that since September last year, the street cleansing teams have been deployed on a zone basis, similarly following the waste collection teams one working day later. The deployment of Community Sweepers and those teams deployed in and between the inner wards of the city that address ‘hot spot’ areas, which have historically been an issue, remained unchanged.
These resources working collectively cleanse all Adopted Highway streets each week. Inevitably though, for a variety of reasons including: the need to undertake staff training; vehicle breakdowns, and staff absences through holidays and sickness, there are occasions when Adopted Highway Streets are not cleansed every week. During such incidents, resources are prioritised so that the streets and areas most in need of attention are cleansed that day.
In September 2011, in parallel with the changes to the waste collections days which were approved by the Executive on 14 July 2011, corresponding changes to the street cleansing schedule will also be implemented. The Street Cleansing Teams will continue to work predominately on a zone basis, one working day later. However, the specialised route optimisation software used for the design of the new waste collection rounds will also be used to design the new cleansing rounds.
As with the design of the new waste collection rounds, a combination of industry accepted parameters and demographic factors specific to Cardiff, and also local team knowledge, will be used to complete the new round design. The adoption of this process to design the new rounds is expected to improve the efficiency of the operations and hence reduce the impact of the factors that I referred to previously upon the day-to-day operations.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Hudson
As you have replied that the cleansing team will follow the day after the waste collection, and the traditional days for collections are going to be changed in some cases, in particular in the Heath, to the end of the week instead of the beginning of the week. In the case of the Heath, if they collect the waste on a Friday does that mean that the cleansing team will not be in our ward until the Monday because we have areas of high leaf fall? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 101
Reply: County Councillor Margaret Jones
Thank you Councillor Hudson. The design of the new collection rounds has been undertaken with a view to improving the standard of street cleanliness across the city. Under the revised arrangements to be implemented in September the waste from black bag wards will be collected on a Tuesday or Wednesday, currently the waste from some black bag wards is collected on a Friday. Therefore with street cleansing being undertaken the next working day, these wards which would have historically suffered additional litter as a result of spilled bags will not need to wait until Monday for street cleansing.
The wards that will have waste collected on a Friday are not the more densely populated areas where cleansing issues have historically been an issue. For example, there are very few fast food outlets in these areas, the main cleansing work will therefore be undertaken on a Monday, although there will be teams available over the weekend to address any urgent issues that arise and this situation will be monitored.
Question: County Councillor Robson
Noting that from September the collection of green garden waste will become fortnightly and, noting that on a couple of occasions the bin lorry has been unable to collect all the green garden waste in Rhiwbina due to the large amount presented, will you introduce weekly garden waste collections during the periods of the year when there will be more to collect?
Reply: County Councillor Margaret Jones
The pressures experienced in Rhiwbina on the green garden waste is one of the symptoms that Waste Management have had to deal with over the last couple of years as a result of the inconsistent growth across the city. The new recycling and waste collection changes have been developed from existing data and have taken current workloads into consideration. By redesigning all the collection days, which will take effect in September 2011, these pressures have been taken into account and addressed.
It should not be forgotten that fortnightly collections of green garden waste is not new to the city. Between 2005 and 2008, garden waste was County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 102 collected once a fortnight. The weekly collection has been utilised to facilitate food collections in bin areas since 2008, but we are now moving to separate food waste collections. From 12 September 2011 onwards, the garden waste collections will return to a fortnightly basis.
There are numerous ways in which we will support residents if a fortnightly garden waste is not sufficient. Home composting bins remain available to residents at a reduced price as waste minimisation is always our first priority. An additional green wheeled bin can also be provided to those who find that the green bin is insufficient in the summer months. Alternatively, bio bags may be issued upon request to further support a flexible green waste service provision. Furthermore, the Household Waste Recycling Sites are – and will continue to be – available to accept garden waste throughout the year.
With all this support available to residents, we do not intend to introduce weekly garden waste collections during the short summer period when the quantity of garden waste increases at this time.
If I can refer you back to the Council’s Waste Strategy, it identified that there is a large seasonal variation of garden waste collections and indicated that the frequency of garden waste collection will be reviewed at a future time. It also identified that the priority was to make the city- wide changes with the simplest message possible. To introduce such a major collection change and then, in addition, alternate the frequency of the green garden waste collection during the year, was felt to be too onerous on the citizens at this time. Our focus will remain on providing simple, but high quality recycling services.
50 : FINANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY QUESTIONS
Question: County Councillor Page
In response to a question in Council I was informed that the disabled parking spaces in front of City and County Halls are not being policed to ensure that only people with blue badges can use them. Would you not agree that this gives the public the impression that this Council has no concern for the disabled?
Will it now take action to ensure that the spaces are only used by drivers with blue disabled badges? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 103
Reply: County Councillor Stephens
Your question in March was in the context of the number of tickets issued for non-Blue Badge holders parking in the designated bays. As indicated in that answer, and I shall repeat, parking wardens do not have jurisdiction over these bays as the land is private and so is not liable to Road Traffic Orders.
City Hall has a car park attendant who is on duty until 3.00pm on weekdays and, up until that time; he is able to ensure that the two disabled parking spaces are reserved for disabled persons. After 3.00pm, it is possible that City Hall visitors or staff may use the disabled spaces inappropriately but I will ensure that Reception and/or security staff at City Hall will be reminded to inform visitors via the intercom system when they are entering the car park of the need to avoid using these spaces if they do not have blue badges.
At County Hall, Facilities Management staff do carry out irregular inspections and respond to observations and comments made by members of the public or staff and have clamped unauthorised vehicles on occasion. If Members are aware that disabled access bays are being used inappropriately can they please advise the relevant staff at City Hall and County Hall so that they can take the necessary action. I will also ask relevant officers to send out a brief e-mail to staff and publish a short notice on the Council’s Intranet site reminding them that disabled parking spaces are reserved for blue badge holders only and to instruct them not to use these spaces.
Question: County Councillor Jackie Parry
Can you please tell me if the granting of leases for Council owned land is equitable across the city and how long should it take to respond to a request from local sports clubs seeking relief under the heading of “well being”?
Reply: County Councillor Stephens
Whilst each letting of land or buildings will be dealt with on its respective merits, the terms proposed and agreed will have regard to the appropriate County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 104 provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which set a legislative context for the letting of commercial properties. Where appropriate, interest will be sought by means of competitive tender and expressions of interest arising will be assessed by means of using pre agreed transparent evaluation criteria. Rental or licence fee levels set will have regard to both general prevailing market trends within the city, competitive offers received, and the inherent commercial viability of the business or use proposed for the property in question.
Sporting clubs can apply for mandatory rate relief if they are registered with HM Revenue and Customs as a community amateur sports club. If not, they can apply for discretionary rate relief if the sports club is not established or conducted for profit. Applications can take a varying period of time to finalise and are mainly dependant on the organisation providing the correct information and on receipt of legal advice.
51 : TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION QUESTIONS
Question: County Councillor Bridges
Will the Council consider adding an OY Bike stand near to the Allensbank Road entrance to UHW? This would allow hospital workers and tenants of the nearby student halls at Allensbank House to make use of bikes, and would help to reduce parking congestion locally.
Reply: County Councillor Ford
The OY Bike scheme currently has 100 bikes in 18 locations across the city. Locations for the hire stations are selected by the operator in liaison with Cardiff Council and were initially focussed on the city centre and bay areas. Recently work has been undertaken to extend the scheme to additional locations including those where there are significant student populations.
Discussions will be had with the scheme provider as to the feasibility of providing hire bikes at Allensbank Road. Additional cycle parking in the Allensbank Road area has also been included in the cycle parking installation programme for this year. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 105
Question: County Councillor Page
Proposals were made in 2008 to improve safety in Maes y Coed Road but since then very little action seems to have been taken. What is the present situation and why has it taken so long to implement the scheme which was planned?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
The proposed scheme in Maes-y-Coed Road is one of many safety schemes that I would like to see delivered. Funding for safety schemes is delivered primarily through Welsh Government Local Road Safety Grant, with funding prioritised for those schemes that will have the biggest impact on casualty reduction.
From April 2011, funding for Local Road Safety Grant (from the Welsh Government) is now allocated to local authorities via the South East Wales Transport Alliance (Sewta).
Sewta is currently developing a Road Safety Framework, which will set out Sewta’s approach for the delivery of road safety improvements, education, training and publicity across South East Wales as well as an implementation programme that will be updated annually.
Cardiff’s safety schemes will be put forward to Sewta for consideration for funding on an annual basis. We will need to assess and prioritise schemes according to Sewta priorities that are yet to be agreed, but are likely to be those schemes that will best deliver casualty reduction and tackle high risk safety areas.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Page
The first part of the reply I can understand, but the second part to my mind is a little bit confusing, so I’ll read out the part of the reply which says that ”the proposed scheme in Maes y Coed Road is one of many safety schemes that I would like to see delivered”. Why has it not been delivered because it was suggested a few years ago and when is likely to be implemented? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 106
Reply: County Councillor Ford
Thank you for the question with regard to this matter, I will check with Officers and I will get back to you.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Robson
Thank you Councillor Ford for the answer to Councillor Page’s question. In relation to safety in Maes y Coed Road, are you aware of the potential danger on the junction of Maes y Coed Road with Caerphilly Road where often pedestrians have to wait quite a while and the dangers of the traffic doing a right hand turn coming down Caerphilly Road into the other part of Ty Wern Road make a dash for it trying to beat the traffic lights. I wonder whether you could look into introducing a right turn filter so that the traffic has its own turn and the pedestrians also have their own turn. Thank you.
Reply: County Councillor Ford
Thank you for the question and I will look into this matter for you and get back to you.
Question: County Councillor Richard Cook
At the Full Council meeting on 16 June 2011 I asked you to have an urgent meeting with Cardiff Bus to ask them to consider re-introducing cross city buses so that passengers can travel from the west to the east and across the north of the city without having to change buses. You replied that you have regular meetings with Cardiff Bus. Have you met with Cardiff Bus since 16th June 2011, and did you discuss cross city buses, if not when is the next meeting and will you discuss this issue with Cardiff Bus and report the result of the discussion back to Councillors?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
I met with Cardiff Bus on 27th June to discuss a variety of issues including their forward 5 year programme.
I have already explained to you the rationale behind Cardiff Bus’ decision to not introduce cross city services until additional bus priority measures can be introduced to reduce delay. Currently, splitting the route enables County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 107 management of delays to be achieved more effectively, leading to a more reliable service.
In addition, as many people travel with a multi journey ticket, there is little fare penalty by having to change buses in the city centre.
With the introduction of more effective bus priority both on the radial routes and in the city centre itself, we will hopefully be able to encourage Cardiff Bus to restore cross city operation. We have already agreed with Cardiff Bus a new cross city service between the BBC development in Roath Basin and Cathays Park, which will shortly start operation.
Funding for further improvements this year on the A470 and Western Bus Corridor has also been secured through the South East Wales Transport Alliance.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Richard Cook
Thank you, Councillor Ford, for your answer. When did you explain to me the rationale behind Cardiff Bus decision to not introduce cross city service. I don’t recall having any conversation with you on that, perhaps you could tell me; and when will you meet with Cardiff Bus to discuss cross city bus operations?
The type of city service that you state in your answer between the BBC development and Cathays Park is not the sort of cross city service I am talking about. The sort of cross city service I am talking about and has been asked for by a lot of residents, is the one that used to go from the top of your ward to Llanrumney, like the number 61, that is the sort of cross city bus that we are missing in Cardiff.
So when did you explain to me the rationale, and when will you discuss true cross city buses with Cardiff Bus?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
Thank you for your question Councillor Cook, with regard to the changes with Cardiff Bus, the answer is in my reply. With regard to the number 61 bus, I will look into this matter for you and get back to you. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 108
Comment: County Councillor Gasson I asked a supplementary question at the last Council meeting because we have lost cross city services from Ely to I think it was Tremorfa, and we were very concerned about the loss of cross city services. So it is not just for Canton or Fairwater, a lot of Cardiff West services have been affected by the loss of cross city service. For example you have to get off at the Castle and walk down Queens Street.
Question: County Councillor Hudson
Is there a follow-up letter after a motorist has been issued with a ticket for a parking offence and before the default notice is served?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
The procedure for managing Penalty Charge Notices is defined by Regulation and the steps are as follows:
· Penalty Charge Notice issued – vehicle owner can then pay 50% of the Charge within 14 days or 100% after that time · Where the PCN remains unpaid after a period of 28 days a “Notice to Owner” is sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle seeking to confirm that they are still the owner of the vehicle and asking for 100% payment of the outstanding charge. · Where the debt remains unpaid after a further 28 days a “Charge Certificate” is sent to the registered keeper. The Charge is then increased by a further 50%. · If the debt remains unpaid after a period of time, (there are variances in this time as different circumstances change the timescales) generally around 28 days, a Notice of Recovery is sent to the registered keeper and the matter sent to the Bailiffs for recovery to be undertaken. Supplementary Question: County Councillor Cowan
What communications have you or Officers had with the police with regard to the process of the booking of motorists and the powers that each body: i.e. Council Officers and the Police have for booking motorists? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 109
Reply: County Councillor Ford
Thank you for your question, I will look into the matter for you and get back to you on it.
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
Please list the locations (by street and Ward) and the dates and the ages and gender of all children (0-16 years of age) killed in road accidents in the County since 1st January 2001 involving children that were pedestrians or cyclists and were killed as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle.
Reply: County Councillor Ford
FATALITIES 0-16 YEARS AGE SINCE 2001
CHILD CHILD TIME OF ACCIDENT ROAD NAME CASUALTY CASUALTY DATE: DAY: REF NO JUNCTION: LOCALITY: WARD: AGE: GENDER: : 19/05/2001 18:14:00 0036456 Lougher Close Fairwater Fairwater 2 Female
19/08/2001 19:30:00 0041444 Grand Avenue Ely Ely 16 Female
12/04/2002 18:45:00 0056930 Margam Road Mynachdy Gabalfa 6 Male / Llantarnam Road
14/02/2003 15:53:00 0077748 Willowbrook St. Mellons Trowbrid 13 Female Drive ge
06/04/2003 15:35:00 0080699 Clos-y-Rhiw Caerau Caerau 6 Female
29/09/2003 16:00:00 0092129 Lake Road Roath Park Cyncoed 13 Male West / Jellicoe Gardens
14/08/2004 18:33:00 0014916 Crickhowell St. Mellons Trowbrid 13 Male Road / James ge Court
20/02/2005 21:15:00 0126739 A4232 Ely Caerau Caerau 16 Male Link County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 110
02/04/2005 01:25:00 0128426 A4161 Roath Adamsdo 16 Male Newport Road wn / Plasnewy dd 30/04/2005 22:49:00 0129949 Willowbrook St. Mellons Trowbrid 16 Male Drive ge
27/07/2007 16:13:00 0169015 Willowbrook St. Mellons Trowbrid 3 Male Drive / ge Caerleon Close
18/01/2010 17:10:00 0197104 A4170 Whitchurch Heath / 15 Male Northern Whitchur Avenue / ch & Caegwyn Tongwynl Road / Manor ais Way
Question: County Councillor Richard Cook
Exactly what is included in the £1600 'snow kit' the Council is asking schools to purchase and how much does each item actually cost the Council?
What will the Council charge for one tonne of rock salt, including delivery charge?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
The ‘snow kit’ comprises two salt bins, full of salt, a footway salting spreader, and two shovels.
The cost of each item to the Council is as follows:
· One salt bin costs £195; · White salt in the salt bin costs £28 · The footway salting spreader costs £1028; · One shovel cost £28 each.
The total cost, including delivery by the Council, is therefore £1,550 which is what Head Teachers have been advised is the total purchase cost. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 111
The cost to the Council per tonne of rock salt delivered between October and March is £42.53. The cost of a Council Team delivering a tonne of salt elsewhere in Cardiff would be approximately £50.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Richard Cook
Why does one shovel cost the Council £28? I think that is an indication of where perhaps we could be saving money on purchasing costs, and incidentally, I looked on the internet at some of these; footway salting spreader, it must be a pretty luxury one for £1028, because the prices I got for an economy model was from £145, and an industrial model £325. So I really do think that the Council is overcharging schools for these and not purchasing at best value. So why does a shovel cost £28?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
Thank you for your question, I will get back to you with a full explanation.
Question: County Councillor Derrick Morgan
How many Councillors from each party attended the recent briefings on Winter Maintenance?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
To facilitate the engagement of Members in the review of the Council’s Winter Maintenance Policy and Implementation Plan, briefing sessions were offered to Members on the evenings of Tuesday 21st June and Monday 27th June, and also the morning of 29th June. Please note that Members of the Executive and Members of the Environmental Scrutiny Committee were briefed in advance of these sessions.
The following number of Councillors is recorded to have attended one of these briefing sessions:
Liberal Democrat Councillors = 1 Plaid Cymru Councillors = 1 Labour Councillors = 5 Conservative Councillors = 1 Independent Councillors = 0 County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 112
Question: County Councillor Patel
Over the last 4 weeks how many fixed penalty notices have been served by Civil Enforcement Officers outside the City Centre Railway Station?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
During the last 4 weeks Civil Enforcement Officers have patrolled the area outside the Cardiff Central Railway Station twice a day. In addition to this, they have responded to a number of requests for service when members of the public have reported difficulties. However, due to the fact that the existing no waiting Traffic Regulation Order permits loading and unloading, no Penalty Charge Notices have been issued. A new Traffic Regulation Order is being processed that will prohibit loading and unloading. This means that if drivers park their vehicles on the double yellow lines leading up to the station, they risk being issued with a fixed penalty notice. South Wales Police also patrol the area on a regular basis and report that whenever their officers attend, the vehicles move on before Fixed Penalty Notices can be issued.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Patel
Could you tell us how many taxi drivers who have parked illegally outside the railway station have had fixed penalty notices served, is the answer still none?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
Thank you very much for your question, I will check with officers and get back to you on the matter.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Bridges
Have any discussions been had between Highways and Licensing about managing the issue of taxis outside the central station?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
Yes there have been several discussions regarding this matter. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 113
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
Is it the case that the Council considers Newport Road suitable only for experienced and confident cyclists?
If so, would you encourage children to cycle to school along Newport Road?
Reply: County Councillor Ford
Cycling in Cardiff is on the increase and a huge amount of work is being done with schools to encourage more children to cycle. However, I would not encourage any cyclist (child or adult) to travel on any road on which they do not feel confident. Cardiff Council’s recently published cycle map designates Newport Road as a ‘main road route’ and states that ‘some of the busier roads provide the most direct routes and the kindest gradients but are only recommended for experienced cyclists’. The Cardiff Council cycle map also indicates the off-road cycle path along Newport Road between New Road and Moorland Road. This offers an alternative to those not wishing to cycle on Newport Road itself. The Council has developed a draft Strategic Cycle Network plan to improve cycling provision in the city. Following extensive consultation with internal officers, stakeholders and the general public, this plan identifies a number of strategic routes across the city plus the schemes required to create these routes.
The proposed first phase of work will see the completion of schemes on the Newport Road corridor (identified in the plan as Routes 3 and 35). The route incorporates 13 connected schemes which will eventually connect the Rhymney Trail to the city centre via a combination of both on and off-road sections, enabling greater numbers of people to cycle.
52 : COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND SOCIAL JUSTICE QUESTIONS
Question: County Councillor Patel
What provisions have been put in place to prevent horses from arriving at Victoria Park? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 114
Reply: County Councillor Woodman
It is the responsibility of land owners to maintain secure boundaries to prevent horses from straying.
Victoria Park is a ‘locked park’ and has secure fences and boundary lines. Public access during opening times is afforded through six entrances located around the perimeter of the park.
Procedures are in place to deal will horses that stray from private land onto Council land such as Victoria Park and, in any such event, Council officers and, in particular, the Horse Warden, will deal with these incidents promptly in order to prevent any public nuisance or danger.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Patel
What action has been taken against the land owners for not securing their boundaries, and what action has been taken against the horse owners for not securing their animals in the appropriate way and putting peoples lives at risk?
Reply: County Councillor Woodman
I assume you are still referring to the horses that were found in Victoria Park, and I would like clarity of which date you are referring to before I can answer that question. I will check with Officers because I understand that horses were found in Victoria Park actually twice. So I would like to know which date you are referring to before I can get that answer to you. What I would say is that we do follow the stray horse procedure in all cases and if horses are impounded there is a process that we do follow and if you are not aware of the process I strongly recommend you read the policy but I will find out for you what action was taken against the land owners.
Question: County Councillor Brian Jones
Since the successful setting up of so-called “Cold Calling Zones” has there been any increase or decrease in the number of incidents/complaints received from those zones, and how does that compare with the other areas that are not so designated? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 115
What action is taken where evidence of calling within the designated zones is available?
Is there an intention by the Council to roll-out cold calling zone schemes into a significant number of other areas across the whole of the City?
Reply: County Councillor Woodman
There are currently seven controlled cold calling zones in the city. Two have been in existence for some 30 months; the others were introduced last year. Trading Standards are currently carrying out an evaluation of the impact of these zones and, following the completion of this exercise, the Head of Regulatory and Supporting Services will prepare a report that will address the issues you have raised in your question.
Consequently, I cannot provide any detailed answers to your questions at the present time, but I can advise that some 3,500 residents have been consulted for their views on the efficacy of these controlled cold calling zones and, so far, almost 1,100 residents have responded, with more responses being received each day. The vast majority of the respondents have indicated that cold calling has reduced as a result of the zones being in place.
The report will offer recommendations on the future of this project and I will ensure that Members are made aware of those findings in due course.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Richard Cook
Councillor Woodman, I welcome that the Council is considering rolling out no cold calling zones across the city. I myself asked for the very successful zones in Canton to be rolled out to around Victoria Park either sides of the Park a few months ago, and the answer I got back from Officers was, not unexpected, that they want to respond within 24 hours to any call and it was resources really that was preventing them rolling out. So will you commit to putting the required resources in to roll out cold calling control zones? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 116
Reply: County Councillor Woodman
As it says in the answer Councillor Cook, we are doing a review and it depends on the results of that review if we do roll out across the rest of the city we do have to take into account police statistics and police crime statistics as well, and if we are going to roll it out across the city then I would have to make a bid for resources to do so and I would be foolish not to do that, but we have to wait and see if we do actually roll it out.
Question: County Councillor Derrick Morgan
I have been trying for months to find out the Council’s policy relating to JAM meetings that we in Llanrumney found to be a very useful forum for discussing and solving many local issues. Could you please provide me with an update on this please?
Reply: County Councillor Woodman
The process of holding Joint Area Meetings (JAMs) has been under review. Following consultation with Ward Members and Tenants & Residents Associations, draft proposals for a revised approach have been developed.
The proposals recommend establishing links with the new Area Based Working arrangements and will provide both Ward Members and Tenants & Residents Associations with the opportunity to receive key relevant information on a regular basis, as well as to engage with Council officers about housing issues.
Further consultation on these proposals will begin shortly with both Ward Members and Tenants & Residents Associations.
Question: County Councillor Cowan
Is it usual practice for the Council to suspend benefits to residents while the Council checks the current level of benefit is correct?
Reply: County Councillor Woodman County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 117
The Council’s Benefits Service regularly reviews claims to ensure that the information held is correct. The frequency of reviews is based on an assessment of how likely the claimants circumstances are to change.
Benefit would not be suspended as a result of these reviews unless the claimant failed to respond to the review form and a reminder. Officers would also telephone the customer and work with support workers and other partners to prevent claims being suspended unnecessarily.
Question: County Councillor Cowan
Is it the usual practice for the Council to suspend benefits where there is a possibility that the Council is paying a resident too much benefit?
Reply: County Councillor Woodman
Yes, if information is received that indicates that a person is receiving too much housing benefit or council tax benefit, then payment will normally be suspended, as this prevents overpayments of benefit. Overpayments cause problems for benefit claimants who normally have to repay the debt from very limited income. In addition, the Council faces considerable subsidy penalties on overpaid benefit, so it is very important that they are kept under control. The Council’s Benefit Service is currently introducing a new way of responding when a claimant’s circumstances change, which includes accepting more information over the telephone. This new way of working has proved very successful, reducing the number of cases being suspended and speeding up the process. A review of this change has shown that it is improving the service to clients, while still maintaining control of overpayments.
53 : EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING QUESTIONS
Question: County Councillor McKerlich
In the case of staff suspended from Danescourt Primary School are you satisfied that due process has been followed and do you believe that these staff members have been treated justly? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 118
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I am satisfied that due process has been followed. However, I am not prepared to offer any opinion on the justification for such decisions.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor McKerlich
Councillor Salway, your Party has a long and proud tradition of battling for social justice and civil rights, so I must say to start with I am absolutely astonished at the answer you have given. How can you justify saying that these people have been treated justly and with due process, when your Department has received a round robin signed by every member of staff apart from the Head Teacher saying that due process has not been followed and that they are dissatisfied in a big way with the Council’s and Governors approach to the matter; and secondly, that there is something like a 16 page document listing their dissatisfaction; and, thirdly, and even more astonishingly, last night when there was a meeting with parents, the Chairman of Governors took the extraordinary step of going around in advance telling staff that no members of staff could attend the meeting?
This is a shambles it is getting worse by the minute.
The Lord Mayor advised Councillor Salway that she may choose to answer one of the supplementary questions asked.
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I’ll answer the last question. It is unusual for members of staff unless they are staff representatives to attend a Governing Body meeting, so I would think that he was just putting in practice what is considered usual.
Question: County Councillor Furlong
Can you please detail what discussions you or Council officers have had with the Vale of Glamorgan Council about the suggested moving of the Cardiff and Vale Music Service from the Friary to the Welsh College of Music and Drama? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 119
Could you also give details of what considerations have been given to the other activities which take place at the Friary, particularly adult basic skills classes?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I refer you to the answer that I provided earlier to the related Public Question and to the answer provided by the Leader in response to the related question from Councillor Walker.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Furlong
Given the Leader’s reluctance to answer the questions on this matter perhaps you will be able to shed more light Councillor Salway. In what circumstances would a full stakeholder consultation not be required in relation to this issue?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I do not know off the top of my head in what circumstances. We are addressing the issues, some of which we were aware of such as the orchestra not being able to fit in, or the college not having a room big enough for the junior schools orchestra for example, we were aware of that. However, with the various e-mails, one of which came from you, I believe and other people believe, there are other issues that will now be looked at. As I say, I can’t say off the top of my head in what circumstances there would or would not be a full consultation without asking the Officers. I want to assure you and everyone else who has asked questions about this that the Leader and I, and the Department are looking at this very closely, but it will not be done until next term because we can’t get through it by then because I am away.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Robson
Councillor Salway, in relation to this issue, you will recall earlier I asked the Leader if he knew what dates the Royal College had approached Council Officers with this proposal; Councillor Salway I am asking you whether you know the dates and if not could you supply them to me at a later date? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 120
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I truly don’t know the dates, I know that I visited earlier on in the year but I don’t know the date when approaches were made but I will find out and get back to you. I will try to find out but if I can’t get back to you by tomorrow you will have to wait until September.
Question: County Councillor Cowan
Would you support a move to close the Friary and relocate to the RWCMD?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I refer you to the answer that I provided earlier to the related Public Question and to the answer provided by the Leader in response to the related question from Councillor Walker.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Cowan
If a full consultation is undertaken, will you support the outcome of the majority view to ensure that consultation is meaningful and worthwhile?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I would support anything that is fair and you know it will be looked at, but I cannot give you a categorical assurance obviously.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Gasson
There is much emphasis on the music aspects this afternoon but there appears to be no response to the bit about adult literacy and learning. Are you aware that this was a matter of concern to the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee a year or so ago when we looked at this and expressed concerns about the loss? I wonder whether anybody is looking at that aspect as well as the music aspect, bearing in mind what one of the Executive Members said about the expensive costs. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 121
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I am not sure about the question you asked, but I am unable to answer it because it does not bear any relation to either of the two questions in front of me which are about the music service.
Question: County Councillor McKerlich
Have you found time in the last month to study the LEA policy on staff suspensions?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
Although, and I’m sure like other Members, I do not claim that the LEA policy on staff suspensions is my daily reading, I can assure the Member that where the policy is used in schools that officers ensure that governing bodies and/or staff at the school follow the policy appropriately. Of course, where there are significant casework issues, and we have some at the moment in Cardiff, I am regularly briefed by officers on appropriate policies.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor McKerlich
Given the considerable expense which has resulted at Danescourt, and given the considerable upset you have caused to parents and the staff, I must say I am rather surprised by your very flippant response to this question.
Can I point out to you that at the last Council meeting, I advised you that there are ten significant areas where the policy has been breached, and I have got them highlighted for you, and the staff have written to your Department agreeing that the policy on staff suspension has not been followed. So even in your busy schedule Councillor Salway I would have thought this merited some attention?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I actually had a discussion with the HR person and I have been through it with her sometime during the month since the last Council, I cannot give you the actual dat. I am satisfied that the due process has been followed. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 122
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
Please detail the nature and dates of all meetings or, distribution of consultation communications with the respective local communities (of Llanedeyrn and East Cardiff), their local Councillors and respective school governing bodies (i.e. the East Cardiff High Interim Governing Body, Rumney & Llanrumney High Schools & St. Teilos Governing Body) in which specific designs of school buildings or ancillary planning issues, such as highway and traffic issues were detailed or discussed.
When did the Council receive the architect’s various draft plans for the two schools?
Have there been any changes made to either set of plans as a result of consultation with the community or local Members?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
The scope of this question requires a significant amount of research to answer fully. I have therefore asked officers to prepare this information as soon as possible for onward transmission to you.
Question: County Councillor Robson
Do you believe Cardiff needs to formally compare attendance levels in schools against comparator authorities throughout the UK (in addition to the 21 other Welsh Authorities) and do you agree that the National Assembly for Wales needs to recognise this?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
As you know pupil attendance levels across our schools is a major challenge for the City, which is why the current administration decided, in this year’s budget strategy, to increase the resources made available to schools for tackling attendance issues. As part of its performance management the Welsh Government annually compares the City with all other Welsh Authorities, over a wide range of indicators. Because of the urban context, and the socio-economic diversity of the population in Cardiff, pupil attendance levels do not lend themselves to County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 123 be equitably compared to many of our Welsh counterparts. You will know that for certain indicators, such as certain aspects of pupil performance, we have for some time used a 'basket' of comparable English local authorities in our own statistical comparisons. However even for these comparable authorities, the significant education 'funding gap' between England and Wales would mean that there was even less of a level playing field when trying to make a like for like comparison.
I could only agree that the Welsh Government should formally recognise the need for comparing Cardiff with English authorities if we were able to secure a level of funding that is equal to that of English authorities.
(The Lord Mayor indicated that there was no further time for supplementary questions on this portfolio
Question: County Councillor McKerlich
Have you found time in the last month to study the LEA policy on Staff Disciplinary Procedures?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
Although, and I’m sure like other Members, I do not claim that the LEA policy on staff disciplinary procedures is my daily reading, I can assure the Member that where procedures are used in schools that officers ensure that governing bodies and/or staff at the school follow the procedures appropriately. Of course, where there are significant casework issues, and we have some at the moment in Cardiff, I am regularly briefed by officers on appropriate procedures.
Question: County Councillor Martin Holland
Having been made aware of the proposed timetable for the consultation regarding the Tremorfa Nursery amalgamation with Baden Powell Primary School, I have grave concerns about the possible harmful effects it will have on the parents and children who are due to start nursery for the first time in September.
To have this consultation begin on the first days and weeks they begin their school life is totally inappropriate, and I would urge you to reconsider and take fully into account the wishes of teaching staff and County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 124 governors to delay the consultation, at the very least until the new starters and their parents have grown accustomed to the routine of the nursery and have fully bedded in.
I sincerely hope that you can appreciate the very genuine concerns regarding the timetable as presently proposed, and can I ask that you respond positively to the many valid reasons why this consultation should be delayed?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
The consultation period has been established by taking account of term dates, allowing sufficient time to consider and summarise responses and meeting lead in times for reporting back to the Executive, so that clarity can be given on the way forward as early as reasonably possible, in order to reduce the period of uncertainty. On reviewing these dates officers have however indicated that the consultation period can be put back a week so that it will now commence on 19 September and finish on 24 October with some flexibility on the timing of individual events within that period.
Question: County Councillor Cowan
The Friary has a controlled and secure point of access which puts parents and families minds at rest when their children attend for musical practice. Does the RWCMD have the same facilities?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I refer you to the answer that I provided earlier to the related Public Question and to the answer provided by the Leader in response to the related question from Councillor Walker.
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
Do you stand by your view (one that also appears in some of the documents accompanying the planning application), that the site of the proposed East Cardiff High School lies central to its catchment area?
Do you agree that the site of the proposed East Cardiff High School is located further away from the most disadvantaged areas of east Cardiff County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 125 than the site of Rumney High School and further from where the majority of the children that are likely to become its pupils after its construction live?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
The Rumney Recreation Ground is the most centrally located site available for the proposed East Cardiff High School.
Whilst the proposed new school will require some pupils to travel a small distance further (between 0.3 and 0.5 miles) the distances conform to the Welsh Government Guidelines (the Learner Travel Measure). This measure states that secondary school pupils are only eligible for free home to school transport if they reside three or more miles from the school they attend. It is also the case that for some pupils the site will be closer to home than the Rumney High School Site. It should also be noted that the school will be located on an accessible road network and that some children from your ward will have less distance to travel.
Question: County Councillor Cowan
Does the RWCMD have sufficient space for complete ensembles to rehearse?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I refer you to the answer that I provided earlier to the related Public Question and to the answer provided by the Leader in response to the related question from Councillor Walker.
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
In your assessment of secondary school provision in east Cardiff have you taken account of the increase in the number of young children now resident in the three wards (Trowbridge & St. Mellons, Rumney and Llanrumney) and have you also taken into account the likely number of additional children of secondary school age that will live in the area following the completion of new planned residential development (in my ward numbering as many as 1,500 new homes)? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 126
Reply: County Councillor Salway
I can reassure you that all assessments of future demand for school places take account of the latest trends as applied to all available data. I can also reassure you that the school has been designed with flexibility to be expanded by a further form of entry (150 places) should this ever be warranted.
Question: County Councillor Cowan
What process is in place for the Council to reclaim school dinner money which schools have failed to collect?
What is the total amount of unclaimed money over the last 3 years?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
Individual schools are responsible for collecting school dinner money from pupils. Where a pupil has failed to pay for meals taken, after a maximum of 5 days, the school will, in the first instance, write to or contact the parents/guardians advising of the situation and the amount outstanding. The school will make every effort to recover the arrears, verbally and by letter, and will provide the opportunity for parents/guardians to repay the outstanding monies.
Should all attempts to recover outstanding monies fail, then a letter is forwarded to the parents/guardians giving them notice that the service will be withdrawn. If for any reason they are unable to collect the income, the school’s responsibility will cease.
Cardiff Catering will arrange for an external bill to be raised to all respective parents/guardians for any arrears outstanding (this also applies when a cheque payment is returned as unpaid by a bank). Once a bill has been raised by the Council, the normal income recovery process is started should that bill remain unpaid. The amount of income received over the past three years in respect of school meals was £6,124,326.
The amount billed for non payment of school meals over the past three years was £48,500. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 127
The amount of unrecovered income for the past three years, after these processes have been exhausted, was £8,000.
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
What is the expected cost of the completion and fit out of the proposed East Cardiff High School (excluding all costs associated with the renovation of the Eastern Leisure Centre)?
What is the expected cost of the completion and fit out of the proposed St. Teilos High School?
What are the respective sizes of the two schools:
a) the sites including all on-site playing fields and amenity space and; b) the internal floor spaces of each premises.
How many pupils are the two schools planned to accommodate at full capacity on completion?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
Cost
Based on the initial development appraisals the costs for the two projects are currently circa:
Eastern £29,611,250 St Teilo’s £29,902,704
Both figures exclude contingency and construction cost inflation.
Size
Eastern: · School building internal floor area = 12,758m² · School enclosure (school building & external areas in direct support of the school) = 2.05ha · Area shared with leisure centre (plaza, car park and ATP) = 2.08ha · Total area = 4.13ha (area of whole site = 9.08ha) County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 128
St Teilo’s: · Gross internal floor area for school = 12,760m² · Gross site area = 9.13ha
Capacity
The capacity of the new ‘Eastern’ school is intended to be approximately 1,500 places, but the design includes the potential for this to be enlarged in the future to a capacity of approx. 1,650 pupils should circumstances warrant it.
It is intended that the capacity of St Teilo’s, when completed, will be 1,440 places.
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
Do you stand by your comments made at the briefing received by Members from Rumney, Llanrumney and Trowbridge & St. Mellons that Cardiff County Council cannot be held responsible for the safety of children crossing Newport Road to attend the proposed East Cardiff High School?
Reply: County Councillor Salway
As set out in the Transport Assessment the surrounding area has an effective network of routes suitable for both walking and cycling. New crossing facilities at strategic locations on Newport Road and Llanrumney Avenue in association with the upgrade of other crossings will assist pedestrians.
The proposed site is adequately served by public transport and discussions have been held with service providers to consider if re- routing of certain services is possible.
Whilst these measures reflect the Council’s commitment to developing safer routes to schools it cannot be held responsible for the actions of individuals and the related consequences for people travelling to and from school. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 129
54 : HEALTH, SOCIAL CARE AND WELLBEING QUESTIONS
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
As a Member of the Community & Adult Services Scrutiny Committee you were occasionally critical of a “lack of forethought” on the part of the then Executive Member for Health, Social-Care & Well-Being in regard to the procurement and commissioning of outside agencies for providing care services (and particularly in regard to the recent controversial Domiciliary Care arrangements).
How do you intend to ensure that the Council’s arrangements for the commissioning and procurement of service providers in relation to the supported living services for adults with learning disabilities, operates smoothly (especially during any transitional stages), achieves all their objectives and saves money without causing distress to people, who almost by definition, are often extremely vulnerable members of our community?
Reply: County Councillor Kirsty Davies
I did not criticise Councillor John Dixon personally, I constructively criticised the process which, I believe, is a fundamental purpose of Scrutiny.
The service area has always considered the impact to service users in any of the procurement exercises that are undertaken. We have undertaken consultation on the Supported Living Services commissioning exercise already and have developed robust links with all stakeholders in respect of this exercise. The recent Executive report in relation to Supported Living Services sought an extension to the process to further engage with stakeholders in the light of recent changes in Welsh Government’s Guidance to ensure that the most appropriate process is used. The report also indicated that there would be significant engagement with the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee as part of the process to ensure that any proposed approach benefits from robust scrutiny.
In respect of the transition arrangements for Supported Living Services, the previous commissioning exercise held in 2007, despite objections and protests, was ultimately considered by Service Users, their carers and current providers to have been very successful as were the care County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 130 arrangements that were implemented and we would wish to build upon the successful legacy that this process has given us.
However we are not complacent and will ensure that through considered reflection on the more recent exercises and experience elsewhere in Wales and the UK that the future process provides a transition to the most appropriate services that we should all expect for our service users.
I would however like to express my concern at your continued attempts to seek political capital out of the non political process of scrutiny. I fear that it undermines your integrity as a scrutiny chair and places in jeopardy the ability of scrutineers to question as freely as they need in order to perform their role.
55 : SPORT, LEISURE AND CULTURE STATEMENT (County Councillor Howells)
Green Flag Awards Councillor Howells was pleased to report that at an awards event at the Royal Welsh Show earlier in the week it was announced that Cardiff Council had been successful in retaining Green Flag status for seven of its parks and green spaces, these being Bute Park, Grange Gardens, Roath Park, Victoria Park, Rumney Hill Gardens, Cardiff Bay Barrage and Cathays Cemetery. It was also confirmed that the Council has been awarded Green Flag status for Thornhill Cemetery and Cardiff Crematorium for the first time following assessment earlier in the year.
The Green Flag Award scheme is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the UK, recognising and rewarding the best green spaces in the country. The retention of seven existing flags and award of the new flag for Thornhill Cemetery and Cardiff Crematorium clearly demonstrates the Council's commitment to the management of its parks and green spaces'
Cardiff Story The Cardiff Story was officially opened to the public by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall on Thursday 28 June 2011. Her Royal Highness was welcomed by several officials including the Leader and Lord Mayor. Her Royal Highness unveiled a commemorative print of ‘Whoever they Were’ - a poem written especially for The Cardiff Story by the National County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 131
Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke. Around 200 guests attended the event including contributors and partners as well as existing and potential donors to the Phase 2 development. Councillor Howells expressed his gratitude to the Cardiff Story’s founding patron Henry Engelhardt for his very kind words applauding the Museum’s work and his ongoing personal commitment for the current and future development.
Since opening in April, the Cardiff Story has welcomed over 75,000 visitors. Significantly, the Cardiff Story recently received an applauding review from the heritage industry’s leading and most authoritative source of news and information – Museums Journal. The review was undertaken by leading industry professional Tim Bryan and in his words, his visit to the Cardiff Story “left him impatient for its follow up”.
The Cardiff Story continues to progress its education remit with further partnership working. The team is working in partnership with Glamorgan Archives and Local Studies central library to provide a single access point facility for museum visitors, researchers and museum staff to search all three collections held by the city. The project recently received funding from the Welsh Government through CyMAL (Museums, Libraries & Archives Wales).
Indoor Surf Attraction Members will be interested to learn that the development of the indoor surf attraction on Sports Village is continuing at pace. The development of this facility will maintain the redevelopment momentum in Cardiff Bay by increasing further the high quality sporting facilities on the International Sports Village site. The attraction fits perfectly within the site’s theme of snow, water and ice and is expected to be a regional tourist attraction in its own right. There will be an anticipated increase in income and visitors to the facility which will be easily incorporated and managed through the existing knowledge and experience of the staff that are on site. Most importantly it will also provide an indoor activity that will be available all year round.
Gemau Cymru A new multi-sport event for young children "Gemau Cymru" took place in Cardiff 8 – 10 July 2011. This event showcased nine different, competitive sports including Athletics, Gymnastics, Swimming and Canoeing. Cardiff was chosen as the ideal setting for the first ever County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 132
Gemau Cymru, and captured the spirit of the London 2012 Games whilst delivering a lasting sporting legacy for Wales. During this event, CIWW was presented with a plaque to confirm the centre as a British Canoe Union and Canoe Wales High Performance Centre. CIWW becomes one of only four elite centres across the UK. This is the second award for CIWW since being voted ‘Best Visitor Experience’ in Wales just 6 months after opening.
National School Sport Week Staying with the Olympic theme – Sport.Cardiff hosted a UK flag ship event as part of National School Sport Week. The event took place at Llanishen High School and saw former Olympic gold medallist Jason Gardener talk about his career as a British Sprint Athlete and gave children an exclusive glimpse of the Olympic torch. He was joined by The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Councillor Delme Bowen and Wenlock, the official London 2012 mascot.
National School Sport Week is a sporting celebration for primary and secondary schools and aims to generate interest in sport for pupils of all ages. The nationwide campaign ran from 27 June 27 to 1 July and attracted almost 14,000 schools and 5 million children from across the UK, encouraging them to take part and enjoy sporting activities. This year Cardiff was chosen to host the closing ceremony which saw 400 children take part in Olympic and Paralympic sports as well as attempting to beat their personal best.
The Big Gig Members with an interest in the Live Music Scene in Cardiff will I am sure be encouraged to hear about the Council’s exciting new Big Gig initiative. Following an astonishing response to this new competition the judges, who included Darran Smith, formerly of Funeral For A Friend, had the onerous task of choosing one winner out of the 6 hugely talented acts that all made it through to the exciting final.
The winner - who will play live at the Admiral Cardiff Big Weekend on 7 August, is Ffred Jones. Up and coming singer Songwriter Ffred has already appeared on BBC Introducing and 6 Music. Using unusual instrumentation, his great voice and beautiful songs have a haunting quality and no doubt he will prove a huge success at the Big Weekend. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 133
Cardiff Multicultural Mela Councillor Howells was extremely pleased to have the opportunity to once again visit the Cardiff Multicultural Mela on Sunday 17 July. Last year's Mela in Cardiff Bay attracted more than 30,000 visitors making it the biggest event in Wales of its kind, and I have no doubt that this years event reached similar numbers. The Mela showcases a wide diversity of cultures, music, dance, arts, fashion and food to name a few. Although the Mela's roots are Asian cultures, this is a festival for all and aims to educate share and celebrate all cultures.
Welsh Proms The 26th Welsh Proms at St David’s Hall proved a huge success with 24 performances ranging from light classical, silver band to jazz and Balkan Kletzmer. All 3 main concerts had audiences in excess of 1,200 and the move toward providing a more populist repertoire has proved to be successful.
Level 3 played host to a further 12 concerts of a wide variety of musical genres– 4 of these concerts being free to the public – and again these proved popular with over 1,500 patrons attending.
Equally important were the 8 concerts aimed at children with the Tiddly Proms, Primary Prom and Family Prom attracting almost 2,000 children, schoolteachers and parents: some 22.8% of the total audience.
This week will see our National Concert Hall host 13 University of Cardiff degree ceremonies - 3 a day - which will bring in excess of 24,000 students and guests into Cardiff to enjoy our beautiful city.
56 : SPORT, LEISURE AND CULTURE QUESTIONS
Question: County Councillor Bridges
Will you make a statement on the unofficial BMX trails at woodland near to Blackweir?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
There has been a history of young people establishing informal trails throughout public open space across the city, including the woodland area County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 134 that you refer to at Blackweir, whereby natural resources have been used to shape features.
There are official tracks available at Maindy and there are also ‘dirt tracks’ at Splott Park and the ABC Park in Trowbridge. Dual use BMX / skate parks also exist throughout the city.
The Council is looking at ways in which demand for this activity can be met and is currently in the early stages of exploring the possibility of providing formal BMX trails at specific sites. There are a number of factors that need to be carefully considered in the process of site assessment, which include proximity to residential areas; existing use of land; supervision and monitoring; and budgets. The Council will continue to work with stakeholder groups to address the situation.
Question: County Councillor McKerlich
As various local communities start to plan celebrations of the Jubilee in 2012, when will Cardiff Council formulate its plans for this occasion and who will be responsible?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
Officers have already been in preliminary discussions regarding proposals for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in 2012 and the visit of the Jubilee Diamond to the Capital City. Once formal proposals have been considered and evaluated, the outline celebration plans will be shared with the Council’s Executive for final consideration.
Development of the programme and associated plans are being managed in parallel with the planning arrangements for the London 2012 Olympics. The Council’s Head of Culture, Tourism & Events is the Council’s lead officer and she keeps me abreast of all proposals and developments. Once the final proposals have been formulated, I will be pleased to share our plans with Members.
Question: County Councillor Derrick Morgan
You recently made the following statement:- County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 135
'We are extremely fortunate that Cardiff boasts more than 56 formal parks and gardens across the City, seven of which are proud winners of the prestigious Green Flag Award. They are free resources that are vital in promoting healthy, active and happy communities. Our green spaces are beautiful and I encourage people to support Love Parks Week and learn what your local park has to offer'.
Now that Sport Wales has voiced its objection to plans by Cardiff Council to build a school on much loved community parkland and this can be added to the objections to it from the vast majority of the residents in the East of the City, Local Members, Assembly Member, and Member of Parliament. Would you agree that now is the time to drop these ludicrous proposals and consult on providing a 21st Century for the children in the East of Cardiff on a site that does not destroy our parkland?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
The proposed new school on the Rumney Recreation site would see an overall net gain in Public Open Space (POS) of 5.1 hectares.
Currently, there is no Public Open Space at the Rumney High School site. The proposal would create unrestricted access to 1.2 hectares.
The provision of an Artificial Turf Pitch on the Eastern Leisure Centre site will replace the two adult pitches lost to the footprint and hard surfaces of the new school.
The proposal would increase the capacity in the local area for organised sports activities, as the loss of two adult sized grass pitches on the Eastern Leisure Centre site would also be compensated for, by 3 adult pitches and an ATP being made available for community use on the current Llanrumney High School site.
The community will continue to be able to access the Recreation Ground during school hours with recreational space for public use during the school day being designed-in as part of the new build project. The proposed compensatory Public Open Space on the current Rumney and Llanrumney High School sites conforms to the Council’s Supplementary Planning Guidance on such provision and the location of these sites in relation to the Rumney Recreation Ground meets the County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 136 requirement therein that replacement open space should normally be provided within 1.5km from the land lost.
I would state again that Cardiff is fortunate in terms of its parks and green space provision, and the Council will be celebrating ‘Love Parks’ Week, which will take place from 23–31 July 2011, by organising a wide range of events and activities across the city and involving local communities. Details can be found on the National ‘Love Parks’ website and, in addition to this, on the Council’s own website. Local communities are being encouraged to use and celebrate our parks as part of the campaign.
Question: County Councillor Robson
The Executive Response to the Economic and Culture Scrutiny Committee’s Report 2010 report into Cardiff Harbour Authority included the following response to recommendation 10:
“Response: Recommendation is partially accepted.
The redevelopment of the graving docks is subject to ongoing review in view of market conditions, which will be linked to the continuing viability of the project. However the potential development of an external attraction such as that proposed by Techniquest in the graving docks area would require a long term lease to secure the grant funding, typically 25 years. This would potentially prejudice potential wider development in this area over that period whilst providing only very modest income. Any lease of this type on Harbour Authority land would also require the approval of WAG which given the implications indicated is unlikely to be obtained.
The Harbour Authority is however working with Techniquest to explore other locations for similar attractions, including on the barrage, which could provide similar benefits without impacting on future development potential to the same degree”.
What can be done on a short term basis on this site to create an attraction which will enhance Cardiff Bay’s offer, both culturally and economically, rather than leaving it as an unused area of land? County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 137
Reply: County Councillor Howells
Members will be aware that the Council continues to make determined efforts to secure the development of Cardiff Bay as an outstanding leisure destination. The recent announcement of the Dr Who attraction is another significant milestone in achieving this aim.
The Graving Docks were considered as a possible location for this attraction but Roath Dock proved to be more cost effective to develop and has significant synergy with the BBC drama village on the adjacent site.
The Executive believe that the Graving Docks have real potential to contribute to Cardiff’s visitor economy. Over recent years we have sought to test market interest in helping to stimulate the area but economic conditions have clearly served to mitigate against the development of concrete proposals.
Significant short term activity is not easily attracted to this area as most developers/ event organisers are keen to use the higher footfall areas around Roald Dahl Plasse and Mermaid Quay for obvious commercial reasons.
However, the Harbour Authority has made progress. Weekend markets have used the area and when possible feature vessels also provide visitor interest in this area. The annual Christmas event has in the past included this area and these types of activities will continue to be pursued.
Question: County Councillor Walker
How many buggy shelters were built at leisure centres and other locations and what was the cost?
How many, if any, are used and when does he intend to remove those which have never been utilised and are now deteriorating, becoming eyesores and reminders to the public of ill considered and costly decisions within his area of responsibility?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
There were shelters built at Eastern, Fairwater, Western and Llanishen Leisure Centres at a cost of £5,350 each, a total of £21,400. They were County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 138 built in response to requests from the public who wanted such a facility as they perceived this as a barrier to them being able to use the centres. The shelters were built at no cost to the Council as they were grant funded as an extra stream of funding (2006/07) from the Welsh Assembly Government Free Swimming Initiative to improve customer experiences at facilities in order to meet Climbing Higher targets. In the case of the shelter at Western this was removed as part of the redevelopment of the Centre in 2008/09.
You are quite correct in that the shelters at both locations have only received very sparse use despite many efforts to “sell their use” to members of the public. At this time there are no plans to remove them.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Walker
The buggy shelters outside leisure centres, in the case of my local leisure centre, has never been used, and is a complete waste of money, an eyesore and is starting to deteriorate. Would it be sensible to remove this reminder to people of wasted public expenditure, just to save your embarrassment?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
This was an initiative we embarked on in conjunction with the Welsh Assembly to further the aims of ‘Climbing Higher’ Strategy to encourage people who don’t necessarily use leisure centres. When the consultation was done there were young mothers and fathers who expressed their desire to have somewhere to store their buggies. It hasn’t worked clearly, it didn’t cost the Council tax payer in Cardiff a penny and as such, We certainly don’t have a budget to remove the ones that are there, but we will in future refurbishments of the various centres look at perhaps make any amendments as necessary.
Question: County Councillor Ralph Cook
Do you agree that proposals to pilot St. Mellons and Llanrumney Libraries as the locations for Community Hubs should be suspended pending consultation on the specific proposals for each library (i.e. the consequential reduction in the number of books available for borrowing and the potential loss of qualified library staff and substitution with County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 139
“advisers”), with the respective local communities in Trowbridge & St. Mellons and also Llanrumney?
Would you welcome a thorough scrutiny of the proposed pilot by one or more scrutiny committees (i.e. Community & Adult Services and/or Economy & Culture?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
No, I do not agree that the pilot “hub” projects should be suspended pending consultation on specific proposals for each library. I believe that such ‘hubs’, which deliver more than one service from a council building, are the way forward for the Council to be able to provide cross-cutting, added value, sustainable front-facing customer services. Not all hubs will be in libraries and not all libraries will be hubs.
The pilots in the east of the city will try out new methods of working in order to find out how best to meet community needs and to continue to deliver excellent library services. If successful, local communities will be amongst the first to benefit from the new way of working and services on offer, including the presence of a Neighbourhood Librarian to promote and encourage reading and libraries within the community; housing and benefits services; Age Concern and Citizens’ Advice services; and council information – all without travelling into the city centre.
There is currently a high book stock in St Mellons and a low stock turn (issues per item). Even though there will be a small reduction of stock in preparation for the pilot, there will still be plenty of books and the main function of the building will still be a library. Customers will still be able to reserve any item in the system free of charge. We will also carry out the early refurbishment of the internal public space which will be of immediate benefit to customers.
As part of the pilot, the staff will be required to answer questions on more than just library services and issues. However, the skills they require are very similar to those needed by library staff and they will be required to continue to deliver the primary services of the building, in this instance, library services. As I have previously mentioned, there will also be a Neighbourhood Librarian. This person will be an experienced librarian who will be able to focus on promoting libraries and encouraging reading within the local community, without the burden of having to manage a County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 140 building as well. The success or otherwise of the pilots (including library services) will be monitored as part of the overall pilot.
With regard to the Scrutiny process, I believe input would be appropriate once the pilot “hubs” have something to report. The success or failure of the pilot could be reviewed and the relevant Scrutiny Committee could input suggestions for further pilots should the initial ones be unsuccessful.
Question: County Councillor Cowan
What are we doing to ensure libraries do not have to close early on occasions due to staff sickness?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
In terms of performance in this area, Cardiff has recently completed its draft report for CyMAL on performance against the Welsh Public Library Standards, one of which is for emergency non-opening of libraries:
· WPLS 3ii): Library authorities will ensure that emergency non- opening hours of static libraries will be no more than 1% of total planned opening hours in any year
· Performance: 0.6%
Despite the challenges presented to the service, performance is still within the standard.
Libraries will only remain open in the evenings if there are at least two staff on the premises. This is for customer service and health and safety reasons. Timetables are structured to ensure that at least two staff are on duty at the end of the day, but sometimes it is inevitable that closures will occur towards the end of the day due to staffing difficulties.
Staff within a branch library provide cover for annual leave unless there are extenuating circumstances and will do all they can to provide cover during sickness absences. If they cannot manage, then cover is requested from other locations. If this cannot be provided, then it is with regret that the library closes early. All sickness absence procedures are followed County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 141 across the service so that staff are aware that sickness is monitored and that their absence has a direct impact on service delivery. Some branch libraries will be involved in piloting the “citizen hub” approach to delivering services. One aim of this project is to strengthen the overall staffing element in a hub building, ensuring sustainability of advertised service delivery. If the pilots are successful, then the model can be rolled out across other council service points ensuring sustainable services. Not all libraries will be “hubs” and not all “hubs” will be libraries, but this sort of development across some service points may help to strengthen the service overall and reduce the instances of early closure.
Question: County Councillor Walker
How many automatic doors have been installed in leisure centres, how many breakdowns have occurred and what has been the cost of installation and repair?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
There are automatic doors at STAR, Llanishen, Western, Penylan Library and Community Centre and Cardiff International Stadium. In the case of STAR, Western and Cardiff International Stadium they were installed as part of refurbishments for those facilities, so we do not have cost per site. In the case of Penylan Library and Community Centre the cost of installation was £19,950 approximately 18 months ago and there have been no subsequent repair costs. In the case of Llanishen the cost was approx. £23,000 in 2008 and there have been 13 callouts since that installation that have all been covered under warranty. All facilities have maintenance contracts in place for the automatic doors which includes an element of repair and apart from some initial issues at Cardiff International Sports Stadium there has been little additional expenditure at any location. There will be a cost of approx. £1,300 in the next month or so in order to replace motors/sensors at Llanishen that we are currently seeking quotations for.
Supplementary Question: County Councillor Walker
In view of the bad experience particularly in the case of Llanishen Leisure Centre, would it be worth reviewing the supplier and the standard County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 142 of installation and repair and the purchasing protocol related to these doors, because if they have been back that number of times there must be something wrong?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
I agree, and as you can see we are looking to make some additional expenditure towards the end of this month or next month, with regard to the motors and sensors. If that doesn’t solve the problem then we certainly will do that.
Question: County Councillor Gordon
Now the Council has given planning permission for the sky flier ‘ride’ on Cardiff Bay Barrage – can the Harbour Authority let us know if the terms and conditions will include a deposit, before any build takes place, to cover the entire cost of taking dismantling it and removing it should the firm go bust within 5 years or if it is decided it cannot continue operations after its 5 year trial?
Reply: County Councillor Howells
The terms of the agreement with the developer will include a financial bond that will enable the Harbour Authority to remove the structure in the event that the company fails.
57 : QUESTION TO THE CHAIR OF PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE
Question: County Councillor Cowan
What are the Council’s new proposals with regard to writing to alleged offenders with regard to dog noise nuisance?
Reply: County Councillor Bridges
Following a recent review of the Council’s Noise and Air Pollution service, there have been several amendments to the procedures for dealing with noise and air complaints. The review focused on the service provision to customers and one element that will be varied will be the nature of response. County Council of the City & County of Cardiff 21 July 2011 143
Upon receipt of a complaint regarding dog barking, the first contact with an alleged offender will now be a visit by an officer to the complainant to discuss the allegations and the implications should the complaint be justified. During this visit, the officers will discuss the possible causes of the barking and provide appropriate advice and signposting to attempt to resolve the issue informally.
A letter will only be sent to the alleged offender if contact is not made by attempts to visit. The target for visits to an alleged offender will be 2 days following receipt of a complaint.
(The meeting finished at 8.20pm)