Venue: Committee Room 3A, Guildhall, Swansea. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services - 01792 636923
No. | Item |
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Apologies for Absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were
received from Councillors J P Curtice, D J Lewis, E W Fitzgerald, G J Tanner
and Mr D Anderson-Thomas. |
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Disclosures of Personal & Prejudicial Interest. PDF 51 KB Minutes: In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, no interests were declared. |
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Prohibition of Whipped Votes and Declaration of Party Whips. Minutes: In accordance with the Local
Government (Wales) Measure 2011, no declarations of Whipped Votes or Party
Whips were declared. |
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To approve and sign as a
correct record the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 9
November, 2015 and the Special Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 18
November, 2015. Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 9 November, 2015 and 18 November, 2015, be agreed as a correct record. |
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Co-option of Scrutiny Performance Panel Conveners. PDF 52 KB Minutes: The Chair presented a report which sought Committee approval for the co-option of Scrutiny Performance Panel Conveners to enable attendance at Committee meetings. Members noted the guidance on co-option and co-option to the Scrutiny Programme Committee. RESOLVED that the Performance Panel Conveners be co-opted to the Scrutiny Programme Committee: Service Improvement & Finance – Cllr. Chris Holley Child &
Family Services – Cllr.
Paxton Hood-Williams Schools – Cllr.
Fiona Gordon |
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Scrutiny Performance Panel Progress Report - Child & Family Services. PDF 69 KB (Councillor Paxton-Hood Williams). Additional documents: Minutes: The Convenor of the Child & Family Services Scrutiny Performance Panel, Councillor Paxton Hood-Williams, presented a panel update. He referred to the findings of the recent CSSIW report which the Panel will continue to monitor. He referred to the work carried out over the last few months and the update report. He stated that the Panel had also been engaged in scrutinising the development of Post 16 Service over the last 2 years and had been able to give views on important aspects of the development. He reported that the Panel was pleased that the new contract had been awarded and it had been agreed to engage with Barnardo’s once the service was up and running. The Panel would continue to receive monitoring reports on the new service. In response to Member questions, the Convenor stated that: · sickness absence remained a problem within Child and Family Services. A lot of work was on-going with the Department to address the situation; · The numbers of Looked After Children has fallen from 610 and the LAC reduction strategy was in place and being monitored; and · The issues raised in relation to Children in Need (CIN) and numbers of unborn and under 3-month babies on the Child Protection Register was being closely monitored. It was noted that the increase was a national problem.
The Chair thanked the Convenor of the Child & Family Service Scrutiny Performance Panel for his informative update.
RESOLVED that the update report be NOTED. |
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Cabinet Member Question Session: Cabinet Member for Finance & Strategy (Leader). PDF 62 KB (Councillor Rob Stewart). Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee took the opportunity to
question Councillor Rob Stewart, Leader of the Council (Chair of Cabinet). The questions session focused on Councillor
Stewart’s role as Leader, in terms of priorities, actions, achievements and impact.
Councillor Stewart was invited to make any opening remarks
before taking questions from the committee. The question session led to discussion of the following: ·
The current challenging financial position and
projections ·
Anti-poverty work ·
Development of the City Region and benefits ·
Progress with the marketing of Civic Centre and
St. David’s sites ·
Role of the cabinet advisory committees ·
Leader’s programme of visiting all wards ·
Challenges in the next 12 months (including
financial, joint working ahead of formal local government reorganisation) ·
Expectations for the year ahead (including
progress on city centre development, continuation of rebuilding schools
programme, completion of commissioning reviews, developments in housebuilding,
creation of a more commercial council, innovation) In response to Member questions the Leader
confirmed that: · The Council had made savings of £26m which
equated to 80% of the target; · The overall financial position can not be determined until the grants (e.g., Communities
First, EMLAS, Flying Start etc) figure is known; · Schools must not get into the trap of
thinking that the reduced funding will only affect this year. Austerity will continue for next 3 years. Very clear with headteachers
and Governors continue to plan for up to 2019.
This year easy for schools as the Minister is giving £1.8m protection,
£2.5 NI, teachers pay award not funded, additional pressures faced by
schools. Make sure we can try to
mitigate implications of austerity. Not
sure of level of impact. 3-4 years time we will not
be able to fund education in the way we are doing now. Bleak future; · On track to achieve savings of 100% (£26m) by
the end of the year; · With regard to the 21 Century Schools Programme,
there remains a funding gap of £57m. The
Capital Budget will always have a funding gap.
Development of Civic Centre and sale of Penllergaer
hope to realise assets programme for disposal; · Unable to confirm the exact cut for Education
and Social Services yet, however, funding will likely reduce by 5% a year; · Whist it is not yet known what cuts are to be
made to services and what buildings would be closed/disposed of prior to January
2016 when Community Councils set their budgets, there is an asset transfer if Community
Councils want to take over assets. In
terms of service and how they will be reformed and changed. Commissioning reviews (Education, Highways). Cannot give definitive answer as it depends
on what service is being discussed. The Chair thanked the Leader for his attendance.
RESOLVED that the Chair of Scrutiny Programme Committee write to the Leader, reflecting the discussion and sharing the views of the Committee. |
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Pre-Decision Scrutiny - Role of the Committee. PDF 60 KB Minutes: The Chair presented a report which provided guidance on pre-decision scrutiny ahead of consideration of the Cabinet report on ‘City Centre Development Sites – Selection of Preferred Developer(s)’. RESOLVED that the report be noted. |
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Exclusion of the Public. PDF 62 KB Minutes: The Committee was requested to exclude the public from the meeting
during the consideration of the item of business
identified in the recommendations to the report on the grounds that it/they
involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as set out in the
exclusion paragraph of 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information)(Variation)(Wales) Order 2007
relevant to the item of business as set out in the report. The Committee considered the public interest test in deciding to
exclude the public from the meeting for the items of
business where the public interest test was relevant, as set out in the report. RESOLVED
that the public be excluded for the following items of business. CLOSED SESSION |
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Pre-Decision Scrutiny: City Centre Development Sites - Selection of Preferred Developer(s) - Report of the Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development & Regeneration. a.
Presentation of Cabinet Report and Questions. b. Committee’s Views for Cabinet. Minutes: The Director of Place, assisted by the Head of Regeneration and Planning, presented the report which detailed the initial developer role to progress regeneration proposals for St David’s and Civic Centre Sites and confirmation of funding for work up costs. The Committee highlighted a number of issues contained in the report. RESOLVED that the Chair of the Scrutiny Programme Committee presents the views, conclusions and recommendations regarding the report to the Special Cabinet meeting on 17 December, 2015, prior to the Cabinet decision. OPEN SESSION |
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Scrutiny Work Programme 2015-16. PDF 79 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: OPEN SESSION The report of the Chair reviewed the scrutiny work programme.
The report provided the committee with:
· The current scrutiny work programme · A plan for future committee meetings · A progress report on the various existing Panels and Working Groups · Cabinet forward plan for opportunities for pre-decision scrutiny
The chair referred to the introduction of a Public Question Time in order to develop opportunities for public participation. Councillor U Clay
sought approval for the Transformation of Adult Social Services undertake pre
decision scrutiny in respect of a report scheduled for Cabinet on 21 January,
2016 entitled ‘Review of Abergelli and The Beeches’ RESOLVED that:
1) the committee work plan be accepted; 2) Public Question Time be introduced on all future Scrutiny Programme Agendas taking effect from 11 January, 2016; and 3) The request for pre-decision scrutiny in respect of the Review of Abergeli and The Beeches Report scheduled for Cabinet on 21 January, 2016, be agreed and considered at the next meeting of the TASS Panel on 11 January, 2016. |
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Membership of Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups. PDF 53 KB Minutes: The Chair presented a report which advised of changes to the membership of Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups. RESOLVED that the report be noted. |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: The Chair reported the Scrutiny Letters Log and referred to the recent correspondence between Scrutiny and Cabinet Members. RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Letters Log be NOTED. |
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Feedback from Recent Scrutiny Events. Minutes: None. |
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Upcoming Scrutiny Events. Minutes: None. |
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Audit Committee Work Plan. PDF 32 KB Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED that the
Audit Committee work plan be NOTED. |
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Date and Time of Future Committee Meetings for 2015/16 Municipal Year (all at 4.30 p.m. except where noted): Minutes: The date and time of future Committee Meetings for the 2015/16 Municipal Year was noted. |
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Date and Time of Upcoming Panel / Working Group Meetings: Minutes: The date and time of upcoming Panel/Working Group meetings were provided for information to help increase the visibility of this work and encourage participation. |