Agenda and minutes

To receive any declaration of interest from any Member or Officer in respect of any item of business.

Councillor Richard Griffiths declared a personal but not prejudicial interest on the basis of his daughter’s employment in the Housing Department.

Councillor Alun Roberts declared a personal but not prejudicial interest as a member of the Governing Body of Ysgol Beaumaris.

To present the report of the Head of Adults’ Services.

The report of the Head of Adults’ Services incorporating a summary of the feedback from the engagement process and final recommendations with regard to the proposed development of an Extra Care Housing Scheme on the Ysgol Beaumaris school site in the Seiriol area was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The report provided a synopsis of the comments made at the public meeting held in Llangoed on 15th January, 2018 and the Council’s response to the issues raised, along with the Site Selection Report by the Authority’s Senior Valuation Officer and feedback from an on-line questionnaire.

The Leader and Portfolio Member for Social Services said that a commitment was made in 2015 to develop Extra Care provision in the Seiriol area; the Ysgol Beaumaris site was subsequently identified as the most suitable site for the development both in terms of the residents of Seiriol and more broadly for the South of the Island. Both the Corporate Scrutiny Committee and the Executive supported holding a period of engagement locally within the Seiriol ward on the proposal and specifically, the location of the proposed scheme. This process took place during November and December, 2017 and entailed meetings with the local town and community councils, drop-in sessions, an on-line survey and a public meeting. The Portfolio Member said that the responses to the proposal were mixed and whilst there is general support for Extra Care Housing (ECH) as a form of provision there is disagreement as regards the best location for an ECH development in Seiriol as well as concerns about the impact of the proposed scheme on the future of the Haulfre Residential Home.

The Head of Adults’ Services gave a visual presentation to the Committee based on the presentation made to the town and community councils and to the public meeting held at Llangoed on 15th January, 2018. The presentation addressed the following matters –

•           The evidence in support of extra care compared to residential care. Extra care supports an independent life and higher quality living and is generally cheaper for residents and more cost-effective for local authorities.

•           The key features of Extra Care Housing.

•           Extra Care provision on Anglesey in the form of the established Extra Care Scheme in Penucheldre, Holyhead and the planned development at Hafan Cefni, Llangefni which is scheduled to open in the summer, 2018.

•           The sites considered for the Extra Care scheme in South Anglesey (an area encompassing Seiriol) and their ranking following evaluation and scoring for suitability.

•           The two favoured options (Beaumaris Day Care Centre and Ysgol Beaumaris) which are both on the site of Ysgol Beaumaris. These are considered preferable because of their accessibility to the town and amenities of Beaumaris; because of their centrality within the Seiriol Ward and because there is enough space to develop the scheme behind the school if it were to remain as a school.

•           The proposed 3rd floor model for the development in Beaumaris images of which were shown, as well as an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

·        To present a progress report by the Head of Children’s Services.

·        To present an update report from the Children’s Services Improvement Panel.

•           The report of the Head of Children and Families’ Services setting out the progress to date on implementing the Children’ s Service Improvement Plan was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The report set out progress thus far with regard to the following areas of focus –

•           Service Re-structure

•           Recruitment and Retention

•           Policy and Guidance update including the Workforce Strategy

•           Quality Assurance

•           Working with Partners

The Leader and Portfolio Member for Social Services reported that a great deal of work has been done so far and is ongoing. Attached at Appendix 3 to the report is a detailed self-assessment summarising the strengths, achievements and areas remaining to be improved against each of the recommendations of CSSIW’s Inspection report from its inspection of the Council’s Children’s Services in November, 2016. A letter from CSSIW’s Head of Local Authority Inspection dated 11 January, 2018 notes that although the pace  of change has been slow there has been positive incremental improvement overall and that significant progress has been achieved in implementing the new service structure. The letter acknowledges that there is continuing corporate commitment to securing improvement in Children’s Services and that increased scrutiny and challenge from elected members has been a positive development. The Regulator states that it will continue to monitor progress ahead of a more formal review by way of re-inspection later in 2018.

The Head of Children and Families Services said that he was pleased with the Regulator’s letter which recognises the continuing progress made by the Council to implement the recommendations of the inspection and to improve its Children and Families Service. The Officer, in acknowledging that much work remains to be done said that reforming practice does not happen overnight. However, the service is aware of the areas it needs to focus on and is prioritising accordingly.

•           A report by the Scrutiny Manager incorporating a progress update on the work of the Children’s Services Improvement Panel was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The report provided a summary of the matters which have received the Panel’s attention over the course of November and December, 2017 along with an updated version of the Panel’s work programme to May 2018.

Councillor Richard Griffiths, the Corporate Scrutiny Committee’s representative on the Panel reported that all work-streams pertaining to the Service Improvement Plan appear to be on target thus far. However, the Panel wishes to bring the Corporate Scrutiny’s attention to the fact that although good progress has been made on implementing the revised staffing structure, some social worker posts remain filled by agency workers. This needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

The Committee considered the information presented and was assured by the feedback received from the Panel and the areas covered by it during the reporting period as set out in section 2.2 of the report. The Committee noted that the Panel had observed that there had been a significant reduction in the service’s dependency on agency staff in filing vacancies but that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To present the report of the Head of Service (Highways, Waste and Property).

The report of the Head of Service (Highways, Waste and Property) was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The report provided an overview of the position with regard to the Council’s smallholdings estate following the completion of the 5 year Improvement Plan which sought to address the deteriorating physical condition of the rural estate.

The Portfolio Member for Highways, Property and Waste reported that the Council’s Smallholding Estate is currently made up of 98 holdings in total analysis of which is provided in section 5.13 of the report. 51% of the total holdings are held on the more modern Agricultural Tenancy Act 1995 agreements or Farm Business Tenancies while the remaining 49% are held on the stricter Agricultural Holdings Act 1996 tenancies. As holdings become vacant, they are transferred to the newer AHA tenancy agreement which are fixed term agreements on open market rents. Since commencing on the improvement programme, the rent income generated by the holdings has increased by £120k.

The Principal Valuation Officer said that he considered the Improvement Programme overall to have been a success; the value of the estate has been significantly optimised and the condition of a large proportion of the estate has been improved.

The Committee considered the information presented and made the following points:

•           The Committee noted the current age profile of the Council’s smallholdings estate and noted particularly the aging demographic trend of tenants with only 10% of tenants aged 40 and under, 30% aged 51 to 60 and 25% aged 61 to 70. Whilst it accepted the reasons for this as set out in the report, it sought clarification of whether there is recognised practice elsewhere among Wales’s local authorities which the Council could draw upon to promote mobility and increase opportunities for new entrants. The Principal Valuation Officer said that the Welsh Government’s report – Welsh County Farms: Way Forward Initiative - highlights Anglesey’s policy with regard to the management of its rural estate as being positive and proactive in comparison to the minimalistic approach of other authorities in Wales.

•           The Committee noted that the discussion at Full Council had been about not selling smallholdings without the approval of the Council. The Committee therefore sought clarification of the current approach taken to the sale of smallholdings. The Portfolio Member for Highways, Waste and Property confirmed that the right to sell resides with the Portfolio Member but that any such decisions are taken in consultation with the Officers. Disposals have been necessary both to generate the capital to fund the improvement programme and in terms of the management of the estate – in order to remove from the portfolio, assets that were under-performing and assets that were surplus to requirements.

It was RESOLVED to note the information presented with regard to the current position of the Council’s Smallholdings Estate following the completion of the 5 year Improvement Programme.

NO ADDITIONAL ACTION WAS PROPOSED

To consider adopting the following –

“Under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during the discussion on item 6 on the grounds that it may involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act and in the attached Public Interest Test”.

It was considered and RESOLVED under Section 100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during the discussion on item 6 on the grounds that it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act and in the Public Interest Test as presented.

To present a joint report by the Head of Learning and the Head of Service (Highways, Waste and Property).

The joint report of the Head of Learning and the Head of Highways, Waste and Property was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The matter was referred to the attention of Scrutiny by the Audit and Governance Committee in the wake of an Internal Audit review of school transport which had resulted in a Limited Assurance opinion meaning that significant weaknesses had been identified in the system of internal controls with regard to School Transport.

The Highways Service Support Manager reported that the Internal Audit review report on School Transport was presented to the Audit and Governance Committee on 21 September, 2017. The report included an Action Plan setting out 16 items which required addressing over a period of time, according to priority. As well as the Internal Audit action plan, the Head of Resources/Section 151 Officer, Head of Learning and the Head of Highways, Waste and Property met in August, 2017 to establish a programme of short, medium and long-term actions. The Learning Service has appointed a Consultant to work as a Project Manager on this matter. The Learning Service also benefits from the specific time allocation of an officer in the Transformation Service team who has specialist knowledge of IT systems and who will work with other authorities in North Wales which already utilise the Transport ONE software system to which Anglesey has also subscribed. The ONE system is designed to enable bus and taxis routes to be tracked to ensure that the optimum routes are adopted thereby providing better value for money.

The Officer proceeded to highlight the progress made since September, 2017 as set out in the report including progress against the recommendations made in the Internal Audit action plan.

The Head of Learning reported that an internal audit review of school transport arrangements was requested after over-expenditure on the school taxi services was identified in 2016/17. The school bus service continues to spend within budget and in terms of expenditure per head, is the cheapest in Wales. The demand for school transport is constantly changing with a significant increase in the number needing a school taxi service; consequently, a review of school transport policy will be held to ascertain whether in some cases, a service is being provided unnecessarily or is being duplicated. However, work over the past few months means that the service is now better informed as to the nature and extent of the demand for transport and is working on putting in place the systems to better enable it to manage the demand in line with statutory requirements. Work on evaluating and tracking bus and taxi routes has begun and as a result, it is anticipated that the overspend will be reduced this year. This is before work on systems has commenced. The Education Service has received funding through the Council’s Invest to Save initiative to improve business processes. This will be used to establish a system to help plot bus and taxi routes digitally to achieve economy in the use of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To present the report of the Head of Learning.

The Committee was in open session for the following item.

The report of the Head of Learning incorporating the Annual Report of the Library Service for 2016/17 setting out performance against the fifth quality Welsh Public Library Standards 2014-17 was presented for the Committee’s information.

The Head of Learning reported that the Welsh Government via its policy division MALD (Museums, Archives and Libraries Division) requires that the Council submits an Annual Report on performance towards fulfilling the Public Library Standards for Wales. The Annual Report contains a summary of Library and Information Service performance during 2016/17 and has been submitted to MALD in draft form due to the assessment timetable. The Assessment shows the service to be performing well and that it has met 17 of the 18 core entitlements in full thereby maintaining its performance in 2015/16. Of the 7 quality indicators, the Isle of Anglesey achieved 4 in full and 3 in part which is similar performance to that in 2015/16. However, MALD expresses concerns in some areas particularly in relation to staffing. Performance is broadly similar to last year, with some notable improvements in usage levels. The ongoing issue of low staffing levels remains an area of concern especially during a period of planning changes for the future. The Officer said that notwithstanding, the service has succeeding in maintaining the quality of the service and that in moving towards the sixth quality framework of the Welsh Library Standards the transformation process bodes well for the service’s being able to sustain performance against those standards.

The Committee acknowledged the performance of the Library Service in difficult times and in a period of transition.

It was RESOLVED that the Committee –

•           Suggests that the Portfolio Member FOR Education, Libraries, Culture and Youth approves the Welsh Public Library Standards Annual Report for 2016/17.

•           Notes the Welsh Government’s (MALD) assessment of the Library Service’s 2016/17 Annual Library Report and the issues arising therein.

NO ADDITIONAL ACTION WAS PROPOSED