Agenda and minutes

To receive disclosures of personal interest from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct

Note:

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest: and

2.     Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when they leave.

In accordance with the Councils Code of Conduct the following declarations of interest were made:-

Agenda Item 6 – Proposal To Re-Align Learning Support Class Provision Within RCT

·         County Borough Councillor R Bevan declared the following personal interest in respect of the item- “I am on the Governing Body of

Pontygwaith Primary School but my interest is not prejudicial because of the exemption contained within paragraph 12(2) (a)(iii) of the Members Code of Conduct”

·         County Borough Councillor M Webber declared the following personal interest in respect of the item- “I am on the Governing Body of

·         Heol Y Celyn Primary School but my interest is not prejudicial because of the exemption contained within paragraph 12(2) (a)(iii) of the Members Code of Conduct”

Agenda Item 7 – Planning for Welsh Medium Education Places.

·         County Brough Councillor R Lewis declared the following personal interest in respect of the item- “I am on the Governing Body of YGG Abercynon Primary but my interest is not prejudicial because of the exemption contained within paragraph 12(2) (a)(iii) of the Members Code of Conduct”

To approve the minutes of the Cabinet Committee on the 19^th March, 2019 as an accurate record.

The Cabinet RESOLVED to approve minutes of the 19^th March, 2019 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.

To receive the report of the Director, Democratic Services & Communication providing the Cabinet with the interim report of the Public Service, Communities & Prosperity Scrutiny Working Group established to deal with ‘Recycling in Communal Areas’.

The Service Director, Democratic Services & Communication provided Cabinet with the interim report of the Scrutiny Working Group established to deal with ‘Recycling in Communal Areas’.  Members were advised of the background to the scrutiny review regarding low recycling figures and lack of ownership in respect of communal waste recycling, the inability to identify offenders of contamination and the potential for fly tipping.

Members were aware of the work undertaken so far through the utilisation of two sub groups of the working group, one looking at Social Landlords and one looking at enforcement.

At this juncture in the meeting the Chairman welcomed the Vice Chair of the Committee, Councillor T Williams to address the Cabinet.

The Group Director,, Prosperity, Development & Frontline Services also spoke positively on the work undertaken by the working group and suggested that a trail be undertaken in Rhydyfelin as the area lent itself to the objectives of the trial as it housed all types of house in one area.  The Group Director also referenced the trial undertaken in Ynysybwl with a letter scheme and the positive effects witnessed which he hoped would be reflected in Rhydyfelin with the scrutiny proposals.

The Deputy Leader thanked the working group and the Group Director for their work and welcomed the trail in the Rhydyfelin area and the potential improvements to recycling.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Leisure & Heritage Services. thanked the Scrutiny working group for their work to date and spoke of the positive meetings that scrutiny were conducting with Social Landlords.  The Cabinet Member welcomed the scrutiny recommendations and the recent improvements witnessed in Ynysybwl and fully supported the trial and the scrutiny work going forward.

Following discussions it was RESOLVED:

1.    To acknowledge the Interim report of the Scrutiny Working Group;

2.    To the Interim recommendations put forward by the Scrutiny Working

            Group, as set out below:

a)    That a community recycling engagement event, as set out in paragraph

4.6 of the report, is held at one of the following areas, which have been identified as areas of poor recycling and high levels of black bag waste, in partnership with the Social Housing Landlords and the Council’s Streetcare Services team:

•           Rhydyfelin

b)    To consider progressing an appropriate pilot scheme in one of the above areas, such as the coloured refuse bags scheme/ or the ‘Red/Amber/Green’ letter scheme, as referred to in paragraph 4.6 of the report. 

c)    To direct the Council’s legal department to undertake meetings with the

 Housing Associations in respect of data sharing and/or Service Level 

            Agreements, as set out in paragraph 4.7 of the report; and, 

d)    That Waste Services are consulted on major planning applications, as appropriate and as referenced in paragraph 6.2 of the report.  

To receive the report of the Chief Executive advising Members of the outcome of the recent publication of a Statutory Notice in respect of proposals to improve education provision in the Cynon Valley.

The Director, Education & Inclusion Services advise Members of the outcome of the recent publication of a Statutory Notice in respect of proposals to improve and increase education provision in Hirwaun by investing in a new school for Hirwaun Primary School and the proposal to Improve Welsh medium education provision by increasing the supply of places in the Upper Cynon Valley by making Penderyn Community Primary School, currently a dual language school, a Welsh medium Primary School.

Members were advised that 9 objections had been received consisting of letters, emails and 3 petitions and details of the objections and the responses were provided in Appendix 1 of the document.

The Director reminded Members of the views of Estyn in respect of the proposals in that a beneficial impact would be seen if the proposals were taken forward.

Members were advised that if the proposals were taken forward it was proposed that a new school building be constructed to accommodate the new Hirwaun Primary School and it is estimated that the cost of this work would be approximately £10.4m.

The Cabinet Member for Education & Lifelong Learning commented on the proposals and the improvements to the education provision if the proposals were taken forward.  She confirmed that  the Penderyn Community Primary School would continue to allow new English medium admissions until such time that the change in category of Penderyn Community Primary School, from a dual language school to a Welsh medium school, comes into effect

It was RESOLVED:

1.    To note the information contained within the Objection Report attached at Appendix A of the report, which includes a summary of the 9 objections received during the Statutory Notice period, and the comments given in response to the objections.

2.    To implement the proposals as published in the Statutory Notice which will:

·         create a new school for Hirwaun Primary School by September 2021;

·         change the category of Penderyn Community Primary School from a dual language school to a Welsh medium school from September 2021;

·         continue to allow new English medium admissions to Penderyn Community Primary School until such time that the change in category of Penderyn Community Primary School, from a dual language school to a Welsh medium school, comes into effect.

3.    To note that a separate report on funding arrangements will be presented to Council in due course.

To receive the report of the Director, Education & Inclusion Services advising Members of the outcome of the recent publication of a Statutory Notice in respect of proposals to establish new primary education provision to serve the new housing development at Llanilid, Llanharan.

The Head of 21^st Century Schools advised Members of the outcome of the recent publication of a Statutory Notice in respect of proposals to establish new primary education provision to serve the new housing development at Llanilid, Llanharan, advising that no objections had been received. 

She advised that the capital cost of constructing the new school would be met by the housing developers (Persimmon Homes) as part of their Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) responsibilities.

The Cabinet Member for Education & Lifelong Learning welcomed the proposal and confirmed that the Council would assist in the design of the school although the costs would be taken forward by the housing developers.

It was RESOLVED:

1.    To note that no objections, or comments were received in response to the publication of the statutory notice to progress this proposal;

2.    To implement the proposal to increase the capacity of Dolau Primary School and construct a new extension to the current school.

To receive the report of the Director, Education & Inclusion Services advising Members of the outcome of the publication of the Statutory Notices in respect of the proposal to realign Learning Support Class (LSC) provision within Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT).

The Head of Inclusion Services provided Members with details of the outcome of the publication of the Statutory Notices in respect of the proposal to realign Learning Support Class (LSC) provision within Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) and the rationale for the proposals were also provided.

Members were advised that a total of 16 objections were received in respect of the statutory notices and details of the objections were outlined within the appendix to the report. 

The Head of Inclusion services advised that in respect of the proposals outlined in paragraph 5.1.6 - 5.1.9 of the report no pupils would be affected by the proposals and in respect of the proposal at paragraph 5.1.10 two pupils would be affected. It was added that parents would be consulted regarding educational provision.  These two pupils would be offered either a bespoke package of support to remain within mainstream provision at Heol y Celyn Primary School or placement in the LSC at Gwaunmeisgyn Primary School. Members were reminded that in respect of 5.1.4 of the report as agreed by Cabinet, the one remaining pupil currently accessing the Foundation Phase LSC at Penrhys Primary School will be offered a bespoke package of support to remain within mainstream provision in Penrhys Primary School.

The Head of Inclusion Services added that following consideration of the objections received during the Statutory Notices period an amendment to one of the original proposals had been suggested.  Due to the number of pupils that potentially would be accessing Key Stage 2 (KS2) LSC provision it was proposed to continue with the relocation of the Foundation Phase LSC to Cwmbach Primary School with effect from 1st September 2019, but not to close the KS2 provision in Caradog Primary School at this time.  This would provide continuity in learning for eight KS2 learners in this school who have already experienced a number of school changes, as they progress through the last phase of their primary education.

With the agreement of the Chairman the following members of the public spoke on this item: Ms G Smith, Ms R Clark and Ms M Love.

The Leader asked officers to respond to the comments made by the public speaker in respect of capacity and the number of unit’s available and the Director confirmed that the learning support class provision was constantly reviewed to ensure that provision was in the right place at the right times.  The Director commented on the array of specialist provision that was available and added that the Council could only look at the current demands and projected numbers, although there was the scope to expand on the provision if needed.

The Cabinet Member for Education & Lifelong Learning thanked the public speakers of their contribution to the meeting.  She added that the schools listed were subject to a large number of surplus places and added that no pupils would be affected by the majority of the proposals, with bespoke packages being made available to the two there would be affected.  The Cabinet Member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 144.

To receive the report of the Director, Education & Inclusion Services updating Members on the demand and supply of Welsh Medium Education places in the County Borough.

The Director, Education & Inclusion Services referred Members to her report which provided Members with an update on the demand and supply of Welsh Medium Education places in the County Borough.

Members were referred to section 4.4 of the report which provided detail of the current supply and demand within the County Borough for welsh medium primary schools. The Director advised that the majority of the Welsh medium primary schools did have sufficient surplus places to meet the demand for places. However, there were a number of schools where demand was close to outstripping the supply and Members were reminded of the actions being taken forward to address these issues.  

Members were also referred to the supply and demand for Welsh medium secondary schools as detailed within the report and were advised that similar to the primary schools, other than YG Rhydywaun, there were sufficient surplus places to meet the future demand for school places. Members were reminded

that before Christmas 2018, Cabinet approved a £10.2m investment to improve the facilities and increase the capacity of YG Rhydywaun by a further 162 places, creating a 1,200 capacity school. 

The Director provided an update on the future plans to develop and enhance Welsh Medium Provision across the County Borough and investment that would need to be taken forward with details of site suitability and current buildings replacement needing to be considered in the near future.

The Director concluded that the Council has an excellent track record of planning for school places, ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet local need and parental choice for English and Welsh medium provision. She added that her report sought to put in place further plans to ensure sufficient capacity to grow the existing Welsh medium provision and to improve the quality of the educational experience by providing 21st Century School learning environments.

The Cabinet Member for Education & Lifelong Learning commented on the demand and supply and the actions being taken forward by the Council to increase supply and access to meet the needs across the County Borough.

The Cabinet Member for Welsh Language welcomed the report and the constant review of provision across the County Borough, allowing the Council to respond to demand when needed.

The Leader also welcomed the report and the level of investment that the Council had taken forward and were proposing to take forward across the County Borough.

Following discussion it was RESOLVED:

1.    To note the current position in terms of the supply and demand of Welsh Medium primary and secondary schools places across the County Borough;

2.    To note the action being taken by the Council to increase the supply of Welsh Medium places where the demand is projected to exceed supply;

3.    To  undertake a feasibility study and submit a business case to Welsh Government to either refurbish the existing Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhondda facilities or relocate the School to new 21st century facilities to be built in the Rhondda and to report back to Cabinet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 145.

To receive the report of the Director of Finance & Digital Services providing details of the High Street Relief Scheme 2019/20.

The Director of Finance & Digital Services  provided Members with information about the latest (extended) Wales High Street and Retail Relief Scheme (“the scheme”) that would provide rate relief for businesses, which has been announced by the Welsh Government (WG) and is effective from 1st April 2019.

The Director commented that the scheme for 2018/19 included a maximum award of either £250 (for premises with a rateable value up to £12,000) or £750 (for premises with a rateable value of between £12,000 and £50,000), with the scheme providing total relief of £137,350 to 504 business ratepayers in Rhondda Cynon Taf in 2018/19.  

He continued by adding that Welsh Government had announced that for 2019/20 the scheme would provide relief of up to £2,500 on the business rates bill for all occupied retail properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or less (subject to State Aid limits).

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services thanked the officer for the report, especially due to the short timescales following details of the announcement of the scheme by the Welsh Government. The Cabinet Member welcomed the uplift as outlined in the report.

The Leader also spoke positively on the scheme and spoke of the need to amalgamate the numerous schemes that are available for the benefit of office staff and traders and to streamline processes.

It was RESOLVED:

1.    To note the details of the scheme detailed in this report; and

2.    That for the financial year 2019/20, the scheme shall apply to the types of premises described in this report and that the Director of Finance & Digital Services be authorised to apply the relief to qualifying ratepayers.

“That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act”.

It was RESOLVED: “That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act”.

To receive the report of the Director, Finance & Digital Services seeking Cabinet to appoint a strategic partner to create a scalable Centre of Excellence for Revenues and Benefits Services following the completion of the procurement process.

The Director of Finance & Digital Services provided Members with details on the current position to appoint a strategic partner to create a scalable Centre of Excellence for Revenues and Benefits Services following the completion of the procurement process, which contained exempt information.

Following discussions it was RESOLVED:

1.    To consider the outcome of the procurement process;

2.    To proceed with the appointment of a strategic partner, as identified within the report;

3.    To authorise officers to :

                  i.        award the contract and to put in place the necessary arrangements for  transition and go-live; and

                ii.        engage with the staff groups impacted by this proposal alongside the recognised trade unions, to implement the detail of the strategic partnership arrangement as detailed in section 7 of the report.