Agenda and minutes

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

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject 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 prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when theyleave.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, the following declarations were made pertaining to the agenda:

County Borough Councillor C Middle declared a personal interest – “I have been appointed by the Council to the Board of Trivallis but this has not yet been endorsed by Trivallis”.

County Borough Councillor S Emmanuel declared a personal and prejudicial interest- “I am a paid employee of Trivallis and I will preclude myself for the remainder of the this item”

County Borough Councillor A S Fox declared a personal interest – “My partner works for the organisation presenting at the meeting”.

To receive representatives from Trivallis, providing Members with opportunity for discussion and updates in respect of their vision, homes, communities and other strategic issues

The Presiding Member introduced the representatives from Trivallis and advised Members that they will be covering items as indicated on the agenda.

The Chief Executive, Mr D Forbes introduced himself and his colleagues Mr N Beckett, Chair of the Board, Mr K Montague, Executive Director of Communities, Ms L Pinney, Executive Director Finance & Resources as well as other colleagues who were present to answer any queries relating to their specific roles.

The Chief Executive provided an overview of the key areas they intended on addressing with Members such as service challenges, capacity for investment and successes. He advised that the team at Corporate Director level is new which was now clear in its roles and its intention to forge good relationships with its external partners such as the Council.

Through the aid of PowerPoint slides the Chief Executive and attending representatives presented an overview of key matters under the following headings:

Ø  How far we have come

Ø  Challenges – Repairs

Ø  Challenges – Neighbourhoods & Support Services

Ø  Improved Services

Ø  Supporting Growth in RCT

Ø  Communications

Following the presentation, the Leader of the Council thanked the representatives of Trivallis for attending Full Council. The Leader stressed the importance of Trivallis fostering good relationships with Elected Members who are accountable to their residents and who need to raise concerns, from time to time, with Trivallis.

The Leader commented that issues relating to anti-social behaviour had previously been difficult to the point where he felt Trivallis has lost control of its Estates in certain areas, but recent work involving the Police, RCT Council and other partners to directly address the serious anti-social behaviour concerns has brought about improvements (although the Leader acknowledged there were some areas which still required attention).

The Leader referred to the following concerns, an open and unaddressed backlog of maintenance and repairs, response times, financial and operational issues, general estate management and he added that key to resolving these issues is that Trivallis builds and maintains relationships with Elected Members. He commented that following an extensive period of time where concerns have been raised with Trivallis and following discussions between the Council and Welsh Government, fundamental questions would need to be raised by the Council should improvements in these areas not be forthcoming. However, the Leader felt confident that this would not be the case, with the new senior leadership team in place and with the commitment of improved communication between the two organisations.

The Chief Executive, Mr D Forbes responded to the queries raised by the Leader and he stressed that relationships with Elected Members would be strengthened in areas such as the planned walkabouts with Trivallis Officers and local Members to improve collaboration between the two partners.

The Presiding Member opened up the opportunity for questions from the Group Leaders (or nominated Members).

County Borough Councillor W Jones raised concern about a specific case within his ward which the Executive Director of Communities advised would be addressed following the meeting.

The Group Leader of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.