Agenda item

To receive Members questions in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.2.

(N.B a maximum of 20 minutes shall be allowed for questions on notice.)

Members were advised that apologies of absence had been received from Councillors G Stacey and M Webber, Deputy Leader of the Council. The Service Director Democratic Services & Communications confirmed that question 6 would not be put to the Cabinet Member and written responses would be provided in relation to questions 5, 14 and 23.

Question from County Borough Councillor A. Cox to the Cabinet Member for Education and Inclusion Services, County Borough Councillor J. Rosser:

“What preparations are CBS RCT making for the proposed introduction of Free School Meals for all primary pupils in Wales?”

Response from County Borough Councillor J Rosser:

Councillor Rosser advised that RCT catering services are currently reviewing the existing meal provision in each of the Council’s primary and special schools by  assessing the kitchen equipment and storage facilities in order to estimate the increase in meal numbers and the additional requirements for staff, equipment, storage and dining hall space. Councillor Rosser added that the Council has met with other Local Authorities, suppliers and Welsh Government representatives to discuss the challenges faced across Wales and is currently waiting for the detailed proposals, funding arrangements and timescales to be confirmed by Welsh Government in order for implementation work to begin.

Supplementary Question from County Borough Councillor A Cox:

“Is the Council looking at the funding formulas internally and assessing whether it is the right funding for the service and assessing the benefits for the schools? Will the Cabinet Member join me in congratulating the work of campaigners who have fought long and hard for this to be adopted and to Plaid Cymru who have insisted on this as part of the agreement with Labour despite it being voted down in the Senedd?”

Response from County Borough Councillor J Rosser:

Councillor Rosser responded that the Council is waiting to receive further information regarding funding arrangements but gave assurance that everything would be assessed appropriately and in good time. She added that everyone is pleased with the result but added that without any guarantee of funding from UK Government it was the right decision to wait for the comprehensive spending review before making a commitment.

Councillor Rosser reminded Council that the Motion from Plaid Cymru called for all children, including those in private schools, to be given Free School Meals and it also called for all families in receipt of Universal Credit to be eligible but, it was completely un-costed and gave no recommendation of where the funding would come from. In conclusion, Councillor Rosser advised that this is an instance where, instead of looking to score political points, it represents a celebration of co-operation in Welsh politics and the positive changes it is making.

Question from County Borough Councillor G. Holmes to the Leader of the Council, County Borough Councillor A. Morgan:

“The Welsh Government has announced that families on low income and qualifying benefits will receive £100 to help them with their utility bills this winter. Can the Council Leader provide further information on this and how many householders do we think will benefit from this in RCT?”

Response from County Borough Councillor A Morgan:

The Leader advised that the Winter Fuel Scheme went live on the Council’s website on Monday this week and the scheme is for relevant benefit claimants to apply for £100 to help them with the cost of their utility bills this winter. He explained that the Council has written to around 15,400 households who currently claim support through the RCT Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS).  There are also a number of other eligible households that claim a qualifying benefit but do not claim or qualify for CTRS and they too have the option to make a claim via the Council’s website. Potentially it is currently estimated that there could be up to a further 15,800 households that will benefit from this support which means there are potentially 31,200 households in RCT who will be eligible for this payment, meaning £3.12m going directly to the poorest families in the County this winter.

The Leader reported that Officers are currently undertaking an exercise to try and better understand and identify who these households are so that the messaging from the Council can focus on them. In conclusion, the Leader urged Members encourage households to sign up for this support.

Supplementary Question from County Borough Councillor G Holmes:

“There are many pensioners who live alone, finding life a struggle due to rising prices, could we lobby Welsh Government to get them  further assistance?”

Response from County Borough Councillor A Morgan:

Councillor Morgan confirmed that this outside the scope of the fund but advised that currently Older Persons households are entitled to a Winter Fuel Allowance and those over 80 years old are entitled to a further uplift from Welsh Government. The Leader confirmed that he would raise this with Welsh Government Ministers as soon as possible.

Question from County Borough Councillor R. Williams to the Cabinet Member for Environment, Leisure and Heritage Services, County Borough Councillor A. Crimmings:

“Can the Cabinet Member update on recycling figures so far this year and confirm whether we are still on course to meet the Welsh Government targets?”

Response from County Borough Councillor A Crimmings:

Councillor Crimmings confirmed that the Council has statutory targets for recycling set by Welsh Government and this year’s target is again 64% and failure to meet this can result in a fine of £200 for every tonne that the target is missed by. Councillor Crimmings added that the increased challenge over last 18 months has been delivering services during the pandemic and she wished to thank the staff for their dedication and commitment. Councillor Crimmings confirmed that the recycling performance for the year to date (April-October) was just over 69% (69.11%) which has exceeded the Welsh Government target, a considerable achievement by both the Council and RCT residents during the Pandemic.

Councillor Crimmings advised that last year’s figures were the highest ever achieved by this Council and to have come so close to them during restrictions is testament to the resilience of staff and the collection processes. She advised that the next target for this Council is the 2024/2025 target of 70%, which, if it can be maintained and improved upon slightly, it will put the Council on course to continue to work towards meeting its aspiration of 80%. The impact of restrictions and severity of lockdown measures has mainly been managed by changing operational practices to meet the rules and guidelines to ensure services have been delivered safely both for staff and residents.

Supplementary Question from County Borough Councillor R Williams:

“What more can be done to achieve the Council’s target of 80% in terms of communication with residents?”

Response from County Borough Councillor A Crimmings:

Councillor Crimmings responded that despite excellent progress and efforts of residents, the Council is ambitious to achieve more. Recently, the festive recycling posts have been sent out on the Council’s social media accounts. Successful campaigns have also been run over recent years, both locally and as part of the regional “Be Mighty” campaign with other South East Wales Local Authorities. Councillor Crimmings advised that the Council plans to launch an awareness raising interactive campaign in 2022 to reinforce the need for residents to recycle as much as possible. In conclusion, the Cabinet Member for Environment, Leisure and Heritage Services confirmed that the Authority continues to look at ways to reduce its carbon footprint, two recent examples include the new green waste sacks and recent trial of electric collection vehicle.

Question from County Borough Councillor G. Caple to the Leader of the Council, County Borough Councillor A. Morgan:

“Will the Leader please make a statement on how this Council is working with Trivallis and other social housing providers to deliver environmental improvements?”

Response from County Borough Councillor A Morgan:

The Leader confirmed that the Council has worked closely with Trivallis over a number of years to identify adopted footways on their estates and other infrastructure improvements. In recent years the Council has received financial support from Trivallis  which has been matched by Council funding to carry out improvements to estates in Penywaun, Cwmbach, Maerdy, Dinas, Cymmer, Trebanog and Tonyrefail. In addition, there has been close working on play area investment on Trivallis sites. The Council currently has an Enforcement/Awareness Warden (funded by Trivallis under an SLA) who deals with Environmental problems/crimes on their estates.

The Leader advised that the Council has additional Cleansing staff (2 FTE) undertaking additional cleaning on a number of Trivallis’ problematic estates. In addition, the Council regularly works with Trivallis to identify issues (particularly waste/fly tipping/etc) and coordinate resources to undertake clean-ups and respond to problems.

Supplementary Question from County Borough Councillor G Caple:

“Can you expand on the financial benefits to both the Council and Trivallis with the resulting visible improvements for tenants and residents of former Council Estates, e,g. highways improvements on Rhiw Garn Estate, Trebanog?”

Response from County Borough Councillor A Morgan:

The Leader advised that it is important to maximise the benefits where the Council can work closely with Trivallis and he gave an example of when this has happened with improvements to the access of flats. In some cases, the Council has undertaken work which has fallen within the remit of Trivallis for environmental improvements but by adding them to the Council contracts when it is already on site maximises the efficiencies for both the Council and Trivallis.

The Leader confirmed that he has undertaken site visits with Trivallis and Officers from the Local Authority to consider next year’s programme of work. With regards to flooding improvements, the Leader advised that Trivallis has made financial contributions to improve flood assets to provide additional resilience to their properties. In addition to Trivallis, the Leader confirmed that close working continues with other Housing Providers.

Question from County Borough Councillor G. P. Thomas to the Leader of the Council, County Borough Councillor A. Morgan:

“Can the Council Leader outline what bids have been and are planned to be made to the Welsh Government for upgrading culverts and flood alleviation schemes?”

Response from County Borough Councillor A Morgan:

The Leader advised that the Council’s Flood Risk Management team is currently developing bids for numerous projects, and phases of major projects which will feed into the Welsh Government’s timetable for grant applications for the 2022/23 financial year.  Members were informed that the bids for these were submitted by the 10^th December 2021. The team is looking at national pipeline schemes and have submitted schemes for the next three years. Years two and three will have further schemes added to them over time.

The Leader reported that significant funding has been received through the small-scale projects which includes projects up to £150K with many schemes already approved. A number of bids have been submitted for next year with further information being reported by Feb/March 2022 for the approvals, although all the bids submitted to date have been approved by WG.

With regards to the Resilient Roads Fund, which includes mainly highways drainage schemes, the Leader advised that many culverts have caused flooding on highways and also affect residential properties have been subject to individual grant bids totalling £8M of investment next year.

Following further flooding the Council continues to accelerate already challenging programme of FRM projects with a further 9 Small Scale Works bids submitted to Welsh Government.  These were approved in November 2021 for 2021/22, generating another £480k of investment. This brings the current portfolio of FRM projects to 70 being delivered or developed in 2021/22. In conclusion, the Leader explained that these projects are likely to continue over the next 5-10 years.

Supplementary Question from County Borough Councillor G Thomas:

“In relation to the recent Natural Resources Wales press release, urging people to check their flood risk, can you advise further should we receive requests from resident?”

The Leader explained that the recent NRW press release on the Council’s website promoted the dedicated postcode checker on Natural Resources Wales’s website where residents can check to see if they are at risk of particular types of flooding. From the Council’s point of view, Cabinet recently agreed to a Flood Enforcement Team and Flood Awareness and Support Officer who will engage with residents to advise them on mitigation issues in respect of flooding.

·