To receive apologies for absence from Members / Officers for the reasons so stated.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor P J White who was on holiday

To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1 September 2008.

The following Declarations of Interest were made:-

Councillor H Townsend declared a personal in interest in Agenda items 4 and 13, in that she was Vice-Chairperson of Archdeacon Infants and Primary school, Brackla, and a personal and prejudicial interest in item 15 due to her nephew attending Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Cwm Garw school. She left the meeting whilst this item was being considered and returned after a decision on this had been made.

Councillor M Gregory declared a personal interest in Agenda items 4, 13 and 14, in that he was on the Board of Governors at Pencoed Primary school and Bridgend College.

Councillor H J David declared a personal interest in Agenda item 13 in that he was on the Board of Governors at Bridgend College. 

To receive for approval the Minutes of the meeting of Cabinet of 14 July 2015.

RESOLVED:                That the minutes of the Cabinet meeting of 14July 2015 were approved as a true and accurate record

To present Cabinet with the recommendations of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee in response to their consideration of the subject of Rationalisation of Learner Transport.

The Chairperson of the Children and Young People O&SC presented a report, the purpose of which, was to present Cabinet with the recommendation of the Committee in response to their consideration of the subject of Rationalisation of Learner Transport.

He confirmed that at its meeting on 29 July 2015, the above Overview and Scrutiny Committee received a report from the Children’s Directorate setting out the progress made in relation to the rationalisation of Learner Transport for pupils with a Special Educational Need

Paragraph 4.2 of the report included details of the recommendations made by Committee at its above meeting, which the Chairperson of the Children and Young People O&SC asked the Cabinet to consider looking into.

He advised that any review to be undertaken, should be cross Directorate in order to utilise transport opportunities in other Directorates rather than just the Education Department.

The Leader thanked the Member for his submission and asked that he convey this to Overview and Scrutiny Committee Members and Officers for all the hard work they have put into the investigation into the rationalisation of Learner Transport.

RESOLVED:                  That Cabinet advised that they would give consideration to the recommendations of the Children & Young People O&SC in relation to Learner Transport and Transport Services within the Local Authority

To provide Cabinet with an update on the Council’s financial position as at 30^th June 2015.

The Corporate Director Resources submitted a report, that provided Cabinet with an update on the Council’s financial position as at 30 June 2015.

Paragraph 4.1.1 of the report outlined the Council’s net revenue budget and projected outturn for 2015 – 16 in Table 1, which showed that presently the Authority had an underspend of £107k. She added that Appendix 1 to the report gave details of the Budget Reduction proposals. It was anticipated a s of now, that the Budget would reach a break-even position at year end.

In respect of the monitoring of budget reduction proposals for 2015 – 16, the Corporate Director Resources explained that this amounted to £11.225m (as broken down in Appendix 1), and this was summarised in the form of a RAG status in Table 2 within paragraph 4.2.1 of the report.

In terms of the proposals in Red these totalled £815k, however, these were still showing an improvement on the same position last year by 7.3%.

Paragraph 4.3 of the report then gave a summary of the financial position for each main service area (Appendix 2 to the report), and commented upon the most significant variances. At this stage of the year, there had been no draw down on earmarked reserves by any Directorate, though the position would be reviewed at the half year stage.

Paragraph 4.3.6 of the report then gave information on Council wide budgets, while paragraph 4.4 gave details regarding the monitoring of the Capital Programme. This stated that the budget for this for 2015 – 16 totalled £51.300m, of which £35.481m was BCBC resources with the remaining £15.819m coming from external grants.

The Corporate Director Resources culminated her submission by confirming that at this point in the financial year, and following discussions with Directorates, it was assumed that all other projects will be in line with the revised Budget as set out in Appendix 3 to the report.

The Cabinet Member Resources confirmed that the report was a positive one, and he thanked all the relevant Officers within Departments across the Council for their hard work and input into this. The Leader echoed these sentiments.

RESOLVED:                       That Cabinet noted the projected revenue and capital outturn position for 2015-16.

To inform Cabinet of the proposal to lease Raven’s Court.

The Corporate Director Resources presented a report, that informed Cabinet of the proposal to lease the Raven’s Court offices, Bridgend.

The report gave some background information, and confirmed that Officers had produced a Business Case evaluating the potential of releasing Raven’s Court offices (which are currently underutilised) and relocating staff to the Civic Offices and Sunnyside House, as well as introducing more flexible ways of working. She added that the appraisal involved the financial and non-financial implications of 3 possible options shown in paragraph 3.2 of the report. It was subsequently agreed that Option 2 of these be pursued, ie to lease Raven’s Court and relocate staff and increase homeworking.

In bringing Members up to speed the Corporate Director Resources further added that work had been undertaken to establish whether there was further available space in both Civic Offices and Sunnyside House. Ay a strict ration of 3:2  (staff to desk) working, there would be capacity to accommodate the staff from Raven’s Court in these 2 buildings. There was also some potential for hot-desking at other Council owned properties such as the Hubs.

The Corporate Director Resources added that by retaining Raven’s Court the Council were maintaining an asset upon which it would receive income in the future.

RESOLVED:                     That the report be noted.

To update Cabinet on the Internal Audit Shared Service with the Vale of Glamorgan Council and propose an extension to the Partnership Arrangement until the 31^st January 2018.

The Corporate Director Resources presented a report, that updated Cabinet on the Internal Audit Shared Service with the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the proposal to extend this partnership arrangement to 31 January 2018.

She confirmed that the Bridgend and Vale Internal Audit Shared Service (IASS) was now in its third year of a 3 year commitment programme. In this time, considerable service developments and progress had been made. Overall the performance of the partnership had been very good in respect of both the delivery of the Audit Plan and the feedback from customers, all of which have been reported regularly to the respective Audit Committee and summarised in Appendix A to the report.

Paragraphs 4.2 to 4.8 of the report, the outlined details on the performance of the Shared Service including the achievement of various aims and objectives that had originally targeted as part of the Shared Service.

The financial implications of the report highlighted the savings that had been made to date as a result of the merger of the two services.

The Cabinet Member Resources commended the service, and added that the Authorities should look for partners in other neighbouring authorities in order to achieve even increased savings by extending the partnership further.

RESOLVED:                        That Cabinet considered the current position as outlined in the report and approved an extension to the Internal Audit Shared Service Partnership arrangement, ie to extend this for a period of 2 years from 1 February 2016 – 31 January 2018

                  To present to Cabinet the outcome of consultation conducted on proposals for changes to the current management and caretaking arrangements for sports pavilions, and to seek Cabinet approval for the implementation of changes to the current management and caretaking arrangements for sports pavilions in light of the outcomes of consultation.

The Corporate Director Communities submitted a report, that presented to Cabinet the outcome of consultation conducted on proposals for changes to the current management and caretaking arrangements for Sports Pavilions, and to seek Cabinet approval for the implementation of changes to the current management and caretaking arrangements for Sports Pavilions in light of the outcomes of consultation.

He explained that as part of the Council’s response to the cuts to public service funding, measures to achieve savings against the provision of the Council’s Parks and Playing Fields Service have been included in the MTFS in terms of a saving of £100k for 2016/17.

The Council at present managed and operated 80 individual outdoor sports facilities, which were serviced by 34 pavilions.

He went on to state that the £100k annual saving for 2016/17 was the element of saving expected to be made from the review of the pavilion arrangements. The total annual cost of managing and operating these premises was in excess of £400k, including £188k for caretaking services, with the remainder being the costs attributed to holding and maintaining the fixed assets. The annual income for the hire of these buildings was around £32k. The Council was therefore significantly subsidising the use of these facilities, in excess of 90% of the running costs.

In respect of the current situation, the Corporate Director Communities advised that consultation on the proposed changes had taken place, and this consisted of 3 elements as shown in paragraph 4.2 of the report. A total of 60 responses were received. Paragraph 4.3 gave the headline figures from the consultation process in bullet point format.

The Corporate Director Communities gave a resume of these, and added that the consultation had appeared to demonstrate a level of acceptance and understanding by users of the financial pressures and the difficult decisions facing the Council. A full copy of the final report was provided at Appendix 1 to the report.

While the principle of mobile cleaning did not appear to be too contentious, there was some concern expressed by users with regard to the self-cleaning implications of the proposals. This view seemed to conflict with the support expressed by users / partners to take on more responsibility for the pavilions, which would involve a more substantive cleaning role.  In light of this, he stated that Cabinet are asked to give their approval to the introduction of mobile cleaning teams to replace the current caretaking arrangements and subject to compliance with appropriate agreements to be drawn up, that users become key holders to the facilities and take on responsibility for the opening and closing of the pavilions when being used.  It should be noted that under this arrangement, users of the pavilions will be expected to carry out some cleaning of the pavilions following their use.

Replacing the resources attached to the opening, closing and cleaning of the pavilions with two mobile facility cleaning vehicles manned with two operatives in each vehicle and equipped with appropriate cleaning materials, will result  ...  view the full minutes text for item 744.

To seek Cabinet approval to proceed with the transfer of cultural services to Awen Cultural Trust from 1^st October 2015.

The Corporate Director Communities submitted a report that sought Cabinet approval to proceed with the transfer of cultural services to Awen Cultural Trust from 1 October 2015

 A critical area of work for the Council has been to determine how to tackle the long

term sustainability of some of its cultural facilities and activities, in the context of diminishing public funding resources. It was required to consider what delivery models are most suitable to achieve the best artistic, cultural and wellbeing outcomes for the people of Bridgend. At the same time it has to achieve immediate MTFS outcomes and the flexibility to respond to future financial pressures.

A full business case indicated that in developing an alternative service delivery model the Council could achieve its targeted MTFS savings for the period 2015/16 to 2017/18 of £625K. In doing so, it provided an alternative solution to service reduction models that may otherwise have needed to be considered.

On 13^th January 2015, Cabinet resolved to work in partnership with a locally based charitable trust to achieve common objectives aligned to the Council’s corporate priorities and to manage and operate the facilities detailed in paragraph 3.3 of the report.

The Corporate Director Communities explained that all of the above mentioned services were discretionary services other than the Library Service.

The Corporate Director Communities then confirmed that it had been agreed that a new Charitable Trust be established as a charitable company limited by guarantee. It would have exclusively charitable objects, and would apply to the Charity Commission for charity registration. This would be governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees.

He then explained that since the decision of Cabinet in January 2015 to proceed with the establishment of a new NPDO (ie the Trust), project management arrangements had been initiated to provide the necessary governance and oversight of the range of complex tasks associated with the transfer of services to a newly established organisation.

The project was multi-faceted but the key tasks were summarised in paragraph 4.2 of the report. In support of the report also, the Corporate Director Communities referred to the following Appendices:-

Appendix A – A summary of the main provisions of the Partnership agreement between the Council and the Trust (also see Paragraph 4.7 of the main report);

Appendix B – A financial summary of the transitional business plan (‘the Plan’) for Awen Cultural Trust Ltd

Appendix C – Any key risks associated with the transfer of the services

Appendix D – A proposed Outcomes Framework by which to measure the partnership’s success, including indicative key P.I.’s by which to monitor and secure minimum levels of service quality and provision

Appendix E – An Equalities Impact Assessment document

Paragraph 4.3 explained that it had been established from the outset that the proposal was being progressed within an ethos of partnership which the Council has successfully adopted for a range of other service models, whilst paragraph 4.5.

confirmed that a full and open recruitment process was undertaken in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 745.

To seek approval from Cabinet to deliver a joint project with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) funded through European Social Fund (ESF) to support adult and youth employment.   This has been developed as a national project for all Communities First Clusters by Welsh Government.  Approval is sought subject to the satisfaction of conditions identified within the report.

The Corporate Director Communities submitted a report, seeking Cabinet approval to deliver a joint project with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) funded through European Social Fund (ESF) to support adult and youth employment. This had been developed as a national project for all Communities 1^st Clusters by Welsh Government. Approval was sought subject to the satisfaction of conditions identified within the report.

He explained that the previous report to Cabinet on 3^rd February 2015 highlighted the development of a new project by Welsh Government and Department for Work and Pensions – Communities for Work (C4W).  This report sought authority for officers to explore with Welsh Government (WG) proposals for the Bridgend area and to bring a further report when details were available.

He added that current guidance from Welsh Government indicates that 3 staff per cluster will be funded, (an adult mentor, a youth mentor, and a triage officer) with a potential additional one post for each lead delivery body for financial and governance purposes, subject to negotiation.

The lead bodies for European funding purposes are Welsh Government and DWP.  In order to participate in this project, Bridgend Council, as the Communities First Lead Delivery Body (LDB) will be required to enter into a legal agreement with WG, to undertake a specific activity on its behalf, under a ‘Service of General Economic Interest’ which is provided in an ‘Act of Entrustment’ to meet EU regulations. This legal documentation had not yet been issued by Welsh Government, so any decision by Cabinet to participate in the project will be subject to the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services, and the Corporate Director Resources being satisfied with the terms of the agreement.

The Corporate Director Communities then referred to paragraph 4.6 of the report, and work that was underway on the Project, and he expanded upon this for the benefit of the Cabinet.

He added that the project was to be welcomed, as it would provide a level of intensive support and mentoring for individuals which will enhance the current employment support activities of the C1st programme within the Communities First structure. Subject to successful conclusion of the negotiations on the financial and legal issues, Cabinet was recommended to authorise officers to pursue this project with the purpose of implementation, as soon as possible.

The Cabinet Member Resources asked if the Authority were making provision for redundancy costs proposed as a result of the Project, from grant monies that had been committed to it.

The Corporate Director Communities explained that this would be raised with Welsh Government as part of the business planning of the Project. The first 2 years of the Project would be supported through grant funding for the Project itself, however, after this period the Council would be responsible for the Project. Staff would be aware at the outset that the length of the Project would be for 2 years, so it was anticipated that they would look for other employment opportunities before this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 746.

To seek Cabinet approval to amend the Private Sector Housing Renewal and Disabled Adaptations Policy to amend two existing grants, and to include a new grant – the Home Security Grant to assist people suffering from domestic abuse.

The Corporate Director Communities submitted a report that sought Cabinet approval to amend the Private Sector Housing Renewal and Disabled Adaptations Policy (Appendix 1 to the report), to amend two existing grants, and to include a new grant, the Home Security Grant to assist people suffering from domestic abuse.

The Corporate Director Communities referred Members to paragraph 3.4 of the report and the need to update the above, in recognition of the Authority’s need to support the creation of single units of accommodation, work proactively to develop the private sector and meet our obligations under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. Also, in recognition of the Authority’s development of a holistic ‘One Stop Service’ approach to help address domestic abuse issues and presentations, and provide a comprehensive service to victims of domestic abuse.

He then referred to the changes that were proposed to the following that were outlined in paragraphs 4. of the report:-

1.    Empty Homes Grant

2.    Assistance to RSL’s in Strategic Regeneration

3.    Domestic Abuse and Domestic Violence Security Grant

The Deputy Leader referred to paragraph 4.9 of the report, where it specified that an application for assistance under the Domestic Abuse and Domestic Violence Security Grant would be up to £350 per application. He questioned if this was enough to make a property totally secure.

The Corporate Director Communities advised that the householder under the Scheme was also expected to make a contribution to this, and therefore, this amount added on to the £350 would ensure that the property is adequately secured.

RESOLVED:                     That Cabinet approved the Private Sector Renewal and Disabled Adaptation Policy, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  

To seek approval from Cabinet for the revised Instrument of Government for Mynydd Cynffig Primary School Governing Body.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation submitted a report, in order to seek approval from Cabinet for the revised Instrument of Government for Mynydd Cynffig Primary School Governing Body.

She explained that the governing body of the above school had revised their old Instrument of Government in preparation for becoming a Primary school in September 2015 when they would be providing education for 3 – 11 year olds. The governing body unanimously agreed at their meeting on 16 June 2015 to increase their Constitution from 13 governors to 18 governors. She added that Governors felt that as the school will be responsible for an additional education phase, and due to the increase in the number of pupils attending the school, increasing the membership to bring new governors on will bring additional qualities and skills to enable the school to operate more effectively.

The Deputy Leader confirmed that the report reflected a good example of the Authority making financial efficiencies in schools through amalgamation proposals.

RESOLVED:                          That Cabinet agreed to the Revised Instrument of Government attached at Appendix A to the report

To report on the results of the consultation exercise initiated by Cabinet together with the accompanying Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) regarding the proposed change to the Council’s Learner Travel policy, to assist Cabinet in determining whether or not it will progress with the proposals, and if implemented how the proposal would contribute to the overall saving to the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2018/19.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation submitted a report on the results of the consultation exercise initiated by Cabinet together with the accompanying Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) regarding the proposed change to the Council’s Learner Travel policy, to assist Cabinet in determining whether or not it will progress with the proposals, and if implemented how the proposal would contribute to the overall saving to the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2018/19. 

In the Council’s current Learner Travel Policy, Bridgend County Borough Council uses its discretionary powers to provide free transport for:-

·        primary and nursery aged children, residing more than 1.5 miles from the  nearest suitable school (normally defined as their catchment area school);

·        secondary aged children residing more than 2 miles from the nearest suitable school (normally defined as their catchment area school);

·         post-16 learners, subject to the 2 mile limit;

·        all learners attending VA schools (subject to existing limits), regardless of whether the school is the nearest suitable school.

She confirmed that Section 6 of the Measure provides local authorities with the power to provide discretionary transport arrangements for learners who are not attending their nearest suitable school because of language preference.  Furthermore, in cases where learners do not attend the nearest suitable school, local authorities can use their discretion to provide free transport to Welsh Medium schools regardless of the distance criteria in order to promote access to education and training through the medium of Welsh.

Section 6 of the Measure also gave local authorities the power to make any arrangement they think fit to facilitate the travel of learners to and from a place where they receive education or training. The power applies in relation to a learner living or studying in the authority’s area.

The next Section of the report confirmed the national picture in Wales in respect   of Learner travel provision in local authorities, which portrayed that BCBC’s current provision was one of the most supportive in Wales along with Caerphilly and RCT County Borough Councils.

Paragraph 3.20 then outlined the financial case for change, in that the local authority had to make some changes to the Policy under savings aligned to the MTFS.

The next section of the report then outlined Cabinet decisions that had been made to date, and details of an initial evaluation exercise from which arose 3 proposals to move forward with as part of a consultation exercise. The consultation proposals also included community engagement workshops she added.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation then advised of a further consultation exercise that subsequently took place, arising from which came three proposals and these were detailed in paragraph 3.55 of the report.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation then alluded to the following Sections of the report:-

a)    Guidance received from the Children’s Commissioner for Wales

b)    Conformity with BCBC’s Consultation and Engagement Guidelines

c)    Conformity with the National Principles for Public Engagement in Wales

d)    Conformity to the National Children and Young People’s Participation Standards for Wales

e)    Conformity with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 749.

To inform Cabinet of the outcome of the consultation on the proposal to close one moderate learning difficulties (MLD) Learning Resource Centre at Pencoed Primary School and of the intention to carry out a period of monitoring which will consider the uptake of placements for September 2016.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation submitted a report, the purpose of which, was to inform Cabinet of the outcome of the consultation on the proposal to close one moderate learning difficulties (MLD) Learning Resource Centre at Pencoed Primary School and of the intention to carry out a period of monitoring which will consider the uptake of placements for September 2016.

                    In order to progress the proposal to close one moderate learning difficulties (MLD) Learning Resource Centre at Pencoed Primary School, consultation exercises were carried out between 9th February and 25th March2015 with staff, governors, parents and pupils of Pencoed Primary School and also the wider community. This was carried out in accordance with the Statutory School Organisation Code which requires the Authority to publish a consultation report summarising any issues raised by consultees and the Authority’s response as well as setting out Estyn’s view of the overall merit of the proposal. The Authority’s Consultation Report was shown at Appendix 1 to the report.

                   She confirmed that following the consultation, it was proposed to abandon the proposal to close the moderate learning difficulties (MLD) Learning Resource Centre for 1^st September 2015 at Pencoed Primary School. Given the views expressed during the consultation, it was also proposed that the school continues to be funded for a further academic year offering 30 MLD pupil places. The funding will be closely monitored throughout the academic year and will be reviewed in the summer term.  If after the period of monitoring it is considered that the class should close, then, the process to close the class would then restart.

       The Corporate Director Education and Transformation referred to paragraph 4.6 of the report, that outlined that Cabinet was asked to revisit the consultation outcome report with particular regard to Estyn’s response to the proposal.  It was recommended that a full investigation into the Estyn response is carried out to ensure that all their queries regarding the proposal are addressed.  Following this, it was also recommended that a further response is received from Estyn prior to a final decision being determined.

       She concluded her submission by confirming that the decision not to close the Learning Resource Centre would have no financial implications, as the cost of the provision was already factored into the Individual School Budget (ISB) formula.

       The Deputy Leader confirmed that during the consultation process, the local authority had listened to all stakeholders including, parents of pupils at the school, Governors and the Children and Young People O&SC who had actually called-in the original decision of Cabinet.

       He added that there would now take place a period of careful monitoring of the position, in order to ascertain if additional pupils with moderate learning difficulties are identified or move into the area, are assessed as needing a place in a MLD Learning Resource Centre, that would that would require two of the Learning Resource Centre’s to continue to remain open in the future.

       The Cabinet Member Resources added that he had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 750.

To inform Cabinet of the statutory objections received by the Authority during the objections period in respect of the proposal to make a regulated alteration to Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Cwm Garw by relocating the school to a new school building on the Betws Primary School site, to request a determination on the proposal and to seek Cabinet’s approval to publish the draft ‘Objections Report’ on BCBC’s website.    

            This report is to inform Cabinet of the statutory objections received by the Authority during the objections period in respect of the proposal to make a regulated alteration to Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Cwm Garw by relocating the school to a new school building on the Betws Primary School site, to request a determination on the proposal and to seek Cabinet’s approval to publish the draft ‘Objections Report’ (Appendix A) on BCBC’s website .

            In November 2013 the Council used statutory procedures to consult on relocating the Welsh medium primary provision of Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg (YGG) Cwm Garw from Pontycymer to the existing Betws Primary School site. In May 2014 Cabinet determined to relocate the school to a new Welsh medium school on the site currently occupied by Betws Primary School. The proposal was to co-locate YGG Cwm Garw with the new English medium primary school serving the south of the Garw Valley. In February 2015 Cabinet further determined that the relocated YGG Cwm Garw should be a 1.5 form entry.

           Following the outcome of a challenge ,in respect of Betws and Tynyrheol Primary Schools the Council reconsidered  the scheme.  The proposal relating to YCG Cwm Garw has not been significantly affected and the authority proposes to make a regulated alteration to YGG Cwm Garw by relocating the school to a new building on the Betws Primary School site.  .

           On 3^rd March 2015, Cabinet approval was received for the Council to adopt revised principles as a framework for school organisation in Bridgend; five key principles were set out to inform the organisation and modernisation of our schools, as was outlined in paragraph 3.3 of the report.

            In respect of the current situation, and in order to progress the proposal, consultation was carried out between 25^th April and 1^st June 2015 in accordance with the statutory School Organisation Code.  A copy of the consultation document was also made available during this time on the Council’s website, and details regarding this was shown in paragraphs 4.2 – 4.4 of the report, while paragraph 4.5, gave details of one statutory objection to the proposal. Appendix 1 to the report contained an Objections report and gave details of the objections and the Authority’s consideration of these.

            The Deputy Leader expressed his disappointment with an objection to the proposal submitted by the governing body of Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Cwm Garw school. He added that the school was in a poor state of condition, and as such, was not feasible to continue to accommodate pupils in its present state as a long term option at its current site. He further added that a Conditions survey carried out had revealed major defects in the current building structure. There was also no playing field on site nor other outdoor facilities in keeping with a modern school.

            It was intended for the school to be re-located with the new building providing state of the art facilities in-keeping with other schools in the County Borough  ...  view the full minutes text for item 751.

To inform Cabinet of the outcome of a Public Notice on the proposal to relocate Brynmenyn Primary School to land adjacent to Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen and make a regulated alteration in the form of an enlargement.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation submitted a report, that informed Cabinet of the outcome of a Public Notice on the proposal to relocate Brynmenyn Primary School to land adjacent to Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen, and make a regulated alteration in the form of an enlargement.

By way of background information, she confirmed that in order to relieve the pressure on primary school places in the Valleys Gateway area, it was proposed to build a new school for Brynmenyn Primary School on land adjacent to Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen. It was also proposed to make a regulated alteration to Brynmenyn Primary School in the form of an enlargement to the school. The relocation of the school was less than 1 mile from the existing school site. However, she added that the regulated alteration was subject to statutory procedures.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation confirmed that statutory public notice was issued on 25^th June 2015 and the closing date for objections was 22^nd July 2015. The public notice sets out the details of a proposal to allow the public to comment generally or on specifics. A period of 28 days must elapse to allow any comments or objections to be made. Any objections made within this period must be submitted in writing to the Council. The Council must then publish an objections report summarising the statutory objections together with the Council’s response to those objections.

      She added that no objections were received during the statutory public notice period, and Cabinet was, therefore, now able to determine the implementation of the proposal.

      The Deputy Leader advised that he was happy to support the proposals contained within the report.

      RESOLVED:       That Cabinet, having given full consideration to the outcome of the consultation and public notice process, determined to relocate Brynmenyn Primary School to a new build school on land adjacent to Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen and make a regulated alteration in the form of an enlargement with effect from 1 January 2018.          

To update Cabinet on the work of the schools task group, and to seek approval to appoint a strategic partner to support the development of a Strategy that will provide an evidence based rationale for change and will form a basis in order to reach informed conclusions about the nature of provision of primary, secondary and post 16 education and the need to add, remove or relocate school places.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation presented a report, the purpose of which was to update Cabinet on the work of the schools task group, and to seek approval to appoint a strategic partner to support the development of a Strategy that will provide an evidence based rationale for change and will form a basis in order to reach informed conclusions about the nature of provision of primary, secondary and post 16 education and the need to add, remove or relocate school places.

             By way of background information, she confirmed that in August 2014 the Children’s Directorate established the Schools Task Group to consider the way forward for schools within the County Borough and to ensure we continue to plan for and provide a high quality education system for our young people, that gives them the very best opportunities for their lives in the 21^st century and builds upon the excellence and good practice that we already have in our county. The rationale behind this was explained in the report.

            She explained that the the Task Group established a set of principles and criteria to underpin the future of education and learning provision which may be applied to establish a strategy for the next ten years (Appendix A to the report referred).  These were approved by Cabinet on 3^rd March 2015. These criteria provide a framework upon which decisions may be considered and will contribute to the formation of a draft model of schools’ provision prior to full consultation.  It may be that alternative models could be designed for consultation.  The Schools Task Group had taken into account the different dynamics of Bridgend County Borough, ie towns, rural areas, valleys and such like and other issues as they arise. These were also detailed in the report, as was a summary of the findings of each workstream

            The Corporate Director Education and Transformation then gave a brief summary of the findings of each of these workstreams.

 In respect of developing a Strategy, the Corporate Director Education and Transformation explained that the new principles provided a structured approach to aid in consideration of the rationalisation of education provision in Bridgend. The principles and the strategy is an approach that will provide evidence based rationale for change and will form a valuable basis in order to reach informed conclusions about the nature of provision and the need to add, remove or relocate school places.  The approach will support the drive for improved pupil outcomes through the Central South Consortium by securing a more sustainable and effective pattern of provision than exists in all areas of the County Borough at present. The report then outlined the purpose behind the Strategy.

The Deputy Leader advised that a significant amount of work had been committed to this Review, particularly by the Schools Task Group. This work had to be undertaken in order that the quality of education presently being provided for young people within the County Borough could continue into the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 753.

To seek approval from Cabinet for the appointment of Local Authority Governors to school governing bodies. 

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation presented a report the purpose of which was to seek Cabinet approval for the appointment of Local Authority (LA) Governors to the school governing bodies listed in paragraph 4.1 of the report.

RESOLVED:                   That Cabinet approved the appointments as listed in paragraph 4.1 of the report.

To seek approval for the monitoring report to be submitted to the Welsh Government and to seek approval for the reviewed targets for 2015-16.

The Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services submitted a report, that sought approval for the monitoring report relating to the above Outcome Agreement to be submitted to Welsh Government.

He confirmed that in 2013, the Council developed a three year Outcome Agreement with Welsh Government, with the Agreement Framework comprising two distinct components, ie Part 1 relating to Outcomes, and Part 2 Corporate Governance.

He added that five Outcomes are included in the Agreement, and each year the Authority was required to self-assess whether it has achieved its planned outcomes for the year, and provide a monitoring report to Welsh Government. The full score for the Outcomes is 10 points, though the Authority had to score 10 points or above to receive the full amount of the 70% of the grant. It was anticipated that the Authority would be awarded the full amount of grant for the coming year, ie £1.4m.

The Assistant Chief Executive legal and Regulatory Services added that the Council has reviewed the targets in the Outcome Agreement for 2015-16 in light of the Council’s performance in 2014 – 15, and to reflect any changed circumstances. The reviewed targets were included in the attached report.

RESOLVED:        That Cabinet

(1)  Approved the Monitoring report attached to the covering report, and agreed that it is submitted to Welsh Government to meet the deadline.

(2)  That Cabinet approved the changes made to the targets for 2015-16

To seek Cabinet approval for a series of amendments which have been made to the Schemes of Delegation of Functions relating to their functions within the scheme.

The Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services submitted a report, the purpose of which, was to seek Cabinet approval for a series of amendments, which would have been made to the Schemes of Delegation of Functions relating to their functions within the Scheme.

He then proceeded to outline the changes that were proposed, as outlined paragraphs 4. of  the report. These were included in the full version of the Scheme of Delegation that was attached to the report at Appendix A.

He then gave a further verbal update on one further change that was required over and above those detailed in the report, as outlined in 2. below.

RESOLVED:               That Cabinet:

(1)          Approved the Schemes of Delegation of Functions  relating to its Cabinet Functions as attached at Appendix A to the report.

(2)          That Cabinet also approved that Scheme B2, Paragraph 2.58 be amended to read “Official Feed and Food Controls (Wales) Regulations 2009”

To seek Cabinet approval to make amendments to the calendar of its meetings to align them with revised budget schedule.

The Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services submitted a report, seeking Cabinet approval to make amendments to the calendar of its meetings, so as to align them with the revised Budget timetable schedule.

Attached at Appendix A to the report, was the complete timetable of meeting date changes resulting from the above, whilst a summary of the Cabinet meeting changes were shown in paragraph 4.3 of the report.

Paragraph 4.4 of the report outlined for noting changes to dates of certain Council meetings, and these would be considered by Council at its meeting on 2 September 2015.

Paragraph 4.5 then showed a timetable for the suggested re-scheduling of certain Overview and Scrutiny Committees as detailed within the Table in that part of the report, which would also be considered by Council at tomorrow’s meeting.

The Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services then referred to paragraph 4.6 of the report and a proposal to add a further meeting of Cabinet Committee Corporate Parenting to the Calendar of meetings for this coming October.

RESOLVED:             

To inform Cabinet of the Information Reports which have been published since its last scheduled meeting.

The Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services presented a report, the purpose of which was to inform Cabinet of the Information Reports which had been published since the last meeting.

RESOLVED:               That Cabinet acknowledged the publication of the documents listed in the report:-

                                    Title                                                     Date Published

To consider any items of business that by reason of special circumstances the chairperson is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency in accordance with paragraph 2.4 (e) of the Cabinet Procedure Rules within the Constitution.

The minutes and reports relating to the following items are not for publication as they

contain exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 14 and 16 of Part 4 and Paragraph 21 of Part 5, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007.

If following the application of the public interest test Cabinet resolves pursuant to the Act to consider these items in private, the public will be excluded from the meeting during such consideration.

RESOLVED:               That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business as they contained exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 14 and 16 of Part 4 and Paragraph 21 of Part 5 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007.

                                   The Monitoring Officer confirmed that in respect of the third item below the public interest test would apply, however, in respect of items two, four and five the public interest test would not apply, as the reports contained information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings

Following the application of the public interest test for the third item, it was resolved that pursuant to the Act referred to above, to consider this item in private with the public being excluded from the meeting as it would involve the disclosure of exempt information as stated above. 

To receive for approval the exempt minutes of the meeting of Cabinet of 14 July 2015.