Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A. Davies, D.B. Davies, W.J. Lemon, A.D.T. Speake, K.P. Thomas and W.G. Thomas.

Apologies were also received from Councillor H.A.L. Evans (Executive Board Member for Technical Services) and Councillor T.J Jones (Executive Board Member for Environmental & Public Protection).

The Chair welcomed Mrs. Ruth Mullen to her first meeting as the new Director of the Environment Department.

There were no declarations of party whips.

No public questions were received.

The Chair reminded the Committee that the Environment Departmental Budget Seminar for members was being held on Tuesday 8th December at 2:00pm in Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli.  

RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on Friday 11th December 2015, be noted.

Cllr. D.W.H. Richards declared and interest in that he owns land adjacent to Trebeddrod Reservoir in Llanelli

The Committee considered the Revenue & Capital Budget Monitoring Report for the Environment Department, Public Protection Services and the Community Safety Team, as at 31st August 2015 in relation to the 2015/16 financial year. The following issues were raised in relation to the report:

Reference was made to the recent suspension of eight members of staff from the Environment Department and it was asked how the services were coping without their full complement of staff and what impact this was having on the Department’s budget. The Head of Street-Scene informed the Committee that the services had alternative arrangements in place to accommodate staff absences, as was the case when dealing with sickness absence or annual leave. In certain situations, agency workers were employed to cover for core staff and such costs were provided for within the departmental budget. The Director of Environment informed the Committee that there was no impact on the delivery of the relevant services and whilst the Department wished to bring this matter to a close as soon as possible, the Authority was duty bound to adhere to the relevant legislation and human resources policies to ensure that each case was heard and dealt with fairly. 

In response to a question as to when the transfer of public conveniences would be completed, the Head of Street-Scene reminded the Committee that the transfer of the public conveniences to Town and Community Councils was into its second year of a three-year process but agreed to check the progress and inform the Committee accordingly. 

An explanation was sought for the variance relating to the Emergency Planning service, the work of the Local Resilience Forum and why the Authority was funding a post at Pembrokeshire County Council. The Group Accountant and Head of Street-Scene informed the Committee that the Dyfed-Powys Local Resilience Forum was a multi-agency partnership comprising of key emergency and public services which would co-ordinate the response to a major incident in the region (e.g. severe weather, major transport or industrial accident). Outside normal office hours, an officer, employed by Pembrokeshire County Council, was on stand-by for the whole region and the £3,000 referred to in the report, was Carmarthenshire’s contribution towards this regional arrangement.

Reference was made to the variance of £394,000 in the Property Services budget due to an unachievable income target and a question was asked as to what was being done to reduce this. The Interim Head of Property Maintenance & Construction acknowledged that this was a long-standing issue and that the Department was working with Financial Services to manage it. It was envisaged that the next budget monitoring report would show a reduction in this figure as the Department undertook a programme of restructuring and utilised workers in other areas.

The variance of £25,000 relating to car parking was questioned, as was the impact that the work of the Committee’s Task and Finish Group would have on this and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee received, for consideration, the Half-Yearly Performance Management Report for the services within its remit, for the period 1st April to 30th September 2015. The report included:

·         Heads of Service Overview of Performance

·         Improvement Plan Monitoring – Actions and Performance Measures

·         Complaints and Compliments Monitoring

·         Crime Statistics for Carmarthenshire

The following issues were discussed during consideration of the report:

Reference was made to the Community Safety Partnership initiatives and it was asked whether there was an opportunity for the Local Authority to utilise the disused Police house in Felinfoel, especially in light of the demand for social housing. The Head of Housing & Public Protection noted that the Authority did have funds to return empty properties to use as social housing and the Community Safety Manager agreed to clarify the matter with Dyfed-Powys Police. 

In response to a question on the status of the public lighting upgrade, the Head of Street-Scene informed the Committee that an invest-to-save bid submitted to the Welsh Government had been successful according to a press release although officers had yet to be officially notified of this. The funding of £1.4m would assist in funding the replacement of about 12,500 street lights with LED units with expected savings of £600,000 per annum on energy and labour. 

It was suggested that whilst the report noted reductions up until the end of 2014/15, the figures for road deaths would be higher following the number of fatalities during the summer of 2015. The Head of Transport & Engineering acknowledged that the accident figures had risen during the year and the research undertaken with Dyfed-Powys Police indicated that driver behaviour was the prime cause. The increase in motorcyclist fatalities was of grave concern and the Authority continued to work hard to reduce such incidents, especially through joint operations with Dyfed-Powys Police (e.g. ‘Operation Darwen’) and educational initiatives.

In response to queries regarding the Llandeilo By-Pass, the Head of Transport & Engineering reminded the Committee that there was a commitment to the by-pass in the National Transport Finance Plan and that various studies relating to the proposed route would be commencing by the end of the year. There were however, a number of hurdles to be overcome, prior to any construction work. He added that the preferred route had been identified and protected from any housing developments but that any changes to this route would be considered by the minister as part of the statutory process.

Further to a question on the joint working between National Resources Wales and the Local Authority in relation to shellfish poaching, the Public Health Services Manager confirmed that officers did indeed work with both National Resources Wales and the Welsh Government, both of whom had specific responsibility for different areas of the Carmarthenshire coastline. However, due to the size of the area in question, the coastline was difficult to monitor and police due to the lack of resources experienced by the relevant agencies involved.

It was suggested that the Executive Board Member be asked to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Committee considered a referral from the Policy & Resources Scrutiny Committee. The Assistant Consultant explained the background for the referral and updated the Committee on the proposals for a new format for the performance monitoring reports received by scrutiny committees which would be shared with elected members at a briefing session on the 14th January 2016 (2:00pm).

The Head of Housing & Public Protection suggested that this session offered an ideal opportunity for members to highlight their opinions regarding the content of the Complaints and Compliments section to officers.

Disappointment was expressed that the proposed briefing session would be held in the afternoon as such afternoon meetings made attendance difficult for elected members who worked and had children of school age.

The Assistant Consultant agreed to feed back members comments to the relevant officers. 

RESOLVED that the report be received.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the reasons for the non-submissions of the Review of the Gambling Policy and the Review of the Licensing Policy, be noted.

The Committee considered an update detailing progress in relation to actions, requests or referrals emerging from previous scrutiny meetings. The following issues were discussed during consideration of the report:

Reference was made to the joint meeting held with the Education & Children Scrutiny Committee in September in order to discuss the proposals for Sustaining Post-Sixteen College / School Transport and it was asked when this matter and the views expressed by the committees’ members, would be considered by the Executive Board. The Head of Transport & Engineering reminded the Committee that the consultation had come to an end on the 10th November 2015 and that all comments received would be considered and form part of the final report. Part of the process would also include updating the Equalities Impact Assessment.

In response to further questions about the consultation process, the Head of Transport & Engineering and Principal Business & Development Officer reminded the Committee that all members had been welcome to attend the open evenings held at the county’s secondary schools and further education college campuses and that a newsletter and email informing elected members of the process, had been circulated in October 2015. However, elected members were welcome to contact officers should they wish to discuss or clarify any matters relating to the consultation process.

Reference was made to the continued opposition expressed by elected members to proposals to charge for transport to education establishments. The Head of Transport & Engineering acknowledged the strength of feeling expressed by elected members but reminded the Committee of the context within which the proposals had been presented, namely a £39m revenue reduction faced by the Local Authority. The budget strategy agreed by Council in February 2015 had included this proposal which was now being consulted on but any change to the policy would ultimately require the approval of County Council before it could be implemented.

RESOLVED that the report, be noted.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Friday 18th September 2015 be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the joint meeting held on Friday 18th September 2015 be signed as a correct record.