Venue: Council Chamber - Port Talbot Civic Centre
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Minutes of the Previous Meeting PDF 58 KB Additional documents: Minutes: That
the Minutes of the previous meetings of Cabinet Scrutiny Committee, held on 29
May and 19 June, 2019, be approved, subject to the addition of Councillor J.D.Morgan’s attendance on 29 May 2019. |
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Neath Port Talbot Public Services Board Annual Report 2018-2019 PDF 100 KB Report
of the Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Digital Officer Additional documents: Minutes: In
order to enable the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee to discharge the role given to
it by Council, namely to scrutinise the work of the Public Services Board
(PSB), the Neath Port Talbot Public Services Board Annual Report 2018/19 was
presented to Members. Members noted that although they did not have the remit
to change the Annual Report, as it was the work of the Public Services Board,
they were able to request the attendance of PSB partners if more in depth
scrutiny was deemed necessary. Members
discussed the work of the Local Area Coordinators in connection to Wellbeing
Objective 2 (Safe Resilient Communities) as well as their ability to empower
communities to support themselves. Members also discussed the role of the
Police in relation to this Objective. It
was noted that although such issues as ‘a first class digital and transport
infrastructure’ were not currently priorities of the PSB, it would be
appropriate for Members to ask PSB partners why certain areas such as these had
not been identified as a current priority, even though they had been included
in the Vision of the PSB. The
recent closures of well established, local employers, including the proposed
closure of the Ford plant in Bridgend was discussed in reference to Wellbeing
Objective 4 (Wellbeing in the Workplace). It was noted that a Welsh Government
work stream had been established in response to the proposed closure of the
Ford plant. Concerns around recent changes to local health boards and queries
concerning their performance were also discussed. Cabinet
Scrutiny Committee Members requested that further scrutiny of Wellbeing
Objectives 2 (Safe Resilient Communities) and 4 (Wellbeing in the Workplace) be
added to the Forward Work Programme, and the relevant PSB partners be invited
to attend. Following
scrutiny the report was noted. |
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Pre Decision Scrutiny Minutes: Committee
scrutinised the following Cabinet items: Removal
of Council Tax Discounts for Empty Properties and Second Homes Members
discussed removing the level of discount in respect of dwellings that were
classified as long term empty properties and those that were classed as second
homes. Council
Tax exemptions were discussed, including the entitlement for council tax relief
re empty homes where the owner resides in Residential Care. The appeals process
and discretionary powers of Council Tax Officers were discussed, as well as the
conversion of non-residential buildings into houses. Officers advised that an
initial six month period of council tax exemption would still apply to empty
properties before requesting full Council Tax payments. Members
queried why the circulated information had been presented by way of parishes
rather than electoral divisions. Officers advised that the Council Tax
Regulations required billing and reporting to be provided at Community/Parish
levels and thus information was not available at electoral division level. Following
scrutiny, the Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
Cabinet. Corporate
Plan Key Performance Indicators, 1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019 (Full Year) The 2018/19 full year
performance was reported to Members for the Council’s Corporate Plan Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, for
services within the purview of Cabinet. Members discussed CP/015
(Percentage of schools that have adopted suitable programmes to address
violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV)), and
specifically how this programme was being promoted in schools currently.
Members noted that Officers would address the primary and secondary head
teacher’s forums in September with a view to further rolling out the programme
to schools. Operation Encompass was also discussed, and Members noted this was
an initiative which aimed to enhance communication between the Police and schools where a
child was at risk from, or had witnessed, domestic abuse. Members requested clarity on
the term ‘Channel Panel’ referred to in CP/035. Officers explained this was a
multi-agency meeting chaired by the Council, to identify individuals who may be
at risk of being drawn into extremism or terrorism, before they became a threat
to the community. There was a strong connection between the Channel Panel and
other safeguarding agencies. The low number of referrals to the Channel Panel
was attributed to a number of cases which did not meet the threshold for the
Panel but were signposted towards more appropriate pathways. The following areas were also
discussed: ·
Calls
abandoned/dropped calls ·
New technologies
and their impact on call queues ·
Less resilience
across all Council services due to budget pressures ·
The need for
different skill sets for call centre staff Repeat offenders of
anti-social behaviour were discussed in connection with CP/037, and Members
felt this could be referred to the Community Safety and Public Protection Scrutiny
Sub Committee for addition to their Forward Work Programme and further
scrutiny. Following
scrutiny the report was noted. |
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Forward Work Programme 2019/20 PDF 73 KB Minutes: The
Committee noted the Forward Work Programme for 2019/20. |