Venue: Council Chamber - County Hall, Llandrindod Wells
Contact: Stephen Boyd 01597 826374
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Apologies To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors S Davies, GM Jones, PE Lewis, RH Mills and GD Price and from County Councillor MC Mackenzie who was on other Council business. |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda. Minutes: County Councillors MJB Davies and GW Ratcliffe declared personal non-pecuniary interests in item CC31 – 2017 Capital Virement for Primary Schools in the Gwernyfed Catchment as an LEA appointed governor at Llanfaes Primary School.
County Councillors PJ Ashton, LV Corfield, DE Davies, JE Evans, GG Hopkins, WJT Powell, DR Price, TJ Van-Rees declared personal prejudicial interests in item CC38 – 2017 Pay Policy.
County Councillors PJ Ashton, D Bailey, GJ Bowker, JH Brunt, LV Corfield, KW Curry, LRE Davies, SC Davies, MJ Dorrance, JE Evans, CJ Gibson-Watt, SM Hayes, DR Jones, EA Jones, E Michael Jones, MJ Jones, WT Jones, H Lewis, DW Meredith, S McNicholas, G. Morgan, JG Morris, WJT Powell, GW Ratcliffe, KM Roberts-Jones, JG Shearer, KS Silk, AG Thomas, DG Thomas, TG Turner, TJ Van-Rees, GP Vaughan, DH Williams, GIS Williams, JM Williams and S Williams declared personal, non-prejudicial interests in item CC39 – 2017 Wales Investment Pool as members of the Local Government Pension Scheme
County Councillor MJ Dorrance declared a personal non-pecuniary interest in item CC42 – 2017 Welsh Medium Stream at Brecon High School as his partner was an LEA appointed governor at the school. County Councillor GW Ratcliffe declared a personal and prejudicial interest as he had a relative in the Welsh medium stream in the Brecon area. |
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Chair's Announcements To receive any announcement’s from the Chair of Council. Minutes: The Chair and Members welcomed County Councillor Joy Shearer back following her illness.
The Chair also congratulated Llanfyllin YFC for their achievement in winning the All Wales YFC Entertainment Competition and Councillor Gwynfor Thomas who had written and produced the show.
Councillor Shearer also congratulated Gemma Owen of Aberafesp YFC who had been announced as best junior YFC member in Wales. The Chair would be writing to Miss Owen and to Llanfyllin YFC.
The Chair advised that amongst the events he had attended were the Rourke’s Draft concert, the opening of new facilities at Llanidloes Sports Centre and the Brecknockshire and Radnorshire Sports Awards. |
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Leader's Announcements To receive any announcements from the Leader. Minutes: The Leader noted that despite facing some the biggest funding cuts in Wales the Council had continued to perform well. There had been changes in the way the Council worked with greater emphasis on partnership working and integration with Powys Teaching Health Board. The Council had invested heavily in capital projects with £130m invested in new schools.
As this was the last meeting before the local government elections the Leader wished all members well and thanked them for the honour of being Leader of Powys County Council. |
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Chief Executive's Briefing To receive a briefing from the Chief Executive. Minutes: The Chief Executive did not give a briefing on this occasion. |
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Pay Policy Statement 2017-18 PDF 83 KB To receive and consider the Pay Policy Statement for 2017/18. Additional documents: Minutes: All officers present declared an interest in this item and left the meeting while it was being considered with the exception of the Professional Lead – Employment Services and the Trainee Assistant Technician. Mandy Collins the Board Secretary for Powys Teaching Health Board was Acting Monitoring Officer for this item.
County Councillors PJ Ashton, LV Corfield, DE Davies, JE Evans, GG Hopkins, WJT Powell, DR Price, TJ Van-Rees left the meeting whilst this item was being considered having declared personal prejudicial interests in this item.
Council considered the Pay Policy Statement for 2017-18.
The recommendation was moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by County Councillor SM Hayes and passed by 44 votes to 2 with 2 abstentions.
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Capital Virements requiring Council approval PDF 63 KB To consider capital virements requiring Council approval. |
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Capital Virement for Brecon Cultural Hub PDF 63 KB Minutes: Council was asked to roll forward £2.3m to 2017/18 to continue with the project.
The recommendation was moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by County Councillor Rosemarie Harris and passed by 53 votes to 5.
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Capital Virement for Capitalisation Direction PDF 64 KB Minutes: Council was asked to the powers given to the authority under the Local Government Act 2003 sections 16(2)(b) and 20 Treatment of Certain Costs as Capital Expenditure to create a Capitalisation Directions to use capital receipts, from the sale of land and building assets, to fund the identified costs of Service Reform and Transformation.
The recommendation was moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by County Councillor WB Thomas and passed by 53 votes to 1 with 3 abstentions.
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Capital Virement for Street Lighting PDF 62 KB Minutes: Council was asked to approve the roll forward of £1m in the Street Lighting Efficiency budget due to the delay in the supply of Street Lighting LED lanterns.
The recommendation was moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by County Councillor RG Brown and passed by 57 votes to 0.
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Capital Virement for Primary Schools in Gwernyfed Catchment PDF 64 KB Minutes: Council was asked to approve the roll forward of £1.564m into the 2017/18 budget for the Gwernyfed Primary Schools Catchment Project as there had been delays due to approval of the business cases during the year. Work had commenced on some of the site.
The recommendation was moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by County Councillor EA Jones and passed by 55 votes to 1.
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Capital Virement for Welsh Housing Quality Standard PDF 63 KB Minutes: Council was asked to remove £2.137m from the Welsh Housing Quality Standard budget for 2016/17 because of delays and changes to the numerous project that make up the overall budget.
The recommendation was moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by County Councillor MR Harris and passed by 54 votes to 0.
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Capital Virement for New Build Minutes: Council was asked to roll forward £850k for the budget for the Repurchase/New Build of Council Houses to 2017/18 to continue with the project and there had been delays to the project earlier in the year.
The recommendation was moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by County Councillor MR Harris and passed by 53 votes to 0 with 1 abstention.
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Council Tax Resolution for 2017-2018 PDF 203 KB To approve the Council Tax resolution and to set the Council Tax charges for 2017/2018.
Minutes: Council considered the Council Tax resolution for 2017/18 in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. As agreed at Council on 23rd February 2017, the report contained a 3.9% increase in Council Tax for the financial year 2017-18.
TherecommendationwasmovedbythePortfolioHolderforFinanceandseconded by EA Jones and passed by 35 votes to 17 with 3 abstentions.
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Corporate Improvement Plan PDF 256 KB To consider the 2017 update to the Corporate Improvement Plan. Additional documents: Minutes: Council considered the update for the Corporate Improvement Plan 2016-20.
The recommendation was moved by the Leader and seconded by County Councillor WT Jones and passed by 53 votes to 1 with 1 abstention.
County Councillors KM Roberts-Jones and JM Williams joined the meeting at 11.20 a.m. having been on other Council business. |
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Review of the Constitution PDF 67 KB To consider amendments to the Constitution:
Section 4 Council Section 5 Cabinet Section 7 Scrutiny Committees Section 12 Finance, Contracts and Legal Matters Additional documents:
Minutes: Council considered changes to Sections 4, 5, 7 and 12 of the Constitution recommended by the Democratic Services Committee. The changes in respect of Cabinet procedures were in response to a Wales Audit Office report that had expressed concern regarding the operation of the Cabinet and in particular the right to speak at Cabinet meetings by Scrutiny Chairs and Opposition Group Leaders.
County Councillor CJ Gibson-Watt moved a number of amendments seconded by County Councillor JG Morris arguing that the recommendations gave the Cabinet considerable extra powers while weakening Scrutiny.
Amendment A) below was passed by 40 votes to 13 with 2 abstentions.
RESOLVED that in additional to the production of a full forward work plan for Cabinet for 8 months in advance, as in proposed Amendment 5.22.14 of the Constitution, any emergency items to be considered by Cabinet must be subject to informing the Chairs (or Vice-Chairs if the Chair is unavailable) of the relevant Scrutiny Committee.
Amendment B) that the Chairs (or Vice-Chairs if the Chairs cannot attend) of the main Scrutiny Committees sit on the Commissioning and Procurement Board as non-voting members able to make comment was lost upon being put to the vote by 18 votes to 39 with 1 abstention.
Amendment C) below was passed by 45 votes to 14 with 1 abstention.
RESOLVED that the Chairs (or Vice-Chairs if the Chairs cannot attend) of the main Scrutiny Committees sit on the Strategic Overview Board
Amendment D) below was passed by 50 votes to 6 with 1 abstention.
RESOLVED that in Section 5.26 (Rights of Scrutiny Chairs to speak at Meeting) the following is added:
“Cabinet agendas should clearly state which items have been subject to scrutiny by the relevant Scrutiny Committee prior to consideration by Cabinet; and minutes of Cabinet meetings should clearly state why recommendations from the relevant Scrutiny Committee have been accepted or rejected.”
An amendment moved by County Councillor MC Alexander and seconded by County Councillor L Fitzpatrick to defer consideration of the changes to the Constitution until the election of the new Council was defeated by 16 votes to 44 upon being put to the vote.
The substantive motion was moved by County Councillor MR Harris and seconded by County Councillor WJT Powell as passed by 52 votes to 2 with 4 abstentions.
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Recommendation from Democratic Services Committee PDF 95 KB To consider the recommendation of the Democratic Services Committee on Area (Shire) Committees. Minutes: Council considered the recommendation of the Democratic Services Committee that the Area (Shire) Committees should be abolished from the Annual Meeting in May 2017.
Members expressed differing views with some questioning the value of the meetings and should be replaced by more localised service-based meetings and others arguing that they should be retained in their present format.
An amendment moved by County Councillor LV Corfield and seconded by County Councillor GR Banks that Shire Committees cease meeting on a regular basis but that the Shire Chairs and Vice-Chairs be given authority to convene meetings to consider matters of significant local concern was lost by 24 votes to 32 with 1 abstention.
An amendment moved by County Councillor GW Ratcliffe and seconded by County Councillor MC Dorrance that Shire Committees be abolished and replaced by locality meetings focusing on operational issues was lost by 21 votes to 32 with 3 abstentions.
An amendment moved by County Councillor GJ Bowker and seconded by County Councillor JM Williams to defer consideration until the new Council was in place was lost by 24 votes to 29 with 1 abstention.
Council voted on the recommendation of the Democratic Services Committee, voting 27 for, 27 against with 2 abstentions. On the Chair’s casting vote the recommendation was lost.
The meeting adjourned at 13.04 and reconvened at 14.00.
PRESENT County Councillor KF Tampin
County Councillors PJ Ashton, D Bailey, G R Banks, G Breeze, R G Brown, J H Brunt, L V Corfield, K W Curry, M J B Davies, S C Davies, D E Davies, E R Davies, A W Davies, M J Dorrance, V E Evans, W J Evans, D O Evans, L Fitzpatrick, J Gibson-Watt, P Harris, M R Harris, S M Hayes, J C Holmes, G Hopkins, E A Jones, D C Jones, M J Jones, E M Jones, D R Jones, W T Jones, F H Jump, H Lewis, S McNicholas, P J Medlicott, DW Meredith, ET Morgan, G Morgan, JG Morris, W J T Powell, D R Price, G W Ratcliffe, K M Roberts-Jones, K S Silk, D A Thomas, W B Thomas, A G Thomas, D G Thomas, R G Thomas, T Turner, T J Van-Rees, G P Vaughan, D H Williams, S L Williams and J M Williams
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Welsh Medium Stream at Brecon High School PDF 105 KB To consider the Portfolio Holder for Education’s report to Cabinet on 14th March in respect of the Welsh medium stream at Brecon High School. Additional documents:
Minutes: County Councillor GW Ratcliffe declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this item and left the meeting.
The Monitoring Officer advised that Cabinet members would not be able to vote on this item.
Council considered the report of the Portfolio Holder for Education on responses received to the formal consultation to close the Welsh-medium stream at Brecon High School from the 31st August 2017, with Brecon High School becoming an English-medium school from the 1st September 2017. The Portfolio Holder advised that a total of 237 written responses were received to the consultation, including responses submitted using the online response form and other written responses. 71 responses were received from one individual respondent, and another 26 were received from another individual respondent. In addition, during the consultation period, individuals were encouraged to e-mail the council with the statement ‘All I want for Christmas is for the Welsh stream to stay open in Brecon High School’. 39 responses were received which only included this statement. In addition to the written responses, a copy of an online petition was received, which was signed by 236 people and included 67 written comments. The issues raised during the consultation period, including those raised in written responses and those raised in the consultation meetings were listed in the Consultation Report (Appendix B), along with the authority’s response to these issues.
County Councillor David Meredith said that two previous consultations had not helped pupil numbers at the school, not had the decision to grant free transport to pupils wishing to transfer to Builth Wells High School. He noted that it cost £38,000 to transport pupils to Pontypool, money which could have been used to fund the school properly. He said that pupils from Ysgol y Bannau would prefer to go to Brecon and that removing the Welsh stream from Brecon High school would have a negative impact on Ysgol y Bannau and on the Welsh language in the area. He said that the timing of the consultation had been unfortunate as it had come about as the school had come out of special measures. He noted the projected £58k saving was outweighed by the current £116k cost of transporting pupils when the school only needed £47k to bring it up to Category 2B status.
County Councillor Matthew Dorrance agreed that there was a need to reorganise schools but said that it should be done fairly. He asked where the 173 pupils from Sennybridge and Ysgol y Bannau would go and said it was their right to be educated in their own community. He said that there was no evidence that Builth Wells was better placed to deliver Welsh-medium education and he asked the Cabinet to explain how the proposal would meet the goals of the Well-Being and Future Generations Act.
The Portfolio Holder for Education advised that pupil number at Ysgol y Bannau had not increased over the last ten years and he reminded members that Brecon offered 4 subjects in the medium of ... view the full minutes text for item CC37- 2017 |
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Appointment of Lay Member to Audit Committee PDF 74 KB To consider the report of the Audit Committee on the appointment of a lay member to the Committee. Minutes: Council considered the appointment of a lay member to the Audit Committee as required by the Local Government Measure 2011.
The recommendation was moved by the Chair of the Audit Committee, County Councillor JG Morris and seconded by County Councillor TJ Van-Rees and passed by 42 votes to 0 with 2 abstentions.
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Population Assessment for Powys PDF 72 KB To consider the population assessment for Powys. Additional documents:
Minutes: Council received the population assessment for the county. The assessment was required by The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and would help the Council plan its services. It would be included in the induction pack for newly elected members. The work of the officers who had produced the assessment was commended.
The recommendation was moved by County Councillor SM Hayes and seconded by County Councillor RG Brown and passed by 45 votes to 0.
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Wales Investment Pool - Inter Authority Agreement and Joint Governance Committee PDF 102 KB To consider the administrative and governance arrangements to manage the proposed investment pooling arrangements across the eight Welsh Local Authority Pension Funds.
Additional documents: Minutes: Council considered the Inter-Authority Agreement for each of the eight Welsh local authorities responsible for administering a pension fund. The Government had agreed that the 8 Welsh Pension Funds could pool together and establish a Joint Governance Committee to be administered by Carmarthenshire County Council with the Chair of the Pensions and Investment Committee as the Council’s representative.
The recommendations were moved by County Councillor TJ Van-Rees and seconded by County Councillor DR Jones and passed by 39 votes to 0 with 1 abstention.
County Councillor P Harris left at 15.00. |
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Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy PDF 259 KB To consider the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy. Additional documents:
Minutes: Council considered the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy.
The recommendation was moved by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and seconded by the Leader and passed by 42 votes to 0 with 2 abstentions. County Councillor WJ Evans confirmed his support although his vote had not registered.
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Presentation by the Boundary Commission To receive a presentation from the Boundary Commissioner. Minutes: Julie May – Lead commissioner, Steve Halsall – Chief Executive, Matt Redmond – Deputy Chief Executive and Farhan Khan Review Officer of the Boundary Commission gave a presentation on the review of Council wards which would run from 8 March to 31 May. They set out the review process and explained the statutory criteria of electoral equality, community identity and effective and convenient local government. They were required to work towards one councillor to every 1,616 electors which would mean a Council of 66 Councillors.
Councillors MJB Davies, DW Meredith and TG Turner left at 15.35. Councillors SC Davies, L Fitzpatrick, S McNicholas and KS Silk left at 15.50.
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Questions in Accordance with the Constitution |
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Will the Cabinet Member please confirm how regularly Powys County Council reviews its consultation methodology? In particular, how does the Authority ensure that it harnesses fully the network of Town and Community Councils, in engaging the maximum numbers of residents, in any given consultation?
Minutes: Will the Cabinet Member please confirm how regularly Powys County Council reviews its consultation methodology? In particular, how does the Authority ensure that it harnesses fully the network of Town and Community Councils, in engaging the maximum numbers of residents, in any given consultation?
Answer from the Portfolio Holder with responsibility for Communications As a County Council we work to the National Principles around Public Engagement for Wales. These principles act as our guiding methodology whenever looking to engage and consult on council business whether this is a new policy or a proposed service change. Whenever a service wishes or needs to engage residents on a particular issue they are advised to consider carefully who their key stakeholders are and to ensure they invite them to have their say on the issue at hand. Town and community councils are often either contacted directly by the service to give their views or pro-actively contribute their views when they see publicity about an issue which affects their community. However, this isn’t always the case and there is scope to better harness the network of Town and Community Councils to ensure we reach a wider audience. We would welcome a conversation on how we can improve engagement across the county.
There was no supplementary question.
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Question to the Portfolio Holder for Finance from County Councillor William Powell PDF 101 KB Will the Cabinet Member please update Council on the profile of spend of EU/RDP monies in the County, now that they are time limited and finite? Also, what strategies are in place to secure replacement funds wherever possible - and to assess the emerging effect of ‘Brexit’ on the vibrancy of the wider Powys economy?
Additional documents:
Minutes: Will the Cabinet Member please update Council on the profile of spend of EU/RDP monies in the County, now that they are time limited and finite? Also, what strategies are in place to secure replacement funds wherever possible - and to assess the emerging effect of ‘Brexit’ on the vibrancy of the wider Powys economy?
Answer from the Portfolio Holder for Finance Point 1 - Will the Cabinet Member please update Council on the profile of spend of EU/RDP monies in the County, now that they are time limited and finite?
Regeneration Service Projects – current position:
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Can you provide me with the number of Senior Managers, Heads of Service, Directors, Strategic Directors and Chief Executive employed per Grade/SCP by Powys County Council for each year of this Council term?
Minutes: Can you provide me with the number of Senior Managers, Heads of Service, Directors, Strategic Directors and Chief Executive employed per Grade/SCP by Powys County Council for each year of this Council term?
Answer from the Portfolio Holder with responsibility for HR
The table illustrates the number of occupied Senior Manager & Chief Officer positions, per grade and scale point, during each year of the current Council term.
You will note that the numbers decrease year on year, apart from year ending 31 March 2016, where there is an increase, before once again decreasing during the current financial year.
The 2015/16 growth is attributed to an increase of 6 Senior Manager posts through Service Area restructures, which were evaluated through the Job Evaluation process maintaining compliance with Single Status, plus an additional 3 Heads of Service being appointed (Head of ICT, Head of Operations Adults Services and Head of Transformation Adult Services).
During the current financial year, the number of roles has decreased by 6 with reductions of 3 Senior Managers, 1 Heads of Service, 1 Director and a Strategic Director.
In summary, during the current Council term, the number of Senior Manager and Chief Officers has decreased by 12.5% from 48 to 42.
There was no supplementary question. |
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Question to the Leader from County Councillor Gary Price PDF 48 KB You have endeavoured to be a champion of openness and transparency whilst being Leader of Powys County Council. Can you therefore explain why the use of a code name (project Alpha) has been used recently?
Minutes: You have endeavoured to be a champion of openness and transparency whilst being Leader of Powys County Council. Can you therefore explain why the use of a code name (project Alpha) has been used recently?
Answer from the Leader The phrase “Project Alpha” is being used to discuss confidential issues within the property office and in correspondence regarding the potential purchase of a piece of land. It is acknowledged by the Council that some issues need to be kept confidential during commercially sensitive purchase negotiations. This is to ensure that the Council’s negotiating position is not divulged and so we can be assured that we gain the very best value for money for local residents. When the matter is concluded I will be very happy to inform the Council of the outcome.
There was no supplementary question.
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The Cultural Hub Development is great news for Brecon and very welcome investment but my community are rightly concerned about the Council's plans for the current Library building.
Will the Cabinet Member inform Council what the administration is planning to do with the site when the Library moves to the new location?
Minutes: The Cultural Hub Development is great news for Brecon and very welcome investment but my community are rightly concerned about the Council's plans for the current Library building.
Will the Cabinet Member inform Council what the administration is planning to do with the site when the Library moves to the new location?
Answer from the Portfolio Holder for Property, Buildings and Housing Work on Brecon’s Cultural Hub is underway and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2018. Once work on the new cultural facility has been completed, Brecon Library will be moving to the new site.
Interest has been shown in the current library building but Powys County Council is exploring a number of options regarding its future. Regeneration will be at the forefront of the council’s mind when exploring these options.
In response to Councillor Dorrance’s supplementary question about the options for the site, the Portfolio Holder advised that that there was some interest but nothing concrete that she could share with the local members at this stage.
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Will the Cabinet Member provide a statement on Homelessness in Powys? Minutes: Will the Cabinet Member provide a statement on Homelessness in Powys?
Answer from the Portfolio Holder for Property, Buildings and Housing The introduction of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 in April 2015 extended the duties of local authorities to prevent homelessness and the increased the timescale to intervene from 28 days to 56 days before people who approach the council for assistance may become homeless. The council now has a duty to prevent or relieve homelessness to all who approach us but still retains its Section 75 duty to accommodate applicants who are entitled to assistance, homeless, in priority need, not homeless intentionally and have a local connection.
The new system is very complex to administer and recording of homelessness has become more complicated since the introduction of the 2014 Act. The fact that the council is required to work with applicants to prevent and alleviate homelessness rather than simply accept a duty to accommodate, means that cases take a greater amount of officer time to administer.
In addition, legislative change and the introduction of new recording systems means that not all the data is comparable with data collected prior to April 2015.
Data that is comparable is the number of homeless presentations. There was a 32% increase in presentations between financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16 across Powys. This was not unexpected as the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 extended entitlement, particularly to single people. However, it should be noted that in the first three quarters of 2016-17, the number of homelessness presentations would appear to have reduced, when compared with 2015-16. It should be noted however that the number of persons in temporary accommodation to whom the Council owes a full duty remains constant see table 3 below.
Table 1
The impact across the county varied considerably, between 2014/15 to 2015/16 homeless presentations increased by 107% in Brecon, 39% in Welshpool, 30% increase in Newtown and 13% increase in Llandrindod Wells. During the same period there was a 3% reduction in homelessness presentations in Ystradgynlais.
The north of the county tends to experience the greatest number of homelessness presentations. Table 2 below shows the proportion of homelessness presentations in Welshpool, Newtown, Llandrindod Wells, Brecon and Ystradgynlais
Table 2. Proportion of homelessness presentations by housing area
The numbers of households in temporary accommodation would appear at the ... view the full minutes text for item CC43- 2017f |