Issue - meetings

(a)       That the Committee endorse the Improvement Plan progress together with those elements to be addressed, and look forward to the responses on matters of detail which had been offered; and

(b)       That the comments/observations of the Committee are fed back to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of performance.

The Committee received a report to note and consider elements of the 2013/14 Year End Improvement Plan Monitoring Report relevant to the Committee for the period January to March 2014.

The responsible officers each gave a short presentation on performance within each of the sub-priority areas, highlighting work which had been undertaken to improve performance and areas where improvement was needed, as outlined within each report.

Business Sector Growth in Deeside

On supporting the growth of the existing business on Deeside to safeguard jobs, Councillor David Evans queried the year end outturn in comparison with the target.  The Chief Officer (Community & Enterprise) explained the need to review this performance target due to a reduction in the number of businesses facing challenges in the current climate, which impacted on the ‘RAG’ status showing the level of work by the Council to safeguard jobs.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment commented on the impact of interventions by the Welsh Government (WG) and the Council to help some businesses.

Town and Rural Regeneration

The Chief Officer (Community & Enterprise) agreed to check that information on the forthcoming meeting on Town Centres had been circulated to all Members.  She gave assurances that Town Centre Action Plans were under review including those in rural areas.

Social Enterprise

No queries were raised.

Apprenticeships and Training

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment questioned whether this sub-priority area should be under the remit of the Lifelong Learning Overview & Scrutiny Committee, as the lead officer was the Chief Officer (Education & Youth).  The Member Engagement Manager agreed to ask the Facilitator to look into this.

Traffic and Road Management

The Chief Officer (Organisational Change) provided explanation to Councillor Cindy Hinds on a 40mph speed limit warning sign located near a bend near Pen-y-ffordd.

Councillor Ian Dunbar thanked the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment for his support of the reduction of speed limits outside schools.  It was reported that generally signage would be located on the approach to schools.

Following a query from Councillor Haydn Bateman on the increase in failures of lamps and photocells during Quarter 4, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment said that this may have been due to a batch of rogue lamps which had subsequently been replaced, but would ask officers to clarify and respond to Councillor Bateman and the Chair.  He was not aware of any cost implications arising from the fault.

On the review of speed limits on A and B roads, Councillor Chris Dolphin referred to previous discussion on the possibility of reviewing adjacent C roads at the same time, as this would be more cost-effective.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment was unable to give a commitment that this would be looked at, due to financial constraints and other priorities.  He added that any issues on specific C roads would need to be considered on their own merits with consideration of cost implications.  The Chief Officer (Organisational Change) said that it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12