Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Carolyn Thomas declared a personal interest in agenda item 4 – Rural Development Plan & Presentation on Mold Food Festival. 

Councillors Carolyn Thomas and Veronica Gay declared a personal interest in agenda item 6 – Review of Subsidised Bus Services, Update.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 18 September and 9 October 2013.

That subject to the suggested amendments, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

The draft minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 18 September and 9 October 2013 had been circulated with the agenda.

18 September 2013

Councillor Neville Phillips referred to resolution (c) on page 3 and, on behalf of Councillor Nancy Matthews, said that there was a need to ensure that the results of the Cardiff energy switching pilot scheme were included on the agenda for a meeting in December 2013 or January 2014.  The Director of Environment explained that he had been advised the previous day that the pilot scheme would not take place until the New Year so December would be premature to include it on the Committee’s agenda.  He would obtain information on when the project would take place and would submit the findings to this Committee after it had been concluded. 

9 October 2013

Accuracy

The Chairman advised that he had submitted an apology for the meeting but it had not been recorded. 

Following a comment from Councillor Haydn Bateman, the Director of Environment said that the word ‘planning’ on the penultimate line in the paragraph before the resolution on page 10 should read ‘planing’

RESOLVED:-

That subject to the suggested amendments, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

That the report be noted.                         

The Chairman introduced Mr. Jon Les Tomos from the Mold Food Festival to the Committee.    

Mold Food Festival

Mr. Tomos provided a detailed presentation on the Mold Food Festival, the main features of which were:-

·        The first meeting – 28 September 2005

·        February 2006

·        At the beginning and now

·        Aims

·        Benefits

·        Developing skills and knowledge

·        Management and Leadership

·        Working partners

·        Future:- finance

·        Future development

·        2014

The Chairman also welcomed Councillor Derek Butler to the meeting, in his new role as Cabinet Member for Economic Development.  The Cabinet Member thanked Mr. Tomos for the presentation and welcomed the growth in attendees and stall holders since the first Food Festival but raised concern about the funding for the future. 

            Councillor Peter Curtis asked about the involvement of Flintshire County Council financially and in terms of resources and also queried what funding was received from Welsh Government (WG).  The Head of Regeneration said that essentially it was a volunteer driven project and explained that Flintshire County Council supported the event financially and that a commitment had been given to provide funding of £3,000 per year for the next three years.  He added that the authority also provided the car park and the shuttle bus as other forms of assistance to the festival.  Mr. Tomos said that the contribution of Flintshire County Council had been critical for the Mold Food Festival from the very start.  The support from WG had reduced and had to be applied for each year.  The maximum that could be applied for this year was £9,000 and even though the application had been submitted, a response was still awaited. 

            Councillor Carolyn Thomas said that in the past, funding had also been received from the Rural Development Partnership and Cadwyn Clwyd.  Mr. Tomos acknowledged the support from the RDP and said that it was essential to build reserves and added that any contributions received were vital for the future sustainability of the festival. 

            Councillor Thomas welcomed the extra events that had been included at this year’s festival and said stallholders had indicated to her that the festival was sited at the best venue due to the hard standing.  She asked that it remain in Flintshire as it meant a lot to local businesses and entrepreneurs as it was a very successful way of promoting their products. 

            The Chairman said that he had attended the Conwy Food Festival and concluded that he preferred the event at Mold.  He said that the music side of the event made it exciting and interesting and promoted local music.  However, he said that when the shuttle bus dropped those attending the festival at the bus station, the signage to the festival site was confusing.  Mr. Tomos said that other methods of directing attendees to the festival were being considered such as ambassadors similar to those that had assisted the Olympics. 

            The Chairman thanked Mr. Tomos for his presentation and for the work that he put into organising the food festival. 

Rural Development Plan (RDP) 

            Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

To receive a presentation on the Regional Bus Strategy. 

That the presentation be received.              

The Director of Environment provided a background on the Regional Bus Strategy and introduced Mr. Iwan Prys Jones from Taith. 

Mr. Jones provided a detailed presentation on Taith – Regional Bus and Community Transport Strategy, the main features of which were:-

• Regional Bus Network Strategy
• Wales Transport Planning Framework
• Network Strategy Contents
• Regional Passenger Transport Hierarchy
• Journey to Work Analysis - key flows (2001 Census)
• Journey to Work Analysis – Containment (2001 Census), Flint O-D Pairs (2001) and Mold O-D Pairs (2001)
• Key Employment Areas – Wider Region
• Employment Growth Areas
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (2011)
• Journey to Work – Public Transport Mode Share (2011)
• Bus Routes connecting key centres and frequencies
• Car/public transport journey time comparison
• Key issues for public transport
• Next steps

Councillor Carolyn Thomas asked whether any funding had been carried over from the previous year.  She said that some ambulance service provision was provided by Community Transport and queried whether this was still to be undertaken and whether funding could be sought from the Health Board.  She referred to complaints that she had received about speeding buses and the services running late and asked who complaints should be referred to.  She also commented on the shuttle bus service and asked if its use was to be reviewed.  Councillor Thomas also requested that the presentation slides be emailed to the Committee. 

In response, Mr. Jones said that a small allocation had been carried forward from the previous year but as yet, cut backs on the services had not been as anticipated.  He said that a review of the reimbursement rate for the concessionary travel scheme was to be undertaken by WG which could have consequences for bus services within the County.  He added that a significant amount of work was required with the Health Board to develop the issue of community transport operators providing ambulance service provision.    

In response to the issue of alleged speeding buses by Councillor Thomas, the Transportation Manager said that any complaints about this specific service should be reported to the bus operator or North Wales Police directly as  this was a commercially operated bus service, however, the Transportation Manager noted that she was due to meet the bus operator responsible for running this service this week and would draw Councillor Thomas’s concerns to the operator during that meeting.  She added that she was aware of issues about reliability of some services, the Transportation Manager noted that this item would also be drawn to the bus operators attention this week.  On the issue of the shuttle bus, the Transportation Manager said that a survey would be undertaken.  Mr. Jones also added that Taith would monitor the services so that regular problems on certain routes could be identified and reviewed which could result in funding to an operator being reduced. 

Councillor Paul Shotton said that bus services were profitable on coastal routes but the rural areas relied on the services, however he felt that there was a communication issue as up to 50%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

(a)       That the implementation of the changes as set out within the report and supporting appendices be supported; and

(b)       That the service performance tables be reviewed annually by the Committee including the actions taken by officers to improve the performance of services. 

The Head of Assets and Transportation introduced a report to provide an update on the review of subsidised bus services following the consultation exercise and to confirm the proposed action to be taken in relation to specific bus services. 

He detailed the background to the report and advised of the consultation that had been undertaken which included promotional material being placed in public buildings; website and questionnaires; Town and Community meetings and engagement with this Committee.  He detailed the sources that the feedback had been received from such as petitions, letters, Town and Community Council communications and surgeries which had been held in some parts of Flintshire.  It was reported that there had been a high level of interest in the consultation exercise, including a clear engagement from concessionary pass holders who were generally high users of the County’s bus services.  The Head of Assets and Transportation detailed the feedback from the consultation process and said that the review has used the criteria of the policy approved by Cabinet in April 2013 to develop the future bus service delivery models within the County. 

During the course of the review a number of commercial services had been reduced or terminated by existing operators and the Council had filled and would continue to fill the gaps whilst it considered how to ensure the provision of more long term, affordable and sustainable services.  Paragraph 3.01.2 detailed how the services were generally run within the county which included:-

·        commercial bus services

·        tendered subsidised bus services

·        de-minimis

·        demand led

·        and education related

It was reported that during the current financial year, Taith had ensured that existing community transport support arrangements had continued, despite some major schemes seeing a significant reduction in funding when the community transport concessionary fares initiative ceased.  The issues that were still to be overcome were detailed in paragraph 3.02.3. 

The Head of Assets and Transportation explained that a Rural Transport Project Officer had been appointed on a 12 months fixed contract as part of a rural development plan bid in conjunction with Cadwyn Clwyd.  Some of the work which had been undertaken within the rural communities was detailed in the report.  Appendix 4 provided information on service; route; cost per passenger; options presented to Committee on 23 July 2013; summary of consultation response and the proposal for each service having considered feedback and the application of the Policy by officers. 

The Environment and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Facilitator read out a question from Councillor Cindy Hinds about funding of school transport. In response the Cabinet Member for Environment said that where parents had chosen to send their child to the nearest school which was three miles or more from their home, then a bus service would be provided to take the child to and from school.  However the issue raised by Councillor Hinds was that the school that the children attended was not their nearest school and as it was parents’ choice, they should pay for the transport, not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

That the report be received. 

The Director of Environment introduced the report for Members to note and consider elements of the 2013/14 mid year improvement plan monitoring report relevant to this Committee for the period April to September 2013. 

Councillor Paul Shotton referred to Flintshire Business Week and the Dragons Den event and queried whether the number of enquiries had increased.  He also commented on the Wales Rally and the opportunity to provide the service park at Toyota on DeesideIndustrial Park.  He said that it was pleasing to see that secondary schools were able to participate.  In response, the Head of Regeneration said that it was about converting enquiries into decisions to invest and said that this now ran at 45 to 50%, well above the average for UK Trade Industry which classed 20% as a good figure so the level achieved in Flintshire was very good.  He said that the base for the rally had now been confirmed for three years.  Over 400 pupils were expected to attend the Industry Awareness Event whilst the support to new small business via Dragons Den had led to 50 small businesses being set up. 

Councillor Neville Phillips asked if Flintshire County Council were making a contribution to the Wales Rally event.  The Director of Environment said that the tented village service area was being held in Flintshire but the rally itself was not taking place in the County and therefore Flintshire County Council had not made a contribution to the event in monetary terms.  The Cabinet Member for Economic Development welcomed the rally being held in the area for three years.    

The Chairman welcomed the creation of jobs by existing companies in the county and asked if it was possible to provide data on how English enterprise zones were performing to allow Members to make comparisons with the Deeside enterprise zone.  He also referred to page 115 and strengthening links between schools, colleges and employers and asked if the scheme was to be expanded.  The Head of Regeneration agreed to provide comparative information in future reports and said that, where possible, the links would be improved.

The Chairman also referred to page 119 on the implementation of the 20mph advisory zones outside schools and asked whether an order for adoption of the zones had been agreed.  The Head of Assets and Transportation said that some zones would be based on accident statistics but advised Members that because the signs were non standard, approval from Welsh Government (WG) was needed; negotiations with WG were ongoing on how to take this forward. 

RESOLVED:

That the report be received. 

That the reports be noted. 

The Director of Environment introduced the report to note and consider the 2013/14 mid year service performance report produced at the Head of Service Level under the adopted business model of the Council for the period April to September 2013. 

The Chairman requested that due to the time, that the officers restrict their comments to exception reporting and then answer any questions from Members.  The Director of Environment suggested that as the information was contained in the report, that officers just answer questions from Members. 

Councillor Peter Curtis raised the issue of leaves causing obstructions and asked that sweeping them away be included in the maintenance programme for 2014/15.  The Cabinet Member for Environment encouraged Members to contact the Streetscene supervisors if they had any concerns. 

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development raised concern that the report was not being given full consideration and referred Members to page 170 where the events supported by the tourism small grant scheme were reported.  He advised that the scheme was reviewed on an annual basis.  He also referred to page 172 where the number of jobs which had been created (1,038) or safeguarded (946) within the County (of which 639 jobs had been created and 396 safeguarded within the Deeside Enterprise Zone) which he felt were impressive figures; he added that Flintshire County Council should be proud of its involvement.  The Cabinet Member for Economic Development also highlighted page 175 on the Dragons Den event and the 50 entrepreneurs that had been supported through the Enterprise Club. 

Councillor Neville Phillips asked if £3,000 was still paid to close the roads in Buckley each year during the Buckley Jubilee.  The Head of Assets and Transportation said that he would make enquiries and advise Councillor Phillips. 

On the issue of not giving the reports full consideration, the Director of Environment said that there was a need to manage future agendas accordingly.  Councillor Curtis felt that limiting it to one presentation per meeting would help. 

RESOLVED:

That the reports be noted. 

That the Forward Work Programme be approved subject to the amendments suggested. 

The Environment and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Facilitator introduced a report to enable the Committee to consider the Forward Work Programme of the committee.

She explained that the budget meeting scheduled for 16 December 2013 would not now take place as it had been agreed that workshops would be held in December to look at the budget and that formal Overview & Scrutiny meetings to consider the budget would be held in January 2014.  The meeting scheduled for 16 December 2013 to consider Broadband and North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Partnership would be held at the rise of the budget workshop.  The meeting on 22 January 2014 would consider reports on Town Centres & High Streets, a review of the Council’s Waste Policy and North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Project.  The Facilitator also detailed the items for consideration at the 26 February 2014 meeting. 

Councillor Peter Curtis raised concern that the performance reports had not been considered in depth at this meeting and suggested that special meetings be held for performance issues to prevent consideration of a large number of items on agendas such as for this meeting.  He felt that Members had missed out on receiving verbal updates that were provided by officers when introducing the performance reports for their service areas.  The Chairman explained that the performance reports had not been available to submit to a previous meeting but that he would try to ensure that future agendas were not too long.  He agreed that special meetings could be held when there were several items to submit to a particular committee meeting. 

The Director of Environment said that the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Project Joint Committee was due to meet on 16 January 2014 instead of in December 2013 as had been originally agreed and therefore it would not be possible to submit a report for a meaningful discussion to the meeting on 22 January 2014.  He advised that he would discuss with the Chairman and Environment and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Facilitator as to whether to delay the report to the 26 February 2013 meeting or to request that a special meeting be held to consider the item. 

RESOLVED:

That the Forward Work Programme be approved subject to the amendments suggested. 

There was one member of the press in attendance.