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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Apologies were received from Cllr Saleh Ahmed, Cllr Boes, Patricia Arlotte (Roman Catholic representative) and Emily Gao (Youth Council representative).
There were none.
The minutes of the 11th March meeting were approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this item enabled them to receive a briefing on personal and period dignity services offered by the council’s Hubs, which had been identified as a priority issue by the Committee. The Chair welcomed Cllr Lee Bridgeman (Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities), Helen Evans (Assistant Director of Housing & Communities) and Nicola Pitman (OM Health & Wellbeing and Library Strategy). The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, explaining that the council was working with the Welsh government, NHS Wales and the third sector to provide personal dignity support where people needed it most. He emphasised that it was not just about the availability of products but also having discreet ordering and collection processes to remove barriers and unwanted stigma. Officers gave a presentation outlining the Welsh government’s Period Dignity Strategic Action Plan, which focused on respect removing stigma and shame around periods, education and equality. A diverse range of environmentally friendly products were on offer, including reusable pads in different sizes, pants, briefs, day pads, tampons, full cycle kits, school sets and period cups. All staff were aware of the processes for individuals accessing period products, and could give support where needed, with products discreetly collected and handed over in a plain bag. Officers noted that on average an individual needed three to four items to support their needs during their cycle. Pads were the most popular item, along with reusable pants. To date, more than 4,500 products had been distributed via Hubs and libraries to more than 1,500 individuals, with lots of positive feedback. They emphasised the need to reduce stigma and work hand in hand with advice services like Money Advice and Welfare Liaison. A wide range of facilities were involved in distributing products, including Hubs, libraries, Flying Start, housing associations, Cardiff People First, churches, and rugby clubs. Organisations could apply for a Period Dignity Grant, and the project was linked to the ‘Let’s Talk Bloody Brilliant’ period positivity campaign and the Love Grace appeal. Hubs also offered community STI testing and free condoms for those over 16, partnering with the Public Health Wales sexual health team with a similarly discreet ordering and collection process, in order to help those who were digitally excluded or did not want to see a health professional in person. A further pending project with Sexual Health Wales sought to provide free pregnancy tests in the community, removing the cost barrier, and they were developing a handbook aimed at young people with localised advice and information about options. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members asked how the program was being funded, and heard that the Welsh government provided full funding to implement their action plan, with funding in place for the next financial year too. Officers added that they believed the Period Dignity Grant could be available for schools as well. Members suggested adding sanitary products to the bags used in the Love Grace appeal, which officers welcomed. Members queried how the service was advertised and heard that a lot of work was done in partnership with schools and linking in with specific organisations. It was important that people in urgent need could immediately find out the nearest place offering these products, ideally by just putting in their postcode. Online engagement was also key, with leaflets and adverts on social media. The Committee explored how the impact of the service would be monitored while maintaining discretion and anonymity for users. Officers explained that all comments from users were captured, with recurring themes taken into account, and they were trying to grow the service as far and wide as possible by adding youth service sites. Recording data could be tricky, in particular for products dispensed anonymously, but using the service could be a gateway to accessing wider support services, with a database of referrals to keep track of this. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this item enabled them to receive a briefing from Youth Services giving an overview of footballing facilities across Cardiff, which had been identified as a priority issue by the Committee. The Chair welcomed Cllr Peter Bradbury (Cabinet Member for Childrens Services, Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People) and James Healan (Principal Youth Officer, Cardiff Youth Services). The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which he emphasised the need to expand opportunities for young people to get involved in all kinds of sports. School facilities should not only be used during the school day, and the 21st Century Schools Programme sought to develop school buildings with community access in mind, for example at Fitzalan and Fairwater Campus. He highlighted the importance of dedicated youth spaces linked to sports facilities, as well as working closely with Cabinet colleagues across other portfolios like Education and Culture, Sport & Parks, and engaging closely with schools so they understood the value of facilities as community assets and not just belonging to them. The officer gave a presentation emphasising the value of opening up school and community facilities. While formal sport was well supported, this work sought to ensure equal access to pitches and other spaces for people from vulnerable and marginalised groups who sometimes faced prohibitive costs. It was linked to the council’s Child Friendly City programme, and consultation with young people had found that they wanted safe, affordable pitches near to where they lived. Key challenges across the city included growing competition for pitches, increasing costs and maintenance. Good facilities needed investment and a sink fund to ensure they were regularly updated. Some facilities and spaces, particularly those in primary schools, were underused. These challenges could also be viewed as opportunities to encourage inclusivity, improve access, map facilities and access, and work collaboratively to build community-focused schools. They were developing management systems for site access and would engage with new technology, for example to enable online booking, and were using a mixed economy model acknowledging that there was no one-size-fits-all approach for all sites. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members asked about indoor sites and heard that these were becoming more popular across the city as they offered warm, safe environments. The Cabinet Member noted the need to capitalise on increased participation rates for girls in sport, and to consider that they might want different things to boys in terms of sports facilities, especially during the winter months. Members noted the risks of drainage issues in the winter and heard that some clubs were putting in 3G pitches so they could play all year round. The Committee explored the reasons why some young people were excluded from being able to play team sports, and heard that it could be prohibitively expensive for parents to support their children to play in a football academy. The Cabinet Member emphasised that removing barriers like this was key to their strategy. Per capita grants for sport in Wales had gone down, and football funding at grassroots level was reliant on the senior men’s and women’s teams qualifying for major tournaments. Members welcomed the emphasis on the social value of sport and support for local clubs. The Cabinet Member emphasised that sport taught young people social skills, teamwork and discipline, but that it also needed to be accessible, or else other things would take kids’ attention. Members noted that buying the right kit could be a prohibitive cost for some, and heard that events took place in Caerau and Ely where those who couldn’t afford football boots could get some that someone else had grown out of. The Cabinet Member emphasised that investment in sport was an investment in health, wellbeing and community cohesion, rather than just a cultural issue. The Committee discussed how to explore the topic further in the future, noting that sponsorship and grants were important issues. Members noted links to health and community cohesion, as well as with the Play Sufficiency work being undertaken by the council. It was also suggested that the other Cabinet portfolios mentioned (Education and Culture, Sport & Parks) had a role to play in the Committee’s further scrutiny of the issue. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this report sought to enable them to assess progress made within Children’s Services towards improving outcomes for children in need and children looked after in Q3 of 2024/25, covering the period from September to December 2024. The Chair welcomed Cllr Ash Lister (Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People) and Deborah Driffield (Director of Children’s Services). The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which he noted the high level of demand at the front door of the service. He thanked staff for their hard work and emphasised the importance of a help rather than harm approach. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members explored the figures in the report and heard that while wellbeing assessments had increased across the year, the percentage of CLA reviews done on time had dropped below 90% for the first time in a while as a result of temporary staffing issues. Officers explained that they were using all available tools to maximise performance, and believed that bringing their Section 47 assessment method in line with other authorities would level the playing field, although cases varied in complexity and a 100% on time rate was very unlikely. Members queried how unaccompanied asylum seekers were assessed and heard that this followed national standards. Members asked about the pressures on the system requiring the council to place children in neighbouring local authorities, and heard that this was still getting slightly worse. It was difficult to secure foster placements, leading to an overreliance on residential placements, though the council was developing its own. Officers highlighted the importance of transition and pathway plans for care leavers, and suggested bringing more information on this to the Committee in the future. The Committee explored staff retention and heard that the vacancy rate was coming down, with a 15% target for the year. Officers acknowledged that agency staff was needed to cover some vacancies, but lots of work was going into ensuring this was as low as possible. It was key to ensure staff felt supported and had opportunities for progression in their career, for example qualifying as a social worker. They also made use of a ‘grow your own' scheme where those working in business support or as social work assistants were trained up, worked for the service for three years and generally stayed after that. Members queried a reference to an expected rise in sickness absences and heard that this would be a likely result of increased direct service provision as the structure changed. Members noted that residential jobs could be difficult and stressful, and heard that workforce development and wellbeing measures were in place to support staff. Steps had been taken in other parts of the service area to reduce pressure on staff (for example introducing social work assistants) and they were seeking to shift the balance towards intervention at the right time as part of the Eliminating Profit From Care agenda. The goal was a peripatetic team, although they were reliant to a degree on agency workers at the moment. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this item enabled them to receive the quarterly update on the Youth Justice Service (YJS). The Committee had agreed to prioritise the YJS as a topic for scrutiny following publication of the HMIP Inspection report in 2020. The Chair welcomed Cllr Ash Lister (Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People), Deborah Driffield (Director of Children’s Services) and Angharad Thomas (Operational Manager, Youth Justice Services). The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which he thanked officers for their work and noted a recent ministerial visit, which had showcased partnership working across the council. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members asked how opportunities for work and apprenticeships were made available., and heard that the team included youth service mentors and two representatives from the Into Work service, who supported individuals with things like writing CVs and more generally transitioning into adulthood. Members queried why the cohort was only tracked for twelve months, and heard that it was a statutory requirement from the Youth Justice Board to report back after a year. In the meantime, individuals were continually monitored by the service in more informal ways, for example liaising with the police on reoffending. Members noted that the service had recently lost an information officer, and heard that interviews would take place to find a replacement next week. Members explored the nature of the offences committed by those in the service and heard that there had been a shift from violence against the person to motoring offences, in particular involving e-bikes and e-scooters. Officers noted that this had spiked a few years ago, and suggested that some young people might have been given them as presents by parents unsure of their legality at the time. They had introduced the Driving Change program to educate young people and parents and seen a reduction in offences more recently. The Cabinet Member emphasised the role of education rather than just enforcement when it came to tackling this form of antisocial behaviour. The Committee explored what the move away from diversion to prevention meant in practice, and heard that prevention was based on referrals from agencies for young people who had not yet offended, with things like non-attendance at school and issues at home being taken into account. The service sought to put in place a strong prevention plan considering these factors, in order to keep people out of the system. Diversion was the next step up, when people were arrested for the first or second time. This took a similar approach, looking to support them and keep them out of the system, focusing specifically on that offence. The courts were avoided except for repeat and more serious offences Members noted that 17 year-old white males were the most likely group to be referred to Divert, and asked how they were supported before they entered the adult system. Officers emphasised the importance of keeping young people out of court unless absolutely necessary, and working with the police and CPS to assess whether the child needed statutory court intervention or whether they could be worked with at a lower level as they transitioned to adulthood. The Cabinet Member reiterated the need for whole-service work and timing intervention at the right point so that young people were not just waiting for the police to intervene. Members discussed how those leaving the service or ending an order were supported as they went back to ‘normal life’, noting that 32% of them had additional learning needs. Officers explained that a high percentage of young people who came to their attention weren’t in education, and while they tried to get them back in it wasn’t always possible. They monitored children as they moved around, assessing the reasons why they weren’t in school and identifying appropriate next steps. They highlighted the importance of speech and language therapy, which was now well established within the service and informed plans going forward for those with ALN. There were also pilot exclusion projects which sought to help those at risk of permanent exclusion while they were still in their school. Members noted the importance of speech and language skills and welcomed the emphasis on early intervention. Members noted the reference to the new HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) inspection framework and requested a separate briefing on this. Officers were happy to provide this, and noted that the new framework was more focused on safety for young people and on responding to victims’ needs and wishes, when it was previously more about risk. Members welcomed the improvement in the service and consistency of figures around first-time offenders and reoffenders, and asked whether officers expected the situation to remain stable. Officers acknowledged that there was always some element of unpredictability with young people, and the service had to respond to complex and unexpected situations, but it had come a long way in the last five years or so thanks to the commitment of staff and a good management structure. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
There were none.
Tuesday 6th May at 4:30pm.
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