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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
AGREED: That the correspondence update be noted.
Apologies were received from Tegan Griffiths (Youth Council), with Grace Lee attending in her place. Catherine Docherty (Area Operations Manager, Salvation Army) and Lynne Herbert (CEO, Dewis Centre for Independent Living) had also sent apologies, with both organisations sending written statements.
The following declarations of interested were received in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct. Councillor Item Nature of interest Reason Peter Littlechild 6 Personal Outreach worker for a church in Roath Mary McGarry 6 Personal Husband volunteers in a church shelter Bablin Molik 6 Personal CEO of Sight Cymru, which provides rehab for visually impaired people in Cardiff
The minutes of the 13th October meeting were approved and signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Members were provided with background information to aid their understanding of the progress of the Cabinet’s September 2023 Direct Payment Proposals. For this item, the Chair welcomed: Cllr Leonora Thomson Cabinet Member for Adult Services and Public Health & Equality Jane Thomas Director of Adults, Housing and Communities Louise Bassett Assistant Director, Adult Services Tom Hughes Programme Manager, Community Catalysts The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which she explained that direct payments empowered individuals to have more of a voice in their own care, helping them make choices for their unique needs. It had a positive impact on people’s lives, and the approach was worth pursuing and supporting. Officers gave a presentation outlining how direct payments worked, explaining that they allowed service users to commission their own care rather than receiving care from council-commissioned services. This could be provided via a domiciliary care agency or a personal assistant (PA), who were directly employed by the service user, and could be provided to meet any assessed, eligible need for care and support. The council was required to provide sufficient resources to secure the care and support to a reasonable standard. Officers added that direct payments enabled bespoke arrangements, for example to meet specific language or cultural needs, more flexible and outcome-based care and could be more cost effective. In terms of challenges, a dedicated bank account was required in order to ensure the funds provided only paid for assessed care needs, and it could be complex for service users although the council supported them with this. Service users tended to have to employ PAs directly and take on the necessary employer responsibilities, and PAs were not required to be qualified or regulated, giving rise to safeguarding concerns. They added that the Dewis Centre for Independent Living (CIL) provided a menu of support to service users in receipt of direct payments. 17,884 requests for help had been received from Dewis in 2024/25, with 99 care packages arranged, 77 of which were through a PA. There were 727 users of direct payments in all, 66% of whom were accessing the Older Persons and Physical Disabilities service and 27% the Learning Disabilities service. Use of direct payments was much higher amongst people aged 18-64 than other domiciliary care users, and (where ethnicity was known) 74% of users were white compared to 90% of other domiciliary care users. A report by Audit Wales in 2022 had found that there was high satisfaction among recipients of direct payments across Wales but low offer rates and staff confidence. In response to this, Adult Services commenced a programme of work to improve access, including improving policies, procedures and customer information, improving staff training and developing microenterprises. A refreshed Direct Payment Policy had been introduced, setting a clearer foundation for how the service supported individuals to manage their own care, with positive results. Tom Hughes (Programme Manager, Community Catalysts) added that microenterprises referred to small businesses, often sole traders, that delivered care and support to individuals. Adult Services had commissioned Community Catalysts to co-deliver the project and increase the choice of care available in Cardiff. They specialised in helping people and communities use their talents to start and run small enterprises that supported and cared for other local people, employing a ‘Catalyst’ to deliver the programme. He added that it took between four and six weeks to get a provider set up, including the appropriate checks to ensure they were suitable, person-centred and sustainable. While microenterprises were unregulated, Community Catalysts set minimum ‘Doing It Right’ standards covering safeguarding, business models, marketing, costs and charges, contract development and insurance. They also maintained a directory for all microenterprises and acted as a single point of contact. The project had succeeded in providing a wider, more personalised and more flexible choice of care, with 26 microenterprises in Cardiff delivering 224 hours of care weekly, as well as 133 hours of care to wider service users. Where known, 75% of direct payment recipients used a PA, 22% used an agency and 3% a microenterprise, so there was clearly more to be done to encourage take-up. They wanted microenterprises to be as diverse and rich as the community itself, and to offer hyper-local provision within specific neighbourhoods, tailored to user needs and boosting the local economy. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below. Members explored the distribution of providers across Cardiff and heard that it fluctuated, being a dynamic business which the council tracked over time. The intention was to find a suitable balance that met people’s needs within the wider care ecosystem, and direct payments would not be the best course for everyone – for example, someone who needed support seven days a week was better suited to domiciliary care. Members asked whether DBS checks and safeguarding training were mandatory, and heard that they were. Anyone could set up a business, but in order to be recognised and registered on the directory they needed to be sufficiently qualified, and providers had access to the full training unit. Members suggested that other training qualifications could be made mandatory as well, for example manual handling when the recipient had mobility issues. It was suggested that the requirements could be identified on a case-by-case basis depending on what was relevant to the specific care provided. Members queried what happened when a sole trader providing care suddenly became unavailable, and heard that this was a key part of the support offered to providers. Community Catalysts sought to set providers up with fail-safes, ideally similar providers of support in the local area, and separate contracts could be set up planned enterprises – for example, when a sole trader needed a holiday. A microenterprise broker worked with the council to respond to emergencies. In any case, microenterprises were not intended to be in a position where they were providing lifesaving care. Members explored the process for resolving issues, and heard that Adult Services could intervene but it could be easier for the service user to simply end the contract. The project worked with enterprises to get portfolios in place that they could provide to users with information on their policies, procedures and record. Complaints procedures were in place, including a written warning system that both the user and the enterprise could use, for instance in cases of inappropriate behaviour or where a provider was continually late. They sought to empower their user base by giving them different options and the means to choose between them, though more serious concerns related to safeguarding could be escalated immediately. Members queried the potential for misuse of the system when 75% of users relied on personal assistants, and how risks were mitigated. Officers explained that there was risk inherent to any form of care, and each case was reviewed annually to ensure needs were being met. In cases where someone was isolated and had no other input into their care, they would likely be assessed as unsuitable for direct payments, but most people had a network around them that provided oversight. Members asked whether the relatively low age of service users was due to digital exclusion, with older people finding it harder to navigate the system, and heard that it was more to do with the complexity of need. As people got older they tended to need more extensive care, as well as becoming less able to organise this themselves. Rather than having to go online to apply, Dewis went out to meet people and asses them in their homes. Members asked whether the hourly payments were sufficient and heard that virtually every provider in Cardiff charged the same amount, which was effectively the same as the direct payment rate for obvious reasons. There were some exceptions where the work done was slightly different, for instance when physical adaptations were made to the property by the provider on the user’s behalf. The Doing It Right standards sought to ensure care provision was as sustainable as possible, and had not received many complaints or reports of burnout among care providers. AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Decision as recorded
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Members were provided with performance reports for Adult Social Services and Housing & Communities for the Quarter 2 period (July to September 2025). For this item, the Chair welcomed: Cllr Leonora Thomson Cabinet Member for Adult Services and Public Health & Equality Cllr Julie Sangani Cabinet Member for Adult Services and Public Health & Equality Cllr Peter Bradbury Cabinet Member for Childrens Services, Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People Cllr Lynda Thorne Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities Cllr Lee Bridgeman Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities Jane Thomas Director of Adults, Housing and Communities Helen Evans Assistant Director, Housing and Communities Louise Bassett Assistant Director, Adult Services The Cabinet Members were invited to make opening statements. Cllr Bradbury began by emphasising the continued good work of the advice teams in answering more than 41,500 calls and helping more than 5,000 people access money advice. Cllr Sangani added that the council continued to work closely with Public Health Wales and other health partners to reduce health inequality across Cardiff, with one focus being promoting vaccination for young children and supporting the mass immunisation team to ensure availability across the city. The dementia handbook had been launched across Cardiff and the Vale, with different languages available as well as an easy read version. They continued to improve access to health information for marginalised groups such as asylum seekers, and to that end a social worker would join the health inclusion team from December. Cllr Thomson noted that some of the Q2 data in her portfolio was incomplete due to the introduction of the new Eclipse information management system, but this would be resolved shortly and the full set of information circulated. Wellbeing assessments were a key area of high demand, with an increase in complex needs requiring specific help from social work rather than reablement. The council’s partnership with the University Health Board remained strong, and more than 800 people had been discharged from hospital with care in place so far this year, while delays were well below the Welsh average. The service continued to try to identify unpaid carers in need of support, and more than 8,000 people had attended events aimed at combatting social isolation. Vacancies within social work sat at 12.59%, slightly above the target of 12%, but she felt progress across the quarter had been remarkably good considering the implementation of the new information management system. Cllr Thorne noted the high demand faced by homelessness services, in particular from single homeless people, and highlighted reduced reliance on hotels as a key achievement. 79% of clients who sought support from the homelessness prevention team were prevented from becoming homeless, and waiting times were down to 7 days as of Q2. The average number of rough sleepers across Cardiff was 33, slightly above the target of 30 but far better than the 49 recorded last year. She added that the disabled adaptations service had been reviewed, leading to a marked improvement in performance, with the average time to deliver an adaptation below target at 149 days. The responsive repairs service was also undergoing changes, with a new triage system to ensure prioritisation and additional officers and co-ordinators to deal with more complex cases. There was still work to do, but she thanked staff and volunteers for their work. Cllr Bridgeman added that Hubs across Cardiff continued to grow, with more than a million visits overall against a target of two million across the year. Disruption to the digital library management system had led to issues with customers accessing digital platforms, but this was now resolved so the figures would improve. Book-borrowing was relatively low across the quarter but they believed this was due to technical issues rather than a lack of engagement. He added that he had finished his tour of all the Hubs, with Butetown being the last one, and thanked staff and volunteers for their work. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below. Members welcomed the positive progress in a number of areas, specifically reduced reliance on temporary accommodation and improved waiting times, and echoed the Cabinet Members’ thanks to staff for their work across the different services. Members discussed the process of disabled adaptations and asked whether further information could be provided regarding costs, timings and the complexity of cases, noting the relatively high targets. In particular, they suggested that a distinction be made between short-term and long-term works to give a clearer picture. Officers explained that this was under review at the moment, with a detailed update coming to the Committee in January. Everyone’s needs were different, as were their properties, and some timescales were very long due to issues like utilities running underground, and lengthy processes to follow between referral and completion. Members asked what kinds of additional funding were being sought and heard that this was a continuous process. The disabled adaptations service received an Enable grant and always sought more towards the end of the year. Officers were pleased to report that they had been able to increase the rate of adaptations without additional funding. Members queried the progress of the Joint Equipment Service and heard that the move to a warehouse would be delivered alongside housing to get better value for money. The intention was to align it with some older people’s accommodation, likely on a phased basis, and the Committee would be updated when the project was at a later stage. Members explored move-on options for the 611 families and 833 single people in temporary accommodation, and heard that there were now a number of managed schemes for single people, offering permanent accommodation with support on site during the day and sometimes overnight too. The Lets team continued to look at the private rented sector and seek to provide wraparound support within there, with a dedicated officer to help individuals retain tenancies. In terms of family accommodation, there were various new builds coming through, and allocations were starting to ramp up as of Q2 because the steps taken by the council in the last few years, such as the changes to the Allocations Policy, were having an impact. Members asked how the review of the online repairs service would improve the customer experience, and heard that the key issue with the service was the existing IT systems not talking to each other. Rather than having separate systems for internal operatives, contractors and Connect 2 Cardiff, they sought to put a unified system in place that made the interface less complicated for users. They were also improving communication processes, especially regarding complaints. Members were supportive of these changes and advocated engaging as widely as possible with tenants to ensure diverse voices were included. They queried how long the new repairs system would take to get in place, and heard that the project manager was in the process of being appointed. Members explored the progress towards becoming an Age Friendly City, highlighted public transport and toilets as key issues raised by older people and the need for services to be responsive to their needs. The Cabinet Members acknowledged that while transport was outside of the Committee’s remit, all the Cabinet portfolios were linked. Hubs, for example, provided warm spaces, public toilets and advice around transport, as well as events that kept older people active and connected with their communities, ensuring that they had respect and dignity across the city, in addition to opportunities for employment. On toilets in particular, the council had a Toilets Strategy in place which sought to work creatively with businesses to ensure adequate provision, there being no statutory funding for public toilets. Members queried the 23% ‘on hold’ figure in staffing for Adult Services and heard that this was part of their monitoring of vacant posts. In these cases, they often considered changes to the post or restructuring, so the recruitment process was placed on hold for a short period of time. It was also possible for a post to be put on hold when they were waiting for someone to qualify. Members asked how successful the ‘grow our own’ approach had been overall, and heard that five social workers had recently qualified through it, while the updated workforce strategy would be circulated. Members requested that more detailed figures be provided regarding the wider service and the time taken to develop individuals for roles. The Committee explored the housing options service and heard that the number of voids in the housing stock was very low. It had fallen since last year to the third best rate in Wales, and the two leading authorities were both significantly smaller. Officers explained that there were dedicated empty homes officers within Shared Regulatory Services who worked with the Lets team and the Welsh government’s leasing scheme to bring empty homes back into use. They monitored voids in temporary accommodation weekly and turned them around as quickly as possible, mostly within days. Members asked how much confidence there was that financial support would continue, with potential implications for sustainability and staff welfare. The Cabinet Members were not in a position to predict the budget position in November but acknowledged the loss of Shared Prosperity Funding, and added that they emphasised the importance of properly funding things like the advice service whenever they met with the Welsh government. AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Decision as recorded
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Members were provided with background information to aid their understanding of Homeless Provision Winter Planning for 2025-26, and support for those with No Recourse to Public Funds. For this item, the Chair welcomed: Cllr Lynda Thorne Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities Jane Thomas Director of Adults, Housing and Communities Helen Evans Assistant Director, Housing and Communities Matthew Evans Operational Manager, Specialist Accommodation Adam Rees CEO of the Huggard The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, after which officers gave a presentation outlining the council’s cold weather provision. They noted that exposure to cold resulted in an increased number of deaths, and that those sleeping rough were more likely to experience significant effects from exposure to cold weather due to underlying health conditions, and were less able to protect themselves. The need for support increased during the winter months, so they provided additional spaces to support rough sleepers. Officers explained that there were two aspects to the council’s cold weather provision, namely the Cold Weather Plan and the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP). The Cold Weather Plan ran from 1st November to 31st March every year, while the SWEP was activated during periods of severe weather, for example the storms over the weekend of 15th-16th November. Last winter, there had been 33 individual rough sleepers, 39 presentations of prison leavers, 58 people waiting to enter the Single Persons Gateway and a high level of complex needs, with 827 cases open to the MDT. Three hotels had been used for single people, with 173 emergency spaces used. This year, the emergency units had been closed, while 83% fewer households were accommodated in hotels. 44 people were waiting to enter the Single Persons Gateway (a 24% decrease), 789 cases were open to the MDT (a 5% decrease) and there were 19% fewer open prevention cases. Officers added that new accommodation had been opened at Ephriam Court (35 units), Richmond Road (103) and Howard Gardens (20), while accommodation for young people at Countisbury and Bedford freed up units in the Single Persons Gateway. Cascade would open in January with 44 units, and 337 properties had been purchased on the open market since the buyback scheme began. They were also working to improve pathways for prison leavers and refugees, and working on health inclusion with the UHB and other partners including the Cardiff and Vale Health Inclusion Service and the Homelessness MDT, both of which were collaborative. The service model was based around the health inclusion team at UHW, with primary care clinics in high-need hostels, dental services and a pilot optometry service. A Health Inclusion Primary Care Hub would be developed, merging the two collaborative services, and they were taking a staged approach to enhance outreach clinic locations and co-locate teams where possible before fully integrating services. Step-down and step-up units would also be developed to support hospital discharge and reduce admissions. Officers added that they had engaged with churches about providing spaces in night shelters to those in need, and organised events with faith groups to seek alternative ways to engage. A new officer was in place to initiate a service-wide survey of staff communication and training needs, and they were developing best practice guidelines, delivering comprehensive training and prioritising staff wellbeing. The key priorities of the service included continuing to prevent homelessness, the Specialist Housing Gateway, preparing for the new Homelessness Bill, reviewing the suitability of temporary accommodation sites, increasing bespoke accommodation options, continuing to increase accommodation through buybacks and further bespoke pathways (e.g. for prison leavers), and continuing staff development. Officers explained that No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) was a condition placed on certain individuals under immigration law, for instance those with limited leave to remain or those who had overstayed their visa or entered the UK without permission. They were unable to access welfare benefits, social fund payments and other benefits like child benefit or council tax reductions, nor could they access social housing or temporary accommodation. Some exceptional circumstances applied, such as when temporary accommodation was needed for safeguarding reasons, but generally the council was limited in the support it could provide. Outreach services provided help to those with NRPF who were sleeping rough, and they could be signposted to other organisations like day centres for food and shelter. Outreach included welfare checks, addressing safeguarding concerns and providing warm items like hats and gloves. Officers added that as the SWEP operated outside of the usual housing legislation framework, it could provide shelter to individuals regardless of their entitlement, with 50 additional spaces in the event of severe weather. The Chief Executive of the Huggard added that cohort-based managed accommodation, seeking to provide good integration of health, was central to provision in Cardiff. There was always more to do but they were taking a progressive approach and had seen a clear improvement in provision compared to last winter. The Huggard was expanding its day services to be open later, and sought to be a hub of support that helped people to break the cycle of homelessness. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below. Members asked about the statement received from the Salvation Army, which referred to ‘significant worry’ among those without recourse to public funds or a local connection over their lack of support they were entitled to. Officers explained that in cases where someone lacked a local connection to Cardiff, they could facilitate their movement somewhere else to get that support. NRPF was more challenging as the council’s legal duties and abilities had changed over time, but the number of rough sleepers in Cardiff affected by it was relatively low, at about six to eight. Members asked whether it was possible for someone to change their area of local connection when they had left home for their own safety, and heard that it was. Members welcomed the focus on supporting individuals to maintain tenancies in order to break the cycle, and asked about the key challenges faced over the next year. Officers cited the complexity of the cases they managed, as well as public perceptions of homeless people and the importance of the community cohesion unit when it came to reintegrating people within the wider community. Members queried why the church shelter provision wasn’t in place until December when the Cold Weather Plan ran from 1st November. Officers explained that the churches had always started later in order to cover the Christmas period, and that their support was entirely voluntary and based on capacity. Asking them to cover the full six months of the plan would be a huge commitment and likely beyond their capacity. Members asked how volunteers in the night shelters were supported and protected, and heard that the police were involved with the cold weather plans and faith engagement events, and could assist when required. This year, the council had allocated resources to provide a night shelter contact who would go round and visit shelters to provide advice and support, as well as being reachable by phone. Members discussed the faith engagement events and heard that representatives of all faiths were invited. Officers were keen to expand this provision, and found that the churches tended to have strong links with other faith centres. Members noted that similar support was provided by temples, synagogues and mosques across Cardiff, and suggested approaching the faith centres that didn’t respond to find out why, in case they currently lacked the same relationship with the council that the churches had. Members also advocated widening the geographical scope of support as much as possible. Members asked whether flooding was included within the SWEP and heard that it was, although flooding also activated a number of additional emergency protocols and business continuity plans because it tended to affect large areas of Cardiff when it occurred. SWEP only covered rough sleepers, but there was a wide range of additional support in the event of flooding. Members asked how the six to eight rough sleepers with no recourse to public funds would be supported if needed, and heard that there were 121 additional spaces in total. They could be provided shelter if they were referred by the health service or out of hours, and anyone could use night shelters. The council worked closely with partners like Housing Justice to find solutions for those with NRPF but it was still challenging, and there remained the question of what happened in April when the Cold Weather Plan came to an end. AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Decision as recorded
AGREED: That the correspondence update be noted.
The Principal Scrutiny Officer gave an update on correspondence sent and received by the Committee since April. She noted that aside from the letters sent following the previous meeting, only one response was outstanding regarding the Adults, Housing and Communities Q4 Performance reports from July. The Chair asked that the outstanding response from July be chased up. The Scrutiny Officer suggested that it could be escalated to directors to try and prompt a quicker response. AGREED: That the correspondence update be noted.
Monday 15th December at 4:30pm.
There were none.
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