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The Policy Review and Performance Scrutiny Committee held pre-decision scrutiny of the Council's mid-year performance report for 2025/26, which is due to go to Cabinet. Members questioned the Leader, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation and Performance and senior officers on demand, social care, waste, housing repairs and other services. The Committee agreed that the Chairperson will write to the Cabinet Member with its observations and recommendations.
None received.
None received.
The minutes of the meeting held on 12/11/2025 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairperson.
Decision as recorded
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
The Chairperson advised Members that as the Scrutiny Committee with responsibility for oversight of the Council’s corporate planning, performance assessment and reporting arrangements, this item was an opportunity for pre-decision scrutiny of the Council’s self-assessment as reported in the Mid-year Performance Report for 2025/26. Committee’s key role was to consider whether the Council has processes in place to effectively monitor performance and whether it had assessed its performance in the first six months of 2025/26 accurately. The Chairperson reminded Members that the Scrutiny Performance Panel, a sub-committee of this committee, comprising the chairs of all five scrutiny committees, chaired by himself, engages in informal discussion with the Cabinet on performance at three key points in the year. The Panel recently met informally to discuss the Mid-Year position and included in the Committee papers was a list of observations made together with Cabinet’s response. The Chairperson added that this Committee has two performance roles, to reassure itself of the effectiveness and accuracy of the Council’s performance assessment, and also a focus on the services that sit under Well Being Objective 7. For this item, the Chairperson welcomed the Leader- Cllr Thomas; Cabinet Member Finance, Modernisation & Performance - Cllr Weaver; Chief Executive - Paul Orders, Chris Lee; Sarah McGill; Gareth Newell and Dylan Owen. The Leader was invited to make an opening statement after which Members were invited to make comments, observations and ask questions on the whole of the Mid-Year Performance report. Members asked questions about the major demand pressures facing local authorities and whether conversations between local and national government focus on meeting increased demand or reducing it. The Leader explained that the real challenge lies in an ageing population, while in children’s services, Additional Learning Needs (ALN) can result from poverty and medical advances. He stressed that the local authority’s role is twofold: to meet statutory requirements and to reduce demand through preventative approaches, which he described as critical. Members asked whether there was a case for more joined-up working between central and local government, particularly around initiatives such as helping older people return to work. The Leader acknowledged that although budgets have increased in recent years, they remain far below the level of demand. However, he highlighted positive developments, including the Connected Spaces project linking the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with the council, and discussions within the Public Services Board (PSB) about delivering services through a “Total Place” approach. The Chief Executive added that the relationship with DWP is strengthening and new schemes and collaborations would be supported. Against the backdrop of financial constraints, demographic changes, and inequalities, Members asked how the council uses preventative interventions to benefit community groups. Members heard that the focus was on the most vulnerable first, and shared health data is now enabling community hubs to offer more specialised and bespoke services. The council is also working with partners to understand how services overlap within communities. Regarding social care, Members asked about recruitment and retention of social workers. Members were advised about improvements in this area but noted that demand remains high for child support in residential care, which continues to be a concern. Discussing Well-being Objective 6 and One Planet Cardiff, Members asked about street cleanliness and bin-cleansing frequency. The Leader agreed this remains a challenge and explained that the cleanliness index is based on a citywide sample using a consistent methodology, though it can present an overly positive picture. Officers offered to provide more detailed performance data from the service area following the meeting. Behavioural issues were also highlighted, such as domestic waste being disposed of in street bins, which causes overflow despite planned emptying schedules. Members queried whether enough funding was allocated to waste services, and the Leader noted that while recycling targets have been a priority over the past eight years, behaviour change remains the biggest challenge. A discussion took place around the Visitor Levy, its potential benefits, and the negative impacts of tourism. The Leader explained that the council does not receive funding for major events, but Visitor Levy income could help cover clean-up and traffic management costs. With regard to the mid-year report, Members questioned whether its narrative was overly positive and whether the economic strategy was too focused on large projects rather than supporting small businesses and high streets. The Leader acknowledged this concern but pointed out that online shopping trends cannot be reversed. Instead, efforts are being made to boost vitality through brownfield developments, hospitality, and events. Business rates remain outside the council’s control, though some positive measures around transport and seasonal initiatives were noted. Concerns were raised about housing repairs and the recent Ombudsman’s findings, suggesting the report did not sufficiently address these challenges. Officers advised that the Ombudsman’s findings were very distressing but also very indicative of the problems faced, especially damp and mould. It was explained that the Council uses a case management approach which was key in light of some of the issues seen in properties and the complexities seen in some tenants lives. Officers reiterated that the case management approach is effective. On ALN and efficiency, Members asked how the council plans to get ahead of rising demand in social care and education. They confirmed that the Cabinet would soon consider an ALN strategy aimed at reducing out-of-county placements and that upcoming budget discussions and the ongoing change programme wouldfocus on ALN and workforce planning. Further questions were asked around staffing levels in schools and whether budgets were being managed effectively post-COVID, as some schools appear to lack expert support. The Leader stated that improving the quality of School Governors had been a priority for the Council for the last 15 years. He also noted that the birthrate is lower and that conversations would need to happen with some schools about what a different model would look like. Members asked about the using the power of the public purse effectively and whether procurement processes properly weight community benefits. Officers explained that they did not have full details but agreed to provide information on scoring and weighting following the meeting. Members asked about progress on the Cardiff Parkway project and what the next physical milestone would be. The Leader expressed satisfaction with progress to date, citing its national significance, but did not specify the next milestone. AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Members noted the report which outlined the correspondence between Committee and Cabinet. The Chairperson wished to inform Members that March Committee will be scrutinising the Core Office full business case. A central part of this report is the work underway at City Hall. There have been expressions of interest from fellow chairs of scrutiny in having a first-hand tour of the current works at City Hall, which will of course help Members when it comes to the scrutiny session. It is proposed to organise this visit early in the new year, and Committee Members will all be invited. The Principal Scrutiny Officer will be in touch once a date is secured with the Cabinet Member taking the report forward, who would also like to be in attendance to host the visit.
None received.
14th January 2026, 4.30pm.
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