Meetings
Every meeting of Cardiff Council's committees. Meetings of the full Council, the Cabinet, scrutiny and planning committees get a plain-language summary once their minutes are published.
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It then agreed its 2024/25 work programme, a pause to one task and finish group, and a deep dive into football provision. The Committee also resolved to write to the Cabinet Member on the briefing and performance items.
The Planning Committee met on 11 April 2024. Four councillors sent apologies and no declarations of interest were made. The committee's main decision was to grant planning application 23/01174/FUL for a mixed-use building of up to 28 storeys at Friary House, Greyfriars Road, Cathays, which includes student flats and commercial space. Permission is subject to the applicant entering into a binding Section 106 agreement, a legally binding agreement between the council and the developer.
The Council met on 28 March 2024. It approved its Pay Policy Statement for 2024/25 after rejecting an amendment from Cllr Berman on management restructuring. It also approved the audited Statement of Accounts for 2022/23 and designated Debbie Marles as Monitoring Officer, and it set up a Trusts Advisory Committee.
One proposed specialist resource bases for children with additional learning needs at nine Cardiff schools, and the other covered school admission arrangements for 2025/26. For both items the Committee agreed that the Chairperson would write to the Cabinet Member with its comments.
The committee considered an update on the Corporate Joint Committee (CJC), a body made up of the ten councils in the Cardiff Capital Region, including how scrutiny of its work will operate. It also reviewed how busking is managed in Cardiff city centre. On both items the committee agreed that the Chairperson would write to the Cabinet Member with its observations and recommendations, and no decisions on the substance were recorded.
On recladding, they raised concerns about residents, costs and timing. The Committee agreed that the Chairperson would write to the Cabinet Member with its observations.
It granted two applications outright and two more subject to signing a Section 106 agreement, a legal agreement under which a developer agrees to provide or pay for things such as affordable homes or road works. It also noted the decisions made under delegated powers, which let council officers decide applications without a committee vote.
Scrutiny means councillors questioning the Council's plans. For each item the committee agreed that the Chairperson would write to the Cabinet Member with the committee's comments. The minutes record no other decisions.
On 13 March 2024 the Committee scrutinised two items: how the Council should be governed when it acts as corporate trustee of charities it holds, and a draft Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for 2024-28. For both items the Committee agreed that the Chairperson would write to the Cabinet Member with its observations and recommendations. The minutes record no final decision by Cabinet.
Cardiff Council met on 7 March 2024. The Lord Mayor first led tributes to Cllr Abdul Sattar, who had died suddenly. Council approved the Corporate Plan for 2024 to 2027 and the 2024/25 budget, which raises Council Tax by 6.0%. It also agreed higher Council Tax charges on long-term empty homes and filled committee and outside body vacancies. Opposition amendments on the Corporate Plan and budget were rejected.
It approved the draft Corporate Plan 2024-27 for Council to consider on 7 March, adopted a Collaboration and Federation Strategy for schools, and noted the Month 9 budget monitoring report, which projects a smaller overspend than at Month 6. It also recommended to Council a higher Council Tax premium on long-term empty homes and a 6% Council Tax rise with the 2024/25 budget, and approved the council's response to the Welsh Government white paper on ending homelessness.
Both were pre-decision scrutiny, meaning the Committee examined them before Cabinet decides. The only decision the minutes record is that the Chairperson would write to the Cabinet Member with the Committee's observations.
Members raised questions and concerns about several proposals, including park rangers, library and hub opening hours, and printed newspapers. The minute records one decision: the Chairperson will write to the Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities with the committee's observations and recommendations.
The Committee scrutinised the draft 2024/25 budget and draft Corporate Plan for the services within its remit, in four sessions covering finance, waste and recycling, climate change, and transport and planning. The minute records no votes. At the end of each session the Committee agreed that the Chairperson would write to the relevant Cabinet Member with its comments, and the Cabinet will consider those comments before it finalises the budget.
The committee scrutinised the Cardiff Education: Collaboration and Federation Strategy before Cabinet considers it on 29 February 2024. Members questioned officers and school leaders on job security, consultation and communication, and raised concerns about the timing. The committee also considered the draft Corporate Plan 2024-2027 and draft budget proposals 2024-25 for its areas, and resolved to write to the relevant Cabinet Members with its comments.