Wrthi'n llwytho
Y penderfyniadau fel y mae cofnodion y cyngor yn eu cofnodi. Bydd crynodeb mewn iaith glir yn dilyn pan fydd wedi'i ysgrifennu.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
Apologies were received from Cllr S Ahmed, Melanie Godfrey and Ashika Pennadam.
The Chairperson reminded Members of their responsibility under Part III of the Members’ Code of Conduct to declare any interest in general terms and to complete personal interest forms at the start of the meeting and then, prior to the commencement of the discussion of the item in question, specify whether it is a personal or prejudicial interest. If the interest is prejudicial, Members would be asked to leave the meeting and if the interest is personal, Members would be invited to stay, speak and vote. The following declarations of interest were received in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct: Name Agenda Item Nature of Interest Reason for Interest Brigid Corr 4 Personal Governor at Llanedeyrn Primary School Cllr Hopkins 4 Personal Governor at Lakeside Primary School. Carol Cobert 4 Personal Governor at Holy Family Primary and Bishop of Llandaff High Schools. Patricia Arlotte 4 Personal Governor at St Bernadette’s Primary School. Cllr Humphries 4 Personal Governor at St Francis Primary School. Elisabeth Hagen 4 Personal Governor at Rhydypennau Primary School. Cllr Reid Jones 4 Personal Governor at Thornhill Primary School.
The minutes of the meeting held on 20th January 2026 were approved by the Committee as a correct record and signed by the Chairperson.
This item provided Members with an opportunity to consider those items contained in the draft Corporate Plan and draft Budgetary Proposals which fall within the responsibility of this Committee. Members received a briefing on the Corporate Overview of the draft budget proposals. The budget proposals and relevant parts of the Corporate Plan were then considered in three parts. · Children’s Services relevant to Councillor Lister’s Portfolio · Education relevant to Councillor Merry’s Portfolio · Supporting Young People relevant to Councillor Bradbury’s Portfolio. The Chair welcomed: · Councillor Chris Weaver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation and Performance · Chris Lee, Corporate Director, Resources · Ian Allwood, Head of Finance. The Cabinet Member introduced this item explaining the 4.2% increase to the funding from Welsh Government was welcomed, as they had planned for less, but this still leaves a gap due to demand being greater for services. It is not a growth budget but is more manageable than expected. Savings are being made and are coming from Council Tax and back-office efficiency savings and the Change Programme. The proposed Council Tax increase is 3.9%, one of the lowest in Wales. The aim has been to avoid cuts to front line services and provide uplifts to Education and Schools and Children’s Services and Adult Services. School delegated budgets are increasing by 4.2%, but even with no savings coming from schools, this is still a challenge. The Capital Programme was also covered in these papers and is ongoing from previous years. There are increases in costs to Housing, School buildings and core Office buildings, which reflects rising costs in these areas. The Financial Resilience Mechanism has been retained. This is £4.5 million which is kept for contingency in the event of a very difficult budget. If a balanced budget can be achieved without using this, funds are allocated to one off spends in areas of priority. Feedback from 2000 people who responded to the Budget Consultation and from the ‘Ask Cardiff’ campaign identified clear areas of need to support vulnerable adults and children, Schools, Education and Young People which are areas the budget has focussed on. Highways and street cleaning and the Child Friendly City were also identified and are being funded as one off initiatives. Officers delivered a presentation providing more detail relating to the Corporate Plan and Budget Proposals. The Chair opened the floor to questions from the Committee. Members thanked Officers and Schools for the detailed work being done and the successful collaborative approach which has led to improvements, and the detail contained within the presentation. Members asked about the one-off payment towards the Child Friendly City initiative and whether this would be an ongoing funding stream, and Officers explained that this is in place, but this is in addition to this to allow for the development of more activities, following positive feedback last year. Members asked about the ‘time and adjustment’ approach and whether this was a contingency arrangement, and Officers explained that this is to focus on timing differences which are often not in control of Officers. £1.4 million of the £16 million and is there available should the timing differ. Members asked about whether the situation where the school budgets deficit was predicted to be high but has ended up being a surplus at the end of the year, and whether this could be replicated. Officers explained that they are navigating various problems facing schools and there are a lot of factors which are unknown and changing, such as the plans to create SRB’s and provide Specialist places. If places currently allocated for ALN children come out of schools, this will impact on the budget, in a positive way for some schools, but negatively for others. Once this work has been done, the picture may be clearer and the focus can then also be on falling pupil numbers in Primary schools. Members asked about the efficiency savings relating to school meals take up and Storey Arms, and Officers advised that this would be better addressed to the Directorate for a fuller answer later. Members asked for clarification on £10 million overspend predicted for School budgets, but this was showing as a surplus in the presentation. Officers explained that the £10 million is the amount schools were spending over their annual budget, and the 2 million surplus balance is what all schools collectively have in their bank account, so is separate. Members asked if there was an indication of how many schools would be in deficit at the end of 2026/2027, and Officers explained that indications for March 2026 showed the numbers reducing, but the figures for 2026/2027 would not be available until May/June 2026 and these would only be initial figures which are likely to move. Clarification on grants and the impact of children moved to Special places will impact on this. Members asked about whether Officers were confident that the pay awards and NI increases could be covered in full in this budget, and Officers explained that they had made assumptions, but the pay award was included in the budget proposals for school and non-school budgets. A 3.5% increase to teacher’s salaries had been included and the cost of NI increases had also been factored in. Members asked if the 4.2% uplift for schools delegated budget would be enough given the additional pressures they face and were concerned about a comment in the report relating to ‘being tougher with schools not making tougher decisions’ and if this aligned with the collaborative work being done. Officers explained that the 4.2% was reflective of the Welsh Government increase and is above inflation but they have sought to protect school budgets given the additional pressures. Officers reassured members that they work in partnership with schools to find the best solutions both financially and for the education of children. Members asked whether there was a plan to change how schools are funded given falling pupil numbers and predictions that this is likely to continue and will impact Primary and Secondary schools. Officers explained that they are governed by Welsh Government School Funding Regulations which includes rules including 70% physical pupil attendance. This is looked at pragmatically and has evolved, and Officers work with the School Budget Forum to make it fit for purpose but they are constrained by this. There are regular meetings with schools and Finance Officers and involvement with WLGA, so there are lots of opportunities for these conversations to happen. The Chair thanked all for their contributions and attendance.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
The Chair welcomed: · Councillor Ash Lister, Cabinet Member for Children Services and Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People (Children’s Services); · Deborah Driffield, Director of Children’s Services; and · Nick Blake, Operational Manager, Business Performance and Policy, Children’s Services The Cabinet Member introduced this item explaining they would focus on specifics in the report relating to Children’s Services and the ongoing pressures. The budget includes £12.7 million in line with inflation offset by £3.8 million for planned savings, so a net increase of £8.9 million. This brings the total budget for the year to £116 million. The savings are linked to Striving for Excellence Strategy and not short term or front-line reductions. Cllr Lister thanked Officers for the great work they had done with finance colleagues to put this budget together. The Chair opened the floor to questions from the Committee. Members asked whether the increase was sufficient to meet the demands and whether the service anticipated staying within the budget for 2025/2026. Officers explained that the focus of the administration had always been to support Children’s Services and the intention was always to stay within budget and this is being done through working with other Directorates and Third Sector partners to reduce the need for statutory intervention and families hitting crisis point. It is very much a demand led service and they do all they can, but there is always more that can be done, so any savings that can be made are part of the overall strategy. With Early Help becoming part of Children’s Services, all pathways are being reviewed and more use of grant funding streams has become possible. The £4 million current overspend is mainly related to external residential placement costs and is something being worked on. Members asked about the efficiency savings planned of £12.6million and that they are RAG rated amber and red so how realistic are they, and Officers explained that the efficiency figure is £1.5 million and explained what changes were planned relating to this. Members asked for clarification on the KPI’s around procurement costs and specialist provision, and whether the money allocated in the accommodation strategy was low at £665,000. Officers explained that this is ambitious and the plan has always been to bring accommodation in house. Cases have been made to Welsh Government to use available grants for this and the outcome is pending. The Service has plans in place to purchase properties for this purpose but need to secure the funding to do so. Members asked how the Eliminate Agenda and associated KPI was working in terms of collaboration between Cllrs Merry, Lister and Bradbury’s portfolios and related directorates, and Officers explained that there is a strong focus on sharing of information for safeguarding but only what is needed. The Front Door approach is seeing the benefits of working across service areas and a lot of work has been done with Information Governance to ensure data is also safeguarded. Members asked if recommissioning of care accommodation will be reviewed year on year and Officers confirmed that this is part of the overall plan to provide the best accommodation available. Members asked for an update on the Multiagency Virtual Hub and how people living in digital poverty will be supported with this. Officer explained that this would bring services together digitally rather than allowing families to access it digitally, and that it has been paused while a review of existing pathways takes place to avoid duplication and that other Local Authorities had been contacted to benchmark. Officers said they will look at this again to ensure those in digital poverty are not disadvantaged. Members asked about the KPI target of 60% in the Corporate Plan relating to care leavers with 3+ consecutive months in education, employment or training and if this is challenging enough. Officers explained that the ambition is 100% but it is a complex picture and it is sometimes difficult to get the right support at the right time, together with the challenge of care leavers out of County, so it is about being realistic. This is further complicated by the new Welsh Government criteria for this year meaning more children are further away from this point than previously. Members asked for clarification on the Service Workforce Strategy and the target in the Corporate Plan for this to reduce from 15% and for an insight into how this was planned to be achieved, and Officers explained that they are looking at creative ways of doing this, how they engage with potential and new staff, contacting universities, and looking at potentially offering better pay and conditions but this is within budget constraints. It is currently at 11.2% but there is some churn within that. Some of the creative ways used are ‘Grown your own’ so social work assistants are seconded to Social Worker posts, offering a finder’s fee to agencies if a temporary staff member becomes permanent and changing some posts to provide more support for student social workers and newly qualified social workers. They are working with a National working group looking at reviewing pay and T & C’s. Members asked for clarification on how the collaboration between Education, Children’s Services and other partners had been working around children with ALN and the Single View of the Child and Officers explained that pathways are being reviewed and this has included Health colleagues, so information can be shared, especially during transition from Primary to Secondary schools and into Adult Services. This has to be managed carefully as grants used through Early Help have specific age ranges. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
The Chair welcomed: · Councillor Sarah Merry - Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education · Helen Williams - Assistant Director of Education & Lifelong Learning · Richard Portas - Programme Director of School Organisation Planning. The Cabinet Member introduced this item explaining that they are pleased with the £19.57 million that is planned to go to schools delegated budgets and that no efficiencies were being asked for, as well as the decision to not take £1 million out of Schools Organisational Planning (SOP) budget, but all of this will come from the central budget, to further protect school budgets. The one-off payment of £400,000 to Child Friendly City initiative is across all Council departments and is welcomed. It will allow extra activities, such as Passport to the City (for children looked after) and theatre visits, to happen. The Chair opened the floor to questions from the Committee. Members asked how schools will be supported to meet the financial challenges in this Corporate Plan and why no KPI’s were included, and Officers explained that there are no KPI’s included as it is a complex picture and this was a new section but was put in as was missing previously. There is a Local Finance Management Officer assigned to each school who provide monitoring information and support. Requests through deficit protocol received for additional funding are responded to within 2 days and discussions with schools inform the decision and the strategy. The Finance team follow what education are doing for special places and the outcomes and adjust funding to meet these. It is an ever-evolving picture. Members asked about the targets in the KPI’s of 5% decrease in fixed term exclusions and asked what the numbers are, and if guidance will be made available to support schools. Officers confirmed that there is no new guidance but the existing guidance has been recently re-issued, and that there are pilots taking place to work with children at risk of exclusion moving from Year 6 to Year 7 to support then to reduce the chances of exclusion. Officers also confirmed that they will come back to the Committee with the data requested. Members asked when the overall impact of surplus places being used to provide designated ALN places might be seen, and Officers explained that the reallocation of funding for ALN places will be helpful financially for some schools and create funding issues for others, but it will alleviate overall pressures. To date, money has not been taken out of schools when pupil numbers drop and there are pupil number reductions, but this will need to be reviewed later. If pupil numbers reduce and that space can be used for an SRB, this could be a solution but there is no certainty and such changes would need to be tested. Members asked about the planned £1 million efficiency savings and how this would be achieved. Officers explained this is planned to come from Catering, maximising Grants and Storey Arms all of which are achievable. Members asked about the reference to a reading strategy in the Corporate Plan and asked for more information regarding this. Officers explained that this is in the early stages and they are working with Wrexham University to develop this City wide but would also focus on closing the gap in disadvantaged areas and link this to ESTYN annual report feedback. Members asked about the attendance strategy and the challenges to bring back to levels pre-pandemic, and for more of an insight into this and how targets are set, especially as all children can now access free school meals in Primary schools. Officers explained that gathering this data is now more difficult, and they are working with schools on this. Officers will bring the revised attendance strategy to a future meeting as soon as it is available. Members asked about the Community Focussed Schools Strategy in the Corporate Plan, and the reference to best practice in the Southern arc and asked for an insight into the nature of the ambition. Officers explained this is under development, and definitions can vary, with the ESTYN definition being broad. Elements of this are focussed on keeping buildings open out of hours, and Family Engagement Officers and attendance officers being onsite at Cardiff West and Eastern High Schools. There are well established Youth services in these schools too so there is a single point of contact to engage with services. The plan is to then tailor this to other parts of the City. Members asked about Elected Home Education (EHE) and data on why parents opt for this, how education is monitored and how many of these children have ALN needs. Officers explained this is mostly a lifestyle choice and that 6% of EHE have ALN needs. Officers visit the home once a year to provide as much support as possible to parents and would like to do more but this has capacity constraints. EHE is part of the inclusion strategy, which is City wide and not school specific, as is the data available. The EHE grant has remained at £99,000 from Welsh Government for the last 9 years. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
The Chair welcomed: · Councillor Peter Bradbury, Cabinet Member for Children Services and Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People (Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People) · Helen Williams - Assistant Director of Education & Lifelong Learning · Avril Hooper-Williams -Operational Manager – Early Help · Sarah Fitzgibbon - Principal Educational Psychologist - Parenting Play & Childcare · Alexa Tudball - Play & Parenting Development Manager - Parenting Play & Childcare The Cabinet Member introduced this item explaining how pleased they are that the Youth Services budget has been maintained for this year, and the successful opening of the new Youth space at Cardiff West High School and recording studio at Eastmoors, and this is all part of the Corporate plan. The Play Sufficiency Assessment is showing the results of work done, with an increased 275 pupils trained as playground leaders at 39 schools and the development of Play shacks and Play Streets across the City. Officers provided more detail relating to the report which included reiterating the corporate approach to the Play Sufficiency Assessment through a working group to promote play opportunities across the City, bring together both internal and external partners. Some of work includes working with Foster Carers and Children Looked After, play opportunities in residential care homes, facilitating play in school playgrounds and as part of the school day, and including this from early years to secondary schools and to Youth services. The Chair opened the floor to questions from the Committee. Members noted that the Play Sufficiency Assessment is now in the Local Development Plan and is part of the Corporate Plan, which is pleasing to see, and Officers explained that it is now seen as a provider of a service, and they are pleased with the change in approach and the outcomes as a result. Members asked for more information about maintaining the current spend as mentioned in the papers, as no figures were provided and what the intention is regarding the balance between the core budget and grant funding when the Youth Services strategy is available. Officers explained that there have already been some funding move to the core budget and have been no cuts to the Youth Services budget, which is pleasing, and the document coming forward will be forward looking. Members asked about the Into Work programme, vulnerabilities experienced by care leavers and the work with the Virtual Head Teacher and asked for more information on what is involved. Officers explained that it is important to do all we can to support those leaving care but this is more operational and will need to come back to the committee with this information. It was suggested that this be discussed as a joint scrutiny with Economy and Culture. Members raised the importance of involving young boys in sports and community-based activities to keep involved in education and remaining good citizens, and Officers explained how well the Youth Services in Ely had got children involved in Western High School, Street based Youth workers are engaging with young people on the street and at Eastmoors recording studio. There is also an issue with young girls now leaving school and not engaging, so it is about involving all young people in what they enjoy in a safe environment and developing transferrable skills at the same time. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward and will write to you to inform you of the Committee’s observations, comments and/ or recommendations.
There were no urgent items.
The date of the next meeting is 10th March 2026 at 4.30pm.
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.