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 to: Not refer the matter back to Cabinet
In accordance with the code of conduct the following declarations were made pertaining to the agenda Councillor K Johnson – Personal Interest “I am a parent of children who will be affected by the proposed changes and I am an employee of Transport for Wales” The Service Director Democratic Services and Communications advised that Councillor P Binning submitted a Personal Interest as a signatory to the Call-In as his child will be impacted by the proposed changes Councillor K Morgan – Personal Interest – “I am a Governor Ysgol Gyfyn Gymraeg Penderyn and I have previously spoken on this item at previous meetings. As a Member of the Committee and as a signatory to the Call-In, I will participate in the debate, but will not take part in any vote. Following a query, the Service Director Democratic Services and Communications advised that Members do not need to declare an interest if they are a governor of a school.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED to: Not refer the matter back to Cabinet
The Service Director Democratic Services and Communications presented the report which outlined the procedure for the meeting, as set out in rule 17 of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rules. The Service Director advised that a call-in request was received from County Borough Councillors K Johnson, P Binning and K Morgan within the prescribed timescales, on 25th March 2024, which complied with the relevant criteria and considered valid by the proper officer. The call-in requested that the decision of Cabinet in respect of the Review of the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy, be considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee. Members were reminded that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were formally consulted on the matter on the 13 December 2023. Members then also pre scrutinised the matter on the 18th March 2024. In addition to the formal consultation report, Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were also provided with additional written consultation responses received. The Service Director outlined the procedures for the meeting with the three signatories, who signed the call-in form, to address Committee first, setting out their reasons for requesting the call-in and why they consider the decision should be referred back to the decision maker for reconsideration. The Director of Highways, Streetcare and Transportation followed by the Cabinet Member will then address the comments made by the speakers. Members of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee will have the opportunity to consider the valid reasons set out in the report together with all contributions before voting on whether they consider whether the matter should be referred back to Cabinet. It was confirmed that the nominated signatory, Councillor K Morgan, would make the final address before a roll call vote is taken on whether or not to refer the matter back to the relevant decision maker for reconsideration. It will be for the Service Director of Legal Services to clarify and summarise the Committee’s decision. The Service Director added, that in coming to their decision, Members were able to determine to refer the matter back for one, or all of the reasons outlined in the call in The Service Director Democratic Services and Communications advised that the constitution requires all three signatories to the Call-In to be in attendance at the meeting, However, with the Chairs agreement, the Committee may determine to proceed in the absence of Councillor P Binning, as signatory to the Call-in. Following a vote of Members it was determined to proceed with the Call-In in the absence of Councillor P Binning. The Chair then called upon the signatories to the Call in to present their comments for Members which are summarised below: Councillor K Morgan Councillor Morgan supported the Cabinet decision to retain the 1.5 mile qualifying distance for children in primary school setting but considered the same should be extended to secondary learners to ensure equality. She sought clarity on the statement made in the Welsh Language Impact Assessment as the proposed changes apply equally to English and Welsh Medium Education provision, however, it is acknowledged that this is not the same as treating Welsh no less favourably than English and commented that children, particularly those north of the Cynon Valley could therefore choose English Medium School over a Welsh Medium school. Due to the proposals in the policy there is potential that parents will not be able to pay for transport for their children to attend a welsh school and therefore could impact the targets in the Councils ambitious Welsh In Education Strategic Plan (WESP) and the choice of preferred language is being taken away from parents with the Consultation failing to gather this data. Councillor Morgan believed that by imposing this policy, it breaches the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the Equalities Act and Welsh Language Acts. She concluded that we need to be giving our children the best start in life, socially and educationally to eradicate child poverty in future generations. Councillor K Johnson In opening, Councillor Johnson also welcomed the Cabinet decision to maintain the primary school provision. He continued that in his community the proposal will have a huge impact for secondary school provision. He referred to the disappointing engagement in the public consultation in that just 15 children had engaged in the process through the YEPS programme and felt more could have been done to reach more children and encourage them to participate. There were no alternative proposals to investigate if we have adequate PSAVR available to the Authority which will be a requirement to support disabled passengers. Councillor Johnson continued raising concern around the safe walking routes available and stated that parents are best placed to determine whether the routes are safe and invited Members and officers to walk the proposed routes with him. Councillor P Binning Councillor K Morgan read out Councillor Binning’s statement in his absence. He raised the concerns of the Health, Safety and Welfare of Children, the additional traffic pollution and parking chaos due to extra vehicles being on the road and the impact on the welsh language. He urged that other options should be explored before progressing with the decision and that the Council should act on the best need for the residents, not because other Local Authorities are going ahead with similar initiatives. He noted that following the public consultation that a large percentage disagreed with the proposals and stated that the Council should delay the implementation of the decision until the full impact of the decision is understood and considered by Members. In his statement Councillor Binning referred to Ysgol Llanharry which recently went to a 3-19 school to enhance the provision of Welsh Medium Education but is still waiting for improvement under the 21st Century Schools provision, he stated that families will now almost certainly choose a provision that is closer, more accessible to their homes and this will therefore impact the Welsh language. He continued that the reality is that children will not walk to school and where possible parents will have to resort to driving their children to school. He continued that the safe routes to schools also needs to be fully explored prior to the decision being implemented and invited Members to walk some of the proposed routes that children will be asked to walk. In concluding, he asked for evidence to be presented to Members on how the wellbeing of future generations has been measured against the proposals and for case studies and data to be presented on how the proposals will effect pupils, parents and schools. The Chair thanked the 3 Members for their statements and reminded all Members that their questions and comments, should relate to the reasons for the Call-In which was outlined in the report. The Chair then invited the Director Highways, Streetcare and Transportation to respond. The Director Highways, Streetcare and Transportation Services stated that the decision process has included a thorough consultation process and an analysis of data in relation to the proposal and policy, which resulted in the revised policy and impact assessments being presented to Cabinet for consideration. He continued that the impact assessments are well informed, comprehensive and robust which have been subject to a stringent review panel process including a number of challenge sessions with colleagues from Welsh Language and Equalities and Diversity team. The provision provides transport for our most vulnerable learners whilst following the Welsh Government Transport Hierarchy. The Director continued that the preparation of the report was undertaken with colleagues in Legal and stated that the UN convention on the rights of a child was considered as part of developing the Equality Impact assessment and was put together with due diligence, therefore the Cabinet decision was legally compliant. The Chair thanked the Director for his response and invited the Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure to address the Committee The Cabinet Member advised that Cabinet are satisfied that the report and proposals are robust and provides the necessary information to have due regard for the potential impacts on the Welsh Language and Equality. In respect of the Future Generations Act, the Cabinet acknowledged the importance of the Wellbeing objectives and they are satisfied that this decision takes into consideration requirements upon the Authority. The Cabinet Member concurred with the Directors comments in respect of the UN Convention on the rights of the child, in that whilst it is not a statutory requirement this was considered as part of the development of the Equality Impact Assessment. The Cabinet Member concluded in response to 2.5 of the Cabinet report, the recommendation agreed by Cabinet to enable the Director to implement the policy. The Cabinet Member concluded that the savings estimate, is a conservative estimate which takes into account some routes not being available with those pupils continuing to receive Home to School Transport for that reason. The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for her submission and invited the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Council Business to address the Committee The Deputy Leader proceeded by inviting the Committee, and any public watching the meeting to view the Cabinet meeting where this item was considered so Members could view factual statements made by Cabinet. The Cabinet Member continued that the Cabinet has a responsibility to take a balanced view upon any proposals being presented by Officers whilst also taking into consideration wide ranging factors including the consideration of public consultation feedback provided by residents and throughout the scrutiny process, additionally they reflect on the legislation and socio economic impacts set out in the Equality and Welsh Language Impact Assessments. He Cabinet Member acknowledged that the Impact assessments do highlight some negative impacts if the proposals do go ahead but also sets out a range of mitigating actions as to how any impacts should be monitored following the implementation including consideration alternative options as put forward by consultees. The Cabinet Member continued in response to extensive feedback provided and consideration of the impacts, Officers presented an additional recommendation to Cabinet under section 14.2 of the report and on balance, Cabinet decided that this additional recommendation would be the most suitable option moving forward. Under this proposal, the decision will still continue to provide one of the most generous Home to School Transport provisions in Wales going above and beyond the statutory requirement The Chair thanked the Deputy Leader for her contributions and opened up the meeting for Members A Member stated that one policy cannot apply to the whole of RCT and that areas need to be assessed individually which is why she believed the matter should be referred back to the Cabinet. She commented on the safe routes and that these should not be determined by just one person, she noted that often the shortest route often takes you through unsuitable places for pedestrians, and therefore potentially putting our children at risk. The Member further commented that Council should be actively looking to provide buses for the children, whether it be liaison with private companies and should not avoid this responsibility of ensuring our children are transported to school safely. Another option that could be explored is liaising with Community Councils who could increase their precept to pay for the cost of the transport. A Member asked officers how the impact assessments supported officers to arrive at the proposal and subsequent Cabinet decision. The Service Director Democratic Services and Communications advised that the impact assessments are subject to a rigorous review panel process which comprises of officers from Welsh Language, Equalities, Democratic Services, Legal Services and Consultation teams. He continued that the group challenges reports that are due to be considered by Cabinet to ensure the report identifies potential impacts. The purpose is not to identify reasons not to proceed with a proposal but for the decision maker to be fully aware of the potential impacts on a proposed decision. A Member asked for clarification on the safer routes and how these are determined. The Director Highways, Transportation and Frontline Services advised that the routes are assessed against a set criteria which is set out in the learner operational transport guidance. Officers are not obliged to use their own perception and they are assessed against these standards. If we need to refer to consultants, we would do to assess further. He stated that students are walking these routes at present. A Member commented, as will all decisions where the Council has to reduce a service, there will be negative impacts, but on this occasion, the Council reluctantly has to make a reduction in a service in order to make a balanced budget. We have been able to protect school budgets and we are protecting discretionary transport for primary schools which should be welcomed. A Member commented that the impacts of the proposal are disproportionate by area and those areas that contribute the most through Council Tax are being impacted the most. He stated that the Council need to consider alternative areas where we can save money whilst not reducing a service provision to our residents. He considered that as a result of the decision families will be spending a lot more money on clothes and shoes to ensure they are adequately dressed for a long walk to school in all weathers. He added that children will not want to attend school if faced with up to an hours walk each way, therefore having an impact on attendance. The Member also conveyed his displeasure at not receiving information until the start of the meeting, having requested it from officers immediately following the Cabinet meeting. A Member sought clarification on specific examples of where Members had strayed from the reasons for the call-in in their contributions. The Member also expressed her concern that Members and Officers had commented on the UN convention on the rights of the child was considered during the proposals “even though this was not mandatory” and commented that this statement implied that children’s rights were dismissed. The Service Director Democratic Services and Communications clarified that in delivering their contributions to Committee, at least one of the signatories to the Call-in strayed into Local specific examples. He advised the discussions should relate to the four reasons outlined in the Call-In report. He continued that when Cabinet took this decision it is important to note that the negative impacts were identified and it is for members to determine whether the four reasons outlined in the Call-In were considered in when Cabinet came to their decision. A Member commented that she was satisfied that the decision had been subject to a robust public consultation process and had been through the scrutiny process. She added that she was comfortable that Cabinet had duly considered the negative impacts in coming to their decision and therefore saw no reason for the matter to be referred back for re-consideration. A Member referred to the impacts on specific areas and raised concerns around equality for pupils who attend Faith schools and Welsh Medium schools and asked if Cabinet were fully aware of the potential impacts on the areas and the fact that these are hugely disproportionate. He also asked if Cabinet were given the additional information to consider that he had requested when coming to their decision. The Deputy Leader confirmed that Cabinet looked at the Council areas as a whole and the potential impacts this would have in individual areas. She added in response to the Member querying if Community Councils had also been consulted with, that the Leader had also met with Pontyclun Town Council on the proposals. The Service Director added that Cabinet did consider the additional information and importantly, the information also sat alongside the information outlined in the public consultation and presented on the Council’s website. The Chairperson invited Councillor K Morgan as signatory to the Call-In to make a final address to Committee In her final address Councillor K Morgan urged the matter to be referred back to Cabinet for reconsideration so they can find out from other councils how many pupils they provide free transport for and gain an accurate comparison. Cabinet should also find out how this would impact children changing from Welsh to English Education setting. She continued that there has been a lack of scrutiny on the links of transport and school attendance, given Home to School Transport plays an essential role in children’s attendance, this also needs further exploration as this promotes attendance and equal opportunities for students. She referred to section 5 of the Future Generations and Wellbeing Act “Public bodies need to make sure that when making their decisions they take into account the impact they could have on people living their lives in Wales in the future” She believed that the proposal contravenes this policy. She urged that the matter be referred back to Cabinet due to the number of negative impacts this proposal brings, including the impact on the wellbeing of future generations and the impact on the WESP targets. Councillor G Warren moved a motion to refer Call-In Reason no.4 for reconsideration (Recommendation 2.5 of the Cabinet report.) The motion was seconded by Councillor M Powell. The Committee did not vote in favour of the motion Councillor M Powell moved a motion to refer the matter back to Cabinet for all the reasons listed in the report. The motion was not seconded, therefore fell. A motion was moved by Councillor Middle not to refer the matter back to Cabinet for reconsideration. The motion was seconded by Councillor Sheryl Evans. The Committee voted in favour of the motion. Councillor K Morgan, did not take part in the vote as signatory to the Call in. Councillor M Powell voted against the motion. RESOLVED to: Not refer the matter back to Cabinet
None received
The Chair thanked all in attendance for their contributions to the meeting.
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.
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