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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20th November 2024 as an accurate record.
RESOLVED to note the update to the Leader’s Scheme of Delegation.
RESOLVED: 1. To approve the Work Programme for the 2024-2025 Municipal Year (with appropriate amendment where necessary) and receive a further update on a 3 monthly basis.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report; 2. To note the information contained within the attached Consultation Report, attached as Appendix A to the Cabinet Report, which includes: - Minutes of the Governing Body and Staff meetings held at Tonyrefail Community School and Tref y Rhyg Primary School. - Minutes of the School Council meetings held at Tonyrefail Community School and Tref y Rhyg Primary School and a copy of the presentation made by the School Council of Tref y Rhyg Primary School. - Estyn’s full response. - Feedback from Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee which met on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 provided by the Service Director of Democratic Services and Communication; and 3. That following consideration of the consultation report, associated information and the advice provided within the report, Cabinet determined to conclude the statutory process and not to proceed with the proposal to close Tref-yr-Rhyg and transfer pupils to Tonyrefail Community School.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report; 2. To note the information contained within the Consultation Report, attached as Appendix A to the Cabinet Report, which includes: - Minutes of the Governing Body and Staff meetings held at Coedpenmaen Primary School and Trallwng Infants School. - Minutes of the School Council Meetings held at Coedpenmaen Primary School and Trallwng Infants School. - Estyn’s full response. - Feedback from Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee which met on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 provided by the Service Director of Democratic Services and Communication. 3. That following consideration of the consultation report, associated information and the advice provided within the report, Cabinet determined to conclude the statutory process and not to proceed with the proposal to close Trallwng Infants’ School with pupils transferring to Coedpenmaen Primary School, and that further consideration be given to how the local authority can support greater collaboration and stronger ties between Trallwng Infant and Coedpenmaen Primary school.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the action taken by the Council in respect of Storm Bert as outlined within the report and the presentation of the Director, Highways Streetcare and Transportation Services; and 2. To receive regular updates in respect of the lesson learnt evaluation to be taken forward by the Chief Executive.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the details of the provisional Local Government Settlement for 2025/26, details of which will be provided at the meeting; and 2. To note the implications for this Council, in advance of considering a draft budget strategy for 2025/26 in January 2025.
RESOLVED: “That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act”.
The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting and an apology for absence was received from the Deputy Leader.
In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20th November 2024 as an accurate record.
The Cabinet RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20th November 2024 as an accurate record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to note the update to the Leader’s Scheme of Delegation.
The Cabinet RESOLVED to note the update to the Leader’s Scheme of Delegation.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To approve the Work Programme for the 2024-2025 Municipal Year (with appropriate amendment where necessary) and receive a further update on a 3 monthly basis.
The Service Director of Democratic Services and Communication presented, for Cabinet Members’ comment and approval, an update on the Cabinet Work Programme on the proposed list of matters requiring consideration by Cabinet over the 2024-25 Municipal Year. Members were informed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been provided with a draft of the Work Programme in advance of the Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet RESOLVED: 1. To approve the Work Programme for the 2024-2025 Municipal Year (with appropriate amendment where necessary) and receive a further update on a 3 monthly basis.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report; 2. To note the information contained within the attached Consultation Report, attached as Appendix A to the Cabinet Report, which includes: - Minutes of the Governing Body and Staff meetings held at Tonyrefail Community School and Tref y Rhyg Primary School. - Minutes of the School Council meetings held at Tonyrefail Community School and Tref y Rhyg Primary School and a copy of the presentation made by the School Council of Tref y Rhyg Primary School. - Estyn’s full response. - Feedback from Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee which met on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 provided by the Service Director of Democratic Services and Communication; and 3. That following consideration of the consultation report, associated information and the advice provided within the report, Cabinet determined to conclude the statutory process and not to proceed with the proposal to close Tref-yr-Rhyg and transfer pupils to Tonyrefail Community School.
The Director of Education and Inclusion Services advise Members of the outcome of the recent consultation in respect of the proposal to close Tref y Rhyg Primary School and extend the catchment area of Tonyrefail Community School to incorporate the catchment area of Tref y Rhyg Primary School. It was proposed that Tref y Rhyg Primary School would close with pupils transferring to Tonyrefail Community School by no later than September 2025. The consultation processes in respect of the proposal had been undertaken under the arrangements outlined in the WG’s School Organisation Code (2nd Edition) (011/2018). The officer advised that a summary of the consultation had been provided at Section 7 of the report and confirmed that all of the comments and issues raised had been reviewed by RCTCBC’s Cabinet Members. In total, 98 responses were received. Eight were received in writing and 89 were received via the online survey (one response was the online survey supplemented with additional in information in writing). In addition, 714 signatures were added to an online petition, this has been classed as one response for the purpose of this Consultation Report. Of the responses received, 7 (7.1%) agreed with the proposal, 86 disagreed (87.8%) with the proposal and 5 (5.1%) were not sure about the proposal. The Director explained that in light of comments received during the consultation process, RCTCBC had reviewed the information included within the consultation document in relation to the building condition survey report. It was explained that during the period of time between the condition survey site visit being undertaken and the quality assurance process that takes place prior to the condition survey being signed off (which includes an assessment of the cost of required works by specialists), certain works were completed at the Tref y Rhyg Primary School which were not reflected in the backlog maintenance figure published in the Cabinet report and consultation document. As a result, the Council had since undertaken a new property condition survey of Tref y Rhyg Primary School and the information in relation to the building condition and backlog maintenance costs at the time of the November 2024 survey had been included at Appendix A to the report for Member consideration. It was noted that further investment since the building condition survey was completed in 2022 had contributed to the recategorisation of the condition of the School. The Cabinet Member for Education, Inclusion and Welsh Language thanked the Director for the report and officers for overseeing the consultation. The Cabinet Member also expressed his gratitude towards the school, its pupils and the Governing body for their comments. The Cabinet Member provided assurance that Members had considered the full consultation responses and took the opportunity to thank all those who took part. With the permission of the Leader, the following speakers addressed the Cabinet in relation to this item: - Councillor D Owen-Jones; - Councillor D Grehan; and - Mr S Burgess (Chair of Governors, Tref y Rhyg School) The Leader thanked the speakers for their representations and in response to a comment made, clarified that the Cabinet do not attend consultation events in order to ensure they have an open mind when receiving the consultation presentation. In respect of a point made around deprivation in Tonyrefail, the Leader noted that this was a strong argument made through the consultation responses. The Cabinet Member for Prosperity and Development took the opportunity to thank the Education and Inclusion Committee for their feedback, along with the other consultees. The Cabinet Member for Education, Inclusion and Welsh Language emphasised that the rationale behind the consultation was not about the quality of teaching at the school and stated that it was clear that the school was well regarded with the wellbeing of its pupils at the centre. The Cabinet Member noted the key themes which had emerged from the consultation responses and admitted that he shared some of the concerns raised. The Cabinet Member noted the strong argument to conclude the process and agreed that it would not be in the best interest of the pupils to close the school at this stage. As such, the Cabinet Member sought to add a recommendation for Member consideration to conclude the process and to not proceed with the proposal, to which all Cabinet Members agreed. The Cabinet RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report; 2. To note the information contained within the attached Consultation Report, attached as Appendix A to the Cabinet Report, which includes: - Minutes of the Governing Body and Staff meetings held at Tonyrefail Community School and Tref y Rhyg Primary School. - Minutes of the School Council meetings held at Tonyrefail Community School and Tref y Rhyg Primary School and a copy of the presentation made by the School Council of Tref y Rhyg Primary School. - Estyn’s full response. - Feedback from Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee which met on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 provided by the Service Director of Democratic Services and Communication; and 3. That following consideration of the consultation report, associated information and the advice provided within the report, Cabinet determined to conclude the statutory process and not to proceed with the proposal to close Tref-yr-Rhyg and transfer pupils to Tonyrefail Community School.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report; 2. To note the information contained within the Consultation Report, attached as Appendix A to the Cabinet Report, which includes: - Minutes of the Governing Body and Staff meetings held at Coedpenmaen Primary School and Trallwng Infants School. - Minutes of the School Council Meetings held at Coedpenmaen Primary School and Trallwng Infants School. - Estyn’s full response. - Feedback from Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee which met on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 provided by the Service Director of Democratic Services and Communication. 3. That following consideration of the consultation report, associated information and the advice provided within the report, Cabinet determined to conclude the statutory process and not to proceed with the proposal to close Trallwng Infants’ School with pupils transferring to Coedpenmaen Primary School, and that further consideration be given to how the local authority can support greater collaboration and stronger ties between Trallwng Infant and Coedpenmaen Primary school.
The Director of Education and Inclusion Services advised Members of the outcome of the recent consultation in respect of the proposal to close Trallwng Infants’ School with pupils transferring to Coedpenmaen Primary School by no later than September 2025. The consultation processes in respect of the proposal had been undertaken under the arrangements outlined in the WG’s School Organisation Code (2nd Edition) (011/2018). The officer advised that a summary of the consultation had been provided at Section 7 of the report and confirmed that all of the comments and issues raised had been reviewed by RCTCBC’s Cabinet Members. In total, 160 responses were received. One was received in writing and 158 were received via the online survey. In addition, 1,150 signatures were added to an online petition, this had been classed as one response for the purpose of this Consultation Report. Of the responses received, 16 (10.0%) agreed with the proposal, 136 disagreed (85.0%) with the proposal and 8 (5.0%) were not sure about the proposal. The Director explained that in light of comments received during the consultation process, RCTCBC had reviewed the information included within the consultation document in relation to the building condition survey report. It was explained that during the period of time between the condition survey site visit being undertaken and the quality assurance process that takes place prior to the condition survey being signed off (which includes an assessment of the cost of required works by specialists), certain works were completed which were not reflected in the backlog maintenance figure published in the Cabinet report and consultation document. As a result, the Council had since undertaken new property condition surveys of Trallwng Infants’ School and Coedpenmaen Primary School. The new information in relation to the building condition and backlog maintenance costs had been included in the report at appendix A to the report; and it was noted that further investment since the building condition survey was completed in 2022 had contributed to the recategorisation of the condition of the School. The Cabinet Member for Education, Inclusion and Welsh Language thanked the Director for the report and officers for overseeing the consultation. The Cabinet Member also expressed his gratitude towards the school, its pupils and the Governing body for their comments. The Cabinet Member provided assurance that Members had considered the full consultation responses and took the opportunity to thank all those who took part. With the permission of the Leader, County Borough Councillor M Powell addressed the Cabinet in relation to this item. The Leader thanked the Councillor for his representation and in response, confirmed that the consultation pack with all responses was publicly available. In terms of a point made about whether a statement should have been included within the papers, although a statutory response, the Leader noted the concern and assured the Member that this would be investigated outside of the Cabinet meeting. The Leader advised that the rationale behind the proposal was clear. He stated that the two schools were in walking distance of one another and that Trallwng Infants School was a feeder school with the majority of pupils transferring to Coedpenmaen Primary School. However, the Leader noted the strong response received from the consultation with 85% in support of keeping Trallwng Infants School open. The Cabinet Member for Prosperity and Development took the opportunity to thank the Education and Inclusion Committee for their feedback, along with the other consultees. The Cabinet Member for Education, Inclusion and Welsh Language emphasised that no decision is made by Cabinet until they receive the consultation responses for thorough review and fair judgement. In terms of the proposal before Members, the Cabinet Member firstly spoke of Trallwng town, which had undergone investment over the years and had become an extremely vibrant and an attractive place to live and work. The Cabinet Member added that the South Wales metro would add to the appeal of the town and the greater Pontypridd area. The Cabinet Member felt that this could have an impact on population growth, the number of people moving to the area and its school placements. The Cabinet Member also raised concerns that the benefits of the proposal were minimal in comparison to the potential impact it could have on the school and its pupils at present. As such, the Cabinet Member sought to add a recommendation for Member consideration to conclude the process and to not proceed with the proposal. The Cabinet Member emphasised that the rationale behind the consultation was not due to the teaching at the schools and felt that there was opportunity for the Local Education Authority and the schools to explore avenues for greater collaboration. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Youth Participation and Climate Change was in support of the Cabinet Member’s recommendation to not proceed with the proposals. The Leader added that there were two schools within his ward, which worked exceptionally well in collaboration. The Leader spoke of joint training days and separate caretakes which provide cover for one another; which had all contributed to financial benefits to the school, along with benefits to the staff in terms of knowledge sharing. The Leader asked that going forward, the LEA explore with the schools that as and when there were future vacancies and opportunities, they consider collaboration to safeguard the schools in terms of reducing running costs, whilst still delivering outcomes. The Cabinet RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report; 2. To note the information contained within the Consultation Report, attached as Appendix A to the Cabinet Report, which includes: - Minutes of the Governing Body and Staff meetings held at Coedpenmaen Primary School and Trallwng Infants School. - Minutes of the School Council Meetings held at Coedpenmaen Primary School and Trallwng Infants School. - Estyn’s full response. - Feedback from Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee which met on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 provided by the Service Director of Democratic Services and Communication. 3. That following consideration of the consultation report, associated information and the advice provided within the report, Cabinet determined to conclude the statutory process and not to proceed with the proposal to close Trallwng Infants’ School with pupils transferring to Coedpenmaen Primary School, and that further consideration be given to how the local authority can support greater collaboration and stronger ties between Trallwng Infant and Coedpenmaen Primary school.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the action taken by the Council in respect of Storm Bert as outlined within the report and the presentation of the Director, Highways Streetcare and Transportation Services; and 2. To receive regular updates in respect of the lesson learnt evaluation to be taken forward by the Chief Executive.
The Director of Highways, Streetcare and Transportation Services provided Members with an overview of the Council’s response to Storm Bert following the declaration of a Major incident on the 24th November 2024; and sought Members’ views on the effectiveness of the flood alleviations and improvements put in place following Storm Dennis. On the weekend of 23rd November 2024, Wales was hit by Storm Bert which saw over a month’s worth of rain falling in a very short period over Rhondda Cynon Taf area. On the 24th November 2024, the Council, along with South Wales Fire and Rescue, declared a major incident when they became overwhelmed with the volume of calls as a result of the rapid level and volume of rainfall that led to flooding across numerous areas of the County Borough. At 9:40 am the Chief Executive of RCT Council declared a major incident. Members were provided with a detailed breakdown of the Council’s response before, during and after the Storm. It was noted that the effects of Climate Change would be with us for decades and that the flooding of Storm Dennis and Storm Bert were not one-off events. The Leader thanked the officer for bringing forward the report for Members’ consideration and took the opportunity to introduce several external partners who were present at the meeting. The Leader thanked the partners for their support during the recent event and also for their updates at the meetings of the Major Incident Recovery Board. The Leader spoke of the vast amount of work taking place in the background and advised that the Council would be placing further bids for funding with Welsh Government. The Leader explained that the Council had spent close to £100M on flood alleviation since Storm Dennis and that only 16 of approximately 100 flood alleviation schemes experienced difficulties as a result of Storm Bert; and that 15 properties had flooded linked to schemes where investment had been carried out. The Leader advised that, moving forward, the Council would continue its investment. He spoke of the Council’s engagement with the businesses in Pontypridd town affected by the flooding and stated that they would work together to look into securing the properties, which back onto or are based on top of the river. The Leader informed Members of his conversations with Natural Resources Wales about issues with the flood warnings. The Leader explained that during Storm Bert, NRW’s flood warning for the Pontypridd areas wasn’t issued until 7:41am but photos showed that there was already a foot of water present at 7:42am. The Leader explained that NRW had undertaken flood modelling work of the valley rivers to Cardiff since Storm Dennis and stated that NRW wouldn’t undertake intervention work in the valleys if it would displace the water and possibly cause flooding in other communities. The Leader anticipated the feedback from the modelling work to gain an understanding of what work can be done to protect communities and make those homes and businesses more resilient to future weather events. The Leader advised that the cost of repairs, although less than that following Storm Dennis, would be substantial. Assuming the Council meets the threshold, it would continue to claim support from Welsh Government’s Emergency Financial Assistance Scheme. South Wales Police informed the Cabinet that they would be setting up a system, which would look at the strategic response to any major adverse weather events. South Wales Police welcomed partners to join. The Chief Executive of Trivallis spoke of a scheme in Yorkshire whereby Yorkshire Water reduce the level of the reservoirs before heavy rain to reduce the river flow. The Chief Executive questioned if this was something for Dwr Cymru to consider reducing the flood rate, if possible. In response, the Leader advised that none of the reservoirs which affect the catchment area, have spill gates and explained that they either overtop in a storm or have a ‘plug’, which can be opened. The Leader advised that in one of the reservoirs in RCT, the water level was reduced by 5 metres and the water level during Storm Bert was 2 or 3 metres higher, which meant the reservoir captured and held a lot of water. The Leader also advised that, although on a smaller scale, 7.1M litres of water was held back in the Council’s flood retention basins and spoke of opportunities to explore further throughout the valleys, including larger scale basins in Pontypridd, if building the river walls is found to not be a viable option. The Cabinet RESOLVED: 1. To note the action taken by the Council in respect of Storm Bert as outlined within the report and the presentation of the Director, Highways Streetcare and Transportation Services; and 2. To receive regular updates in respect of the lesson learnt evaluation to be taken forward by the Chief Executive.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the details of the provisional Local Government Settlement for 2025/26, details of which will be provided at the meeting; and 2. To note the implications for this Council, in advance of considering a draft budget strategy for 2025/26 in January 2025.
The Deputy Chief Executive and Group Director of Finance, Digital and Frontline Services provided Cabinet with details of the Welsh Government provisional Local Government Settlement for 2025/26, following its announcement on the 11th December 2024. With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, the Deputy Chief Executive provided the Cabinet with his initial assessment of the provisional Local Government Settlement and the implications for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. The Cabinet were made aware of the following headlines arising from the provisional settlement: • All Wales Average Settlement 4.3% • Range of LA Settlements 2.8% - 5.6% • All Wales General Capital Funding £200M (increase from £180M) • RCT Revenue Settlement 4.7% • RCT General Capital Funding £15.472M (increase from £13.828M) • A number of transfers into the settlement : • Performance and Improvement Framework, NOLO, Discretionary Homelessness Prevention, Strategic Housing Coordination Roles, Teachers Pay and Pensions, NJC Pay, Fire Pay and Pensions • Specific Grants – over £1bn and a number still be to be confirmed The Deputy Chief Executive advised of the Council’s updated budget requirements, which amounted to £10,600M, and included the replenishment of General Fund Balances and a major weather even contingency sum following the recent repercussions of Storm Bert. However, following the early budget reduction measures, agreed by Cabinet in November 2024, which amounted to £10,280M and additional resources made available following the provisional Local Government Settlement, which amounted to £29,249M, the Deputy Leader announced that the remaining budget gap for the Council was now at £6,823M. Members were informed that officers would continue to review Base Budget Requirements and seek to identify Budget Reduction Opportunities, before providing the Cabinet with a draft Budget Strategy in the New Year. The Leader thanked the Deputy Chief Executive for the report. The Leader was pleased to note the 4.7% increase for RCT, which was above average and noted that it has been assumed from the last Government’s spending plans that there would only be a 1% increase in spending future years, which would have resulted in just 0.6% for Wales. The Leader spoke positive of the recent one-off announcement of £120.5M across Local Government for base budget areas around support for pay and social care, which had been baselined. The Leader emphasised that, although the position was much better than expected and better than that of ten years prior, difficult decisions and savings would still need to be made going forward. In terms of the major weather event contingency sum requirements mentioned by the Deputy Chief Executive, the Leader advised that a further report would be brought to Cabinet to review whether more measures and funding would be needed to allow the Council to react to potential future incidents. The Leader spoke of his recent Urgent Cabinet Member Decisions to release money from the Council’s reserve funds to support residents and businesses and felt that it would be beneficial to have a dedicated fund allocated to allow the Council to invest into and to react quickly in the future. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Youth Participation and Climate Change agreed that the settlement was much better than anticipated but echoed earlier comments that the Council must remain cautious. With the agreement of the Leader, County Borough Councillor K Johnson spoke on this item. The Cabinet RESOLVED: 1. To note the details of the provisional Local Government Settlement for 2025/26, details of which will be provided at the meeting; and 2. To note the implications for this Council, in advance of considering a draft budget strategy for 2025/26 in January 2025.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: “That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act”.
It was RESOLVED: “That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act”.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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