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(i) |
Councillor Bradbury (Cabinet Member - Culture & Leisure) to make a statement on the Children’s Play element of the draft budget proposals and its linkages to the Corporate Plan.
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(ii) |
Neil Hanratty (Director – Economic Development) and Jon Maidment (Operational Manager Parks and Sport) to make a presentation on the Children’s Play element of the draft budget proposals should any be included in the savings proposals.
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(iii) |
Members’ Questions. |
Minutes:
The Chairperson welcomed Councillor Bradbury (Cabinet Member – Culture & Leisure) Jon Maidment (Operational Manager Parks and Sport), and Ian Allwood (Head of Finance) to the meeting.
The Chair invited the Cabinet Member to make a brief statement in which he advised Members that the savings proposals are achievable with the reduction in FM costs and the loss of posts; there are two vacant posts and one being deleted as a result of voluntary severance.
Members were invited to comment, seek clarification or raise questions on the information received. Those discussions are summarised as follows:
• Members were advised that there has been and will not be any impact from the loss of posts.
• Members were reassured that Childrens Play would remain in the same Directorate. Cabinet would like to see closer interaction and future integration with Youth Services with a view to creating a pathway of play for those aged between 0 and 17.
• Members were advised that no major cuts to Children's Play are planned. Further the future of Children’s play is in the sharing of resources with others to deliver the service effectively. Ely play centre is a positive model for that.
• Members were advised that there is potential for both the Youth Services and the Children’s Play service operating from the same building in Llanrumney.
• Members queried the projects at Ely Church Hall and referenced the funding and expertise. Officers advised that the play workers themselves have the expertise and that if there are other projects that could be used for Children’s play and would benefit from the expertise, for example the community garden project in Fairwater, consideration would be given to providing that expertise. Members were reassured that staff were enjoying the new model of working across different venues and would be prepared to attend a scrutiny meeting to share their views.
• Members were reassured that agency staff is only used for play services in cases of long term sickness absence.
• Members were relieved to note that the new model was operating well, particularly bearing in mind the issues experienced initially.
AGREED – That the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the Way Forward.