Penderfyniadau

Nidyw Atodiad A i’r adroddiad hwn i’w gyhoeddi gan ei fod yn cynnwys gwybodaeth eithriedig o’r disgrifiad a geir yn Atodlen 12A Rhan 4 paragraff 16 o Ddeddf Llywodraeth Leol 1972.

CYTUNWYD: cymeradwyodyfarniad uniongyrchol o gontractau i Sefydliadau Gwirfoddol Trydydd Sector a enwir yn Atodiad B i’r adroddiad, mewn perthynas â’r gwasanaethau a nodwyd ac i’r cyfnodau contract a nodir hefyd yn Atodiad B gael eu cymeradwyo mewn perthynas â chontractau y disgwylir iddynt ddechrau ar 20 Awst 2018.

Cytunwyd

1)  manteisio ar yr opsiwn i ymestyn y cytundeb gan 12 mis gyda Matrix SCM Ltd ar gyfer darparu gweithwyr asiantaeth dros dro. Gwerth yr estyniad 12 mis yw tua £11 miliwn yn seiliedig ar wariant presennol.

2)         cymeradwyo ymestyn y contract yn ffurfiol gyda Matrix SCM Ltd

Cytunwyd:

1.Cytunoar gwmpas y project fel y nodwyd yn nghorff yr adroddiad;

2.    Defnyddio’rmeini prawf gwerthuso i benodi fframwaith gyda darparwyr lluosog fel y nodir yn yr adroddiad i’w gymeradwyo; a

3.    Cymeradwyodechrau’r broses gaffael i gynnwys ond heb fod yn gyfyngedig i

        i.       GyhoeddiGwahoddiad i Dendro a

ii   delio ag unrhyw faterion ategol hyd at ddyfarnu’r contract

The Committee received a report on the progress and impact of the Planning Service Redesign.  Members were advised that the issue for first highlighted to the Committee during its consideration of the 2014/15 Budget Briefing Report in November 2013 when concerns were raised about aspects of performance within the Planning Service.  The Committee was briefed on the outline proposals at the budget scrutiny meeting in February 2014.  The proposals included:

·                An increase in income of £512k for additional fee/charging income for development management and pre application income;

·                Total budget savings of £903k from the service as a whole which included £348k from a restructure exercise.

In March 2014 the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport agreed to provide an update on the restructuring of the planning service.

The Planning Service Redesign was undertaken to address a number of issues and priorities, including:

·                addressing the budget savings that the Council has to achieve;

·                reshaping services to make sure that they effectively deliver fast changing corporate priorities and aspirations

·                enabling improvement in benchmarking

·                improving how the service engages, communicates and is managed

·                introducing new ways of doing things to make the working environment sustainable and successful

·                help Cardiff achieve its full potential as the more liveable European Capital City

The report provided details of the revised Planning Service structure.  Services was based around the following teams:

·                The Strategic Policy Team

·                The Strategic Development Management and Placemaking Team

·                The Non Strategic Development Team

·                The Building Control Service

Members were advised that the redesign exercise was anticipated to be completed by late 2014/early 2015.  A number of appointments still needed to be made to complete the new structure.  Copies of the new structure charts were appended to the report.

It was projected that the Planning Service would deliver savings of £903k during 2014/15.  To date £568k savings had been achieved with a projected outturn of £816k, resulting in a shortfall in savings of £87k; the report identified where the shortfall in savings were.  The report also contained details of the three main performance indicators for the Planning Service which were broadly being achieved.

The Chairperson welcomed Councillor Ramesh Patel, Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability, Councillor Michael Michael, Chair of the Planning Committee and officers from the Strategic Planning, Highways, Traffic and Transport Directorate.  Phil Williams, OM, Strategic Planning and Development Management, was invited to deliver a presentation on the Planning Service Redesign.

The Chairperson invited the Committee to comment, raise questions or seek clarification on the information received.  Those discussions are summarised as follows:

·                Officers stated that the overall budget for the services was £7 million, just under £2 million of this budget was funded from income.

·                Member requested further details of the shortfall in savings.  Officers advised that the £87k shortfall was the position at the time the report was drafted.  The budget is monitored monthly and can be affected or skewed when planning applications are submitted.  For example, a planning application has been submitted for a major development which will generate £125k in fees.  The application is not registered at the moment.  When the application is registered the fees are accounted for and this will affect the shortfall figure.

The Chairperson of planning indicated that discussions were taking place at present with regard to up 30 major developments in the City.  A large number of applications were also expected at a result of the LDP.

·                In terms of the 2015/16 budget, officer indicated that they were not expecting to be asked to achieve a similar level of savings as during 2014/15.  Councillor Michael stated that all service areas will be required to make savings, however, if the income targets for the Planning Service are to be realised, then this needs to be recognised during the budget setting process.

·                A member asked whether the service would receive ‘inappropriate applications’ in order to generate income.  Councillor Patel stated that developers are entitled to submit planning applications.  Councillor Michael stated that any application must meet planning policy guidance and criteria.  The authority was statutorily obliged to consider applications received.

Officers advised the Committee that the number of applications received has increased of late and it was believed that this correlated directly to the projected growth in the city as outlined in the LDP.  It was considered that the increase in applications received reflected the renewed confidence and investment in the City.

·                Members raised concerns regarding the cumulative impact a large number of non-strategic planning applications would have in some wards in the City.  Members questioned what policy framework was in place to deal with a large number of such applications strategically.

Officers advised that the importance of non-strategic applications was recognised.  The LDP is being delivered.  Secondary planning guidance will follow.  It was intended that post-delivery of the LDP staff supporting the LDP process will be realigned to support the LDP through secondary guidance.

The Committee was advised that consultation was being undertaken regarding Household Extensions Supplementary Planning Guidance as the issue was recognised.  The existing guidance would be updated as part of a new suite of guidance supporting guidance.

In terms of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), officers advised that they were currently lobbying the Welsh Government seeking a change in legislation Wales that would allow HMO issues to be tackled.

·                Responding to a question from a Member, the Officers advised that there has been no reduction in the number of letters sent to residents advising them of planning applications in their locality during 2014.  The service despatches in the region of 20,000 letters each year and there was no intention to reduce that.

·                Members asked what could be done to maximise the benefits to existing communities from developments.  In particular, Members asked at what stage local Members will be involved in the s106 process.

The Cabinet Member stated that he would encourage local Members to enter dialogue with developers at an early stage.  Developers are also encouraged to engage with local elected Members, prior to applications being submitted if possible.  The Chair of Planning indicated that some Members were more proactive than others in this regard and he also would encourage local members to engage at an early stage.

Members of the Committee requested further clarification regarding the mechanism that decides which of the schemes, prioritised by local members, are to be delivered within their wards.

Officers advised that service area were consultees on planning applications.  There was often a disconnect between local members and service areas.  Officers would also encourage early engagement between local members and service areas so that all parties understand their respective priorities.

·                The Committee requested further information regarding the transition between s106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).  Members were advised that CIL was not replacing s106.  It was anticipated that where larger developments require infrastructure s106 will continue to be used to mitigate the impact of the new development to the benefit of existing communities.

Officers advised that CIL can be used more flexibly and that 15% of CIL must be spent within the local area whilst 85% can be spent elsewhere.  It was not possible to forecast the levels of income at this stage as a schedule for charging of CIL was yet to be agreed.

·                Concerns were raised that developers were not providing appropriate levels of s106.  Officers stated that a condition is now included on planning applications which means that it is possible for the authority to reassess levels of s106 funding should market conditions change.

·                Members were advised that there was little prospect of meeting the KPIs within timescales as large strategic developments are usually dealt with by negotiation in order to ensure quality outputs.  Nonetheless, Committee was asked to note that there had been a small improvement in KPI performance.

AGREED –That the Chairperson write on behalf of the Committee to the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning & Sustainability with the following observations of the Committee:-

·              Members noted the progress that the Planning Service has made in such a short period of time particularly as the Planning Service has been through a major service restructure.  The Service has performed well against the additional income target of £512,000 during 2014/15 and has performed well against the main Planning Service indicators.

·              The Committee would like to receive a detailed financial summary of the Planning Service for 2014/15 including:

•   A budget summary for the Planning Service as a whole with a breakdown of the budget allocated to each of the individual teams;

•   An income summary for the Planning Service as a whole with a breakdown of the income generated for each of the individual teams;

•   An overall summary of the progress made by the Planning Service against its savings target for 2014/15.  This should be supported by a progress update against each of the individual budget saving lines that were agreed for the service during the 2014/15 budget setting process.

·                Members noted that the Welsh Government is currently reviewing the fees that Welsh local authorities can apply to planning work.  The Committee were informed that the last review was undertaken in 2009 and that the potential change could have a noticeable impact on levels of income generated.  Members would be grateful if you could arrange for an income projection to be produced based on the 2014/15 income levels and the anticipated change in fee levels; they would also like to know when fee changes would be applied.

·                Some Members raised concerns that a reduction in Planning Service resources and a recent increase in the volume of planning applications would have an impact on quality assurance around how applications are processed.  The Committee would like assurance that quality assurance standards are being maintained when officers are dealing with new applications and that corners are not being cut to deal with increased demand.

·                It was noted that there has been a delay in developing new Statutory Planning Guidance for Houses of Multiple Occupation and Flats.   Members were concerned that a lack of resources was delaying the completion of this and other vitally important Statutory Planning Guidance.  The Committee was advised that there was limited capacity to develop such Statutory Planning Guidance, and that following completion of the Local Development Plan staff would be transferred across to the Strategic Planning Service to help develop such work.  The Committee would like confirmation as to when this will happen and when the Statutory Planning Guidance for Houses of Multiple Occupation and Flats will be completed.  Members do not accept the argument that in order to complete the development of Statutory Planning Guidance the Local Development Plan needs to be in place; they take a view that many pieces of Statutory Planning Guidance have been completed in Cardiff without having a Local Development Plan in place.

·                Members debated the basic level of understanding that Councillors have on the planning system.  The Chair of the Planning Committee felt that improving basic knowledge was vital, particularly as this could help educate Members on the legislative restrictions that planning officers and the Planning Committee are constrained to work under.  The Committee agree that Member training on the planning system needs to be improved.  The Committee would ask that the Cabinet Member undertakes a review of the Member training on the planning service and provided feedback to the Committee once a conclusion is reached.

·                There was a debate on the best way for Members to engage in discussion around allocation of development based funding, for example, s106 funding and the Community Infrastructure Levy.  It was agreed that it was important for Members to liaise with the Planning Service and other relevant services in a timely manner and that agreeing some type of formal platform for debate was vital from a strategic perspective as well as helping to maintain the integrity of Members in the process.   With this in mind the Committee would appreciate if the Cabinet Member could give some further consideration to the following:

·      A suggested structure from as to how Members can best engage with the funding process.

·      If the Cabinet Member could provide a document which sets out the criteria against which section 106 funding can be applied for and how it is allocated.

·      Members would like to know how many cases are presented to Planning Enforcement each year and from these how many result in preventative action taking place.  The Committee would also like to know if it is possible for the enforcement process to be speeded up and resource allocation in this area.

·      Members would like to know how many cases are presented to Building Control each year and from these how many of these applications are accepted or rejected.

·      The Scrutiny Chairs are aware of the current consultation exercise on the proposed Community Infrastructure Levy rates for Cardiff.  They are considering how best to scrutinise this issue and will shortly inform you as to how they wish to proceed with the matter.  It is anticipated that any work undertaken will be in the first calendar quarter of 2015. 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Goddard and Councillor Graham Thomas.

Members were advised that the next meeting was scheduled for Thursday 5 March 2015 at 4.30pm.

Cytunwyd: 

1.  cymeradwyo cwmpas y project fel y nodir yng nghorff yr adroddiad gan gynnwys ond nid yn gyfyngedig i’r strategaeth rhannu

2.  cymeradwyo’r weithdrefn gaffael gyfyngedig i gael ei dilyn

3.  Cymeradwyo’r meini prawf gwerthuso a’r pwysiadau wedi’u nodi yn yr adroddiad ar y ddealltwriaeth y gallai’r tîm projectau wneud newidiadau i gywiro unrhyw wallau ac adlewyrchu cyngor wedi’i roi ar yr amod nad yw’n newid yn faterol gorff y dogfennau, a

4. chymeradwyo dechrau’r broses gaffael trwy gyhoeddi’r OJEU a dogfennaeth gaffael.

Cytunwyd:  estyniad blwyddyn o gontractau lleoliadau gofal plant Dechrau’n Deg presennol , o 1 Medi 2018 tan 31 Awst 2019, gyda gwerth amcangyfrifedig o £821,340 i’w gymeradwyo

Ni chyhoedder Atodiad yr adroddiad hwn gan ei fod yn cynnwys gwybodaeth wedi’i heithrio fel y disgrifir ym Mharagraff 14, Rhan 4, a Pharagraff 21 Rhan 5 Atodiad 12A Deddf Llywodraeth Leol 1972.

Cytunwyd: y bydd y Cyngor yn bwrw ymlaen â phrynu eiddo addas hyd at gyfanswm gwerth a nodir yn Atodiad 1.  

CYTUNWYD:

1.gwahodd y sefydliadau y nodir yn Atodiad A eu bod ar y rhestr fer ac yn gymwys i fynd ymlaen i gan nesaf y broses gaffael i dendro

2.cymeradwyo’r ddogfen wahodd i dendro, yn cynnwys y meini prawf cymhwyster, y fframwaith cytundeb drafft a’r atodiadau, a’u cyflwyno i’r sefydliadau a nodir yn Atodiad A.