Sophie Howe

Sophie's Council Questions: Welsh Medium Nursery Places

At the Council meeting on the 21st July 2005, I asked the below question:

I appreciate you writing to me following the last Council to advise me that you may have misled the Council when in the answer to my question you stated that there were enough Welsh medium nursery places to meet demand.  I accept that this was done unintentionally.  Nevertheless the fact remains that there aren't enough Welsh medium nursery places in maintained settings to meet demand.  I would therefore be grateful if you could advise me what steps you will be taking to address this and what information the Schools Service provides to parents about alternative settings in their locality where a place at a maintained setting in their locality is refused.

The response I got from County Councillor Kelloway was:

In accordance with the Cardiff Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership agreement, the Council works in partnership with the independent sector to provide nursery education for every child from the beginning of the term following their third birthday.

Where places are not available at maintained provision within two miles of the home address, nursery education places are funded in the recognised independent provision.

While therefore the Member is correct to say that there are not sufficient places in the maintained sector alone to meet the full demand for Welsh medium Nursery, this partnership approach between the Council and the non maintained sector to secure comprehensive provision is the approach which is recommended and, indeed, urged upon us by the Assembly Government.

Parents are provided of all the Council maintained nursery schools, and nursery units attached to primary schools and they are asked to nominate their preferred placement.  If there are more requests for places than the number available, then places are allocated firstly to the older children and then by reference to the nearest proximity of the home address.

If there are no maintained places within two miles of the home address, funding will be considered.  Application forms for funded nursery places are sent to parents together with a list of the independent settings, which have been recognised as appropriate providers of nursery education by the Schools and Lifelong Learning Service.

I followed this up with a supplementary question:

If that is the case why have I had to take up the case of a constituent who was refused a place at the local Welsh Medium Nursery School and offered a place two miles away, and was not provided with information on non-maintained places in the locality?  Would you therefore agree to re-visit this with Officers to ensure that parents are being given the information they need to make informed choices about their children's education on every occasion?

Councillor Kelloway responded:

I am loathe to discuss individual cases in the Chamber but I have had recent discussion with Officers, who confirmed that the policy has been followed.  I can go back to Officers with individual cases to see whether there has been a diversion from the practice.  WAG require that nursery education is provided both through public and private sector.

On the 23rd July 2005 I was able to ask supplementary questions on Welsh medium nursery places.  I asked:

Could you confirm if there are enough places to meet the demand for Welsh medium nursery places in 2005/06?  I have had a number of constituents approach me in my ward who haven't been able to secure a nursery place in the local Welsh medium nursery unit, and are very concerned about this.  You will be aware that I have written to you in relation to this and some of the specific problems my constituents are encountering, but this does seem to be a much wider problem.  Could you confirm what your position is, and what the Executive will be doing to remedy this?

In reply to this question Councillor Kelloway said:

I can confirm that the number of Welsh medium nursery places across the city is adequate to meet the demand.  Of course, the problem that you raise is the way in which these Welsh medium nursery places are spread across the city.  I know there have been a number of individual cases that have been brought to my attention recently where parents have not been able to secure a Welsh medium nursery place in the Welsh medium nursery that is nearest to their home.  I understand that they have been offered alternatives elsewhere, but in some cases it has not been children to ones that were not local.  This will always be, of course, an issue with the provision of Welsh medium education because at the moment the provision is unevenly spread across the city.  I think, as part of the Schools Organisation Plan, there will be, perhaps, a look at ways in which the provision can be evened out, but at the end of the day, by the nature of Welsh Medium education, there will, I think, still remain some inequality of geographical spread in provision, although overall numbers can be satisfied.

Sophie's Council Questions: School transport for disabled children

On the 29th September 2005 I had the opportunity to put a question to the Council on School transport for disabled children.  I asked:

You are aware of the problems encountered by my constituents whose severely disabled son was informed on the Friday before returning to Ty Gwyn special school the following Monday, after the Summer break that his transport arrangements were being changed.  Owing to my constituents impairments this enforced change, with no time for adjustment caused a considerable amount of distress.  Can you assure me that this issue will be properly investigated and appropriate action will be taken as a result?

The response from Councillor Kelloway was:

School transport arrangements for children with special educational needs are reviewed annually.

Individual travel arrangements are made for over 700 children with special education needs each year and in the majority of cases they are made appropriately and in a timely manner.

The Schools and Lifelong Learning Service regrets that this year, for a variety of reasons, details of revised transport arrangements were not distributed until Wednesday 31 August.  In most cases, this delay did not cause any problems for parents, but in a few cases insufficient time was left to enable parents to adjust to new arrangements.

Partly as a results of these events, officers of the Schools and lifelong Learning Service will now review the process for the annual review of school transport with headteachers of special schools.  Together they will examine ways in which improvements may be made.  A key consideration will be to seek to ensure that as much notice as possible is provided to parents of changes to school transport arrangements.

Sophie's Council Questions: Schools Re-organisation - Consultation with parents in Cardiff North

On the 29th September 2005 I took the opportunity to ask the Council about the School Re-organisation plan consultation in Cardiff North. The question I put to Cllr. Kelloway was:

In light of the Administration's delay in bringing forward proposals on school re-organisation, will you apologise to parents in Cardiff North to whom you refused a request for an extension to the consultation deadline despite the fact that they had only two days after the consultation meeting in Cardiff North?

Cllr. Kelloway responded with:

It is important to get the facts straight here.  The consultation period on this particluar phase of the process ran from 9 May to 16 June 2005, so the implication that parents had only two days to comment following the public meeting at Whitchurch School on 14 June is misleading.

The background papers were fully available from the beginning of the consultation period.  Moreover, at the Whitchurch meeting, I gave an undertaking to factor in any comments received after the deadline; but before the circulation of papers for business cycle leading to the Executive Business Meeting on 13 July when this issue was discussed.  This was done.

The Administration has not delayed bringing forward proposals.  Following the consultation carried out to which the Councillor refers, the Executive speedily accepted a report on the work of the Informal Advisory Group and of the results of the consultation.  Amongst the recommendations that the Executive accepted was that it would ask officers to prepare an implementation plan which would be brought forward in the Autumn.

Without defining precisely when the Autumn starts and finishes I think we could agree that it is not over.

What I would want to stress is this.  Assuring that our school buildings are in the best condition that we can afford, that we are not carrying an unacceptable level of surplus places and thus wasting scarce resources on them, and seeking to achieve the most consistent and sustainable pattern of schools in order that our children get the best possible deal from their education is the most pressing and urgent educational problem that this Council faces.

It is essential that our next steps are well considered and well founded and take into account the wide range of views that we did receive during the consultation we carried out.  We are keen that measurable progress should be made in a timely fashion.  By the same token it would be foolish to bring forward proposals that had not benefited from all the steps necessary to ensure their realism.

I would ask the member to engage in serious dialogue about the real issues and work with us to seek solutions.  This Administration has accepted the challenge of facing these problems and of finding ways forward.  What we need is the constructive engagement of all of us with an interest in the future of Cardiff's children rather than the re-treading of issues about consultation which we dealt with last summer.

Calls for roll out of kerbside recycling

On the 20th October 2005, I was able to ask the following question:

As you know many residents in Whitchurch and Tongwynlais are still waiting for kerbside recycling collections.  I hope you would join with me in commending the many, many residents who have contacted me about this problem and who in the meantime are adopting informal arrangements with friends in other parts of the Ward ho have recycling collections to take their recyclables to them or visiting the Waungron Road Dept on a fortnightly basis to deliver their recyclables there.  However, what explanation can you give to one constituent who has informed me that on four out of the last five occasions he has visited Waungron Road, the recycling skips have been full and he has been unable to leave his waste?

The response I received to this question, from Cllr. Elgan Morgan was:

I am glad to hear that many people in Whitchurch and Tongwynlais are keen to receive the free doorstep recycling collection, which this administration will deliver right across Cardiff before 2008.  At the Waungron site the recycling skips are serviced by "special" vehicles that can be necessarily withdrawn from service for repair.  Currently we have a vehicle unable due to a broken bracket on the lifting mechanism.  The hire company has been contracted to arrange the repair as soon as possible.

Contingency arrangements are in place at the site through the use of 1100 litre wheeled containers that are emptied daily by a recycling collection vehicle.  The frequency of these collections has been increased due to the amount of recycling materials that are being delivered by the public, but this is proving not to be entirely satisfactory.

The underlying problem at Waungron Road is the lack of space for recycling activities within a very busy cleansing and refuelling depot, which means that the effects of any operational difficulty are quickly translated into inconvenience for our customers.  For example additional 1100 litre containers cannot be delivered to the site because of space restraints.  Also, the Chief Waste Management Officer has instructed that in this busy and congested depot environment that great care needs to be exercised in order to minimise the risks to the public, this includes temporarily closing the depot to the public while machinery is being moved about.

The draft Municipal Waste Strategy confirms the need to achieve substantially more recycling at Household Waste Recycling sites in future years and this will be reflected in out decisions as we move the waste agenda further forward.

I followed this question up with a supplementary:

Would you not agree that the problems that residents are experiencing, when they are really trying their best to recycle their waste, are unacceptable and do you agree that proposals need to be brought forward at the earliest opportunity?

To which Cllr. Morgan replied:

It would be handy if Members paid more attention to what goes on in Council.  We are bringing forward proposals for kerbside recycling for every household by 2008.  We have discussed this matter several times.  The Executive will be making the final decisions on the operation at the next meeting.

On the 29th September I also asked other questions on this topic:

I wrote to you on 6 July 2005 requesting that recycling collections are contended in my ward at the earliest opportunity.  I have not received a reply from you almost four months on.  When can I expect to receive this reply and when can my constituents expect to have recycling collections?

The reply I received to this question from Cllr. Morgan was:

Firstly I answered you letter on 3 August; if you did not receive it I have a copy here for you.

As you are aware we are committed to delivering free door-step recycling to every household in Cardiff by 2008.  This has been discussed at Council several times and I am rather surprised that you needed to ask again.

For your information through, the roll-out will begin after Christmas and will take around a year and a half - if everything goes to plan - to finish.  Officer are currently finalising the details of the roll-out, including when each ward is programmed to receive the new service, and will be brought to the November Executive Business Meeting.

As part of the roll-out process engagement with Ward Members is planned so that you can play a part in the challenging job in informing all households of this major change to the waste collection service and the benefits which will be delivered.

My supplementary question:

Can I ask what criteria you'll be using to determine who gets priority in the roll-out?

To which Cllr. Morgan replied:

There are two elements.  Firstly, the MRF requires good quality recycling for a period of six months.  This is a recommendation of the manufacturers of the plant and we need to do that for insurance purposes.  We found that some areas of the City do this and some areas do not.  We have to balance it up that way.  It is slightly cheaper to do bin areas first and then bag areas.  If you are in a bag are you'll be further down the queue.

Sophie forces action to clean up waste land

After dealing with many complaints about unadopted,unmaintained land throughout Cardiff North, Sophie decided to take the matter to the Council Chamber by moving a motion which called on the Council to take action to address problems with unadopted and unmaintained land.

Almost every area across the City has lanes, gullleyways and areas of waste land which have no identifiable ownership and so become littered, poorly surfaced and often become an eyesore.  One such lane runs through the the heart of Whitchurch Villlage, behind the shops.  The lane is heavily used by people visitng the shops of the Church Hall but no body knows who owns it and it has been left for mnay years in a terrible state of repair making it dangerous for pedestrians and motorists alike.

Commenting on the motion which was voted through unanimously Sophie said:

"These peices of unadopted, unmaintained land cause problems to people across Cardiff North and need to be addressed.  Although Councillors and residents alike have been complaining about these problems for years my notice of motion was the first time this issue had been brought to the full Council for a decision.  I hope that it will result in action being taken to clean up areas across Cardiff North which have been left to deteriorate for years."   

It was moved by Councillor Sophie Howe and seconded by Councillor

Ralph Cook as follows:

This Council:

(1) recognises that there are many areas of land across the City which

are of importance to our communities but are not maintained by the

Council;

(2) recognises that in many cases the ownership of these pieces of land

cannot be traced and therefore the land is never maintained;

(3) notes the barriers that unmaintained land can create in terms of

accessibility;

(4) notes the detrimental impact that failure to maintain such land has

on community regeneration and neighbourhood renewal;

(5) notes that failure to undertake waste clearance (e.g. remove fly

tipping) on such land has a detrimental impact on our vision for a

cleaner Cardiff;

This Council therefore calls upon the Executive to:

(1) bring forward proposals to address the ongoing problems with the

maintenance of unadopted land across the City;

(2) include in any such proposals detailed consideration of the

implications for the next budget round.

It was moved by Councillor Elgan Morgan and seconded by Councillor

Mark Stephens that the motion be amended as follows:

In the first point 1, add "not owned and therefore" between 'but are' and

'not maintained'

And in the second point 1 delete "unadopted land" and replace with "land

not owned by the Council"

The following motion, as amended, was accepted by Councillor Howe,

the mover of the substantive motion.

This Council:

(1) recognises that there are many areas of land across the City which

are of importance to our communities but not owned and therefore

not maintained by the Council;

County Council of the City & County of Cardiff

20 October 2005

149.

(2) recognises that in many cases the ownership of these pieces of land

cannot be traced and therefore the land is never maintained;

(3) notes the barriers that unmaintained land can create in terms of

accessibility;

(4) notes the detrimental impact that failure to maintain such land has

on community regeneration and neighbourhood renewal;

(5) notes that failure to undertake waste clearance (e.g. remove fly

tipping) on such land has a detrimental impact on our vision for a

cleaner Cardiff;

This Council therefore calls upon the Executive to:

(1) bring forward proposals to address the ongoing problems with the

maintenance of land not owned by the Council across the City;

(2) include in any such proposals detailed consideration of the

implications for the next budget round.

The motion above, as amended, was carried.

The substantive motion was carried as follows:

This Council:

(1) recognises that there are many areas of land across the City which

are of importance to our communities but not owned and therefore

not maintained by the Council;

(2) recognises that in many cases the ownership of these pieces of land

cannot be traced and therefore the land is never maintained;

(3) notes the barriers that unmaintained land can create in terms of

accessibility;

(4) notes the detrimental impact that failure to maintain such land has

on community regeneration and neighbourhood renewal;

(5) notes that failure to undertake waste clearance (e.g. remove fly

tipping) on such land has a detrimental impact on our vision for a

cleaner Cardiff;

This Council therefore calls upon the Executive to:

(1) bring forward proposals to address the ongoing problems with the

maintenance of land not owned by the Council across the City;

(3) include in any such proposals detailed consideration of the

implications for the next budget round.

Calls for ethical contracting for Council Services

Use of ethical contracting for Cardiff County Council Services

21^st July 2005

Question: County Councillor Howe

Will this Administration be continuing and extending the policy initiated

by the last Administration by taking steps to ensure that contracts for

services such as tea, coffee, vending machines etc, issued by the Council

are entered into only where the contractor is ethically sound?

Reply: County Councillor Howells

I assume your question relates to the Fairtrade Foundation and dealing

directly with producers and importers who are registered with the

international body.

Sales across the 18 countries that license the FAIRTRADE brand are

growing at around 20% each year and the market share is increasing in

several mainstream products. The Council is pleased to continue to

support the international trade initiative especially when contracts for

supplies and goods are due for renewal.

Supplementary Question: County Councillor Howe

My question was not specifically referring to the FAIRTRADE issue but

the matter of the Council engaging contracts with contractors who are

ethically sound. It has been brought to my attention that the water

coolers, are in fact provided by Nestlé, who have some dubious and

unethical practices in third World Countries. They breach International

codes by encouraging breastfeeding mothers to use formula milk, which

in many cases is detrimental to the health of the babies. Would the

Executive Member give a commitment to review this contract and any

other contract where there are ethical issues?

Reply: County Councillor Howells

We will look into this. However, I am aware that with some contracts,

such as Kenco, we are locked into contracts. We are however, actively

looking at other FAIRTRADE providers.

Sophie backs campaign to Save the Reservoirs

Sophie has supported the Reservoir Action Group's Campaign to Save Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs from development.  Although Planning officers had recommended that the application should be refused there was concern that the reasons for refusal needed to be stronger in order for the decision to refuse permission to be upheld on appeal.

Sophie attended the meeting of the Planning Committee along with representatives from RAG and local residents to make these points (see the text of Sophie's speech below).

The representations made by Sophie, RAG and others were taken on board by the Committee and the application was refused on the basis that it contravened policies 7 and 8 of the City of Cardiff Local Plan

Commenting on the decision to refuse the application Sophie said:

"I am delighted that the Planning Committee have refused this application but whilst we may have won the battle we have not yet won the war as an appeal has been made to the Planning Inspectorate.  It is therefore vital that the Council takes further action to protect the reservoirs from development and consider ways in which the reservior can be preserved and improved for future generations."

Text of Sophie's speech to the Planning Committee

I am sure many members have been approached by constituents and residents from outside their own wards about the proposals for development at Llanishen Reservoir.  As a Cardiff Councillor I believe that at development at the site would not be in the best interest of the city and would contradict a number of the council's policies.  Clearly the protection of this important strategic corridor will benefit residents across the city and is particularly important for the North of Cardiff.

It is clear that the site as it exists forms one of the most important areas of ecological interest in the city and I welcome the fact that this has been recognised by the Countryside Council for Wales.  In this regard hard work that was undertaken by the Reservoir Action Group in assessing the importance of the reservoir as a nature conservation area and in identifying important varieties of grassland fungi must be commended.

Indeed the number of different types of wildlife which can be found at the site are considerable and it is my belief that the environmental impact assessment demonstrates some key areas for concerns about the impact the development would have on this wildlife.  For example the sections of the embankment which it is proposed would be destroyed have been shown to support important assemblages of grassland fungi and there appears to no guarantees as to the success of the proposals to relocate them as mitigation for this, the suitability of the site for breeding the common toad would be reduced, the impact on lower plant communities would be adverse, grassland which support a number of species including green winged orchid would be lost, otters could face an increased risk of mortality, demolition of the houses would adversely affect bats, there would be a negative impact on glo worms on the site – the list goes on and clearly demonstrates that the proposals would be contrary to Policy 8 of the Local plan.

Whilst I am pleased that officers have taken this into account and have recommended that this application is refused, stating policy 8 as one of the reasons I am concerned that the other 6 reasons for refusal could be overcome if an appropriately worded unilateral agreement is submitted prior to any appeal hearing taking place.  I believe that there are further substantial reason why this application should be rejected and that these should be included as reasons for refusal in the decision.

Firstly I wanted to touch upon the prematurity argument.  Although I understand that that conclusions drawn in the report on this issue was that it is not a justifiable reason for refusal I believe that common sense dictates that that it surely should be included.  Prematurity can apply where a development proposals are individually so substantial that to grant permission would predetermine decisions about the scale location or phasing of new development which ought properly be taken in the UDP context. 

Whilst is it true that the council are not proceeding with the UDP, it has not been formally abandoned and the proposed development would go to the heart of that plan as it is so substantial in terms on the number of units and in terms of the impact on the green corridor.  Guidance states that refusal would be justifiable if the development proposals went to the heart of a plan and surely the same principles should apply whether we have a UDP or an LDP.

It is clear that decisions on substantial development should be taken in the context of a strategic plan for the city as a whole and therefore it would surely be perverse for the Council to be forced to consider such a large development without a citywide development plan in place.  I would therefore argue that a reason for refusal based on the principle that it is premature to make a decision without the background of the UDP or LDP should be included.

Turning to Policy 7 of the Local Plan, we have heard from RAG that policy 7 is critical and I would certainly support this view.  I disagree with the Strategic planning Manger who believes that the development proposals are in accordance with policy 7 as they enhance the strategic recreational value.  However can the strategic recreational value be enhanced when the proposals reduce the water are from 23 hectares to only 6 which would result in the reduction of sailing at this location and render the area unsuitable for the range of intermediate and advance level training course that are currently provided. 

Furthermore how can the recreational value be enhanced when the proposals would destroy 1km of Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs, representing approximately  35% of the total area of the SSSI.  Policy 7 is quite clear in that it protects recreational and amenity open space whether it is in public or private ownership and therefore surely must apply in relation to these proposals.  I would strongly urge the committee to consider including this as a reason for refusal.

In conclusion I believe that it is essential that this area is given as much protection as possible and in the context of this planning application this can only be done by including all relevant reasons for refusal.  The Council should support in the strongest possible terms the many thousands of residents who have objected to the development proposals by putting forward strong reason for refusal, they should identify other mechanisms for saving the site such as giving consideration to the ransom strip of land which is in the ownership of the council and should now move forward to release resources which would make the imaginative ideas which have been proposed for the future of the reservoirs a reality.