Sophie Howe

Play Equipment Motion

Below is a motion to Council, proposed by Cllr. Sophie Howe and seconded by Cllr. Christine Priday for the Council Meeting on the 21st January (see this post on the importance of the motion CLICK HERE)

The Motion

The Council notes with concern that during the last yeats that children's play equipment in the following parks has been removed:

1. Parc Rhydypennau Cyncoed,
2. Heol Trelai Caerau,
3. Mill Road Ely,
4. Chorley Close Fairwater and Rosedale OS Fairwater
5. Grange Gardens Grangetown,
6. Mill Heath Drive Lisvane,
7. Lydstep Crescent Llandaff North,
8. Chapelwood Parc, Coed, Y Nant Pentwyn and Waun Fach Pentwyn,
9. Garth Newydd Pentyrch,
10. Caedelyn and Heol Llanishen Fach Rhiwbina,
11. Llandaff Fields Riverside,
12. Quarry Park and Greenway Road Rumney,
13. Horwood CLose and Railway Street Splott
14. Clos yr Onnen, Coleford Drive and Orchard Park Trowbridge,
15. The LIbrary Gardens and Celtic Park Whitchurch,
16. Maitland Park Gabalfa

And further notes that is proposed to remove play equipment from the following parks

1. Adamscroft and Brewery Park, Adamsdown
2. Belmont Walk and Hodges Square, Butetown
3. Victoria Park, Canton
4. Roath Park, Roath
5. Heol y Barcud Llanishen Park and St Martins Crescent Park, Llanishen
6. Almond Drive and Crawford Drive, Pontprennau

This Council further notes the Welsh Assembly Government play Strategy document which states "play is so critically important to all children in the development of their physical, social, mental, emotional and creative skills that society should seek every opportunity to support it and create and environment that fosters it.  Decision making at all levels of government should include a consideration of the impact of those decisions, on children's opportunities to play."

This Council believes that every child in Cardiff should have access to a safe fully equipped play area near to their home therefore calls upon the Executive to ensure that funding is provided to replace all removed play equipment in consultation with local members, children and their parents by July 2007 in order that children can make us of the play areas during the Summer holidays.

Sophie calls for parents to have a say on school dinners

Labour Councillors in Cardiff have forced the Liberal Democrat Executive to give parents more saying what their children eat in school.  Sophie submitted a notice of motion which called for a pre-ordering system to be set up so that parents can order what their children will be eating for their dinner and utilise on-line payment methods or direct debit.  Her motion received unanimous support in the Council.

The call for parents to have a say in what their children are eating in school comes in light of nationwide concerns about children's eating habits and a City wide campaign led by Sophie and the Labour Group to force the Liberal Democrat Administration to put more money into school dinners.

Labour Councillors have previously revealed that the Administration will not put any of the increased cost to parents for school meals into the meal itself and that Cardiff spends one of the lowest amounts on school dinners in Wales. 

Speaking about the motion Councillor Sophie Howe said:

"Parents want to know exactly what their children are eating in school and want to be able to operate the same control over their eating habits in school as they do at home.  As a mum with a six year old in school I find it ridiculous that my son gets to choose himself whether he has vegetables or chips with his meal or whether he has a cake or an apple for dessert.  I want to be able to ensure that he is having a balanced meal in school as I do at home and this is the same for parents across the City."

See below for text on Sophie's speech to the Council:

"Thank you Lord Mayor.  I rise to propose this notice of motion which seeks to address the concerns of parents across Cardiff about what their children are eating at school.  The issue of school meals has been the focus of media attention since Jamie Oliver programme highlighted the poor quality of school meals, the disgracefully low amount being spent on ingredients for school meals and the lack of training for school cooks.

Parents were horrified by the programme and many who may have previously paid for their children to have school dinners immediately withdrew their children preferring to provide packed lunches so that they could be sure that their children were eating a well balanced meal free from turkey twizzlers, processed chicken nuggets and spaghetti hoops.  However, parents feel aggrieved that they have had to do this as many have expressed to me the fact that they want to feel confident that school dinners are providing a balanced meal because for example they would like their children to have a hot meal in the winter.

The Jamie Oliver effect has had a huge impact on the sale of school meals in Cardiff and I will concede that this is an unfair reflection upon the quality of meals in Cardiff.  I know that she school catering service has worked hard to improve the quality of meals and have done a good job considering they are working with the smallest amount to spend on ingredients of any local authority in Wales - an issue which you will know I have been campaigning to change.

However whilst this is still and issue which the Administration should in my view address as a priority this notice of motion does not seek to raise this specifically but instead aims to bring about a set of circumstances where parents can exercise control over what their children are eating in school as they do at home.

The school dinner menus are published in the Capital times.  Parents who read the Capital times are able to get some idea about what is on offer for their children's school dinner and it doesn't look bad.  Unfortunately what we're told about the menu isn't always what ends up on our children's plate.

As a mother and as a Councillor who has a particular interest in this issue you can imagine that when my son came home and asked if he could have school dinners in the winter because his best friend was I took to scrutinising what was on the menu at my son's school before signing him up for them.  I was fairly happy with what I saw but quickly became suspicious about what he was eating when my son began to profess how much he liked the school dinners and how he didn't want to change back to having a packed lunch in the summer.

My son is like most six year olds - give him a choice of something healthy or something I would describe as rubbish and if he had his way he's choose the rubbish.  Yesterday when I asked him what he had for lunch he told me he had had a hotdog and chips.  "Anything else" I asked, "No..." he replied "just a cake." - I was not happy but when I consulted the menu I was told that what was on offer was BBQ chicken or a hot dog with oven herby potatoes, savoury vegetable rice, coleslaw, sweetcorn salsa and garden salad.  I would have been quite happy with that and I can tell you that if I was preparing this meal at home he would have had the salad he would have had the savoury rice; and call me a horrible mother, but he wouldn't have left the table until he finished it.

Actually my son and many other children don't mind eating these healthier options if they are told there is no option.  And this is the whole point of this motion.  To give primary school children as young as four a completely free choice on what they have for dinner is madness - most will of course choose the less healthy option - advertising for companies like MacDonalds, Bernard Matthews and others target children with fun filled adverts which encourage them to fill up on processed meat and chips and a parent's input is required to ensure that this isn't all they eat.

I am no different to thousands of parents out there who are alarmed when their children come home and tell them that over the period of a week they have had turkey drummer and spaghetti hoops, sausage role and potatoes, cod bites (fishfinger by another name) and potatoes and cheese wheels and chips.  And this is a real school menu for a week.  They are not the only things on the menu but they are what children can choose and do choose over the healthier option which are also available.

The effect of this motion would be to place the choice for school dinners in primary schools with parents, who could decide on a weekly basis, sit down with their children, and decide what they were going to have for their dinner that week.  No doubt a bit of bartering would take place - well ok you have a cake for dessert on Monday but you're having an apple on Tuesday -  but the overall effect of such a system would be that parents would feel more confident that their children are eating a balanced meal in school as they would do at home.  The concept of paying for this at the same time or setting up a direct debit would also take the stress out of scrambling around in your purse when you're late for school on a Monday morning to find £7.50 for dinner money.

I am pleased that Councillor Kelloway is willing to accept the principle of this motion and I am willing to accept his amendment, although I would point out that the extension of the time limit for reporting back to the Council is being accepted in good faith and accepted on the basis that it will not be used as an excuse to bounce the issue into the 2008/9 budget rather than the 2007/8 budget if there are budgetary implications for this.  The Labour Group and the parents of Cardiff will be holding you to account on this if this does happen.

Now I appreciate that there are a number of issues which need to be considered for example, the budget arrangements which currently exist with schools receiving payments for collection dinner money but I don believe that the Administration should investigate as a priority how dinner can be restored and the children of this city are ensured of a healthy nutritious meal to take them through the school day.

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.