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Public Accounts Committee |
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Meeting Venue: |
Committee Room 3 - Senedd |
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Meeting date: |
Tuesday, 19 May 2015 |
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Meeting time: |
09.02 - 11.05 |
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This meeting can be viewed on
Senedd TV at: |
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Concise Minutes: |
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Assembly Members: |
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Darren Millar AM (Chair) Jocelyn Davies AM William Graham AM Mike Hedges AM Sandy Mewies AM Julie Morgan AM Jenny Rathbone AM Aled Roberts AM |
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Witnesses: |
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Steve Clarke, Welsh Tenants Federation Mike Halloran, Wales & West Housing David Lloyd, TPAS Cymru Claire Maimone, Neath Port Talbot Homes Jim McKirdle, Welsh Local Government Association Steve Porter, Wales & West Housing Linda Whittaker, Neath Port Talbot Homes |
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Committee Staff: |
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Michael Kay (Clerk) Claire Griffiths (Deputy Clerk) Joanest Varney-Jackson (Legal Adviser) Hannah Johnson (Researcher) Nick Selwyn (Wales Audit Office) Huw Vaughan Thomas (Auditor General for Wales) |
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Transcript
View the meeting transcript.
1 Introductions, apologies and substitutions
1.1 The Chair welcome the Members to the meeting.
1.2 There were no apologies.
2 Papers to note
2.1 The papers were noted. The Committee agreed that the Clerks should obtain further clarification from both Powys and Rhondda Cynon Taf Councils on the number of vacant posts and which Departments had the ‘hard to fill’ posts.
2.1 Managing Early Departures: Letter from Jeremy Patterson, CE Powys County Council (7 May 2015)
2.2 Managing Early Departures: Additional information from RCT on early departures
2.3 Financial resilience of Councils in Wales: Letter from June Milligan, Director General for Local Government and Communities (14 May 2015)
3 Welfare Reform: Evidence Session 3
3.1 The Committee took evidence from Steve Clarke, Managing Director, Welsh Tenants and David Lloyd, Director, TPAS Cymru on its inquiry into welfare reform.
3.2 Steve Clarke agreed to send figures of the number of tenants under the age of 21 currently occupying one and two bedroomed properties.
3.3 When Members were considering the evidence received, they requested that Steve Clarke provide a note on why he thought the administration of housing benefit should be devolved.
4 Welfare Reform: Evidence Session 4
4.1 The Committee took evidence from Jim McKirdle, Housing Policy Officer, Welsh Local Government Association; Linda Whittaker, Chief Executive, and Claire Maimone, Director of Housing and Regeneration, Neath Port Talbot Homes (NPTHomes); Steve Porter, Operations Director, and Mike Halloran – Housing Manager, Wales & West Housing on its inquiry into welfare reform.
4.2 Steve Porter agreed to send details of how many of the 200 homes currently being built will be one or two bedroomed properties and what that equates to as a percentage in Wales & West current builds and how many of the planned 1000 homes scheduled to be built in the next five years will be one or two bedroomed properties.
4.3 Jim McKirdle agreed to provide a note on:
· the local authorities’ policy for housing transfers when a tenant is in housing arrears. When Members were considering the evidence received, they requested to see a copy of the Discretionary Housing Payment agreement.
· which two local authorities have not signed up to the agreement.
· eleven local authorities with plans to build social housing including the proposed number of houses they wish to build.
· figures on the number of tenants with disabilities who have been affected and relocated as a result of the policy.
· whether local authorities take into account Disabled Living Allowance when considering Discretionary Housing Payments.
5 Motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting for the following business:
5.1 The motion was agreed.
6 Welfare Reform: Consideration of evidence received
6.1 The Committee considered the evidence received.
7 Covering Teachers’ Absence
7.1 The Committee agreed the draft letter subject to an amendment at the end of paragraph 2.