Cardiff Council's cabinet convened to discuss a range of issues, including the approval of the Local Authority Social Services Annual Report, the City Parking Plan, and the commencement of a phased approach to recommissioning housing-related support services. The cabinet also supported a bid to host the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup and approved an inclusion strategy for Cardiff schools.

City Parking Plan

The cabinet approved the City Parking Plan, also known as Cardiff's Parking Action Plan 2025, to manage parking across the city. Councillor Dan De'Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport, explained that the plan aims to prioritise parking for those who need it most, enable residents to park near their homes, and support local businesses by ensuring a turnover of parking spaces.

Key aspects of the plan include:

• Zonal parking: Organising on-street parking into administrative areas with phased roll-out of parking zones.
• Permit parking: Residents can use permits to park on multiple neighbouring streets, while unrestricted bays will have a two-hour limit to discourage commuter parking.
• Discouraging SUVs: Higher parking fees for larger, heavier vehicles due to increased road wear and safety concerns.
• Student parking: Limiting the number of parking permits for students in houses in multiple occupation¹ within parking zones.

Councillor De'Ath clarified that the plans will be rolled out over 10 years, with detailed consultation in each zone, and that schemes would not be forced on areas where residents do not want them.

Councillor Rodney Berman raised concerns about the accuracy of the plan's diagrams and the potential impact on areas just outside the parking zones. Councillor John Lancaster questioned the safety rationale for charging more for vehicles over 2,400kg, asking, You're saying these cars are unsafe but if you pay us money we'll let you do it anyway which is hypocrisy really.

Councillor Sarah Merry pointed out that larger cars take up more space, and it is not unfair for them to pay more for parking. Councillor Huw Thomas, Leader of the Council, noted that 92% of the 6,500 respondents to the consultation were drivers, and two-thirds supported a surcharge for heavy vehicles.

Housing Support Programme Commissioning Plan

The cabinet approved the implementation of the phased Housing Support Programme Commissioning Plan, as detailed in Appendix A, to recommission housing-related support services. Councillor Lynda Thorne, Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities, explained that the plan addresses the increasing demand for homelessness support in Cardiff, which has seen a 60% rise in temporary accommodation provision since 2020.

The recommissioning will be delivered in three phases, focusing on:

• Floating support for families and individuals to maintain accommodation.
• Refuge and community support services for those affected by domestic abuse.
• Hostel accommodation for single people with low support needs.
• Accommodation support for young people.

Councillor Berman asked about the costs of the service, and whether the council was having to spend more on it each year. Councillor Thorne responded that the plan was to provide more innovative support, so that individuals would be able to move on from that support, and that as the years go on, the costs should reduce.

Councillor Lancaster asked how the support networks were communicated to residents, and whether it was wise to reduce the number of units provided through the floating support gateway. Councillor Thorne responded that the contract was being reduced in reflection of the specialist support services that were already in place, but that it was flexible, and could be increased if needed.

Local Authority Social Services Annual Report

The cabinet approved the Local Authority Social Services Annual Report (Lassar) for 2024-25, for consideration by the council. Councillor Ash Lister, Cabinet Member for Childrens Services, Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People, highlighted the integration of early help services into the front door via the family advice support and protection hub, and the success of care leavers getting into university. Councillor Leonora Thomson, Cabinet Member for Adult Services and Public Health & Equality, noted the increasing demand and complexity of issues facing adult services, but also significant achievements in age-friendly practices and support for unpaid carers.

Councillor Berman raised concerns about the impact of changes to UK government immigration rules on the recruitment of social care workers. Councillor Thomson responded that representations had been made to the Welsh government regarding a matching agency for those with sponsorship difficulties, and that the issue had been taken up with the UK government.

Councillor Lancaster welcomed the focus on preventative services and asked about plans to improve respite care provision. Councillor Thomson said that the hubs for all approach was helping with respite for older people, and that a new facility for learning disabilities respite had been identified.

2035 FIFA Women's World Cup

The cabinet approved support for the submission of the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup bid, subject to written confirmation of in principle financial support being available. Councillor Jennifer Burke, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport & Parks, said that hosting the World Cup would be the biggest thing to take place in the country, and that it would build on women's sport in Cardiff and Wales.

Councillor Lancaster asked to what extent the details had been ironed out to the point where the council was confident that no nasty surprises would come which would make them want to pull out. Councillor Burke responded that it was very early days in terms of what the commitment looks like, but that the council had a fairly good idea of what the level of expectation and commitment would be.

Inclusion Strategy for Cardiff

The cabinet approved and adopted the Cardiff Inclusion Strategy, which sets out a vision for a more inclusive education system. Councillor Sarah Merry, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Education, said that the strategy's vision was to work together and take collective responsibility for the belonging and success of all children and young people in Cardiff.

The strategy sets out five key areas for action:

• Deepening and embedding inclusive practice.
• Strengthening learner engagement.
• Providing the right provision and the best support.
• Supporting and strengthening the workforce.
• Investing in trauma-informed practice and specialist expertise.

Councillor Berman said that school budgets were under significant pressure, and that the strategy did not set out the costs and benefits of implementation. Councillor Merry responded that the report was meant to be an overarching strategic approach, and that finances would be part of future conversations.

Councillor Lancaster said that one of the barriers to inclusion was attendance, and that one of the barriers to attendance was the cost of getting to school. Councillor Merry responded that there were a number of measures in place to support the cost of getting to school, such as breakfast clubs and free school meals.

Annual Complaints Report

The cabinet noted the Annual Complaints Report for 2024/25, which showed an increase in both complaints and compliments to Cardiff Council. Councillor Chris Weaver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation & Performance, said that the council welcomed feedback from residents and took complaints seriously.

Councillor Berman noted the growing trajectory in the number of complaints and asked what the strategy was for turning this around. Councillor Weaver responded that the complaints needed to be looked at from the service area they were coming from, and that action was being taken within the service areas to address the issues.

Councillor Lancaster said that street scene and housing attracted the most complaints, and asked whether the council was able to drill down accurately enough into the complaints to see the nature of complaints. Councillor Weaver responded that the report set out how the complaints were changing and driving service improvements.

Corporate Risk Register

The cabinet noted the Corporate Risk Register Year End Review for 2024/25. Councillor Weaver said that the report gave an update on corporate risk, and that there was an intent to review the council's risk management strategy and policy.

Councillor Berman said that the report should mention the fact that some of the risks were down to the way the council was allocating its budget, and that the report did not deal enough with the risks from the authority massively increasing its level of borrowing. Councillor Weaver responded that the issue of borrowing was referenced within the financial resilience risk.

Councillor Lancaster said that the risk assessment was trying to reduce the likelihood of events which was out of the council's control, rather than the impact of these events when they do break. Councillor Weaver responded that some of the actions the council was taking in response to the risk were around coastal defences, which would reduce the risk of land within the Cardiff Council boundary being flooded.

Enterprise Resource Planning System Replacement Programme

The cabinet approved the overarching approach for the procurement of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, as well as the Outline Business Case. Councillor Weaver said that the council needed to replace its SAP system, which it has had since 2005, as the platform was coming to its end of life.

Councillor Lancaster asked whether collaboration was possible at some point in the future with other local authorities. Councillor Weaver responded that the council would need to do a lot of scoping to align its processes with other authorities, and that this was a conversation worth having within the public sector.