To receive apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for absence were received from the Corporate Director – Social Services and Wellbeing

To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1 September 2008.  

RESOLVED:          (1) The following Officers declared an interest in Agenda Item 4 and left the meeting whilst this report was being considered:-

A.     Jolley

M.    Shephard

L.      Harvey

J.      Davies

R.     Hemingway

                               (2)  Councillor RE Young declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 18, as a local authority appointed School Governor. 

To receive for approval the Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet of 31 October 2017.

RESOLVED:              That the Minutes of a meeting of Cabinet dated 31 October 2017, be approved as a true and accurate. record.

This report seeks Cabinet approval to recommend to Council the implementation of a new approach to senior management pay.

The Chief Executive presented a report that sought Cabinet approval to recommend to Council the implementation of a new approach to senior management pay.

He explained that the Authority’s pay band structure currently, had large gaps between the senior management tiers, most notably a £32k gap between Group Managers and Heads of Service, a £25k gap between Heads of Service and Directors, and a £27k gap between Directors and the Chief Executive.

The intention explained the Chief Executive, subject to consultation, was to have the proposed new pay structure in place by the end of the financial year.

The Chief Executive confirmed that there were no financial implications arising from the report’s recommendations, though it was intended that the proposed changes could facilitate a reduction in the overall cost of senior manager salaries by up to £500k over the next 2 years.

A Member asked if there had been any consultation carried out on the proposals, and also if a benchmarking exercise had been conducted with neighbouring authorities in order to ascertain what JNC Pat Structure they adopted.

The Chief Executive stated that all local authorities had variations in their pay structures for JNC staff, and that there was no one to consult with in respect of the proposals. However, he advised that there would be some effect upon terms and conditions of posts affected in terms of evaluating the existing roles of these.

RESOLVED:                That Cabinet approved for submission to Council the new JNC pay structure with an effective date of 1 April 2018.

The purpose of this report is to present Cabinet with the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy 2018-19 to 2021-22, which sets out the spending priorities of the Council, key investment objectives and budget areas targeted for necessary savings. The strategy includes a financial forecast for 2018-22 and a detailed draft revenue budget for 2018-19.

The Section 151 Officer presented a report, the purpose of which was to present Cabinet with the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy 2018-19 to 2021-22.

He referred to the background of the report, and pointed out to Cabinet that the process for the Budget this year had followed the same principle of last year.

The report commenced with a Budget Narrative and then outlined the current situation and the financial context of the Council’s MTFS. He reminded Members that the Welsh Government had announced its draft Budget for 2018-19 on 3 October last, with the most significant headline of this, being that there would be an additional £230m in 2018-19 and £220m in 2019-20 for the Welsh NHS. The Cabinet Secretary had highlighted the risk to the Welsh Government of the UK Government’s £3.5 billion of unallocated cuts for 2019-20, which could result in a further cut of up to £173m to the Welsh budget dependent upon where the unallocated cuts fall.

The Section 151 Officer then advised that Councils received their provisional settlements from Welsh Government on 10 October. The headline figure is a reduction of £19 million, or 0.5%, across Wales and, for Bridgend, a reduction of 0.6% in Aggregate External Finance (AEF), or £1.16 million. However when adjustments are made for new responsibilities in respect of homelessness prevention (£236,000 for Bridgend), the true impact for Bridgend is estimated to be a like-for-like reduction of £1.396 million or -0.73%. Welsh Government has reported that the settlement also includes an additional £42 million across Wales in recognition of social services pressures and £62 million in respect of school funding, but these amounts, which are not ring-fenced or notified at individual authority level, are already included in the figures above. The settlement also includes £1.8 million floor funding to ensure that no authority has to manage with a reduction of more than 1% to its Revenue Support Grant next year.

The provisional settlement compares favourably to the -3.2% “most likely” assumption that is contained within the Council’s original MTFS for 2018-19 and is better even than the “best” case scenario assumption of -1.5%.

He then highlighted that unlike previous years, Welsh Government had provided an indication of funding levels for 2019-20, being a further budget reduction in 2019-20 of 1.5%.

Paragraph 4.8 then referred to specific grants, and the Section 151 Officer stated that though the full picture on these was as of yet unclear, there would be a deficit compared to previous years.

The report then identified that there was highly likely that there would be a Council Tax increase of 4.2% for 2018-19, with an assumed annual increase 0f 4.5% for the period of 2019-2022.

Paragraphs 4.12 to 4.14 of the report then gave information in table format of the Current Year 2017-18 financial performance as at September 2017. This showed that as of this date, there was a net spend of £2.495m, comprising £710,000 net over spend on Directorates and £3.208m net under spend on corporate budgets.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108.

The purpose of this report is to seek agreement from Cabinet to present a report to Council for approval on the proposed amendments to the Constitution which reflect changes to the Financial Procedure Rules.

The Head of Finance and S151 Officer submitted a report that sought agreement from Cabinet to present a report to Council for approval on the proposed amendments to the Constitution which reflect changes to the Financial Procedure Rules.

He confirmed that the management of the Council’s financial affairs are conducted in accordance with the Financial Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of the Constitution.

He referred Members to Appendices A and B to the report, outlining the existing Financial Procedure Rules with tracked changes showing the proposed changes in Appendix A, and a clean version of the revised Financial Procedure Rules for approval at Appendix B.

The report highlighted that these would need further revision in the forthcoming year to reflect legislative changes when the Data Protection Act is replaced by the Data Protection Bill.

A Member referred to paragraph 3.1.2 (c) of the FPRs and asked why a forward indication of the MTFS comprising the revenue budget for the first year and indicative budgets for the subsequent two years had been changed to three years.

The Head of Finance and S151 Officer advised that this had been altered in line with the MTFS which had within the last few years, covered an extended period to that of previously.

She asked further questions with regard to why paragraph 3.3.3 in respect of supplementary estimates had been deleted and replaced by an alternative paragraph, to which the Head of Finance and S151 Officer confirmed he would obtain this information and give a response to her outside of the meeting.

The Member also noted that in this section of the FPRs (i.e. 3.3.5) reference was being made to over-spending against budget, however, no similar reference was made to any under-spending.

The Head of Finance and S151 Officer confirmed that this was due to the fact that when earmarked reserve requests were submitted for the future at Year end, these were considered, and where appropriate processed in accordance with their corporate risk factor, in order to protect the financial position of the Authority. This approach under the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules meant that he was adopting the correct behaviour in respect of the Budget, whilst also adopting a “One Council” approach.

RESOLVED:                  That Cabinet recommended to Council the amendments to the Financial Procedure Rules contained within the report 

The purpose of this report is to suspend those parts of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules (CPR’s) in respect of the procurement requirements relating to the tendering of the supply of fresh, frozen and cooked meats contract, and to authorise the Interim Corporate Director Education and Family Support to enter into a contract with the current contractor Mid Glamorgan Provisions Ltd for an additional three month period.

The Interim Corporate Director Education and Family Support presented a report, the purpose of which, was to suspend those parts of the Council’s Contract procedure Rules (CPR’s) in respect of the procurement requirements relating to the tendering of the supply of the above, and also to authorise the Interim Corporate Director Education and Family Support to enter into a contract with the current contractor Mid Glamorgan Provisions Ltd for an additional three month period.

He advised Cabinet that the current call off contract from the WPC Framework with Mid Glamorgan Provisions Ltd was due to expire on 31 December 2017, and at this time it had been decided that to exchange Contractors was high risk, whilst conversely, it was considered low risk to maintain the current Contractor.

With regard to the reports financial implications, the estimated value of the Contract is £115k and there was a minimal cost differential associated with the extension of the Contract compared to the cost of the new provider. The Contract costs would be met within existing budgets he concluded.

RESOLVED:               That Cabinet:

(1)  Suspended those parts of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules in respect of the procurement requirements relating to the tendering of this proposed Contract.

Authorised the Interim Corporate Director Education and Family Support to enter into a Contract with the current Contractor for a further 3 month period.

The purpose of this report is to inform Cabinet of the outcome of the consultation on the proposals to establish a learning resource centre (LRC) for pupils with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd.

The Interim Corporate Director Education and Family Support submitted a report, which informed Cabinet of the outcome of the consultation on proposals to establish a Learning Resource Centre (LRC) for pupils with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg, Llangynwyd.

The report gave some background information, and then confirmed that consultation exercises on the proposal had been carried out between 6 September and 17 October 2017, with staff, governors, parents and pupils of the School, as well as the wider community under the School Organisation Code.

The Interim Corporate Director Education and Family Support referred Cabinet to Appendix 1 to the report, which contained the Consultation Report that also included feedback from Estyn.

He advised further that responses to the consultation exercises had also been followed up and acted upon, where necessary.

The next stage of the process he added, and on the basis of Cabinet approval of this report, was to publish a statutory notice outlining the proposals which would need to be published for a period of 28 days, during which, any formal written objections would be invited during this period.

The Interim Corporate Director Education and Family Support then concluded his submission by advising of the report’s financial implications as was detailed in paragraph 7 of the report.

A Member was pleased to see issues developing in the area of ALN, including in Welsh Medium Schools.

A Member also welcomed positive feedback from Estyn as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, and he wished to clarify that the monies committed to establishing this Learning Resource Centre, was over and above that which had been committed to schools under the MTFS.

The Leader concluded debate on this item, by stating that he was encouraged also with the fact that there was further support being given in terms of those with ALN in classes that accommodated mainstream pupils.

RESOLVED:                   That Cabinet:

(1)  Noted the outcome of the consultation with interested parties as detailed in the Consultation Report attached at Appendix 1 to the covering report.

(2)  Approved the Consultation Report for publication.

Authorised the publication of a Statutory Public Notice on the proposal. 

The purpose of the report is to seek Cabinet approval of the submitted business plan from a representative Community Group in Nantymoel, to allow the existing Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club to be extended. This will ensure that additional community use can be accommodated in that facility and that the allocated Council capital funding of £200,000 can be released for this purpose, as per the Cabinet recommendation resulting from the closure and demolition of the Berwyn Centre five years ago.

The Corporate Director Communities presented a report, in order to seek Cabinet approval of the submitted business plan from a representative Community Group in Nantymoel, to allow the existing Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club to be extended. This would ensure that additional community use can be accommodated in that facility and that the capital funding of £200k can be released for this purpose.

The background of the report referred to the former Berwyn Centre facility and that when this had closed due to a state of disrepair, and that a sum of £200k had been set aside to invest in the provision of replacement community facilities in Nantymoel.

Though there had been a delay in spending this funding, due to the fact that there had been difficulty in the local community reaching a consensus as to what facility they feel would be an appropriate alternative (to the Berwyn Centre), the Corporate Director Communities confirmed that this had now been resolved.

Additionally, he confirmed that the Council had been investigating with the Charity Commission, the feasibility and the necessary process to follow, in order to also release a sum of approximately £49k held in trust by the elected Members of the Council as Trustees, on behalf of the community of Nantymoel, for this same purpose.

Paragraph(s) 4. of the report then outlined the current situation and that which was proposed, and that the Local Community Group which had now evolved into a charitable incorporated organisation, recognised as the Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club and Community Centre with equal trustee representation from other partners detailed in paragraph 4.2 of the report, had with the support of others, developed their own Business Plan. This had been based on a preferred option of extending the existing Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club which is within the immediate vicinity of the former Berwyn Centre site. The Business Plan was shown at Appendix 1 to the report.

The Corporate Director Communities then referred to paragraph 4.5 of the report, and that the sum of £49k was intended to support the local community, as this had accrued from the original development of the Berwyn Centre. The Community Group had also requested that the Council follow the necessary process in order to release this sum of money and the area of land covering the footprint of the previous Berwyn Centre.

A Member stated that she hoped that the funding in respect of the trust would still be committed to the project, even though this was being transferred from the previous trustee, Nantymoel Workmen’s Institute to the new incorporated charity, and wished that this be reflected in the Cabinet decision.

RESOLVED:           That Cabinet:

(1)     Approved the submitted business plan proposing an extension to the existing Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club and thereby agreed to commit the capital allocation of £200,000 towards the proposed development under terms to be agreed and set out by the Council’s Section 151 Officer, and that a further extension for the expenditure of the capital sum  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112.

The purpose of this report is to seek Cabinet approval for items to be included on the Forward Work Programme for the period 1 January – 30 April 2018. 

The Corporate Director Operational and Partnership Services presented a report, in order to seek Cabinet approval for items to be included on the Forward Work Programme (FWP) for the period 1 January – 30 April 2018.

He advised that the Council’s Constitution explains that the FWP will be prepared to cover a period of 4 months.

Paragraph 3.2 of the report, then advised that the FWP would contain matters which the Cabinet, Overview and Scrutiny Committees and Council are likely to consider, and gave examples of these category of items.

Attached at Appendix 1 to the report were the current Cabinet and Council FWP, whilst Appendix 2 detailed the Overview and Scrutiny FWP.

The Leader advised that the Cabinet meet with the Chairpersons of each of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees on a regular basis, in order to ensure that the Cabinet and the Scrutiny FWP’s were in sync with each other, in order that the Authority had a corporate approach in terms of its FWP’s.

RESOLVED:                 That Cabinet:

(1)   Approved the Cabinet Forward Work Programme shown at Appendix 1 to the report.

Noted the Council and Scrutiny Forward Work Programme, as shown at Appendix 1 and 2 of the report, respectively.

The purpose of this report is to nominate one member representative to serve on the Margam Crematorium Joint Committee

The Corporate Director Operational and Partnership Services submitted a report, the purpose of which, was to nominate one member representative to serve on the Margam Crematorium Joint Committee.

The report confirmed that the Authority is represented on a number of different Outside Bodies and Joint Committees by elected Members, and that a vacancy had recently arisen on the Margam Crematorium Joint Committee due to the need to replace a previous Member, namely Councillor M Kearn.

The Corporate Director Operational and Partnership Services, confirmed that any appointment on to a body such as this, would be for a term of one year, except where earlier revocation of appointment is appropriate.

He added that all appointments were made with the assumption that appointees represent BCBC. Should any appointee cease to be a BCB Councillor, they would cease to represent the Authority and therefore would be expected to relinquish their appointment as necessary.

Paragraph 4.3 of the report confirmed that it was proposed that Councillor S Smith replace the above named Member on this body.

RESOLVED:                    That Cabinet nominated Councillor S Smith as one of the Authority’s elected Member representatives on the Margam Crematorium Joint Committee. 

The purpose of the report is to seek Cabinet approval in respect of proposed changes to the Social Housing Allocation Policy (SHAP) attached as Appendix 1 to the report. 

The Partnership and Integration Manager Housing presented a report that was looking to seek Cabinet approval in respect of proposed changes to the Social Housing Allocation Policy (SHAP) attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

She advised that there was a statutory requirement for every housing authority to have a Housing Allocation Scheme for determining priorities and a procedure to be followed in allocating housing accommodation. The current SHAP was approved by Cabinet in late 2014.

The Partnership and Integration Manager Housing advised that there were 4 RSL’s in Bridgend who were party to the SHAP and the Common Housing Register, and these were V2C, Linc Cymru, Hafod and Wales and the West Housing Association.

She referred Cabinet to paragraphs 4. of the report, and the fact that the local authority and its partner RSL’s, had recently re-evaluated the effectiveness of the SHAP, and had considered additional procedures to take account of, and formalise, requirements of the Housing Act 1996 and the Code of Guidance for Local Authorities on Allocation of Accommodation and Homelessness 2015.

The reasons for making changes to the SHAP were itemised in this section of the report, and the Partnership and Integration Manager outlined each of these for the benefit of Members.

She then confirmed that the four RSL’s in Bridgend had been consulted, and had approved the recommended amendments proposed for the SHAP.

As a Board Member of V2C a Member welcomed the introduction of a 3^rd Band, and felt that this would lead to improved joint working between the Council and its RSL partners, as well as giving more flexibility to tenants who are seeking a certain type of housing accommodation, i.e. appropriate in size to cater for their specific needs.

Another Member noted the high demand for 1 bed and single occupancy accommodation and hoped that this would continue to be addressed. He added also of the need to tackle with RSL partners, the need to ensure empty homes are wherever possible occupied.

RESOLVED:                  That Cabinet approved the amended Social Housing Allocation Policy (SHAP) attached as Appendix 1 to the report, in particular the creation of a new Band C for rehousing applicants assessed as having no housing need:

·         Who are willing to reside in an area of low demand, or

Who meet the requirements of a Local Lettings Policy

The purpose of this report is to request approval of the revised corporate template

for reports that are presented to Council, Cabinet and their committees.

The Monitoring Officer presented a report in order to request approval of the revised corporate template for reports that are presented to Council, Cabinet and their Committees.

The report proposed, that the report template be updated to reflect the implementation of the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (WFGA), and to include a standardisation of the Corporate Priorities.

The Monitoring Officer advised that the WFGA Assessment template was attached at Appendix 1 to the report, and would be made available on the Intranet for report authors to access.  An example of a completed assessment was also shown at Appendix 2 to the report, to show the level of detail that may be required.

He advised that there would be some training put in place for the above, in order that Officers could be explained of the requirement to consider the implications of this latest legislation in terms of decision making.

A Member referred to page 257 in Appendix 1, and asked if reference to the word ‘Sex’ under the sub-heading Protected characteristics could be changed to read “Gender.” It was agreed that this amendment would be made.

RESOLVED:                That Cabinet approved the use of the revised Corporate Report Template for all reports being presented to Committees from 1 April 2018, following the completion of appropriate training for report authors and awareness sessions for elected Members.

The purpose of the report is to seek authorisation for a waiver, under Rule 3.2.3 of

the Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs), from obtaining tenders for the provision of a Committee Administration System

The Corporate Director Operational and Partnership Services presented a report, seeking authorisation for a waiver, under Rule 3.2.3 of the Contract procedure Rules (CPRs), from obtaining tenders for the provision of a Committee Administration System.

Following some background information, the report confirmed that Modern.Gov was presently operational in 20 Welsh Authorities, and presently provides the committee administration service to 306 authorities, with 270 of these being in UK/Ireland.

The report then outlined the benefits that the system had introduced, upon which the Corporate Director Operational and Partnership Services expanded upon, for the benefit of Cabinet.

Paragraph 7of the report then outlined the costs for the system for the next 3 years following 2017.

RESOLVED:                  That Cabinet approved a waiver from the requirement to tender to procure a Committee Administration System from Modern.Gov, in accordance with Rule 3.2.3 of the Contract Procedure Rules.

The purpose of this report is to inform Cabinet of the Information Reports for noting which have been published since its last scheduled meeting.

The Corporate Director Operational and Partnership Services presented a report that informed Cabinet of the Information Reports for noting published since its last scheduled meeting, as contained in paragraph 4.1 of the report.

A Member welcomed the report in respect of the Smart System and Heat Programme, and felt that this was an excellent initiative. He advised those present, that BCBC were only one of three Authorities in the UK that were providing heat in this very innovative way. He wished to place on record his thanks to Officers for securing this grant offer of £6,498,943.

RESOLVED:                  That Cabinet acknowledged the publication of the two documents contained in the covering report.  

To consider any items of business that by reason of special circumstances the chairperson is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency in accordance with paragraph 2.4 (e) of the Cabinet Procedure Rules within the Constitution.

None.

The minutes relating to the following item are not for publication as they contain exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 and Paragraph 21 of Part 5, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007.

If following the application of the public interest test Cabinet resolves pursuant to the Act to consider this item in private, the public will be excluded from the meeting during such consideration.

RESOLVED:                That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business as it contains exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 and Paragraph 21 of Part 5 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007.

                                     Following the application of the public interest test in consideration of this item, it was resolved that pursuant to the Act referred to above, to consider the item in private, with the public being excluded from the meeting as it would involve the disclosure of exempt information of the nature as stated above.

To receive for approval the exempt minutes of the meeting of Cabinet of 31 October 2017.

RESOLVED:                That the exempt Minutes of a meeting of Cabinet dated 31 October 2017, be approved as a true and accurate record.