To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest from Members/Officers in

accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1 September 2008. 

The following Officers declared an interest in Agenda item 13. As JNC Officers and left the meeting whilst this report was being considered:-

Corporate Director – Communities

Corporate Director – Social Services and Wellbeing

Interim Corporate Director – Education and Family Support

Corporate Director – Operational and Partnership Support

Interim Head of Finance

To receive for approval the minutes of 31/01/2018

RESOLVED:                That the Minutes of a meeting of the Council dated 31 January 2018 be approved as a true and accurate record, subject to the word ‘Hall’ in the third line of Minute number 113, being altered to ‘Council’

 (i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

The Mayor announced that she had recently attended ‘Sandville’ Porthcawl, where there was an annual thanksgiving service. Sandville is run entirely by charitable donations it gives many people which have been going there for 30 plus years, respite to families as well as a range of therapies and treatment.  It is open to the public where individuals can take part in Reike, Massage and a range of treatments for a donation to Sandville.  It was an inspiring place with 100 plus volunteers, many of which have been going there to help for over 30 years. The venue had a lovely atmosphere and very family oriented.

The Mayor confirmed that she was pleased to attend the opening of the Hearing Centre in Boots the chemists in Caroline Street, where anyone could make an appointment and have a free hearing test. Everyone can obtain advice on any hearing difficulties and see all the latest technology and equipment.

The Mayor had also visited the Millennium Centre in Cardiff for the St David’s Awards and saw the finalists receive Certificates and a pin. They were from all walks of life and different categories, some of which were community, bravery etc. the finalists will now have an Award Ceremony in March.

She had attended the High Sheriff’s Ball in the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel, where £4,500 was raised on the evening with an Auction and Raffle. The target the High Sheriff has set is £10,000, which the Mayor stated that she hoped he will reach before his year is over in April. Lamau is a charity for the homeless.  

The Mayor announced that she was told of some real life stories where people have turned their lives around. Again the volunteers and staff who work with the homeless are a dedicated team and if determination is anything to go by, this was abundant on the night. She wished them good luck in the future, to ensure no one has to sleep in our streets in some of the worst weather we have had for the last 30 years.

The Mayor confirmed that she was pleased to attend the Dementia Launch in the Pavilion Porthcawl, where we had a number of speakers and a power point presentation.  She reminded all Councillors to go to the Web site to sign up for the Dementia friendly training with a view to go on to being a Champion so that the training and awareness of this awful illness can be cascaded throughout the County, and make people aware what to look for in friends and relatives, as this could affect anyone from any walk of life at any time and does not discriminate.

The Mayor attended the Musical ‘Carousel’ performed by Bridgend Youth Theatre in the Pavilion Porthcawl. They were very professional and the singing and dancing was an absolute delight. She extended her thanks to the cast, people behind the scenes, parents and grandparents, and all those who supported this wonderful Musical.

Finally, the Mayor advised that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

The Leader confirmed that dialogue was ongoing between the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services and Council Leaders and the Welsh Government Association, about the Cabinet Secretary’s statement on local government re-organisation. He added that in Bridgend, the Council’s  initial response would be discussed at the next Group Leader’s meeting, and the WLGA planned to write to the Cabinet Secretary outlining a collective response of all the local authorities in Wales.

He also advised that Members may wish to remind their constituents about the deadlines for some important consultations that we are currently running. The first one is the proposal for a new class for children with autism at Pencoed Primary School. This will end on 23 March 2018.

Then, a few days later on 26 March, our consultation on withdrawing subsidies from some commercial bus routes will also close. Finally, on 4 April, the consultation on Public Conveniences will come to an end.

All three are drawing a lot of comments, and anyone who wants to have their say can do so by visiting the consultation pages of the Council’s website.

Paper formats and alternative formats can be obtained by contacting the Council’s Consultation team.

Finally, the Leader advised that the Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration together with himself, had the privilege of being invited to the official closing ceremony of Brynmenyn Primary School. This was an emotional experience, as it was the last day in their old building, but it was also an exciting milestone and a new chapter, as the school now had a brand new building that had opened just this week. He was therefore really pleased with this, as were the staff, school governors, pupils and parents, as they were now happy studying in a 21^st Century School. He was sure that all Members echoed his sentiments, and agreed that it was extremely important that the Authority looked to provide the best education opportunities for all children at schools within the County Borough.

The Group Manager Development presented a report on behalf of the Corporate Director – Communities, which concerned the response to the letters from the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs - Lesley Griffiths AM received on the 13 December 2017, regarding her invitation to undertake Joint Local Development Plans (LDP) and a regional Strategic Development Plan (SDP).

In respect of Joint Local Plans, the letter invited the Council to give serious consideration to preparing a joint plan with RCT and Caerphilly.  The reasoning behind this request, related primarily to better resourcing opportunities, greater collaboration and a more joined up planning regime although no evidence has been submitted to support this view.

He added that the letter concerning the SDP similarly invited local planning authorities to prepare strategic plans on the 3 regional footprints, which in Bridgend’s case would align with the Cardiff Capital Region area. The SDP would be separate tier of development plan that will sit above the LDP.  Once in place an SDP would allow for ‘light-touch’ LDPs to be produced.

The Cabinet Secretary had invited positive responses to the invitation to be submitted by 28th February 2018. Until such time Welsh Government (WG) will not agree to the progression of any plan individually.  WG has the power to direct Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to produce development plans including joint plans.

Bridgend had always had consistent development plan coverage and these have been successful in delivering growth.

The receipt of these letters was quite unexpected and their content has far-reaching implications for LPAs in the autonomous production of development plans, and would seem to diverge from the direction of travel for development as discussed with WG officials up until this point.

The Group Manager Development advised that whilst there is some agreement with the Cabinet Secretary’s points expressed in the letters i.e. that the planning system is best placed to deliver the strategic and local land use vision for both the region and County Borough, and to ensure the right development is carried out in the right place, there is concern about the joint LDP approach, which is covered in detail in the report and attached appendices. 

The letters suggest that LPAs would not be allowed to progress with their own LDP until timing of the letters has significant implications for Bridgend given the imperative to start work immediately on a Review of its LDP which will expire in 2021.  There is a risk that a joint plan would not be delivered by this date resulting in a ‘policy vacuum’.  An up-to-date development plan is important to guide sustainable development and promote investment opportunities and prevent inappropriate development. 

In respect of the report, the following options are being considered:-

1.        Preparation of a SDP only with no individual reviews of our existing LDP until the SDP is adopted.

2.        Individual Review of the LDP whilst simultaneously working collaboratively on the SDP with the region.

3.        Collaboration ‘Plus’ with an individual review of Bridgend’s LDP whilst working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 131.

The Corporate Director – Social Services and Wellbeing submitted a report that:-

• Informed Council of the joint working with Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University (ABMU) Health Board and how this has helped to shape sustainable services for the future;
• Ensured that Elected Members are aware of the implications of the Bridgend area of ABMU Health Board moving into the Cwm Taff University Health Board; and
• To seek Council approval of the BCBC formal response to Welsh Government on the consultation document, ‘Effective Partnership

Working in Bridgend, regarding the proposed health board boundary change to align decision-making across health and local government’.

The Chief Executive gave an introduction to the report, and after summarising certain background information, he advised that at the end of last year Welsh Government issued a consultation as outlined in bullet point 3 above, which closed on 7 March 2018, which was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

He confirmed that the proposed health board boundary change set out in the consultation had been developed, following the responses to the White Paper ‘Reforming Local Government-Resilient and Renewed.’

He explained that this consultation sought views on a proposal that healthcare services for people in the area of Bridgend County Borough Council, should be provided by Cwm Taf University Health Board instead of ABMU, in order to align decision-making across health and local government.

The Chief Executive stated that in order to best meet people’s needs and expectations, to secure the best outcomes for people local, regionally and in Wales, public services need to be able to work together effectively. While boundaries should not be a barrier to delivering the outcomes Wales needs, unnecessary complexity, especially in decision-making, could make this more difficult and limit opportunities to serve the public even better.

He then confirmed that the intention for the proposed change was to provide clarity and consistency for more effective leadership and partnership; supporting the ambitions of Bridgend County Borough Council and  its strategic partners in meeting the needs of our communities.

The Chief Executive advised Members that at the next meeting of Council, Members would receive a Presentation from Cwm Taf University Health Board after the consultation has closed, so that they can explain how they work and integrate with local authorities. He considered this was important in order to get a sense from them what they regarded important from working collaboratively.

He then further advised Members that the Corporate Director - Social Services and Wellbeing would give a brief Presentation to better inform our response to the consultation;  to give a flavour of what we see important in the area of health and social care, and finally to ensure that our response to the consultation is informed.   

The Corporate Director – Social Services and Wellbeing gave a Presentation, the thrust of which was to re-cap on the context element of social care; to focus on the main areas currently of integration with the ABMU, and to conclude the Presentation by highlighting the Council’s future priorities.

Following  ...  view the full minutes text for item 132.

The Chief Executive presented a report, that sought Council approval of the new Corporate Plan 2018-2022, shown at Appendix A to the report.

He advised that the proposed Corporate Plan set out the Council’s priorities for the above period, and defined the Council’s commitments for 2018-2019.

He referred to paragraph 4.3 which confirmed that in January 2018, the Council’s Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the draft Plan, and made a series of constructive comments and suggested amendments for inclusion in the Plan. These had been collated, and wherever feasible, amendments had been made to the Plan, and examples of these were shown in bullet point format in this section of the report.

The Chief Executive confirmed that the Plan would be supported by the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), Directorate Business Plans and Service Plans. He added that the Plan’s priorities and commitments would be reviewed annually, to take into account changing circumstances and progress made, and to ensure that the requirements of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009, and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 are met.

He then referred to paragraph 4.9 of the report and the three listed Priorities of the Plan, and emphasised that whilst these were not subject to change (but to review), the commitments of the Plan were subject to change, usually on an annual basis. The Priorities of the Plan also had the support of constituents of the County Borough following a consultation exercise that had been undertaken in 2017, in relation to two pieces of different legislation as detailed above.

A Member referred to page 97 of the Plan and the Aim – To create successful town centres. He asked how this aim could be fully achieved if there was a proposal as part of the MTFS, to close public toilets and cut certain bus services into town centres and other areas.

The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration responded by stating that nothing had as yet been fully decided with regard to both the above proposals, as they were presently out for consultation.

A Member referred to page 102 of the report and the comparable data with regard to the number of vacant properties in the 4 town centres that comprise the Bridgend County Borough, and questioned the accuracy of this.

The Corporate Director – Communities confirmed that the target(s) for 2016-17 and 2017-18 had been the same, however, when the Actual(s) data was received and collated, and in particular, for Bridgend, Maesteg and Porthcawl, these totals were all different. He advised Council that in future, the Actual figures would be looked to be maintained from the previous year going forward.

The Cabinet Member – Communities wished to point out, that the prospect of bus services being cut was not a decision governed by the Council per se. The Authority were going out to consultation on bus service subsidies. The companies who provided bus services would ultimately be making decisions regarding the future delivery of these services, he concluded.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 133.

None.

To consider any item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in

accordance with Part 4 (paragraph 4) of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency. 

The Chief Executive Officer and Interim S151 Officer submitted a joint report, seeking Council approval of the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2018-19 to 2021-22, which included a financial forecast for 2018-22, a detailed revenue budget for 2018-19, and a Capital Programme for 2017-18 to 2027-28.

Attached to the report were the following documents:-

•           The Medium Term Financial Strategy for the above mentioned period

•           Appendix A – Budget Pressures 2018-19

•           Appendix B – Budget Reduction Proposals 2018-19 to 2021-22

•           Appendix C – Fees and Charges 2018-19

•           Appendix D – Budget by Area of Service Allocation

•           Appendix E – Directorate Base Budgets by Corporate Priority

•           Appendix F – Reserves and Balances 2018-19

•           Appendix G -  MTFS Capital Programme 2017-2028

•           Appendix H – Treasury Management Strategy 2018-19

•           Appendix I –   MTFS EIA 2018-19

•           Schedule A – Cabinet Response to Scrutiny recommendations

•           Schedule B – Corporate Risk Assessment

•           Schedule C – Council Tax 2018-19

The Interim Head of Finance then gave a resume of the report and the above attachments for the benefit of Members, by taking out the salient points from each of these areas/sections.

The Leader then gave an introductory speech on the Budget.

He thanked the Deputy Leader, Senior Management team and all Members for developing the proposals. He advised that for many years Bridgend had worked differently to other Councils. Backbench Members from different political parties and groups, had for a number of years, undertaken a major role in the developing the budget. This year had been no different, and he thanked Members of the Budget Research and Evaluation Panel (BREP), for analysing proposals and asking questions that had at times been difficult to answer, and challenging every line of what they had considered. It had been a constructive, comprehensive and honest budget setting process that had begun last summer, and he thanked Members of all the political groups for their involvement and contributions.

The Budget was a fundamental challenge that local authorities had to face year on year, and one that gets more difficult every year, particularly with austerity and since the onset of the recession. This was the same challenge however, for all welsh local authorities.

Every Council in Wales had increased its Council Tax, regardless of what political party held power in that particular authority, with the largest increase being 12.5% in Pembrokeshire.

None of these authorities had proposed increasing Council Tax out of choice. Such increases were being made, as there was no realistic sustainable alternative. BCBC had already made £35m of savings, and will be required to make a further £32m in future years. 490 people in the Council had been made redundant in 4 years. The Council were now more efficient than it had ever been however, though it would have to continue cutting precious services that mattered to constituents, and that was the reality of the situation.

There was only one realistic alternative course of action open to a local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 135.

To receive for approval the Exempt Minutes of 31/1/18

RESOLVED:                 That the Exempt Minutes of a meeting of Council dated 31 January 2018, be approved as a true and accurate record.

The Minutes and Report relating to the following items are not for publication as they contain exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12, 14 and 16 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.

If following the application of the public interest test the Committee resolves pursuant to the Act to consider these items 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 items of business as they contained exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12, 14 and 16 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 these items, it was resolved that pursuant to the Act referred to above, to consider them in private, with the public being excluded from the meeting as should they remain, it would involve the disclosure to them of exempt information of the nature as referenced to above.