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 Declarations of Interest were made:

Councillor JC Spanswick declared a prejudicial interest in agenda item 12 – Pay Policy Statement 2018-19 as members of his family are employed by the authority and left the meeting during consideration of this item.

Councillor DBF White declared a prejudicial interest in agenda item 12 – Pay Policy Statement 2018-19 as his wife is employed by the authority and left the meeting during consideration of this item.  Councillor White also declared a personal interest in this item as his daughter is employed by the authority.     

Councillor PJ White declared a prejudicial interest in agenda item 12 – Pay Policy Statement 2018-19 as his sister is employed by the authority and left the meeting during consideration of this item.

The Corporate Director Social Services & Wellbeing, Corporate Director Communities, Interim Corporate Director Education & Family Support, Interim Head of Finance, Group Manager Legal and Team Leader –

Neighbourhood Services declared an interest in agenda item 12 – Pay Policy Statement 2018-19 and withdrew from the meeting during consideration of this item.    

To receive the minutes of a meeting of Council dated 28/02/18

RESOLVED:           That the minutes of the meeting of Council of 28 February 2018 be approved as a true and accurate record.    

 (i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

The Mayor informed Council of the engagements which she had attended in the past month which included a tour of Heronsbridge School, attending the Building Excellence Awards and 100^th birthday celebrations of 3 residents in the County Borough.  The Mayor had also visited Cefn Cribwr Primary School and had attended a dinner party for Civic Heads hosted by the Lord Mayor of Swansea.  The Mayor was also pleased to have presented awards to individuals and groups at the Annual Citizenship Awards and had also attended the Palm Sunday Service of Remembrance at Margam Crematorium.  The Mayor also attended an event organised by the Citizens Advice Bureau along with the Leader, Cabinet Members and Huw Irranca Davies AM. 

Deputy Leader        

The Deputy Leader informed Council of the revised arrangements for recycling and waste collections over the forthcoming Easter weekend.  He also advised Members of some of the outcomes from the recent Democratic Services Committee meeting, in that there would be a review of the Member referral system.  He also drew Members’ attention of the requirement for them to complete E-learning modules by 1 June and of the forthcoming Development Control Committee training; Member Development sessions and pre-Council briefings. 

Cabinet Member Communities      

The Cabinet Member Communities announced that he had attended the recent Building Excellence Awards organised by the Building Control Team.  He also informed Members that the Council would shortly be recruiting to a number of positions for School Crossing Patrols for which it had vacancies. 

Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help

The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help announced that the Council had recently marked World Social Work Day by inviting people to find out more about the role social workers play within the community.  A display was also set up in the foyer of the Civic Offices and he shared some of the lines from a poem which had been written anonymously by a social worker. 

Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations informed Council that she was pleased to see Gemma Hartnoll receive a Mayor Citizenship Award for her WINGS Cymru initiative, which had to the trial of offering menstrual products across 14 schools in the County Borough. 

Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration   

The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration announced that the Council had teamed up with the CF31 BID group to ensure free car parking would continue at the Rhiw which would again be reviewed in January 2019.  He also shared with Members the recent achievements of Leanne Rees Sheppard of Tremains Primary School on reaching the finals of School Chef of the Year 2018 and Porthcawl and Bryntirion Comprehensive Schools where more than 100 sixth form pupils had made donations to the Welsh Blood Service.  He informed Members that Litchard Primary school had received a ‘good’ rating across the board from Estyn in each of the five key inspection areas.  He also announced that Heronsbridge School had been awarded a gold accreditation from the Investors in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 141.

The Leader informed Council that the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government is seeking views on local government reorganisation.  The Green Paper sets out a proposal to reduce Councils from 22 in number to 10, with Bridgend, RCT and Merthyr Tydfil being combined into a single authority.  He informed Members that at the same time, the Council was awaiting a decision on changes to health board boundaries, which would see Bridgend County Borough moving from ABMU to Cwm Taf. 

He also informed Members that the Council had been thanked by the WLGA for its participation in the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.  He stated that the WLGA had asked how many further refugees the Council anticipates being able to resettle in the forthcoming financial year and for the remainder of the resettlement programme which extends to 2020.  The Leader had responded to the WLGA by stating that further resettlement will be subject to the availability of housing and school capacity.  He had also clarified to the WLGA that the Council envisaged being able to accommodate a further five families during the remainder of the programme but could not confirm the exact number of refugees as this would be dependent on family sizes.     

This item is a follow-up to the report presented to Council in February entitled:  Proposed Health Board Boundary Change – Consultation: Effective Partnership Working In Bridgend from the Chairman and Chief Executive of Cwm Taf Health Board.  

The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing introduced Allison Williams, Chief Executive and Professor Marcus Longley, Chair of Cwm Taf University Health Board to address Council on the proposed Health Board Boundary Change. 

The Chief Executive of Cwm Taf explained to Council that she had been in post for the past 7 years.  She stated that Bridgend had benefitted hugely from being a part of the ABMU and had been at the cutting edge in providing services to the communities it serves.  She informed Council that she had been grateful for the early discussions held with the Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing in advance of a decision being made by the Cabinet Secretary on the proposed Health Board boundary change. 

The Chief Executive of Cwm Taf informed Council that Cwm Taf had led on mental health services to older people and dementia care.  She stated that Cwm Taf did not want to de-stabilise services and any changes to clinical services would be the subject of consultation.  She assured Members that there were significant benefits in patients continuing to receive treatment from the hospitals they currently receive that treatment.  She stated that Cwm Taf is taking a lead in an imaging academy, training radiologists of the future and would be opening a new facility in Pencoed at the end of April. 

A member of Council questioned whether Cwm Taf would have a commitment to sustaining Maesteg Community Hospital.  The Chief Executive of Cwm Taf reassured Council that during her tenure, Cwm Taf had built 2 community hospitals and had developed 2 community health parks and she gave a commitment to community health services continuing.

A member of Council asked whether residents where possible, would receive services from Morriston Hospital or UHW in Cardiff dependent on where they live in addition to services being provided by the Princess of Wales, Royal Glamorgan and Prince Charles Hospitals.  The Chief Executive of Cwm Taf stated that patients requiring tertiary care services would go to either Morriston Hospital or UHW.  She envisaged the three hospitals of the Princess of Wales, Royal Glamorgan and Prince Charles working together, all are of similar size and have challenges, but there would be flexibility in terms of staffing those hospitals following a change in the health board boundary.  She stated that there are particular strengths and specialisms in the Princess of Wales and Royal Glamorgan Hospitals which would benefit the wider population region.  The Chief Executive of Cwm Taf informed Council that a change in health board boundary would also give rise to different opportunities. 

The Leader informed Council that he had recently met with the Leader of RCT Council who was confident that a decision would shortly be reached by the Cabinet Secretary on the proposed change to the health board boundary.  There would then be a need to shape a plan jointly for the revised health board. 

The Chief Executive of Cwm Taf assured Members that this is the only potential change to health board  ...  view the full minutes text for item 143.

The Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer sought approval of proposed criteria for applying a Care Leaver’s Discount.

She stated that a 2015 report by the Children’s Society suggested that care leavers are a particularly vulnerable group for council tax debt and it was found that when care leavers move into independent accommodation and begin to manage their own budget for the first time, they find it challenging, particularly if they fall behind with their council tax.  A number of recommendations have been made by the Children’s Society, including making care leavers eligible for council tax discount. 

The Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer reported that the Council has the power to reduce liability for council tax in relation to individual cases or class(es) of cases that it may determine.  She stated that there was currently no specific exemption class for care leavers in Council Tax legislation and the only way to achieve an exemption for care leavers is to grant a discretionary discount under the legislation. 

The Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer reported on a proposal to apply a discount to all care leavers living in Bridgend County Borough up to the age of 25 as defined by the definition of a care leaver in the Children (Care Leavers) Act 2000 and that it should apply from 1 April 2018. 

The Deputy Leader in commending the proposal stated that it was a relatively small commitment for the authority to make, but the impact on care leavers would be huge.              

The Leader in responding to a question from a member of Council as to how the proposal would fit in with the corporate priority of helping people to be more self-reliant , stated that care leavers face significant barriers and find it challenging to manage their own budget for the first time.  

RESOLVED:           That Council:

(1)              approved the proposed criteria for applying a Care Leaver Discount as indicated in Appendix A of the report with it applying to care leavers up to the age of 25;

 delegated authority to the Chief Finance officer to make decisions on valid applications which meet the criteria in Appendix A of the report.   

The Corporate Director Communities presented the draft Joint Working Agreement Business Plan (JWA) which had been recommended by the Cardiff Capital Region Cabinet and sought its adoption as the formal “JWA Business Plan”. 

The Corporate Director Communities explained that the JWA Business Plan would address the updated Affordability Envelope, the methodology for agreeing the nature, scope and prioritisation of projects to be developed for the overall benefit of the Cardiff Capital Region, the methodology and responsibility for any external audits and performance monitoring and revenue and capital monitoring reports to be prepared by the Joint Committee and the frequency of those reports.  He stated that the JWA draft Business Plan would now be referred to as the CCR Strategic Business Plan for the Wider Investment Fund to reflect its status and focus.    

The Corporate Director Communities outlined the strategic context and spatial priorities of the draft JWA Business Plan and identified the emerging opportunities within the life of the plan.  He explained that the agreement with the UK Government and Welsh Government provided £1.2 billion of which £734m was allocated to the Metro with the balance of £495m being made available as the Wider Investment Fund.  The Regional Cabinet had stated that the high level aims of the Wider Investment Fund were the creation of 25,000 new jobs and £4bn of private sector investment.  The first investment had been made in the Compound Semi-conductor Project, providing a loan of £38.5m with the potential to generate 2,000 jobs and over £380m of private sector investment.  He explained that following this initial investment, Regional Cabinet had agreed in principle to support the Metro Central Project, Regional Housing Investment Fund, Digital Strategy and Skills for the Future schemes.

The Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer reported that the Council’s contribution to the CCRD is £11.328m (9.4% of the overall Local Authority Partnership capital funding requirement) and that a recurrent budget pressure of £598,000 was included within the MTFS in 2017-18 to fund the Council’s contribution.  This was based on the funding profile at that time.  She explained that due to a change in funding profile, the Council was required to make a payment of £2,299,950 before the end of the 2017-18 financial year. This would reduce later years payments and require the expenditure and funding within the capital programme to be re-profiled but within the same overall programme envelope.  The Interim Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer informed Council that in order to ensure there is no impact on capital funding availability it was proposed that the balance of funding required over and above the available £598,000 budget (£1,701,950) be met from under spends within other council wide budgets, which would require a virement from this budget to the Communities Directorate budget from where the payment will be made and a re-profiling of expenditure and funding for the scheme within the capital programme.

Councillor Andrew Morgan, Chair of the Cardiff City Capital Region City Deal addressed Council and expressed his  ...  view the full minutes text for item 145.

The Leader invited Andrew Davies, Chair of the Public Services Board to present for approval its Wellbeing Plan. 

The Chair of the Public Services Board informed Council that the Board has developed four wellbeing objectives using information received from partners and receiving feedback from citizens, namely;

• Best Start in Life;
• Support Communities in Bridgend to be Safe and Cohesive;
• Reduce Social and Economic Initiatives
• Healthy Choices in a Healthy Environment  

The draft Wellbeing Plan has been the subject of public consultation, with 329 responses received.  Feedback had been provided by the Welsh Government as part of the consultation which identified one significant issue, in that the plan needed to be more explicit on how the proposed steps will maximise the contribution to the national wellbeing goals.  The Future Generations Commissioner had provided detailed feedback which stressed the importance of demonstrating how the PSB has considered each of the five of working in relation to each objective.  The Commissioner had also provided advice on how the PSB might take steps to meet the objectives including links to research and other studies.  In addition to this, the Commissioner’s office has stated they will be looking at how the objectives of individual public bodies can contribute to the delivery of the wellbeing plan.

The Chair of the Public Services Board informed Council that each of the statutory members of the PSB must formally agree the Wellbeing Plan, which must be published by 4 May 2018.  He paid tribute to the authority and the Chief Executive and staff for the way in which it operates the PSB.  He stated that while the Plan is constrained by legislation, he commented on the importance of the PSB being subject to scrutiny.

The Leader thanked the Chair of the Public Services Board for his personal commitment to the PSB and placed on record his thanks to Mr Davies as Chair of the ABMU Health Board.

RESOLVED:           That Council approved the Public Services Board Wellbeing Plan.         

The Group Manager Legal reported on the recommendations of the Democratic services Committee to update the Annual reports for Elected Members and the associated reporting process.  She also sought approval of the process to be used for Elected Member Annual Reports and requested Council to note the designation of training for Annual Reports as recommended for all Members.

The Group Manager Legal reported that the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 to make arrangements for all Elected Members to make and publish an Annual Report about their activities.  She stated that the Democratic Services Committee at its meeting on 17 January 2018 was informed of the revised process for Annual Reports, which reflected changes to the Elected Member information currently available on the Council’s website, the implementation of the Welsh Language Standards and minimise the resources to create, administer and publish Annual Reports in English and Welsh.

A member of Council questioned whether there is a review process in place to ensure the translation of the Annual report returned by the translator is accurate and unbiased.  The Group Manager Legal informed Council that there is a framework in place and translators have to be accredited before they can be admitted to the framework by the National Procurement Service.  

RESOLVED:           That Council:

(1)          approved the revision to the Annual Report process and the proposed schedule of publication for Annual Reports for 2017/18;

noted that the Democratic Services Committee has designated the training for Elected Members as “recommended for all Members”.              

The Group Manager Legal reported on the recommendation of the Democratic Services Committee regarding proposals for the Personal Development Review (PDR) process to be made available for all Elected Members.  She highlighted the key elements of the PDR process as identified in the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011.  The previous PDR process had been the subject to review to ensure that it remains fit for purpose. 

The Group Manager Legal reported that 3 PDR interview template options had previously been considered and with the Personal Development Review Document being considered by Council in 2013 as the most appropriate for use.  All 3 template forms had been reviewed for re-consideration for future use in the PDR process.  She highlighted the process to be undertaken to introduce PDRs and in order to facilitate its successful implementation, training sessions will be provided. 

The Group Manager Legal highlighted the process for the identification of reviewers and the timescales to meet the deadlines for the submission of the WLGA Charter, the approval of the PDR process, its implementation and the successful completion of PDRs for the Senior Salary Holders. 

RESOLVED:           That Council:

(1)          approved the implementation of the Personal Development Review document as the vehicle for progressing the PDR process in Bridgend County Borough Council;

(2)          approved the proposed activities and timescale shown;

noted that the Democratic Services Committee has designated the training for Personal Development Reviews as “recommended for all Members”.                

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development reported that the Localism Act 2011 requires local authorities to produce and publish a Pay Policy Statement and she submitted the updated Pay Policy Statement for Council’s consideration for the year 2018/19. 

She advised that the Pay Policy Statement is fully compliant with the Localism Act 2011.  Negotiations are in progress on a two year deal with NJC employees, but have not been concluded.  She stated that the current Redundancy and Redeployment policy is attached to the Pay Policy Statement as required.  She further advised that once the pay negotiations had concluded, the Pay Policy Statement would be updated and re-presented to Council. 

The Leader informed Council that this would be the last meeting of Council to be attended by Sarah Kingsbury, Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development prior to her retirement.  He placed on record his thanks to Ms Kingsbury for providing strong leadership in her role.   

RESOLVED:           That Council approved the updated Pay Policy Statement.  

Question To The Cabinet Member Education And Regeneration - Cllr A

Hussain

South Wales Police have called for better mental health education in schools after a

rise in young people being detained under the Mental Health Act and this has been

supported by the Mind Cymru and they want that schools should do more to raise

awareness of mental health issues and step in to help those who are having

problems sooner. Can the Cabinet Member for Education let the Council know how

he is addressing this important issue?

Question to the Leader - Cllr T Thomas

What benefits will this authority amass from its investment and involvement in the

Capital City Region Deal?

Question To The Cabinet Member Communities - Cllr M Voisey

Can the Cabinet Member please advise how many Homes in multiple occupation

(HMO's) of all sizes, there are in the county of Bridgend, and their distribution by ward?"

Question to the Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration from Councillor A Hussain

South Wales Police have called for better mental health education in schools after a rise in young people being detained under the Mental Health Act and this has been supported by the Mind Cymru and they want that schools should do more to raise awareness of mental health issues and step in to help those who are having problems sooner.  

Can the Cabinet Member for Education let the Council know how he is addressing this important issue?

Response:

There are a number of services provided by directly BCBC which seek to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children. Most of these resources are concentrated at the Tier 1 level but some are Tier 2 services.   They would include:

Tier 1

•   School-based interventions (eg nurture provision, personal and social education, Achievement For All, Thrive and ELSA)

•   Social work interventions (eg attachment theory, cognitive behavioural theory and direct work with children)

•   School nursing support

•   Pastoral care in schools

•   Anti-bullying work in schools and with the Early Help Team

•   Flying Start - additional health visitor support

•   Language and play, number and play and Welcomm speech and language support sessions

•   Parenting support

•   Young carers support

Tier 2

•   There is one (part-time) specialist CAMHS social worker based in the Early Help Team

•   There is one (part-time) specialist play therapist within the Early Help Team

•   School-based counsellors

•   Community-based counsellors

•   B2P (Building to Progress) educational provision for children with mental health issues

In addition to these centrally-based services, the schools use a wide range of approaches and practices which aim to support the emotional and mental wellbeing of our children.

Services for children at more acute levels are provided by ABMU.

Councillor Hussain asked a supplementary question as to when will Wellbeing Officers be introduced to schools.  The Interim Corporate Director Education and Family Support stated that there are a number of initiatives in place and that some schools already have Wellbeing Officers in place.

Question to the Leader from Councillor Tim Thomas

This question was withdrawn by Councillor Thomas.

Question to the Cabinet Member Communities from Councillor MC Voisey

Can the Cabinet member please advise how many Homes of multiple occupation (HMO's) of all sizes, there are in the county of Bridgend, and their distribution by ward?"

Response:

The main function of SPG is to provide clarity on a particular policy or strategy of the development plan. There is no specific policy in the Bridgend LDP relating to HMOs and the plan makes no commitment to produce HMO SPG unlike for example Open Spaces or Design. The production of SPG is very resource intensive and involves public consultation, the open spaces SPG for example has been in production for some time and a decision to embark a new SPG cannot be taken lightly.

Also, an SPG which will apply across the County Borough may not necessarily restrict  ...  view the full minutes text for item 150.

“To consider providing free sanitary products to schoolgirls”

Millions of children around the world are denied an education. We are lucky here in the United Kingdom that every child has the right to go to school but a growing number of them face missing school every month for the simple reason that they can’t afford menstrual products.

Councils across Wales are being urged to consider providing free sanitary products to schoolgirls in a bid to stop them suffering in silence and embarrassment.

Children as young as 10 suffer the shame of using socks, or taping tissue to underwear. It is not only unacceptable, but can seriously affect their health. They miss school every month because they cannot face the shame and fear going to school. In these families, menstrual products are an unattainable luxury.

“Period poverty” has always existed and, up until recently, nothing has been done to tackle the issue head-on. Period taboo meant these children don’t feel comfortable to speak freely and openly about their sufferings. It means we may never know the full extent of this problem.

We need to remove this taboo so that children from the lowest income backgrounds are not marginalised.

Until, we convince the Government to provide free menstrual products to all children in Wales,  our Council should come forward and help these young girls, providing sanitary towels to them in school who could confidently attend school all month round without having to worry about the embarrassment of their period which otherwise lets them down.

Hence, I would urge my councillors to support this motion so that

1.         All girls in school have access to free sanitary towel and

2.         We continue to campaign the Welsh Government to ensure  

            all schools are given free menstrual provision for these children.

The Notice of Motion was withdrawn by Councillor Hussain. 

The Group Manager Legal presented a report, the purpose of which was to inform Council of the Information Report which had been published since the last meeting.

RESOLVED:         That Council acknowledged publication of the document listed in the report:-

Title                                                     Date Published

Related party Transactions 2017-18       22 March 2018

& Statements of Accounts    

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. 

There were no urgent items.

The minutes and report relating to the following items are not for publication as they contain exempt information as defined in Paragraph 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 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 Act.

Following the application of the public interest test it was resolved that pursuant to the Act referred to above to consider the following items in private, with the public excluded from the meeting, as it was considered that in all the circumstances relating to the item, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.  

To receive for approval the exempt minutes of Council of 28 February 2018