To receive and confirm the minutes of the meetings of Council:-

Ordinary Meeting      -    30 April 2014

Annual Meeting         -   14 May 2014

RESOLVED:     That the minutes of an ordinary meeting of Council held on the 30^th April 2014 were approved as a true and accurate record.

                               That the minutes of the Annual Meeting of Council held on the 14^th May 2014 were approved as a true and accurate record, subject to the initial ‘E’ being removed from Councillor N Clarke’s name under Minute No. 354.

To receive apologies for absence (to include reasons, where appropriate) from Members/Officers.

Apologies for absence were received from the following Members for the reasons stated:

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

1st September 2008.

(i)         Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii)        Members of the Cabinet

(iii)       Chief Executive

1.      The Mayor announced that he had already attended a number of events since his recent inauguration, ranging from the World War One Centenary exhibitions in Porthcawl and Maesteg, the Royal Garden Party, the opening of the Pontycymmer Steps and the annual conference of the National Old Age Pensioners Association of Wales.  He advised that the Mayoral charities for this municipal year are MacMillan Cancer Bridgend, Friends of Bridgend Youth Music and Bridgend Carers.

2.      The Mayor announced that the Flying Start initiative is running a series of fun days commencing on Thursday, 26^th June 2014 between 11.00am – 2.00pm in Blackmill.  These community-based events will run regularly until 31^st July 2014 and will also be held at Sarn, North Cornelly, Brackla, Caerau, Maesteg, Bettws, Wildmill and Cefn Glas.

3.      The Mayor congratulated Zoe Piper from Pencoed and Carol Freeman from Porthcawl following their success at the Borough’s first-ever Bridgend Inspirational Women Awards. Launched by the Council in partnership with Bridgend Women’s Aid and the Bridgend Community Safety Partnership, the Awards seek to recognise women who make a positive contribution through their volunteering and community action.  Zoe was nominated for her work in setting up an ADHD Group in Bridgend, and Carol was nominated for the voluntary counselling service that she provides at Bethlehem Church Life Centre in Cefn Cribwr.

4.      Finally, the Mayor announced that Andrew Rogers, who is employed as a mobile librarian for the Council, will swap books for his bike this weekend when he takes part in the 54-mile London to Brighton cycle ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation.  Andrew has established a page at the ‘Just Giving’ website where people can sponsor his efforts, and any Members wishing to sponsor him should contact the Mayoral office.   On behalf of the Council the Mayor wished Andrew well for the event.

(1)     Cabinet Member - Children and Young People

The Cabinet Member - Children and Young People announced that Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen Comprehensive School has been chosen as one of the 40 secondary schools to be part of the Welsh Government’s new multi-million pound Improvement Programme School Challenge Cymru.

Y Dderwen, the only school in Bridgend to be selected, will be given the opportunity to access proven expertise to deliver a package of individually tailored support.  The programme will also provide targeted support to the participant schools’ cluster primaries in order to address challenges at the earliest opportunity and improve transition between these key stages of education.  He felt sure that the school will take full advantage of the extra support to continue to make rapid progress.

With a major decline nationally in pupils choosing the option of modern foreign languages at Year 9, the Cabinet Member - Children and Young People announced that it was encouraging to hear Maesteg Comprehensive School had bucked this trend.  He reported that the school had been praised by the National Centre for Languages (CILT) for achieving a very impressive 11% increase in take up at Key Stage 4, and the school had made effective use of the careers resources and ideas for classroom activities available from CILT Cymru.  Pupils at the school were given a talk by two local ambassadors of the Business Language Champions on the importance of languages in their companies, as well as their personal language journeys.  Year 9 pupils were so convinced of the benefits of further language study that in September 2014, Year 10 will comprise GCSE groups in French and Spanish, as well as an NVQ group in Spanish.  He congratulated the school on its success in modern languages.

The Cabinet Member - Children and Young People reported that a new app, created by the Fostering Network, was recently put to the test at a family day out at Bryngarw House.  The event was organised for support carers, their families and the children they support.  He advised that the free ‘Fostering Adventures’ app provides support carers and foster carers with a variety of activities both indoors and outdoors, as well as affordable places to go during the summer holidays, including information on 140 venues across Wales. 

He announced that the Authority was continuously aiming to recruit more support carers, each of them working with one family at a time, offering planned time-limited short breaks for the children, together with support for the parents.  He reported that a ‘Young Carers Conference’ will be held on Tuesday, 24^th June 2014 at the Heronston Hotel between 5.00pm and 7.30pm.  The event, which is aimed at anyone working with young people and children who are carers, is being organised by the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Health Board (ABMU) and the Bridgend Young Carers Project, and it is hoped that staff from schools, the college and health will be in attendance.

The Cabinet Member - Children and Young People  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chief Executive announced that the Authority, in partnership with Halo Leisure, was pleased to support the local Athlete Development Foundation, which provides free access to training facilities, financial support and also a schedule of workshops for prospective athletes to learn from high performing athletes and their coaches.  This is the second year of the Foundation in Bridgend and some well-known people were now giving their support to further develop the Foundation, including Rob Howley as Patron, and Commonwealth Games athletes Helen Jenkins and Aled Sion Davies as ambassadors and this year 95 athletes have received support.  The Awards recognised the volume of talent that exists across a range of sports in Bridgend County Borough and the strength of our school sport structures, community clubs and the volunteers who make it all happen.

The Chief Executive announced the appointment of Hannah Woodhouse as Managing Director of the South Central Consortium, following a selection process which included interviews with relevant elected Members, Head Teachers, the Director of Education and a senior Welsh Government official.  She was formally appointed to the post at yesterday’s meeting of the Joint Committee.  He explained that in recent months, in her role as Interim Managing Director, Hannah had launched the work of the Consortium to develop a self-improving school system through the engagement of

Professor Mel Ainscow.  She had also developed a business plan for the Consortium for the year ahead and led the recent reorganisation that would help to deliver future ambitions.  Hannah’s appointment means that the Authority is now ideally placed to work with schools to build on these important developments.

The Chief Executive reported that the Authority had recently been inspected by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners, which is part of the Home Office, to examine our approach to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in respect of directed surveillance and covert human intelligence sources.  He advised that the Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services is the Responsible Officer under the legislation, with the focus of the inspection activity mainly conducted within the Legal and Regulatory Services Directorate, as well as the Benefits Team.  He advised that the Authority had received a glowing report from the Home Office, summarised by “you have good systems and processes in place to use the legislation effectively” and the Home Office also specifically singled out Laura Griffiths one of the senior Solicitors, who coordinates the activity in this area.  The Chief Executive gave thanks and congratulations to the Assistant Chief Executive and his team.

The Chief Executive reported that the work to create a new office layout on level two of the Civic Offices, as well as an e-post room in the basement area, was underway.  He explained that unfortunately, the work would result in considerable noise, dust and disruption over several months.  As the building works cannot be stopped for meetings, it has been arranged that all formal meetings due to be held in the Committee Rooms would also be booked into  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Leader commenced his report by drawing Members’ attention to a number of commemorative military events marking the World War One Centenary and the recent D-Day Remembrance.  On Sunday, 28^th June, the Council and its partners have organised an Armed Forces Day Parade through Bridgend town centre, featuring soldiers from the Welsh Guards and the Welsh Transport Regiment as well as veterans, cadets and scouts.  The event will incorporate military vehicles, information stalls, and displays from the Hut Nine Preservation Group, as well as an inflatable assault course and more.  It will take place between 10.00am and 3.00pm and there will be an opportunity for people to show their support for our veterans and serving troops alike by signing the Armed Forces Community Covenant, which will be made available at Carnegie House – the former home of Bridgend Library.  The Leader hoped that Members would encourage their constituents to come and support the event, and show their appreciation for our Armed Forces community here in the Borough.

            The Leader requested Members to spread the message amongst constituents on the importance of making sure that recycling items are placed inside the correct container

            or bag.  He explained that mixed or contaminated loads are rejected by the recycling plants, and it was therefore important to get this right.  Paper waste, such as newspapers, magazines, mail, catalogues and white envelopes should go in one black box, whilst the other black box is to be used for cardboard, thick brown packaging paper, coloured scrapbook paper and glass.  Food waste can be disposed of using the brown food caddy and the blue bag is for foil, cans, tins, punnets, plastic bottles, cartons and tubs.  For further information contact the Recycling Team, or visit the recycling pages at www.bridgend.gov.uk.  He reported that the WLGA figures had revealed that last year the Authority had scored a 57% recycling rate against a national average of 52%, and commented that if everyone took extra care not to mix materials, we could do even better.

            The Leader was pleased to report the excellent news of the reopening of the boardwalk at Rest Bay, Porthcawl, following the battering it took during the severe storm weather earlier in the year.  The boardwalk, which is part of the Wales Coast Path, was left unsafe to use after the storms wrecked large sections and washed away much of the footings.  Using funding from the Welsh Government, the damaged parts of the boardwalk were removed and replaced with a flat concrete and stone path.  He advised that this meant the boardwalk is up and running again in time for the start of the summer season and events, such as the forthcoming Senior Open Golf Tournament due to take place at the end of the month.

            Finally, the Leader reported that the Property Team would like to hear from organisations who may be interested in using the all-new public square at Maesteg Market to stage events.  It has already hosted the likes of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Chief Executive presented a report which sought Members’ approval to make an interim appointment to the role of Head of Finance and ICT and the Deputy Section 151 Officer.  The Council is required to designate a suitably qualified Officer as the Statutory Section 151 Officer, and the appointment of a Deputy Section 151 Officer ensures that key financial decisions and timely advice is available during the absence of the Section 151 Officer.

            At its meeting in February, Council agreed the proposal to reduce the number of Heads of Service by one in the Resources Directorate, deleting the positions of Head of Finance and Performance and the Head of ICT, Property and Customer Services and creating a new hybrid Finance and ICT Head of Service.  An appointment process has commenced in accordance with the procedure agreed for JNC Officers.

            The Head of Finance and Performance, who is also designated as the Deputy Section 151 Officer, will retire on the 31^st July 2014, and it is proposed that whilst the appointment process for the Head of Finance and ICT is ongoing, an interim appointment is made to ensure that there is sufficient leadership and management capacity within these key areas of service.  This would also ensure that financial decisions and timely advice is available during the absence of the Section 151 Officer, currently on sick leave.

RESOLVED:                That Council delegated to the Chief Executive authority to undertake the appointment/contracting of an Interim Head of

Finance and ICT and the Deputy Section 151 Officer, as

outlined in paragraph 4.3 of the report.

The Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services and Monitoring Officer presented a report, the purpose of which was to:

·           Advise Council on the outcome of a review of the political balance of the Authority, resulting from the cessation of the Independent Rhyddid Group and its members joining the Independent Alliance Group;

·           Seek approval of the revised political balance;

·           Receive nominations and appoint the necessary Members to Committees to reflect the changes in the political balance.

On the 21^st May 2014, the transfer of elected Members from the Independent Rhyddid Group to the Independent Alliance Group was completed and as part of that move a review of political balance was requested, composed as follows:

*This is not a group but the details have been included for completeness.

The updated political balance figures are shown at Appendix 1 to the report and the changes required to reflect the revised political balance are detailed under paragraph 4.3 of the report.  

Group Leaders have been informed of the following proposals and have not raised any objections or concerns:

Independent Alliance

Councillor D M Hughes to be appointed to serve on the following Committees:

·                                   Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

·                                   Corporate Resources and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee

·                                   Community Safety and Governance Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor E Venables to be appointed to serve on the following Committees:

·                                   Licensing Committee

·                                   Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee

·                                   Licensing Sub-Committee

·                                   Democratic Services Committee

·                                   Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Labour

Councillor R Thomas to be nominated to be removed from Democratic Services Committee.

Councillor D K Edwards to be appointed to serve on Audit Committee

Plaid Cymru

Councillor R M James will step down from the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee and be appointed to serve on the Development Control Committee.

Independent Annibynnwr

            There are no changes to this political group.

RESOLVED:     That Council:

1)            Noted the change to the political composition of the Council.

2)  Approved the allocation of seats to political groups in accordance with the political balance rules as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

3)  Approved the nominations as shown in paragraph 4.3 of the report, to be removed from or to be appointed to serve on each of the Committees, Panels and other bodies.

Appointed the nominations identified under paragraph 8.1 (3) to their respective Committees.

The Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services and Monitoring Officer presented a report, the purpose of which was to seek Council’s approval for the transfer of Council functions with the Council’s Scheme of Delegation of Functions from the Corporate Director – Resources, who is currently unavailable to undertake her role in respect of the Council’s Scheme of Delegation, to the Chief Executive.  Approval was further sought that in the absence of the Chief Executive, these functions would be transferred to the Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services.

The planned changes to the structure and personnel within the Resources Directorate require changes to be made to the decision making processes which can currently only be authorised by the Corporate Director - Resources.  In order to maintain effective decision making within the Directorate, it is proposed that all Council Functions in Schemes B1 and B2 of the Council Scheme of Delegation allocated to the Corporate Director - Resources be temporarily re-allocated to the Chief Executive. 

If approved, this will enable the Chief Executive to manage and amend the decision making processes within the Directorate, allow for sub-delegation to appropriate Officers and facilitate effective decision making as the revised structure of the Directorate is implemented.  In the absence of the Chief Executive these functions would be transferred to the Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services.  A further report will be presented to Cabinet on the 24^th June 2014, proposing a similar change to the Scheme of Delegations for the Executive decisions within Scheme B1 and B2 for the Resources Directorate.

A Member asked whether the remaining Corporate Directors had similar arrangements in place.

The Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services and Monitoring Officer advised that in terms of the Scheme of Delegations there were never any difficulties in making a decision; however in this instance as one of the Directors is away from work

and the Officer these functions were sub-delegated to is due to leave the Authority, it has created a gap.  He explained that the day to day decisions could still be made using emergency powers as a temporary measure, but should not be used continuously and the purpose of the report was to solve that problem.

RESOLVED:         That Council:

1)  Approved the transfer of Council functions with the Council’s Scheme of Delegation of Functions from the Corporate Director - Resources to the chief Executive.

2)  Approved that the Assistant Chief Executive – Legal and Regulatory Services would be authorised in the absence of the Chief Executive to undertake those functions.

3)  Noted that a further report would be presented to Cabinet on the 24^th June 2014, proposing a similar change to the Scheme of Delegations for Executive decisions within Scheme B1 and B2 for the Resources Directorate.

The Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services and Monitoring Officer presented a report, the purpose of which was to ensure that the Authority is duly prepared to undertake its functions in relation to the above Regulations, and to ensure that actions are taken under the Regulations should the need arise.

            Council approved changes to the ‘Officer Employment Rules’ within the Constitution in 2006 to facilitate the operation of the above Regulations, which provide that in respect of a limited number of exceptions, the appointment and dismissal of Officers (including redundancy and the need to effect new terms and conditions) is in the hands of the Chief Executive or their nominee.  The Chief Executive’s nomination or delegations is made to all chief officers within the general powers of the Scheme of Delegation. The Regulations provide a different set of rules, detailed under paragraph 3.2 of the report, which led to the establishment of the JNC Determination and Appeals Panel in December 2009.  Subsequently this role was included as a function of the Appointments Committee as stated in the Constitution.

            The Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services and Monitoring Officer advised that following the recent review of the responsibilities of Council Committees, it was identified that whilst the role of the Committee in disciplinary matters should be maintained as an appeal body, it was appropriate for the Chief Executive to have the delegated authority to appoint firstly an Investigating Officer and secondly a Responsible Officer to determine the initial hearing, and as with JNC Officers, for determinations short of dismissal to be appealed by an Officer.  He advised that if a dismissal took place, it would still come before Members.

            The Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services and Monitoring Officer advised that in order to ensure the Authority has the ability to undertake these functions in respect of those Officers listed under paragraph 3.2 of the report, with the exception of the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer, as the provisions do not allow this function to be delegated.  It is proposed that the Chief Executive be provided delegated authority to appoint an Investigating Officer and Responsible Officer to determine disciplinary matters under the Local Authorities (Standing Order) (Wales) Regulations 2006, prior to an appeal to Members on dismissal and to Management on determinations short of dismissal. 

            A Member asked whether the Chief Executive would appoint an in-house or external Investigating Officer.

            The Assistant Chief Executive - Legal and Regulatory Services advised that it would usually be a senior Officer within the Authority, as there was cost involved in appointing externally.

RESOLVED:                That Council delegated to the Chief Executive the authority to appoint an Investigating Officer and Responsible officer to determine the initial hearing and, as with JNC Officers, for determinations short of dismissal to be appealed to management.

The Corporate Director – Communities presented a report regarding planning application P/11/781/FUL which went to Council on the 3^rd July 2013 as a departure from the Development Plan.  At that meeting, Council resolved to grant planning permission subject to conditions, and the applicant entering into a Section 106 Planning Obligation. 

            He reported that the minutes of that meeting incorrectly recorded the amount of the financial contribution to be provided by the developer towards affordable housing and highways contributions.  This figure is required to be accurately recorded in order for the Section 106 Agreement to be completed and the Decision Notice to be issued.

RESOLVED:                That Council noted the drafting error made in recording the minutes of the Council meeting on the 3^rd July 2013 and agreed that the correct contribution to Affordable Housing should be £370,000 and the Highways contribution should be £63,136.32 to improve active travel access between Rest Bay and Porthcawl town centre in a staggered/phased payment plan which would see £30,000 being paid upon the occupation of the first unit of residential accommodation within the site, and the remaining £33,136.32 (or the remainder of the index linked sum) paid upon occupation of 50% of the apartments, or exactly three years receipt of the first instalment, unless otherwise approved in writing.

The meeting closed at 4.00pm.

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 if of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.