To receive apologies for absence from Members/Officers for the reasons so stated.

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

Councillor N Clarke – Holiday

Councillor P John – Unwell

Councillor M Jones – Holiday

Councillor D Sage – Unwell

Councillor P J White – Holiday

Councillor E Venables – Child care commitments

Mark Shephard – Corporate Director Communities – Other Council business.     

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. 

None. 

To receive for approval the following minutes of meetings of Council:-

Extraordinary meeting – 8 July 2015

Ordinary meeting – 15 July 2015

RESOLVED:               1. That the minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of Council of                                8 July 2015 be accepted as a true and accurate record subject                           to the reason for apologies for absence for Councillor D White                              being changed to Work commitments in minute number 502.

                                    2. That the minutes of the Ordinary meeting of Council of 15                                   July 2015 be accepted as a true and accurate record. 

 (i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

MAYORAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Mayor announced that he had attended the annual anniversary service to mark the Parc Slip disaster which was an incredibly moving event.  The service was held at the memorial fountain erected at the site of the drift mine where the 1892 explosion claimed the lives of 112 boys and men.  The Mayor joined members of the Parc Slip Memorial Committee and its supporters for a short service.  Relatives of some of the men who died were present, and they read excerpts from a book about the disaster before those present paid their respects with a two-minute silence in memory of those who lost their lives.  Also remembered were the 60 women who were widowed by the explosion and the 153 children who lost their fathers in the disaster.  He urged Members to come along and take part in next year’s anniversary service at the fountain, which is constructed from 112 stones, one for each of the miners who died.

The Mayor also announced that he recently made an extremely educational trip to the Milford Haven Coastguard Operations Centre, which opened earlier this year and which covers the coastline from Gloucester to Pwllheli.  Following a shake-up in how coastguard services are provided, the centre became part of the new national network in February and received a major upgrade as part of the move.  While there, he witnessed a call come in and saw a lifeboat launch in action which he was impressed with how fast and how smoothly the coastguards reacted to the call for help.  The Centre has access to a wide range of equipment including helicopters and other rescue craft, the new network is intended to enable them to provide and receive mutual support from 10 other coastguard operations centres around the UK.  The Mayor was highly assured by what he saw and learned, and he commended them for the difficult and dangerous job that they do.

The Mayor informed Members that the Charity Committee has arranged a Cheese and Wine evening at Season’s Restaurant in Bridgend College on Wednesday 9 September, notices have been placed in Members pigeon holes and he looked forward to seeing as many Members as are able to attend.

The Mayor announced that on 15 September Councillor David White, as Mayor of Bridgend Town Council, is attending a service to honour RAF Sergeant Roy Penry Williams in The Netherlands. Sergeant Penry Williams, who was from Bridgend, was killed on a bombing mission in July 1941.  He and five other airmen from the plane were initially believed to be buried locally with their precise resting place unknown.  It was confirmed in 2011 that all six airmen were buried in a communal grave at Leeuwarden Cemetery in the north of the Netherlands.  The Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre is organising a service at the cemetery in memory of each crew member.  Councillor White will be laying a wreath on behalf of Bridgend Town and on behalf of Bridgend County Borough and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 517.

The Leader announced that he had joined other local politicians in urging Central Government to rethink plans for closing Bridgend Magistrates Court as part of a review by the Ministry of Justice.  He had spent 25 years as a local magistrate, and had first-hand knowledge how difficult it can be to get victims of crime, witnesses and defendants to attend court hearings.  Forcing them to travel to Cardiff to do so in future would be even more difficult, and would not be in the best interests of justice for the communities that it serves.  The close proximity of the building also enables Council staff to access it easily for their involvement with criminal and childcare litigation.  The closure of the court would have a direct impact on staffing costs and the Council’s ability to fund public protection litigation.  As such, he had  made a representation on behalf of the Council opposing the closure of the court, and he asked all Members to encourage constituents to make their feelings felt by taking part in the official consultation which runs until 8 October and can be found at www.gov.uk\moj

The Leader informed Members that he finalists for the 2015 Bridgend Business Forum Awards have been announced and he was pleased to inform Members that Bridgend Assembly Member and First Minister Carwyn Jones and TV presenter Sian Lloyd will be hosting this year’s ceremony at the Coed-y-Mwstwr Hotel on 18 September.  A record number of nominations had been received this year that have reflected the truly diverse range of businesses that are based within the County Borough.  These awards recognise a huge array of talent and the vital role that businesses and entrepreneurs play in providing growth in the local economy, and he was sure that Members will join him in wishing the finalists the very best of luck.

The Leader also announced that with elections taking place next year for the National Assembly of Wales and the Police and Crime Commissioner, Members may also want to remind their constituents about the importance of ensuring that they are registered to vote.  Over the past few weeks, households across the County Borough have been receiving forms asking them to confirm that information held for their address on the electoral register is correct.  He stressed the importance of getting  this right as statistics show that 94 per cent of UK residents who have lived at the same address for more than 16 years will be registered to vote compared to just 40 per cent of people who have lived at a property for less than a year.  Work will be undertaken to identify households where residents are not on the register so and they will be contacted and encouraged to participate.  As well as voting, being included on the register can help people avoid problems with credit, mobile phone contracts, mortgages, passport applications and more, there were therefore a number of reasons why it was important for people to take part.

The Monitoring Officer sought approval of proposed amendments to the Constitution which reflect changes to the Council Procedure Rules. 

He reported that a new Model Constitution has been developed supported by an ICT system to aid its amendment and that the new model was not significantly different in content with the exception of the call-in provisions.  He stated that this Council had enabled a call-in to be referred to Council due to the original advice of the Welsh Government and that it was now in isolation in enabling this to take place. 

The Monitoring Officer reported that the call-in provisions in place had been largely unchanged since the Leader and Cabinet arrangements were first introduced by the Local Government Act 2000.  He outlined the three decisions which can be made by the Scrutiny process regarding an item which had been called-in.  It was proposed that the power of Scrutiny to refer called-in items to Council be removed and the Council Procedure Rules amended accordingly.  He stated that Council has no power to make decisions in respect of an Executive decision unless it was contrary to the Policy Framework or contrary to or not wholly consistent with the Budget Framework, the Constitution already deals with such events.  The Monitoring Officer advised Council that it was the role of Scrutiny to support and challenge Cabinet where appropriate, it was not the role of Council to do so and a referral to Council simply delays the decision making process.       

The Monitoring Officer reported that the present drafting of the Constitution has also given rise to differences of interpretation particularly in relation to the speed at which a call-in should be dealt with.  The proposed changes clarifies that call-in should be dealt with in priority to ensure that the concerns of Scrutiny and the decision making processes of the Authority are dealt with appropriately. 

RESOLVED:               That the amendments to the Constitution be approved.     

The Monitoring Officer reported on the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Annual Letter which provided a breakdown of complaints against the Authority for 2014/15.  He stated there had been a decrease in the number of complaints received by the Authority compared to 2013/14.  There had been a decrease in the number of complaints relating to Children’s Social Services, but an increase in the number of complaints relating to Adult Social Services.  He stated that the Authority will continue to monitor complaints to ensure that improved responses to the Ombudsman are maintained.

RESOLVED:               That the report and the Ombudsman’s Annual Letter be noted.             

The Monitoring Officer sought approval for a series of amendments made to the Scheme of Delegation of Functions relating to its functions within the scheme.  He stated that a number of administrative amendments have been made and that the report consolidates those updates and advises of the outcomes of the subsequent review of the Scheme of Delegation which was undertaken. 

The Monitoring Officer reported that changes had been made to the titles and responsibilities of Corporate Directors and to Cabinet Member Portfolios.  A desktop review was undertaken to ensure that the Scheme was up to date and fit for purpose with revisions to paragraph 2.36 of Scheme B2 and paragraph 6.43 being identified.  The explanation of the Chief Officer roles to which the Scheme of Delegation related to has been added for clarity.  As a result of the implementation of the Joint Regulatory Service, the functions within the collaboration agreement that are reserved to the Authority shall remain within the scheme but the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Regulatory Services will provide appropriate delegations. 

The Monitoring Officer also reported that paragraph 1.13 of the General Powers has been updated to reflect the introduction of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014.  To meet operational requirements a new paragraph 6.58 has been added to the Council functions of Scheme B2 of the Scheme of Delegation for the Corporate Director Communities. 

The Monitoring Officer further reported that paragraph 2.58 of Scheme B2 be amended to read “Official Feed and Food Controls (Wales) Regulations 2009”. 

RESOLVED:               That the Scheme of Delegation of Functions be approved.                             

The Monitoring Officer sought approval to amend the calendar of meetings in order to align them with the revised budget schedule. 

He reported that the Chancellor of the Exchequer would not be announcing the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review until 25 November 2015 and this would be the date when the Welsh Government receives its funding allocation.  The Welsh Government would then need time to set its draft budget with the Authority likely to receive the provisional settlement at the end of December and not October when the draft budget is usually received.  There is a legal requirement to set the Council Tax by 11 March 2016 and therefore Council must approve the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Council Tax by this date.  Consequently, revisions are required to be made to the MTFS timetable which will affect the cycle of Council, Overview and Scrutiny and Cabinet meetings. 

The Monitoring Officer also reported on a proposal to re-schedule the meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee from 15 September 2015 to 18 September 2015.

He informed Council that Cabinet at its meeting on 1 September 2015 had approved changes to its schedule of meetings and the inclusion of an additional meeting of the Cabinet Committee Corporate Parenting to take place on 12 October 2015. 

RESOLVED:                   1.  That the following changes to the Council, Licensing Sub-Committee and Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting dates and agenda items be approved:

                                        Meeting                  Current Date              New Date

                                        Council                    16 March 2016            2 March 2016

                                        CEL OSC               1 December 2016       18 January 2016

                                        P&G PSC               3 February 2016         14 January 2016

                                        ASC OSC               9 December 2016       13 January 2016

                                        CRI OSC                21 January 2016         19 January 2016

                                        CYP OSC               3 December 2016       21 January 2016

                                        CRI OSC                11 January 2016         5 February 2016

                                        Licensing Sub-

                                        Committee              15 September 2016    18 September 16

                                        2.  That the changes to the calendar of meetings relating to Cabinet meetings approved by Cabinet on 1 September 2015 be noted.    

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 relating to the following items 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 Act.

                                    Following the application of the public interest test it was                                          resolved that pursuant to the Act referred to above to consider                                   the following item 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 8 July 2015.