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

The Mayor’s announcement was as follows:

“This has been a year like no other! It has tested our resolve and commitment and rightly we acknowledge the work of the NHS and care home staff in particular.

But I should also like to thank the officers and staff of BCBC who have carried on regardless and kept services going during what has been a unique and demanding time. On behalf of this Council and the people of Bridgend I thank you all.

The year has also been personally devastating for some and we honour, remember and mourn the loved ones lost. It has also been disastrous for many with livelihoods lost and way of life changed, possibly for ever. And now it may well be socially divisive with the likely introduction of Covid Passports. Undoubtedly the way we live work and play has changed. The world has changed.

My Mayoral year, or should I say 8 months, has been somewhat different too. I have neither sat in the Mayor’s Parlour, (except for a photo this week) nor in the Council Chamber. Even my inauguration was carried out by the Leader and Chief Executive in the back garden and in the rain!  Every meeting and function has been carried out virtually – an experience in itself as many of us know to our embarrassment!

Clearly the way Council will operate in the future is unsure at the moment but I have every confidence that members and officers will have the wellbeing of the residents of Bridgend County foremost in their minds as changes occur.

There was some return to normality last week with me attending the count with Cllr. Julia Williams and again the opening of Porthcawl Library and a new business in Dunraven Business Park. A fraction of what a Mayor would normally do in a busy year.

I would like to thank the Democratic Services Team for their support and guidance throughout my term and of course will not forget the impact Kevin’s passing has on us all.

I would also like to give a special thanks to my Consort Councillor Julia Williams, who, although functions were few has supported me throughout in what has been a difficult time for her personally. I know you all wish her well.

I wish my successor, Councillor Spanswick and his consort Susan every success in their term of office and I am confident they will do a first class job hopefully as life returns to whatever the future holds for us all.

Thank you.”

RESOLVED:                     That Councillor J Spanswick be elected as Mayor   for the ensuing year, to May 2022.

Councillor J Spanswick announced that his consort would be his wife, Susan Spanswick.

RESOLVED:                      That Councillor M Jones be elected as Deputy Mayor for the ensuing year, to May 2022.

Councillor M Jones announced that he would not have a consort for the forthcoming year, but that he would be inviting Members in turn, to accompany him at Mayoral events and engagements.

RESOLVED:                     That Cllr HJ David be elected as Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council for the ensuring year, to May 2022.

The Leaders report was as follows:

“I would like to begin by thanking you for returning me as Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council.

It is an incredible honour and a privilege, and I would like to offer members my sincere thanks and respect.

I will, of course, continue to devote my full attention and focus to the role, and to do my very best for the people that we all serve.

Thank you for your service Councillor Watts, I expected you to serve the community with distinction and you did. You very skilfully chaired council meetings virtually, without doubt the most difficult meeting to chair. You make a wonderful team with Julia.

Congratulations are also due to councillors Giffard and Hussein for their success on becoming regional members of the Senedd. I am sure they will champion local government and Bridgend County Borough Council in their new roles.

I would like to place on record my deep respect for councillors Cheryl Green and Norah Clarke. Councillor Green is stepping down as chair of Scrutiny, and Councillor Clarke as leader of the opposition.

Both have held leadership roles during their time as elected representatives, and they have always been nothing less than constructive and respectful towards their fellow members when undertaking their duties.

They have always placed the interests of local residents at the heart of what they do, and I want to publically thank them for their contributions and their service.

Normally, this would be an opportunity for me to talk about the highlights of the council over the last twelve months, and to look towards what we will seek to achieve in the coming year.

However, the last year has been anything but normal.

It is now fourteen months since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, and forced us all to avoid contact and work from home.

Compared to how it was back then, the outlook is now thankfully far brighter, with infection rates falling, vaccinations increasing and lockdown restrictions continuing to ease. Nevertheless, Covid-19 has not gone away, and it would be foolish to act as if it had.

As such, Welsh Government advice to work from home wherever possible remains in place, and is likely to do so for some time yet.

I thought about this recently when considering what to speak about here today, and I was reminded of two things.

The first is just how challenging the last year has proven to be, but how, when the stakes were high, people came together to provide a unified response.

Back at the start of the pandemic, the council formed a coronavirus planning and co-ordination steering group, a move which proved to be crucial for ensuring that we could meet the challenges posed by the pandemic quickly and effectively.

The long working days and short nights soon rolled into one another, and severely tested us both as individuals and as an organisation.

We persevered and met these challenges by joining with other groups, public bodies and organisations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 532.

RESOLVED:                          That the Leader officially appointed the follow Members to the Cabinet:

                                               Councillor HM Williams.

                                               Councillor D Patel

                                               Councillor N Burnett

                                               Councillor CE Smith

                                               Councillor S Baldwin

RESOLVED:                          The Leader announced that the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member responsible for Resources for 2021/2022, would be Councillor HM Williams.

He added that the following Cabinet Members would be responsible for the undermentioned portfolios:-

Councillor D Patel – Wellbeing and Future Generations

Councillor N Burnett – Social Services and Early Help

Councillor CE Smith – Education and Regeneration

Councillor S Baldwin – Communities

The Monitoring Officer presented a report, the purpose of which, was to propose a programme of ordinary meetings of the Council and Council Committees for the municipal year May 2021 – April 2022 for approval and to note the programme of meetings for the municipal year May 2022 – April 2023. 

The proposed programme of ordinary meetings of Council for May 2021 - April 2022 was set out in paragraph 4.1 of the report. She confirmed that, Members would note that only regulatory committee meetings are scheduled in April 2022 during the pre-election period.

The Monitoring Officer added, that in order to assist with future planning, a draft programme of meetings for the 2022/23 Municipal Year, was attached at Appendix 2 of the report for noting. This programme may be subject to some further amendments, prior to it being approved by next year’s Annual Meeting of Council, following the County Borough Elections.

Council was also asked to note the meeting dates for Cabinet, Cabinet Committees, and the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee which were included in Appendix 1, for completeness.

A Member asked, if any consideration had been given moving forward out of the pandemic for the holding of Hybrid Committee meetings, as well as remote meetings as of now, when regulations and guidance allows as the pandemic subsides.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed there will be changes to the Constitution, some of which are included in the next agenda item and others in the Local Government and Elections Act, which will permit not only remote working but Hybrid meetings also. The Council would soon be looking at providing equipment in the Council Suite, that will allow for this to take place.

Further work in respect of this was planned to be undertaken in the summer with such meetings hopefully looking to be provided late summer/early autumn period. It was therefore work in progress.

RESOLVED:                          That Council:-

a.         Approved the proposed programme of Council meetings for 2021/22 set out in paragraph 4.1 of this report;

b.         Approved the proposed programme of meetings of Council Committees set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

c.         Noted the provisional draft programme of meetings of Council and Council Committees for 2022/23 set out in Appendix 2 to the report;

d.         Noted the dates of Cabinet, Cabinet Committees and the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee which are also set out in Appendix 1 and 2 of the report, for information purposes.

The Monitoring Officer presented a report, the purpose of which, was:

• to seek Council approval for the appointment of Overview and Scrutiny Committees and such other Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and bodies as the Council considers appropriate, to deal with matters which are neither reserved to full Council nor are executive functions;
• to approve amendments to the Council’s Constitution. 

She advised that Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution, entitled Responsibility for Council Functions, sets out the Council’s Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and other bodies currently in place.  Detailed within the report, were certain Committees, some of which are governed by provisions of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011, in terms of their composition and/or appointment of Chairpersons. This particularly included the Governance and Audit Committee. Changes proposed to this particular body, also required updates to the Council’s Constitution, as a result of certain requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and the Council’s Anti-Tax Evasion Policy. 

The report further outlined the process that should be followed in relation to the appointment of Members to Council Committees, but more particularly, to the appointment of Chairpersons and where applicable, Vice-Chairpersons, in accordance with the provisions and set criteria, specified in the report.

An example of this, being that the appointment of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Audit Committee, would be made at the first Committee meeting after the Annual meeting. These appointments could also not be Members from the largest political group of the Council.

The report also detailed how the appointment of Chairpersons should be made to the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees, based on the formula used under the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011.

The current remit and functions of Committees and other bodies of the Council it was proposed, remained unchanged as detailed in Part 3 of the Constitution – Responsibility for Council Functions which was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

Political balance is essential to determine the allocation of seats on Committees. The current political balance of Committees and other bodies was shown at Appendix 2 of the report. This also accounted for a new Independent Member being elected in the ward of Nantymoel where there had been a vacancy and for Councillor K Watts joining the Independent/Alliance group, following him previously being a stand-alone Independent Member.

The current committee structure was shown at Appendix 3 of the report, while the existing membership of committees which will form the basis of any changes to the membership of the committees being attached at Appendix 4.

Paragraph 4.12 of the report, outlined some other required changes that were needed to be made to the Constitution.It was therefore proposed, that the Constitution be amended accordingly in relation to County Borough Debates and Voting as outlined at Appendix 5 to the report, via tracked changes. 

RESOLVED:                         That Council :-

(1)                 Appointed the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and such other Committees as the Council considered appropriate to deal with matters which are neither reserved to the Council nor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 534.

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report, the purpose of which, was to seek Council’s approval for the appointment of Members to the South Wales Police and Crime Panel, Cardiff Capital Region City Deal Joint Scrutiny Committee and the South East Wales Strategic Planning Group as set out in the report at Appendix 1, for the ensuing year ie to May 2022.

Following unopposed nominations for the above appointments, it was

RESOLVED:                    (1)  That Councillor JP Blundell be appointed to the Cardiff City Deal Joint Scrutiny Committee and that Councillor Tim Thomas be appointed the Reserve Member.

                                         (2)  That Councillor RE Young be appointed to the South Wales Police and Crime Panel.

                                          (3) That the Chairperson of the Development Control Committee be appointed to the South East Wales Strategic Planning.

Following Council having approved the nomination of Councillor JC Spanswick as Mayor of Bridgend County Borough for the year 2021/2022, Councillor Spanswick was invited by the outgoing Mayor to formally accept the Office of Mayor. Councillor Spanswick verbally accepted the office of Mayor and recited the following oath :–

“I John Charles Spanswick, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.”

Councillor KJ Watts extended his congratulations to the incoming Mayor

Susan Spanswick, having been named as Mayor’s consort for the year 2020/21, was invited by the outgoing Mayor, to formally accept the position of consort.

Mrs. Spanswick verbally accepted the position of Mayor’s Consort, as follows:-

“It gives me great pleasure in accepting the position of Mayor’s Consort.”

Councillor KJ Watts extended his congratulations to the incoming Mayor’s Consort.

The incoming Mayor for 2021-22, Councillor Spanswick, gave the following announcement.

‘Firstly Mr. Mayor I would like to welcome all Councillors, guests and family who, thanks to the new ways of working with virtual meetings, can all be present here with us today.

I am honoured and thankful to have been elected to the office of Mayor for the County Borough of Bridgend for the year 2021 – 2022. Over the years it has not been something I truly expected to happen or aspired to, but I suppose after now entering my 23rd. year as a County Borough Councillor and nearly 30 years as a Community Councillor, it was about time I took on the role.

Nevertheless I will not be undertaking this role on my own and I am proud to inform you that my consort for the year will be my wife, Susan Spanswick, who I am sure will keep me in check and let me know if I step out of line. Susan has supported me over all the years with my work in the community, while I have been out and about attending meetings, etc. she has been working both part time as a Homecare worker and getting on with family life bringing up our 3 children and more lately helping with our 4 grandchildren (and soon to be another one in July), but for one year only Susan will now be stepping forward with me to help represent the County Borough of Bridgend.

Going back to what this honour means to me I thought it would be appropriate to give you a little insight into where I have come from. Not far in fact, as I was brought up in Nantymoel in the lovely Ogmore Valley and while I no longer live there, I still love driving up through the valley towards the Bwlch mountain. While growing up I may not have noticed people in public life and Councillors of the day, but there is one in particular I did notice as I became a teenager in the late 1970’s and that was Councillor Muriel Williams from Ogwr Borough Council, more commonly known as Muw from the Rhiw as the council offices at the time were situated across the river from where they are today, alongside the Rhiw shopping centre. Muriel become the Mayor of Ogwr Borough Council and I am extremely proud to be the Mayor of this County Borough with Nantymoel heritage.

During 1980 I was fortunate to become an Apprentice Groundsman with Ogwr Borough Council based at Griffin Park in Porthcawl and had to travel each day from Nantymoel on my 50cc. moped. Not a great experience on a wet and windy day. It was those early years of the 1980’s that got me interested in politics and the local community and the rest as they say, is history. I will be forever grateful to Ogwr Borough Council for starting me off on my career path in parks and green spaces which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 538.

The outgoing Mayor Councillor KJ Watts confirmed that earlier Council had approved the nomination of Councillor M Jones as Deputy Mayor of Bridgend County Borough Council for the year 2020-21. He therefore invited Councillor Jones to accept this offer in office.

Councillor Jones duly accepted the offer of Deputy Mayor and said that he looked forward to supporting the newly elected Mayor, Councillor Spanswick together with his Consort and to support the citizens of the County Borough in this prestigious role. It was an honour and a privilege to do so he added, as it had been supporting his constituents in the Ward of Bettws. Councillor Jones further added, that he was looking forward to the forthcoming year with both enthusiasm and ambition.

The Deputy Mayor as announced earlier in proceedings, did not have a Consort for the ensuing year.