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 informed Council of the engagements which he and his Consort had attended in the past month which included the opening of the newest phase of the safe routes to school from Croesty School to Coychurch.  The Mayor and Consort visited Brynteg Lower school to hear the harrowing story of Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke.  The Mayor also informed Council that he and the Consort had attended the retirement lunch for Dame Kate Thomas, who was retiring from her position of Lord Lieutenant. 

He and the Consort had a further 3 engagements to attend and he thanked all Members and officers for their help in the Mayoral year.

A motion was made which was duly seconded and carried unanimously, that Councillor SE Baldwin be appointed Mayor for 2019/20.

RESOLVED:                 That Councillor SE Baldwin be elected as Mayor for the ensuing year.

Councillor Baldwin announced that his Consort for the ensuing year would be his partner Mr Craig Williams.   

A motion was made which was duly seconded and carried unanimously, that Councillor KJ Watts be appointed Deputy Mayor for 2019/20.

RESOLVED:                 That Councillor KJ Watts be elected as Deputy Mayor for the ensuing year.

Councillor JE Williams was announced as the Consort to the Deputy Mayor for the ensuing year.

Councillor Baldwin announced that it was a great honour for him to be elected as Mayor for Bridgend County Borough County Council and that he was looking forward to attending a wide variety of events during his year of office.  He pay tribute to the outgoing Mayor and Consort for the way in which they had served the County Borough in their year in office.  

A motion was made which was duly seconded, that Councillor HJ David be elected as Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council for 2019/20.

RESOLVED:                 That Councillor HJ David be elected Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council for the ensuing year.

RESOLVED:                 That the Cabinet for 2019/20 consists of the Leader, Deputy Leader and four Cabinet Members supporting portfolios.

The Leader thanked colleagues for his election as Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council and he pledged once more give the role his full attention and focus.  There would need to be a strong focus will be necessary over the next twelve months, with the tenth year of national austerity fast approaching, with the future remaining very challenging for local government, with the Council requiring to save a further £35m over the coming years, which will impact significantly upon local services and council tax rises. 

He informed Council that local government and society are in a state of transition, with the uncertainty of Brexit, the Council now being part of a new health authority area, facing increasing demands for greater regional collaboration, and seeing rapid changes in the roles that councils play in the lives of people living throughout the UK.  He stated that the Council has not shied away from making difficult decisions during this period, nor had it lost sight of ensuring the continued safety and wellbeing of the most vulnerable residents despite having to provide services against an ongoing backdrop of increasingly limited resources and requiring an ethos of resilience.

The Council has over the last year recruited and appointed a new Chief Executive, a Director of Education and appointed a new Monitoring Officer, with Council growing its own and promoting from within the organisation.  It therefore has the advantage of a new senior management team that has extensive experience of the organisation, and Cabinet will continue to work alongside them in order to meet future challenges head-on.

The Leader acknowledged the efforts of staff at all levels over the last nine years, who have been at the forefront of delivering council services and maintain high quality under some very difficult circumstances.  Cutting over 400 posts from organisation has increased the demands placed on staff at all levels within the organisation, but it was reassuring that the authority has a skilled and dedicated workforce in place as it turns towards the year ahead.

The Leader stated that although the Council faces diminishing resources, it has always tried to balance this with innovation and investment in the future, and the Council can never lose sight of the need to invest in its communities, modernise and change services and invest in young people.  The Council has opened a new Extra Care facility at Ynysawdre and a second facility preparing to open in Maesteg.  Children’s residential homes have been remodelled to provide a hub with a new short-term assessment unit featuring for the first time specialist therapeutic care and a new emergency unit, which has helped to avoid making out of county placements in secure accommodation.

The Council has teamed up with organisations such as health and South Wales Police to establish the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub, helping to respond to safeguarding concerns in a coordinated, joined up and effective way.  Elsewhere, the Council has agreed to support young people leaving care by making them exempt from having to pay  ...  view the full minutes text for item 320.

RESOLVED:                  That the Leader appointed the following Members to the Cabinet:-

                                         Councillor HW Williams

                                         Councillor D Patel

                                        Councillor PJ White

                                         Councillor CE Smith

                                         Councillor RE Young

RESOLVED:              That the Leader announced that the Deputy Leader for 2019/20 would be Councillor HM Williams, and that he would be responsible for Resources.

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

                          Councillor D Patel – Wellbeing and Future Generations

                          Councillor PJ White – Social Services and Early Help

                          Councillor RE Young – Communities

                          Councillor CE Smith – Education and Regeneration

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 2019 – April 2020 for approval and to note the programme of meetings for the municipal year May 2020 – April 2021. 

The Monitoring Officer announced one change to the programme of meetings for the year 2019-2020 that the meeting of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee be changed from 18 July 2019 to 17 July 2019.

A member requested that the timings of meetings of Council be reviewed and whether consideration could be given to holding some meetings of Council in the evening.  The Monitoring Officer informed Council that the Democratic Services Committee would be considering elements of the Constitution in order to review the time period for the submission of Questions and Motions and also the timing of Council meetings with the outcome of the review being reported back to Council. 

RESOLVED:                That Council:-

(1)    Approved the proposed programme of Council meetings for 2019/20 as set out in paragraph 4.1 of the report.

(2)    Approved the proposed programme of meetings of Council Committees set out in Appendix 1 to this report, subject to the above change.

(3)    Noted the provisional programme of meetings of Council and Committees for 2020/21, set out in Appendix 2 to this report.

(4)         Noted the dates of Cabinet, Cabinet Committees and Cabinet’s Joint Committee which are also set out in Appendix 1 to this report, for information purposes.

The Monitoring Officer sought approval for the appointment of Overview and Scrutiny Committees and such other Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and other bodies as the Council considers appropriate, to deal with matters which are neither reserved to full Council nor are executive functions. 

The Monitoring Officer reported that the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 made a number of requirements in relation to the Audit Committee’s membership, including Lay Membership and the appointment of the Chairperson. The Chairperson under the Measure is required to be appointed by the Audit Committee at its first scheduled meeting which is scheduled for 13 June 2019.  The lay member of the Committee, Ms J Williams was reappointed for a further term at the Annual Meeting of Council on 17^th May 2017, and in accordance with the Measure, is allowed to serve a maximum of two terms on the Committee in this capacity.

The Monitoring Officer also reported on an amendment to the Terms of Reference of the Audit Committee to include the following function “Receive a copy of a report concerning the incidents and near misses reported under the Corporate Risk Management Incident and Near Misses Reporting Procedure (Excluding Health and Safety”. 

The Monitoring Officer reported that the Standards Committee currently comprises seven members and there is currently a vacancy for a Town and Community Councillor and recommended that the membership remain the same as at present and that Part 3 of the Constitution in relation to the Standards Committee membership be amended accordingly. 

The Monitoring Officer also reported that the Council currently has in place an Appointments Committee in order to interview and appoint JNC level staff, which includes designated positions such as the Chief Executive, Directors and Heads of Service.  In order to accommodate all political Group Leaders on the Appointments Committee, it is proposed to increase the membership by 2 Members, namely the Group Leader of the Llynfi Independents and an additional seat to the Labour Group to maintain their appropriate level of representation on Committees overall.  

The Monitoring Officer informed Council that the Measure also established procedures whereby Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairs are nominated and appointed.  The Measure requires that as a minimum the Chairpersons of these Committees be appointed based on the size and political balance of each of the groups that make up the Council.  In line with the political composition of the Council, and the formula used under the Local Government Measure with regard to the allocation of Overview and Scrutiny Chairs, these should be allocated to the following political groups:

The Monitoring Officer informed Council that the Chairperson of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee is unallocated and in accordance with the Measure, is to be appointed by the members of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee from one of the Chairpersons of the Scrutiny Subject Committees but it cannot be the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 324.

The Monitoring Officer sought approval to appoint Members to the South Wales Police and Crime Panel, Cardiff Capital Region City Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the South East Wales Strategic Planning Group.

RESOLVED:                  That Council approved the following nominations to the bodies listed below:-

                                       South Wales Police and Crime Panel – Councillor RE Young

Cardiff Capital Region City Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Councillor JP Blundell

South East Wales Strategic Planning Group – Chairperson of the Development Control Committee

The Monitoring Officer advised Council of the Annual Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales in respect of the level and range of remuneration the Authority must make available to its Members for the 2019/20 municipal year.

The Monitoring Officer summarised the determinations of the Panel in relation to the level of basic salary; senior salaries; Leader and Deputy Leader; Cabinet members; Chairs of Committees; the Leader of the largest opposition group; opposition group leaders; civic salaries and co-opted members.  She stated that the draft Annual Report of the Panel had been the subject of consultation with all council in Wales and comments had been made by the Democratic Services Committee which resolved to write to the Panel whilst endorsing the determinations it would make, the IRP needs to bear in mind the budgetary pressures faced by local authorities when setting salary levels.  It also urged restraint in the conclusions it made in determining pay awards as the Council needs to demonstrate to the public that it is mindful of budgetary constraints in the delivery of public services. 

The Monitoring Officer informed Council that the introduction of these proposals will increase the cost of remuneration of Members by £268 per Elected Member which equates to £14,472.

RESOLVED:                  That Council:

(1)      noted the determinations and recommendations  contained within the Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales in respect of the level and range of remuneration the Authority must pay its Members for the 2019/20 municipal year;

(2)     Approved:

· the adoption of the relevant determinations of the Independent Remuneration Panel contained within its 2019 report;

· those posts (as shown in the revised Members’ Schedule of Remuneration), who will receive a senior/civic salary;

· the level of remuneration for the Senior and Civic Salaries (where appropriate);

· the revised Members’ Schedule of Remuneration at Appendix 2, and for it to become effective from 15May 2019 (Annual Meeting of Council).

that the Members’ Schedule of Remuneration be updated with any changes to Senior/Civic Salary positions subsequently made by Council during the 2019/20 municipal year.