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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Offices Angel Street Bridgend CF31 4WB. View directions

Contact: Andrew Rees  Democratic Services Manager

Items
No. Item

327.

Declarations of Interest

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. 

 

 

Minutes:

None.

328.

Approval of Minutes pdf icon PDF 90 KB

To receive for approval the minutes of 17/04/19, 01/05/19 and 15/05/19

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:   That the minutes of the meetings of Council of 17 April and 1 May 2019 and the Annual Meeting of Council of 15 May 2019 be approved as a true and accurate record. 

329.

To receive announcements from:

 (i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

(iv) Monitoring Officer

 

 

Minutes:

Mayor:

 

The Mayor informed Council of the engagements which he had undertaken since his Inauguration, which included attending the Maesteg Festival and attending Porthcawl YMCA to mark the 175th Birthday of the National organisation.  His proudest moment so far came at the Young Enterprise Company Wales Finals at the University of South Wales Cardiff, where he met pupils from Archbishop McGrath Comprehensive School and learned about their business ‘Archways’, which is an essential oil scented revision tool.  The pupils won the overall Wales final and will now progress to represent Wales in the UK final of Young Enterprise.  The Mayor wished the pupils the very best of luck.

 

Deputy Leader

 

The Deputy Leader announced that the Council is marking today’s National Refill Day, which aims to cut down on single-use plastic by encouraging restaurants, cafes and businesses to offer customers a free refill on a reusable bottle.  Businesses can register online at refill.org.uk, while people can download an app which shows them where they can fill up their reusable bottles. 

 

He also informed Members of reports concerning two men trying to impersonate the new 3GS enforcement litter officers, by demanding instant cash payments for supposed littering offences.  He urged the public to watch out for the scam and stated that the enforcement officers always wear official ID badges and lanyards and never ask for a cash payment.  Enforcement officers issue a ticket which details the offence and giving payment options. 

 

The Deputy Leader informed Members of two Community Asset Transfer projects.  Firstly, the all-new skate park at Pencoed, which is drawing a lot of visitors.  The £59,000 project is the result of a partnership between the authority and Pencoed Town Council.  Secondly, Bryncethin Rugby Club has undergone a £550,000 transformation to become a new community centre, which is the result of hard work by the Club with support from the Community Asset Transfer team.  Both projects have been delivered for the benefit of their local communities. 

 

Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help

 

The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help informed Members that the carers choir, Off Duty have marked carers week by releasing their first charity single and video.  He stated that the choir was formed to give local carers a chance to have time for themselves and to socialise.  The choir has been set up with support from the Council, Awen Cultural Trust and the Bridgend Carers Centre.

 

He was delighted to see a new initiative called ‘Super-Agers’ for improving the mental and physical health of older adults receiving a share of £5.4m funding.  The scheme is designed to establish a regional physical activity programme for adults aged 50 plus to help them live active, healthy lifestyles while reducing pressure on support services.  The scheme is one of 17 projects to benefit from the Healthy and Active Fund set up by the Welsh Government, Sport Wales and Public Health Wales.

 

Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations

 

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations announced that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 329.

330.

To receive the report of the Leader

Minutes:

The Leader announced that the Council is continuing to work with partners including Welsh Government in response to the announcement that Ford is proposing to close its Engine Plant next year.  A high-level meeting of local business leaders and employers is being organised to discuss working together to help the local economy respond and rally to the proposed closure.  The Council is also relaunching two major funding initiatives that will support supply chain companies and businesses affected by the announcement.

 

He stated that Ford has long been considered an anchor company in the South Wales economy, and the Special Regeneration Fund will help local companies to diversify and invest in order to thrive and take advantage of new business opportunities.  The Kick Start fund seeks to support new businesses and create fresh jobs within their first three years of trading by helping them invest in equipment and other capital start-up costs.

 

Welsh Government is also taking swift and urgent action with news that a special response team is being assembled to support workers, businesses and local communities.  The Council will offer workers at the engine plant redundancy support and access to new employment and training opportunities.  He stated that the staff at Ford are highly skilled, world-class workers, and wherever possible, the Council will encourage other businesses within the county borough to offer them alternative employment.  There are a number of initiatives in place which can support this, such as the ReAct fund which helps new employers meet recruitment and training costs, or the Employability Bridgend Programme which helps people to adapt, re-train, gain new skills and take advantage of fresh opportunities.

 

He stated that if the closure goes ahead, Bridgend County Borough is going to need significant investment from both the UK Government and Welsh Government in order to offset some of the huge impact that this will have on the local economy, the area and the community as a whole.  The Leader announced that he will keep Members updated on this very concerning matter. 

 

The Leader announced that full public access has been recently restored to the all-new Town Beach in Porthcawl.  The completion of the new £3m sea defences has radically transformed the area previously known as the Tarmac Beach.  The design of the terraces in action divert the force of each incoming wave to either side instead of allowing it to hit the seafront area head-on.  This will ensure 260 seafront properties are protected, including the Grand Pavilion, from flooding and coastal erosion.  He thanked all involved delivering the project. 

 

The Leader congratulated Archbishop Mcgrath School which was recognised at the Young Enterprise Wales awards recently after pupils set up a project called ‘Archways’ which promotes aromatherapy as a personalised study aid.  The awards help build transferable skills and encourage innovation, and Archbishop won first place and will now represent Wales at the UK national awards.  Ysgol Bryn Castell has received a glowing inspection report and a ‘good’ rating from Estyn, with Inspectors recognising the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 330.

331.

To receive the following Questions from:

Councillor T Thomas to the Cabinet Member – Wellbeing and Future Generations

Will the Cabinet Member outline the key recommendations on the recent HM Inspectorate of Probation report on youth justice services in Western Bay?

 

Councillor R Stirman to the Cabinet Member – Social Services and Early Help

Could the relevant Cabinet member  please advise  the extra cost to BCBC of supplying care and support to members of the secure estate since the grant from WG was shared across all 22 Local Authorities rather than by direct grant to those LA’s who had a prison  within their boundaries?

 

Councillor A Hussain to the Deputy Leader

To what extent has the Deputy Leader engaged with businesses in Bridgend County Borough to tell them that Discretionary Rate Relief may be available to them, as only a third of those eligible for this relief are getting it?

 

Councillor M Voisey to the Deputy Leader

Would the Deputy Leader please advise council, of what sanctions if any, have been imposed on Kier, in regards the waste contract, since appointment?

 

 

 

 

Minutes:

Question from Councillor T Thomas to the Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations

 

Will the Cabinet Member outline the key recommendations on the recent HM Inspectorate of Probation report on youth justice services in Western Bay?

 

Response of the Cabinet Member

 

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation’s recommendations can be found on page 7 of the full inspection report.

 

There were 14 recommendations made in relation to a number of partners they are detailed below:

 

Western Bay Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service Management Board should:

 

1.          Review and clarify its role and function, include all statutory partners and work in an effective way to make sure that the service operates to a sufficient standard.

 

2.          Make sure that partnership agencies provide appropriate support and services.

 

3.          Develop effective oversight of the service’s work and effective challenge to partners.

 

4.          Develop a clear plan to manage disaggregation of individual youth offending teams from the service to limit any detrimental effect on the remaining parts of Western Bay Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service.

 

5.          Provide the resources and support to the management team to manage the service effectively.

 

6.          Review the role and function of the prevention service.

 

The Western Bay Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service Manager should:

 

7.          Make sure that all staff have appropriate supervision and management oversight.

 

8.          Review the management structure and lines of accountability.

 

The directors of children’s services should:

 

9.          Monitor and review all cases where there are safety and wellbeing issues, making sure that appropriate referrals are made and joint work takes place as needed.

 

10.        Improve the quality (and awareness from staff) of the referral systems so that children and young people receive the services they need.

 

The local authority education services should:

 

11.        Review the effectiveness of information-sharing protocols to ensure that all schools and workers involved have the information they need to provide support tailored to children and young people’s individual needs.

 

12.        Develop effective strategies to encourage children and young people who speak Welsh to access services in their preferred language, and to use, develop and recognise the value of the language as an employment skill

 

13.        Develop a literacy and numeracy strategy to support children and young people to develop these skills.

 

Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board should:

 

14.        Provide relevant and timely physical, sexual, emotional and mental health services to meet the needs of children and young people to reduce further harm and promote wellbeing.

 

Councillor Thomas asked what plans the Cabinet Member has to implement the recommendations of the Probation Inspectorate.  The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations that a post inspection action plan had been reported to Cabinet in April 2019.  The post inspection action plan is monitored by partners, with the Youth Justice Board being satisfied with the good progress made to date.  The Corporate Director Education and Family Support informed Council that extensive work is being undertaken with staff and partners, with the post inspection plan being monitored by the Youth Justice  ...  view the full minutes text for item 331.

332.

Estyn Inspection of Bridgend County Borough Council's Local Government Education Services pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Minutes:

The Corporate Director Education and Family Support informed Council of the outcomes of the recent Estyn inspection of the Council’s local government education services. 

 

He reported that the inspection was carried out by Estyn in March 2019, under the new Local Government Education Inspection Framework.  Inspectors from the Wales Audit Office and Care Inspectorate Wales were part of the inspection team.  A wide range of stakeholders were involved in the inspection, which included elected Members, officers, head teachers, learners and members of the public. 

 

The Corporate Director Education and Family Support highlighted to Council the strengths and areas for development in relation to Inspection Area (IA) 1 – Outcomes; IA2 – Education Services and IA3 – Leadership and Management.  He also highlighted the recommendations made by Estyn.  He stated that in recognition of the notable practice by the authority, it had been requested by Estyn to provide a case study on its work in relation young people’s involvement in decision-making processes in schools and the local authority, for dissemination on Estyn’s website.

 

The Leader commented that the authority would ensure that the recommendations made by Estyn are implemented in a timely way in the post-inspection plan.  He was pleased to note that Estyn had recognised the Council’s work in relation to involving young people in the decision-making process, holding monthly meetings with the Youth Mayor and it valued the input of the Youth Council in making policy.  He thanked the Corporate Director Education and Family Support, officers, all Members of Council and stakeholders for making a difference to young people. 

 

A Member of Council requested an update on the progress being made with the post inspection plan.  The Corporate Director Education and Family Support informed Council that a detailed plan had been drawn up to look at the key priorities and he welcomed the involvement of scrutiny in that. 

 

A Member of Council questioned what was being done to identify and provide support to young carers.  The Corporate Director Education and Family Support stated that work in ongoing to support young carers, but there was need for young carers to identify themselves in order that they can receive support.

 

A Member of Council questioned the support provided to vulnerable groups where pupils’ attendance at school could be adversely affected by having to attend hospital appointments.  The Corporate Director Education and Family Support commented that the Directorate is working with health and partners to support vulnerable groups.  A Vulnerable Groups Team had been set up to work with schools and partners. 

 

Concern was expressed by a Member at the standard of literacy in primary schools, with reliance being placed on the Consortium and whether the Council was receiving value for money from the Consortium.  The Corporate Director Education and Family Support informed Council that reading tests were in line with expectations.  He stated that 3 primary schools are causing concern and work is in progress with the Consortium to address the situation.  He also stated that the Consortium receives value for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 332.

333.

Review of Political Balance - Changes to Committee Membership pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer advised Council of the outcome of a review of the political balance of the Authority resulting from a change to the membership of the Plaid Cymru Group and sought approval of the revised political balance.  She informed Council that Councillor R Stirman would no longer sit as a stand-alone Independent member and has joined the Plaid Cymru Group.  The change does not affect the seats currently allocated to Councillor Stirman.            

 

RESOLVED            That Council:

 

(a)           Noted the change to the political composition of the Council;

 

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

334.

Information Report for Noting pdf icon PDF 65 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Legal and Regulatory Services reported on the following information report which has been published since the last meeting of Council:

 

Urgent Delegated Decisions

 

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

335.

Urgent Items

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. 

 

 

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

336.

Exclusion of the Public

The Minutes relating to the following item are not for publication as they contain exempt information as defined in Paragraph 12 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 this item in private, the public will be excluded from the meeting during such consideration.

 

Minutes:

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 contained exempt information as defined in Paragraph 12 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.

 

Following the application of the public interest test it was resolved that pursuant to the Act referred to above, to consider the under-mentioned items in private with the public being excluded from the meeting as it would involve the disclosure of exempt information as stated above.

337.

Approval of Exempt Minutes

To receive for approval the exempt minutes of 17/04/19 a 01/05/19

 

 

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:   That the exempt minutes of the meetings of Council of 17 April and 1 May 2019 be approved as a true and accurate record. 

 

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