To receive apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for absence were received from the following Members:-

Councillor MEJ Nott

Councillor D Pugh

Councillor RD Jenkins

Councillor D Newton-Williams

Councillor C Griffiths

Councillor D Sage

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 1 September 2008

Councillor EM Hughes declared a personal interest in Agenda item 5, in that she was Chairperson of Heronsbridge Special Needs school.

To receive for approval the Minutes of a meeting of the Town and Community Council Forum dated 11 January 2016

RESOLVED:                That the Minutes of a meeting of the Town & Community Council Forum dated 11 January 2016 be approved as a true and accurate record.

A Member referred to   A Member referred to Minute 110. and the beginning of the second paragraph where it stated that ‘a Member asked what the fall back situation was if Town and Community Councils do not accept CAT offers as some of the proposals were not realistically sustainable, however, they could not afford to lose assets such as pavilions and sports grounds’. He felt that there was not a sufficient response in the Minute to this question.

The Head of Democratic Services advised that he would look into this point and come back to the Member accordingly, outside of the meeting.

To be accompanied by a Presentation from Cecilia Ware, Integrated Community Network Manager

The Integrated Community Network Manager presented a report, the purpose of which, was to provide an update to the Town and Community Council Forum on the development of Dementia Friends, and how they support the development of Dementia Friendly Communities.

She explained that “Dementia Friends” and “Dementia Friendly Communities” were both initiatives created to improve the lives of people with a diagnosis of dementia, and to offer increased support to their families. Recommended through “the Prime Minister’s challenge” in 2012 and further supported by the Welsh Government and the Older Person’s Commissioner for Wales, the project aimed to create a community in which people with dementia are empowered to have high aspirations and feel confident, knowing that they can contribute and participate in activities that are meaningful to them.

The Llynfi 20 Project Group was established in 2013 to address the health inequality found in the Llynfi valley following a Health Equality Audit which showed that people in the Llynfi Valley have significantly poorer quality of health than other communities within Bridgend CBC.  One of the work streams for this project was to establish “Dementia Friendly Communities” to reduce isolation and improve the health of people with a diagnosis of dementia.

The Integrated Community Network Manager confirmed that the aim of the above initiative, was to make small differences in the way people with dementia are supported, so that they can remain independent and socially active in their communities for longer.

She proceeded by stating that work was ongoing with BAVO to arrange consultation sessions and gain the support of other key stakeholders to put supportive measures in place to help people suffering from dementia live in their home for longer.

Information sessions had been held she added, in order to increase the number of “Dementia Friends”, which would assist areas in turn, to become ‘Dementia Friendly Communities’.

The Integrated Community Network Manager explained, that following the project brief introduced by the Alzheimer’s Society, the Council was looking to apply to achieve status to become a Dementia Friendly community hopefully in due course, within a number of areas of the BCB, after achieving this firstly in Maesteg. There were 6 steps to be achieved to become recognised as this, and these were detailed in paragraph 4.3 of the report.

For the benefit of Members, she then played two short video’s on the subject of Dementia and how organisations, family and even members of the community including people working in retail establishments, could assist in playing a part in the support of people suffering with this debilitating illness.

A Member asked if there were local places throughout the community, and in particular in Maesteg, where people suffering with this illness could go and visit as a form of a social and at the same time, supportive outlet.

The Integrated Community Network Manager advised that there were Day Centre’s and a café in Maesteg, where people with dementia could visit. She added that it was very important that people with dementia remained  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

The Group Manager, Business Strategy and Performance presented a report to Members regarding a previous decision of Cabinet to propose changes to the Council’s Learner Travel Policy which will take effect from September 2016, and to inform the Forum on how the policy change will contribute to the overall saving in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy 2016/17 to 2019/20 (MTFS).

The report provided some background information, following which the report outlined that the Council’s Learner Travel Policy was no longer financially sustainable, and the MTFS sought to achieve potential revenue savings relating to the Learner Travel Policy as detailed in Table 1 of the report.

The Group Manager, Business Strategy and Performance advised that the Council had already made efficiency savings of £1m in respect of the Learner Travel transport Contract through the transport operators.

The next section of the report confirmed how further savings were required to be made in future years of the MTFS in respect of reviewing the Learner Transport Policy regarding statutory distances for free travel. £67k had been targeted in terms of savings in this area within each of the three years for 2017 – 2020.

The Group Manager, Business Strategy and Performance confirmed that in order to take forward these savings, the following three proposals to amend the LA’s Learner Travel Policy were put forward:-

1. To increase the distance required for free transport between a pupil’s home and their school, to match the distance required by law (including Welsh medium and Voluntary aided schools)
2. To charge the full cost of a school bus pass for pupils who do not receive free school transport
3. To stop providing free transport for learners aged 16 or over, who go to school or college

He added that a full consultation exercise was then carried out in respect of these proposals, with the outcome of this presented to Cabinet in September 2015. The decision Cabinet made was detailed in paragraph 4.5 of the report.

The Group Manager, Business Strategy and Performance confirmed that since the Cabinet decision in September, the budget proposal built into the MTFS relating to this saving/estimated shortfall had been removed, mitigating the potential budget shortfall.

Referring to paragraph 4.6 of the report, the Group Manager, Business Transformation and Performance advised that proposal 1 above was accepted. Proposal 2 was also accepted, but the cost of a paying place was amended to £1.90 per day. However, proposal 3 was not accepted, other than post 16 pupils receiving free home to school transport in line with the statutory walking distance for secondary age pupils ie at 3 miles rather than 2 miles.

A Member confirmed that he was unhappy with some elements of the report.

He asked the Officer if an Environmental Impact Assessment had been carried out in respect of the proposed changes. He asked this, considering that there was a distance of 3 miles from one end of the valley in Maesteg to the other, which was some considerable distance for any pupil who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

The Head of Regulatory, Partnerships and Transformation submitted a report, the purpose of which, was to seek the views of the Town and Community Council Forum regarding the proposed revisions to the Town and Community Council Charter. Following endorsement of this by the Forum, the revised Charter would be submitted to all Town and Community Councils in the County Borough of Bridgend for approval.

The report gave some background information, following which the report confirmed that at December’s meeting of the Town and Community Council Forum, it was agreed that a Town and Community Council Charter Working Group be established, to review the current Charter. The working group consisted of 6 Elected Members from Bridgend County Borough Council and 6 Elected Member representatives from the Town/Community Councils.

The Head of Regulatory, Partnerships and Transformation confirmed that the Working Group had met on a couple of occasions to undertake the review, which included the circulation of the existing Charter to all Town and Community Councils to identify any suggested ways to improve the Charter

He went on to advise, that a series of proposals were discussed, and the amendments contained in paragraph 4.3 of the report were agreed for inclusion in the revised draft Charter.

The Head of Regulatory, Partnerships and Transformation, confirmed that the Charter (attached at Appendix 1 to the report) had been revised to reflect the promise of all partners, to embrace the challenges ahead in order to achieve the required outcomes and demonstrate citizen-focused delivery of services. The Charter would also strengthen single contact points between the Authority and Town/Community Councils, as well as improving engagement between Town and Community Councils themselves.

As soon as all Town and Community Councils had agreed the revised Charter, a formal signing of this would be held before June 2016, following the election appointment of the Mayor’s/Chairpersons for the 2016 -17 Civic Year.

The Charter would also be used as a toolkit within which to form the Committee’s Forward Work Programme (FWP), through the FWP Action Plan.

It was also intended he added to utilise technology more proactively in order to improve engagement with Town/Community Councils.

The Head of Regulatory, Partnerships and Transformation concluded his submission, by advising that any comments in relation to the revised Charter could be forwarded either to himself or the Head of Democratic Services.

The Chairperson extended his thanks to Officers and any Members who had assisted them in driving this forward. He considered that the revised Charter would be more of a working document, and would provide increased focus on delivering key aims and objectives that would also result in more meaningful items being placed on future Committee meeting agendas.

He also felt that there would be a larger role than currently existed following local government reformation, for key stakeholders such as Town/Community Councils, including in the support of the County Borough Council.

A Member felt that Town/Community Councils, particularly the more larger ones, could increase their precept in order to support the local authority  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

To consider any other item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in accordance with Rule 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. 

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