To receive apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for absence were received from the following Members:

Councillor C Reeves

Councillor M Reeves

Councillor L Morgan

Councillor M Gregory

Councillor GW Davies

Councillor N Farr

Councillor DBF White

Councillor B Jones

Councillor CM James

Councillor H Morgan

Councillor E Hughes 

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 and confirm the Minutes of a meeting of Council dated 8 June 2016

RESOLVED:           That the minutes of the meeting of Council of 8 June 2016 be approved as a true and accurate record subject to Councillor R Williams apologies being added to the list of apologies for absence in Minute No. 630. 

 (i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

The Mayor announced that he and his consort had had a very busy first few weeks and wished to share some of the events that they had already attended.  He announced that on Monday 20 June he had the privilege of raising the Armed Forces Flag.  He explained that the flag was raised every year in honour of the armed forces and in doing so the Authority joins hundreds of people and Councils throughout Britain.  The flying of the flag served to remind everyone of the sacrifices that were made by so many servicemen and women in order that we could all live in a safer and fairer world.  He thanked everyone who attended on the day to show their support and gave particular thanks to Callum MacLauchlin who was a student with the MPCT and future Welsh Guard and raised the flag on his behalf. 

Staying with the military theme, the Mayor and his consort were delighted to be invited to attend a National Service of Commemoration of the Somme in Llandaff Cathedral.  He stated that this was a wonderfully moving service and marked the start of an overnight military vigil which concluded with an early morning Service of Remembrance at the National War Museum.  Closer to home the Mayor and his Consort also attended an equally moving service of commemoration in St David’s Church in Pontycymer.

The Mayor announced that earlier in the week he met with the Headteachers of the Borough who were retiring at the end of the academic year.  He informed Members that it was a lovely opportunity to pass on the thanks of the Council for all their hard work and dedication throughout their time with the Authority.  He wished them all the best for a long and happy retirement. 

The Mayor congratulated Ms Kathleen Mary Evans and Mrs Aileen Christine Jones, and informed Members that these two remarkable ladies were recently recognised for their good works in the Queen’s 90^th Birthday Honours.  Ms Evans was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to nursing in Bridgend and Mrs Jones received an MBE in recognition of her years of bravery with the RNLI Porthcawl. 

And finally the Mayor was very pleased to announce that his charities for next year had been finalised and were: Kidney Wales Cymru Foundation, Crossroads Care, Bridgend and Heronsbridge School – “Summer School”.  He hoped that over the coming year members would join the fundraising efforts for the well deserving organisations. 

Deputy Leader

The Deputy Leader was pleased to inform Members that a recent Estyn “Best Practice” report on raising the attainment, achievement and aspiration levels of looked after children had singled out Brynteg Comprehensive as a case study, specifically the way the school uses a tracking system that enabled teachers to identify and support pupils who require additional help.  He added that the report highlighted a number of types of support available at the school, such as the “Helping Hands” initiative which uses peer mentors to help  ...  view the full minutes text for item 644.

The Leader announced that Members may like to inform their constituents and to help spread the word about how the Council is marking Scam Awareness Month throughout July.  He advised that across the UK, local authorities were working together to help make people aware and alert some of the most popular methods that scammers employ.  He explained that this week was focussing on telephone scams, whilst next week would look at how internet scams work.  The last two weeks of July would feature postal scams and doorstep crime.  Scammers often target people who are rendered vulnerable because of the lack of knowledge, so this campaign helps to redress that balance.  He advised Members to look out for the “scam aware” tag on social media or visit the Council website for more information. 

The Leader reminded Members that the deadline for submitting entries to 2016 Bridgend Business Forum Awards would expire on Friday 8 July.  He stated that the awards feature a range of categories and there were opportunities for a wide variety of local businesses and entrepreneurs to gain some well-deserved recognition.  He added that winners would be announced at the awards ceremony in September and application forms and further details were available at www.bridgendbusinessforum.co.uk

The Leader wished to congratulate the Corporate Director Education and Family Support on being elected Chair of the Association of Directors of Education in Wales.  This was a prestigious position which required her to represent the directors of all 22 local authorities.  He advised that the Corporate Director Education and Family Support had also been reappointed as the Lead Director of the Central South Consortium Joint Committee, whilst the Deputy Leader had been elected as the Consortium’s new Chairperson.  He stated that this reflected well on Bridgend and asked all Members to join him in wishing them both well done.

The Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer provided a report to Council to inform them of the initial implications for the Authority of the recent referendum vote to leave the European Union.  He stated that the decision to leave the European Union would affect many areas of Council activity and therefore would inevitably impact upon delivery of the Corporate Plan.  He added that in the aftermath of the result, there was significant uncertainty over even the timeline for triggering the process and at the time of this report being submitted to Council, the president of the European parliament, Martin Shulz had suggested that negotiations should begin as early as 28 June 2016. 

The Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer advised that Wales receives significant levels of EU Funding, in particular for both Regional Development (European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Regional Development Fund Programme and Social Programmes (European Social Fund (ESF) as well as subsidies such as primary school milk.  The current programmes run to financial year 2020/21, with expectations prior to the referendum of an extension beyond this.  He advised that at least in the medium term, current approved grant schemes will be continued, though it was likely those which were closest to approval will be at least delayed, or put on hold, until the situation becomes clearer.  With specific reference to the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, it was expected that specific funding measures would need to be urgently put in place to guarantee funding for the Metro Scheme.

The Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer advised Members that all of the Council’s investments were held in pounds, with no foreign currency exposure.  The Council operates a deposit account with a UK subsidiary of a Swedish Bank, Sveska Handelsbanken, whose branch is in Pencoed.  He informed Members that it was not considered that this posed any immediate risk, however the situation would be monitored.  The uncertainty of the future trade, political and legislative arrangements have caused significant volatility in both UK and World financial markets and it would likely take some time for the situation to stabilise.  He added that the Council’s Local Government Pension Scheme would have seen the value of its investments fall in recent days due to its volatility.  However, Members should note that pension fund holdings represent long term investments to meet the long term liabilities, and therefore the immediate fluctuations were less important than the longer term economic impact of the referendum. 

Members thanked the Officer for the report and stated that it was important that Members were kept informed of any potential loss of income as a result of the referendum vote to leave the EU.

The Leader stated that funding for the City Deal was a concern of Cabinet and as a result they had sent a letter to the UK and Welsh Government demanding that funding for it was not jeopardised and was hopeful that the media would also recognise this. 

The Deputy Leader stated that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 646.

The Corporate Director Education and Family Support sought approval from Council for a revision to the capital programme 2016-17 60 2025-26.  She stated that Cabinet in December 2006 approved the 3 phase School Modernisation Programme and that one of the three elements of phase 2 of the of the programme is 3 – 18 learning provision in the Cefn Cribwr, Cornelly, Kenfig Hill and Pyle area.  Cabinet in October 2007 approved an options appraisal to determine how 3 – 18 learning education provision might best be organised to meet the future needs of learners in this area.  The options appraisal outlined a number of recommendations for the appropriate number of primary schools and their location with the main recommendation being the establishment of a programme of work for the area.  Cabinet in April 2009 approved a number of individual projects, one of which was 3 – 11 provision in the Kenfig Hill area and the development of a primary school to provide sufficient new or modernised accommodation to cater for a proposed amalgamation of the then Mynydd Cynffig Infant School and Mynydd Cynffig Junior School.  During the consultation, it was requested Cynffig Comprehensive School be further investigated as a potential site for 3 – 11 provision.  The Mynydd Cynffig Primary School project was put forward to the Welsh Government in Band A of the 21^st Century Schools Funding Programme and a feasibility study undertaken to determine the preferred site, which was that of the Junior School.  Consultation subsequently took place to close Mynydd Cynffig Infants School and to make a regulated alteration to Mynydd Cynffig Junior School by extending the age range from 7 - 11 to 3 – 11 with effect from 1 September 2015 operating on a split site. 

The Corporate Director Education and Family Support reported that the junior site was experiencing overcrowding and by contrast, Cynffig Comprehensive School has 416 surplus spaces.  She stated that a feasibility study had been conducted to examine two options for utilising accommodation at the Cynffig site for primary provision.  Evaluation workshops were held to determine the preferred option and to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the Cynffig Comprehensive School site or the junior site for replacement primary provision.  The Corporate Education and Family Support informed Council that the study showed that Cynffig Comprehensive presents the most appropriate and beneficial location for the development of the primary school, allowing a 2 form entry school of projected growth in the area was realised and removing surplus spaces at the comprehensive school.  She stated that in comparison, the junior site presented serious obstacles for the development of a suitable scheme. 

The Corporate Director Education and Family Support reported that site access issues at the Cynffig Comprehensive site had been revisited and appropriate measures to ensure the safety of pedestrian, cycle and vehicular traffic through the industrial estate and Heol Mostyn have been identified.  She stated that Highway and Transportation Officers have confirmed that they would be satisfied for the Primary School  ...  view the full minutes text for item 647.

“Miners Pensions”

‘That this Council resolves to lend its support to the UK Miners Pension Association Justice & Fair Play Campaign. This Association is formed with the objective of securing justice and fair play, for every person that paid into the "Miners Pension Scheme". Their aim is to recover funds from the government and ensure no further reductions are made upon the fund.  
  
This Council acknowledges, that working in the Mining industry in this country was a hazardous occupation and that Miners working across Wales and UK were exposed to dangers and risks every day of their working life. On this basis 50/50 sharing of surplus is wrong and more realistic percentage which reflects the guarantors' risk, and recover all monies that rightly belong to the mineworkers of the UK should be renegotiated. 

This Council therefore resolves to write to the relevant UK Government Minister outlining our objections to this continued injustice to a scheme which was intended to offer security for Miners in later life. This Council will seek to engage the support of local Members of Parliament to highlight this injustice and support this campaign at a parliamentary level.‘

The Mayor asked the Cabinet Member Adult Social Care, Councillor PJ White to propose a Notice of Motion. 

The Cabinet Member Adult Social Care proposed that this Council resolves to lend its support to the UK Miners Pension Association Justice & Fair Play Campaign.  The Association was formed with the objective of securing justice and fair play for every person that paid into the “Minors Pension Scheme”.  Their aim is to recover funds from the government and ensure no further reductions are made upon the fund. 

He proposed that this Council acknowledges, that working in the Mining industry in this country was a hazardous occupation and that Miners working across Wales and UK were exposed to dangerous risks every day of their working life.  On this basis 50/50 sharing of surplus is wrong and more realistic percentage which reflects the guarantors’ risk, and recover all monies that rightly belong to the mineworkers of the UK should be renegotiated. 

The Cabinet Member Adult Social Care proposed that this Council therefore write to the UK Government Minister outlining our objections to the continued injustice to a scheme which was intended to offer security for Miners later in life.  He added that this Council should seek to engage the support of local Members of Parliament to highlight this injustice and support this campaign at a parliamentary level.

A Member thanked the Cabinet Member Adult Social Care for bringing the Notice of Motion to Council which she felt was long overdue.  She stated that she fully supported the motion and hoped for a successful conclusion. 

Several Members echoed the support for the motion and felt that many families are suffering from the loss of income from the reduced pension fund and should be entitled to what is rightfully theirs.

RESOLVED:         That Members unanimously supported the Notice of Motion and agreed to write to the UK Government Minister outlining their objections to the continued injustice to a scheme which was intended to offer security for Miners later in life. 

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 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 Council 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 contained exempt information as defined in Paragraph12 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 item in private with the public being excluded from the meeting as it would involve the disclosure of exempt information as stated above

RESOLVED:           That the exempt minutes of the meeting of Council of 8 June 2016 be approved as a true and accurate record.