(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

The Mayor informed Council of the engagements which he had undertaken since the last meeting of Council which included attending the BAVO volunteer awards which celebrates local people who give up their time to help others in their community.  He had the honour of presenting the Sports Volunteer of the Year award to Shannie Bowen, who runs weekly meetings during the school year with current Maesteg Active Young People leaders, helping them with their work books, organising placements and supporting them with their progress. 

Nominations for the Mayor’s Annual Citizenship Awards were now open, the awards are open to people who live in the county borough, as well as groups and businesses based locally.  Further information can be found on the BCBC website and a nomination form can be downloaded.  The deadline for receipt of nominations is 24 January, the winners will be announced at an event in March.

The Mayor had the honour of representing the Authority at the Remembrance Sunday event held in Bridgend and laying a wreath on behalf of BCBC and its residents. 

The Mayor announced that the first fundraising event “Music with the Mayor” was held at Court Colman on 10 November and had proven a great success, raising £1,300 for the Mayor’s charity.

He reminded Councillors that he would be collecting for the foodbank at December Council.  Councillors can also bring in their reverse advent calendars so that they can be collected by the Foodbank and he urged all to participate. 

He also announced that the Princess of Wales Hospital Neo Natal Unit had received a prestigious UNICEF award, for the support the Unit gives to mothers and babies.  He stated that the Unit is leading the way not only in Cwm Taf but in Wales. 

Deputy Leader

The Deputy Leader informed Members of a wide range of local events that are taking place across the county borough to draw to constituents’ attention.  Events begin on 22 November when the Bridgend and Porthcawl Fundraising group for Marie Curie will host an evening of crafts, songs and refreshments at Bridgend United Church along with a performance from choral group Sounds Familiar.  The annual Bridgend White Christmas will take place on 23 November, where Santa Claus will tour the town centre before entering his grotto at Carnegie House, and later switching on the town lights.  Children can also visit him at his grotto on the 30 November, and 7 and 14 December.

The Porthcawl Jingle Bell Parade will take place on 29 November with live brass band music, food stalls, children’s rides and a Bridge FM stage, while the Grand Pavilion will host A Merry Little Christmas with Only Men Aloud. 

On 30 November, the Maesteg Christmas Parade will offer a fireworks display and the switching-on of the Christmas lights, while Bryngarw Country Park will feature a visit from the only Green Santa in South Wales who will also be there on 1 December.  On 7 December, the Wooden Reindeer Trail will open at Bryngarw Country Park and children will be asked to help Santa find his lost reindeer.  The reindeer will also be lost on the 7, 8, 14 and 15 December.  A Christmas Coastal Crafts will take place on 8 December at the Rest Bay Watersports Centre, and the Porthcawl Christmas Cracker event featuring a pop-up Christmas market, street food stalls, children’s rides, Santa’s grotto, a brass band and more.  From 14 December until 5 January, the Grand Pavilion will be home to the Snow White pantomime, and with the annual Morning Swim taking place on Christmas Day itself.  He announced that this year will mark the 55^th anniversary of the event and is in aid of Alzheimer’s Society Cymru.  The theme will be ‘A Trip Down Memory Lane’ where swimmers will dress up as a Christmas memory.

Cabinet Member Communities

The Cabinet Member Communities announced that Members will be aware of the ongoing efforts to promote the Armed Forces Covenant, the latest element of which has involved the establishment of a guaranteed interview scheme for veterans.  He informed Members that the Ministry of Defence has presented the Council with a bronze award from its Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.  The scheme recognises commitment and support from UK employers for defence personnel, and it presents bronze, silver and gold awards for employers who support those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families.

Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help

The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help announced that in preparation for inevitable winter pressures placed upon hospitals, the Welsh Government has allocated a total of £4.3m to Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board, £2.7m of this is intended to be used in partnership with organisations in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg region.  This has required the health board to work closely with each of the local authorities based within the region to identify bids that are designed to provide solutions to this significant problem.  He was pleased to confirm that following consideration of the regional wide bids, Bridgend County Borough has been allocated £600,000. 

This funding will be used to enhance community provision and will include the Multi Agency Rapid Discharge Team, and investment in the third sector to increase their ability to support the community provision of services.  It will also be used to increase capacity within existing services and teams, and for new ways of working with our domiciliary care providers.

He also announced that that a further £250,000 has also been allocated to increase bed capacity, to enable new ways of integrated working which increase capacity, to prevent any unnecessary hospital admissions to the Princess of Wales Hospital, and to speed up discharge where appropriate. 

The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help announced that the Council’s annual ‘empty nesters’ campaign is appealing for people whose older children have left home to consider becoming foster carers.  At this time of year, many parents may be going through what is known as ‘empty nesters syndrome’ and research has shown that for some people, these feelings can result in depression and a loss of purpose.  He stated that the Council would like parents to reflect on their longer-term aspirations, and make them aware of how valuable they could be to a foster child as people who have brought up their own children will already have the necessary experience and life skills.  Further information is available at the Bridgend Foster Care website.

Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations announced that for almost 20 years, Community Chest has invested more than a million pounds into grassroots sport in Bridgend County Borough.  This is a Sport Wales initiative which provides eligible community groups, sports clubs and youth clubs with grants of up to £1,500.  She informed Council that grant funding such as this plays a vital role in helping clubs to remain sustainable, especially in light of recent efforts to secure the long-term future of community sport by encouraging more community asset transfers, and in the face of ongoing budget challenges.

The Cabinet Wellbeing and Future Generations informed Council of the groups which had benefitted recently from Community Chest funding, which include Every Link Counts, to set up a boccia club for people with learning difficulties, the Maesteg Canoe Club and Bridgend Canoe Club, who used their funding to purchase instructor training and equipment for younger members and people with disabilities.  The Bridgend Bolts Netball Club has used Community Chest funding to encourage more girls to take up sport and ensure that they can progress from junior level into senior netball.  The funding has also supported training for coaches, umpires and first-aiders, equipment and facility hire costs and more.  She urged Members to encourage local sports teams and clubs to find out more about how the Community Chest funding scheme can support them.  The deadline for the next round of funding applications will is 27 November, with details available on the Sport Wales community chest website or contacting sports development officer Andrew Jones.

Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration

The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration announced that Natural Resources Wales is in discussions with the Kenfig Corporation Trust over a long-term management lease for Kenfig National Nature Reserve.  He stated that the Council has been working towards a management handover of the site for almost a full decade and has been supporting the trust as they seek to appoint a new organisation who can continue this work when the lease is returned on 31 December 2019.  He informed Council that Natural Resources Wales are undertaking ‘due diligence’ checks after concluding that they are best placed to manage the conservation interests at the site.  He acknowledged and thanked everyone who had worked at the reserve or who has volunteered there while it has been managed by the Council.

The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration congratulated pupils at Corneli Primary School, Ysgol Y Ferch o’r Sgêr and the Integrated Children’s Centre for offering a helping hand to infants at Mynydd Cynffig Primary.  He stated that the infants found themselves in need of a new classroom after a burst pipe left theirs without heat and in need of extensive repairs.  He stated that their fellow pupils have rallied round to make room for them while the work is underway.

Chief Executive

The Chief Executive announced that a number of Council staff have been recognised at the South Wales Police Awards after winning the Police and Crime Commissioner Partnership Award for 2019.  The award was presented for their efforts as part of the Suicide Review And Response Group.  Featuring representatives from the Communications, Safeguarding and Education and Family Support teams, the group brings together colleagues from the Council, health, police and third sector organisations.  The group works in partnership to provide dedicated support which is designed to help people access services that support mental well-being, and prevent self-harm and suicide.  He congratulated the staff for their efforts. 

The Chief Executive also announced that staff have also organised a Christmas Foodbank collection and donation scheme in support of local families and individuals who are experiencing hardship.  Throughout all of next week, collection points will be set up in staff kitchen and break areas at the Civic Offices, and a list of food and other urgently needed items will be distributed as part of this week’s all-staff Bridgenders email. This was being organised in time for Christmas, in addition to the Mayor’s ongoing Foodbank collection.