(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

 

Mayor

 

The Mayor announced, that as a council, we often warn people to remain alert for scams that are designed to convince people to part with their money or to reveal private banking details.

 

He was sure colleagues could imagine his surprise, after he was recently informed by a resident about his own name and position as Mayor were being fraudulently used.

 

It transpired that the resident concerned had received an email from a bogus account set up to look as if it belonged to the Mayor of Bridgend County Borough.

 

In the email, the scammer using my name asked the resident if they could do ‘me’ a favour by purchasing several hundred pounds worth of digital gift cards and promised to reimburse them immediately.

 

On seeing the messages from the scammer, several things stood out immediately. The first thing I noticed was that the email was full of spelling mistakes and poor grammar and had been badly put together.

 

The other big giveaway was the fake email address, which did not end in a gov-dot-UK address, and I am appalled that someone tried to use my name and my position as Mayor in such a criminal manner.

 

Sadly, it seems that this is quite a common scam which nearly always involves impersonating somebody and sending an email to their friends, family members, people they have supported through public office or customers they may have done business with.

 

The Mayor urged people to remain alert and to report all suspected scams to the Action Fraud website, without delay.

 

On happier news, he was delighted to attend the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the council and Japanese green energy specialists, Marubeni.

 

This was a non-binding partnership agreement which set out how both organisations intend to work together to explore and develop a largescale new hydrogen energy initiative.

 

Bridgend County Borough was specifically selected by Marubeni as the preferred UK location for a green hydrogen demonstrator project, following discussions with Welsh Government.

 

It aimed to create a plant capable of generating and balancing the supply and storage of low-cost green energy and could act as a trailblazer by generating clean fuel for fleet vehicles, ranging from council gritters to recycling and refuse collection lorries.

 

It could also be extended to cover emergency response vehicles used by blue light services and will consider how hydrogen fuel might be used to heat buildings and facilities a such as schools, Extra Care residential homes, local swimming pools and more.

 

Welsh Government is actively supporting its development and as the project develops, the Cardiff Capital Region has also agreed in principle to consider the opportunity for making further investment.

 

Depending on how successful the scheme is, it could then be rolled out across the UK.

 

Anyone who has filled up their car recently will know that it is becoming increasingly important to find alternative sources of clean, green cheap energy.

 

This scheme has the potential to not only contribute towards our own decarbonisation targets, but could help meet national Welsh Government targets on achieving a carbon neutral public sector by 2030 and establishing renewable hydrogen production sites as part of the Net Zero Wales agenda.

 

The Mayor looked forward to seeing the project make progress in the weeks and months to come.

 

In terms of functions and events, the Mayor’s Office had continued to be very busy in supporting various organisations across the County Borough.

 

Both the Deputy Mayor and myself have been privileged to attend many diverse events and met some incredible people. A selection of these events included:

 

The BAVO volunteer awards ceremony held at the Grand Pavilion Porthcawl. It was truly humbling and inspiring to witness at first hand the incredible work undertaken by people helping others sometimes in very demanding and unique circumstances. He extended congratulations to all those nominated for an Award and thanked the BAVO management team for organising this event.

 

The Mayor was sure Members would wish to join him in saying a Big Thank you to all volunteers across the County Borough, that had been involved in the above.

 

He announced that he also had the privilege to attend award ceremonies at The Bridgend College and CCYD at Tondu, where students can be very proud of their achievements there. There was no doubt the County Borough has a wealth of talent within its younger generation, both in terms of academic achievement and vocational qualification. Well done to all.

 

On a very hot Sunday afternoon the Mayor also attended a " Night at the Musicals " show at the Grand Pavilion Porthcawl. This had been a great performance.

 

51 Children from across the County Borough were amazing, along with a packed audience the young people involved, entertained them with song and dance of a very high standard. It was also a pleasure to meet many of the very proud parents after the event. Very proud parents I may add. The Mayor extended his thanks to the Bridgend Show School for the invitation and for organising this event.

 

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member – Social Services and Early Help

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member – Social Services and Early Help, advised that Foster Wales Bridgend has recently celebrated its first birthday and has been reflecting on a year dedicated to improving foster care for children across the county borough.

 

As members may know, Foster Wales Bridgend is part of an all-Wales fostering network of not-for-profit fostering services, comprising of all 22 local authority teams.

 

Over the last 12 months local authority foster carers have come together to provide vital support for vulnerable young people and parents, with 163new fostering families formed.

 

However, there is still a need to recruit an estimated 700 new foster carers and families across Wales, all while the country faces a continuing cost-of-living crisis.

 

The Foster Wales team in Bridgend wants to encourage more people to take up fostering through their local authority, so children can remain in their local area, close to their friends and families and in their schools.

 

Latest statistics show that last year, 84 per cent of young people fostered by their local authority stayed in their immediate local area.

In comparison, 77 per cent of children cared for by commercial fostering agencies were moved out of their local area to find foster placements. Almost six per cent of children were moved out of Wales entirely.

 

Our Bridgend foster team wants to support the Welsh Government in its aim to remove the profit element of the care system, ensuring young peoples’ interests remain at the heart of the process and offering stability to foster carers through long standing and experienced local authority teams.

 

We are committed to supporting our hard-working, dedicated foster carers by making life even better for children and those who care for them.

 

We will be looking at offering carers the financial support they need to provide opportunities and stability for children and continuing best practice for matching, by having a wide pool of foster families to choose the best fit for both the foster carer and the child. Even when placements are made in an emergency, enabling social workers to introduce the child to their foster carer before being welcomed into the home. 

 

This is why local authority, not-for-profit fostering services work alongside schools and children’s social workers to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the specific opportunities or challenges in our local area.

We are in this for the long term, for the right reasons, and most of all, for the children themselves, she concluded.

 

Cabinet Member – Education

 

The Cabinet Member - Education advised that the next phase of the new digital payment voucher scheme is set to be distributed to eligible families.

 

Designed to ensure that children who are entitled to free school meals will not go hungry over the summer holidays, the £39 vouchers will be issued in three stages and will provide up to two weeks’ worth of food each.

 

Redeemable at any one of the UK’s 28,000 Pay Point outlets, the vouchers will remain valid until the first of September, and more information is available at the council’s website.

 

He was sure that members would also want to join him in congratulating several of our school-based staff for some recent significant achievements.

 

The Professional Teaching Awards Cymru have named Meurig Jones of Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd as this year’s Headteacher of the Year, while Gill Sullivan from Maesteg School was also nominated in their ‘Supporting Teaching and Learning’ category.

 

While over at Penybont Primary School, teacher Jemma Evans has scooped the ‘Teacher of the Year’ accolade at the Into Film Awards for incorporating film techniques into her lessons.

 

The Cabinet Member – Education extended his thanks to all three individuals for achieving these accolades.

 

Cabinet Member – Regeneration

 

The Cabinet Member – Regeneration, was pleased to confirm that Welsh firm John Weaver Contractors Ltd have been appointed to provide all-new community facilities at Cosy Corner, Porthcawl.

 

Workers are about to start laying down the groundwork for an all-new stone and glass-clad building and a landscaped external area that can be enjoyed by visitors and residents.

 

This £2.4 million project will incorporate premises suitable for five small retail units, public toilets, meeting space for community use, offices for the harbour master, changing facilities for users of the nearby marina and more.

 

The site will also feature an outdoor children’s play area, plenty of public seating, space for staging events and an all-weather canopy capable of providing comfortable outdoor shelter from rain and the sun.

 

It has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through Welsh Government and is expected to be ready in time for spring 2023.

 

This exciting new project will support our ongoing plans for the development of the Salt Lake and waterfront areas and will complement other regeneration projects such as the new marina, new sea defences, the recently restored Jennings Building and improvements to the eastern breakwater.

 

Cabinet Member – Communities

 

The Cabinet Member – Communities was sure that members will be pleased to hear that work is well underway on the investment programme which is refurbishing play areas across the county borough and providing new equipment.

 

The work is being undertaken by the Green Spaces team, and by the end of the month, we anticipate that play areas based in Ogmore Vale, Nottage, Evanstown, Wildmill and Caerau will have been completed.

 

Then, in September, the work will move on to play areas located in Ogmore Vale, Porthcawl, Aberkenfig and Tondu.

 

Once the new equipment has been installed, further works are planned that will provide refurbished street furniture for the benefit of local children and families.

 

Further news on the investment programme would be relayed to members, as it progresses.

 

He was also sure that members will have noted the work that is taking place just outside the Civic Offices to replace and upgrade the traffic lights at the junction between Angel Street and Park Street.

 

This was also the first temporary traffic light system of its kind to be trialled in Wales, and that early analysis of its performance has revealed it to have been a big success.

 

Designed to mimic the set-up of the original traffic lights, it ensures that the flow of vehicles through the busy junction can continue as normally as possible and keeps the need for unnecessary queuing to an absolute minimum.

 

This has greatly supported the refurbishment of the existing traffic lights, which is necessary as they are now more than 25 years old, and also helps with our efforts to improve air quality.

 

It has certainly proven to be of major benefit in minimising disruption for drivers, and I am sure that we can expect to see the set-up being used for similar works in the future across the County Borough.

 

The Cabinet Member – Communities thanked Officers in the Street Lighting team for introducing this initiative.

 

Cabinet Member – Resources

 

Absent - No announcements

 

Cabinet Member – Wellbeing and Future Generations

 

Absent – No announcements

 

Chief Executive

 

Absent – No announcements