(i) Mayor (or person presiding)
(ii) Members of the Cabinet
(iii) Chief Executive
Minutes:
Mayor
The Mayor welcomed the Youth Mayor, Ellie O’Connell, who was in attendance to observe the meeting.
The Mayor referred to events he had recently attended including:
· the opening of the Armed Forces Day Parade by the Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan,
· the Awen Cultural Trust event,
· Cefn Cribwr Open Gardens
· Archbishop McGrath School “First Give” where he was part of the deciding panel to determine the winning team to receive the First Give grant of £1000.
· Porthcawl 10k Run where he started the Future Challenges and the Family Run categories.
· A CCYD Achievement Evening where the excellent achievements of the learners were celebrated.
· Brynteg School production of Grease at the Grand Pavilion Porthcawl,
· The Interfaith Peace March, a unique opportunity to visit a Church, Synagogue and a Mosque all in one day. This was organised by the charity Remembering Srebrenica and sponsored by Race Equality.
· Bridgend's Big show where he joined the Prevention and Wellbeing Service to celebrate the achievements of the fantastic young leaders and ambassadors.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member – Social Services and Health
The Deputy Leader also attended the “Big Show”, an event developed to celebrate the volunteering efforts and leadership skills of young people from across the County Borough. The Deputy Leader made a special presentation in recognition of work that young carer ambassadors had been undertaking to raise awareness about the challenges that young carers faced.
The Deputy Leader explained the identity card scheme which was recognised by schools, GP surgeries, pharmacists and supermarkets. More than 300 young carer cards were now in use, and their potential was being further expanded to provide discounted access and other benefits with local businesses. Together with the Council and 3rd sector partners they had developed events such as “We are valued” days which were activity opportunities with their schools that they would not otherwise get. Young carer ambassadors also helped develop the Young Carer's Network where young people could make their voices heard while offering insights and opinions on a wide range of issues that affected them.
Cabinet Member – Finance, Resources and Legal
The Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Legal updated Council, following the significant disruption earlier in the week when the ICT systems went down and restricted access to computer systems, the corporate website, the telephone system and a number of interactive services. He explained that the ICT team worked tirelessly to identify and remedy the problem, and as the scope of the issue became apparent, the business continuity plan was instigated. Messages and updates were issued via social media and all telephone contact switched over to a back-up system. Staff worked around the clock to ensure that all systems were restored as quickly as possible. A review would now be carried out and in the meantime, he thanked the ICT team, and acknowledged their efforts and expertise in addressing the matter.
The Cabinet Member was delighted to advise Members that the Council had been presented with silver level status in the Employer Recognition Scheme. This was presented by the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for Wales and acknowledged the ongoing efforts to support past and present members of the Armed Forces community. The Council would formally receive certification for its new Silver Employer Recognition Scheme status at the Defence ERS Silver Awards later in the year.
Cabinet Member – Climate Change and the Environment
The Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment gave a brief update regarding preparations for the new 20 miles an hour speed limit which would be introduced to the majority of residential roads on the 17th September 2023. The proposals formed a key part of plans by Welsh Government for reducing pollution, increasing road safety and encouraging people to use alternative modes of transport for short journeys. To support an expected increase in national publicity throughout July and August, a series of answers to frequently asked questions was being developed and would soon be available to share with Members. The change in speed limit would mainly affect restricted roads usually located in residential and built-up areas. Around 90 local roads met the guidance for consideration as being exempt from the new default speed limit and public engagement during the first stage of this process saw a total of 2,684 responses, the vast majority of which were in support of the proposed exemptions. Welsh Government had provided the Council with around £1 million to support the installation of around 600 new posts and signs. Contingencies were available if processes were not fully completed for any of the proposed exemptions. More information was available on the website DATAMAP DOT GOV DOT WALES.
The Cabinet Member was pleased to report that eight green spaces across Bridgend County Borough had been awarded Green Flags this year. Ogmore Vale Fire and Rescue Station, Caerau Market Garden, the Spirit of the Llynfi Woodlands, Tremains Wood in Brackla, Coychurch Crematorium, Bryngarw Country Park, Parc Slip and Maesteg Welfare Park had all been presented with full Green Flag status.
Cabinet Member – Housing, Planning and Regeneration
The Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Regeneration reported that the Seniors Open would shortly be returning to Royal Porthcawl and arrangements were in place to welcome thousands of golfing fans travelling into the County Borough for the event. With a strong emphasis on active travel, he encouraged spectators to walk, cycle and use local public transport to and from the event. Public parking spaces would also be available in a field adjacent to the Royal Porthcawl. More than 43,000 people attended the event in 2014, and this generated an estimated economic impact of more than £2m. The advertising value of the comprehensive television coverage which showcased Porthcawl and Bridgend County Borough to the world was calculated at being worth a further £5.2m, which subsequently jumped to £7.8m when the event returned in 2017. He hoped that this year, it would exceed the £10m mark. The tournament would once again be televised on Sky Sports, and many well-known names would be competing, including Ian Woosnam and Ryder Cup legends Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington. He welcomed Members to join him in congratulating all staff who had worked hard to support this prestigious event and wished the best of luck to the competitors.
Cabinet Member for Education
The Cabinet Member for Education explained that thanks to the Council’s partnership with Awen, Halo Leisure, the Urdd, Menter Bro Ogwr and Town and Community Councils, the ‘School’s Out’ programme was set to provide a huge range of fun activities for children and young people. ‘Active 4 Life’ holiday schemes for children aged eight to eleven would return to community venues at Bettws, Brackla, Bridgend, Caerau, Garw Valley, Maesteg, Ogmore Valley, Pencoed and Porthcawl, and children were also being encouraged to take part in the summer reading challenge “Ready, Set, Read”. The free swim initiative would return to leisure centres and swimming pools where sessions would include crash courses for beginners, stroke improvement lessons and more, and the Youth Support and Safer Streets programme would also be offering sessions for young people throughout the summer holidays. Local libraries would also be offering fun events ranging from Movement and Dance workshops to animation sessions. Bryngarw Country Park would be hosting outdoor theatre performances and young Welsh speakers would be catered for with free Welsh Language holiday play schemes taking place in Maesteg, Porthcawl and Bridgend, and at Welsh speaking sports camps organised by the Urdd.
He asked Members to help spread the word about the availability of the Schools Out programme, details of which could be found at the Council’s website.
Cabinet Member – Community Safety and Wellbeing
The Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Wellbeing advised Members that the new Food Sufficiency Grant Scheme was being rolled out. Funded by Welsh Government and BCBC, the scheme was being managed by BAVO, and was designed to tackle food poverty across the County Borough, throughout the summer months by making funding initially available in two phases. The first of these was underway and the second would be in place between 24 July and 4 August. Community organisations could apply to the scheme and use the funding in support of their work.
The Cabinet Member thanked Welsh Government and BAVO, the organisations who were seeking to help local people, and all of the volunteers who were working to make a difference within local communities to ensure that people did not go hungry this summer.
Chief Executive
The Chief Executive reminded Members of the final recommendations from the Boundary Commission for Wales on how parliamentary boundaries would be configured in future. The changes had been made to bring the size of each area in line with UK Government recommendations, namely that each seat should cover between sixty-nine thousand and seventy-seven thousand voters. The move would also cut the number of Welsh seats from 40 to 32. These recommendations were now final and future MPs would be elected from these new constituencies instead of the former seats of Bridgend and Ogmore.