Councillor JP Blundell
Local Government Funding Formula Review
This Council notes:
“And we will review and reform the local government funding formula so that it fairly reflects the realities of serving largely rural populations.”
and
“Review the funding formula for local government so that it better reflects the real cost of delivering services in different parts of Wales.”
This Council therefore resolves to:
2. Seek assurances that any proposed reforms will not have a detrimental financial impact on Bridgend County Borough Council or the communities it serves.
3. Request that Bridgend County Borough Council be fully consulted on any proposed changes to the funding formula prior to implementation.
Councillor O Clatworthy
This Council notes:
• That across Britain we are seeing a growing culture of intimidation, political abuse and hostility towards people who hold different views.
• That democracy cannot function properly if ordinary people are shouted down, threatened or intimidated for expressing lawful opinions.
• That political violence, intimidation and harassment against councillors, candidates, activists, journalists or members of the public is completely unacceptable regardless of political affiliation.
• That many decent people are now discouraged from entering public life because politics has become increasingly toxic and hostile.
• Britain is built on free speech, democratic debate and the right to peacefully disagree.
• Strong debate is healthy in a democracy, but intimidation and political violence are not.
• Nobody should face threats, abuse or attempts to silence them simply for holding mainstream political views.
• Councillors have a duty to lead by example and uphold respectful democratic debate, even where opinions differ strongly, including showing common courtesy towards one another.
This Council resolves to:
1. Condemn all forms of political violence, intimidation, harassment and attempts to silence lawful democratic expression.
2. Reaffirm this Council’s support for freedom of speech, open debate and democratic participation.
3. Encourage all elected members to promote respectful conduct both online and in public meetings.
4. Work with South Wales Police where necessary to ensure threats or intimidation towards councillors, officers or members of the public are treated seriously.
5. Promote a culture where residents feel confident expressing their views openly without fear of abuse or intimidation.
6. Request that the Leader of the Council writes to the Welsh Government expressing concern over increasing hostility in public life and calling for stronger action to protect democratic participation and free expression.
Councillor R Penhale-Thomas
Maesteg Community Hospital
Council notes that:
• Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board has identified more than £30 million of investment to improve healthcare provision in Maesteg and the wider Llynfi Valley, which the Council welcomes in principle.
• Early engagement on this investment was constructive and generated genuine local optimism, based on the expectation that Maesteg Community Hospital would be redeveloped with inpatient community nursing hospital beds.
• Proposals have since changed fundamentally, with the Health Board now moving away from redevelopment of the existing hospital in favour of a new site, without meaningful re engagement with residents.
• There remains no clear or settled position on the future of community inpatient beds serving Maesteg and the Llynfi Valley.
• Community step up and step down beds play a critical role in supporting acute hospitals by preventing avoidable admissions, enabling earlier discharge, and providing care closer to home; uncertainty over such provision therefore has wider implications for pressures across the health system.
• Llais, the independent statutory patient advocacy body, has issued highly critical feedback on the Health Board’s engagement regarding Maesteg Community Hospital, identifying serious shortcomings and reflecting widespread local frustration and mistrust.
• Taken together, this has resulted in the continued significant erosion of confidence in the Health Board, with trust materially undermined by the way proposals have been developed, changed and communicated.
Council therefore resolves to:
1. Welcome the commitment to significant healthcare investment in the Llynfi Valley, while expressing its disappointment and concern at:
• The decision to move away from redeveloping Maesteg Community Hospital; and
• The manner in which this change in direction has been handled and not communicated.
2. Make clear that the Council does not regard the future of Maesteg Community Hospital as a closed matter, and will continue to advocate for outcomes that best meet the needs of the Maesteg and Llynfi Valley community and the wider Bridgend also.
3. Call on Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to provide clear and unambiguous clarity on:
• Whether community inpatient hospital beds will be provided locally and where;
• The proposed model of care and indicative timescales for the provision of critical and acute care in the Bridgend area in its totality.
4. Call on the Health Board to urgently reset its relationship with the community, taking account of the findings of Llais, by:
• Undertaking renewed face to face engagement in Maesteg and the wider Bridgend area;
• Involving senior decision makers directly;
• Clearly setting out what decisions remain open to influence by the general public and wider agencies.
4. Agree, in principle, that the Council will explore its role in relation to the future of the Maesteg Community Hospital site should it no longer be required for healthcare purposes, with the aim of ensuring the building is put to good community use and not left vacant or neglected in line with the covenant on the site and appropriate feasibility works undertaken to understand the challenges and restrictions of the site.