(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

 

The Mayor stated that as those present would imagine, the weeks leading up to Christmas were particularly busy for his self and his Consort. With the invaluable help of the Deputy Mayor and his Consort, they have begun undertaking the annual Mayoral visits to BCBC’s local care facilities, and it had been lovely to meet so many interesting people and to be made to feel so welcome. To ensure that we manage to include all centres in our festive ‘hellos’, we will be continuing the visits right up until the Christmas break he announced.

 

The Mayor and his consort had also had the pleasure of attending numerous Carol services and Christmas concerts across the County Borough. It was always a joy to support local organisations and schools, but particularly so at Christmas when it was evident that so much hard work and planning had gone into producing such enjoyable and often spectacular productions. Speaking of Carol concerts, the Mayor confirmed that his Civic Charity would be hosting a Community Carol service at St. Mary’s Church Nolton on Wednesday 16th December. He confirmed that he would be delighted if Members could join him for this special evening of song.

 

At the last meeting of Council, the Mayor stated that he had informed Members that a letter had been sent to David Cameron expressing concerns over the Trade Union Bill and its implications for relations between Local Authorities and Unions.  A response had been received from the Minister of State for Skills, and he would place a copy in the Members room so that Councillors could read the Minister’s comments.

 

Finally, the Mayor thanked Members and Officers for their support during the last year, and wished everyone a Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.

 

Deputy Leader

 

The Deputy Leader confirmed that final GCSE results for schools across Bridgend County Borough, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf and the Vale of Glamorgan have revealed that the percentage of pupils achieving five GCSE passes at grades A* - C including English/Welsh and Mathematics has risen to 58.5 per cent. This is a 4.4 percent increase from 2014, and a 10.7 per cent increase from the 2012 result. This was significant, as it meant that the Central South Wales region has moved from being the lowest performing area to sitting above the national average for the first time. This is of course excellent news he added, and a tribute to the hard work and determination of teachers, head teachers, governors, pupils and local Education departments. The partner areas in the Consortium will now look at how the momentum can be maintained and improved even further.

 

Good news had also been received, regarding school attendance figures across local primary and secondary schools which he was sure Members would appreciate.

In recent years there had been consistent improvements throughout BCBC’s local schools, and he was happy to report that at 95.1 per cent for primary and 94.2 percent for secondary, these figures for 2014-15 were now above the Wales average. Not only that, but BCBC figures were also higher than the Central South Consortium averages of 95 per cent and 94 per cent, so this was very good news indeed, as regular attendance was a crucial ingredient for ensuring success at school, and he thought that this was extremely encouraging. The Deputy Leader was looking forward to seeing how the figures develop further, in the future.

 

The Deputy Leader was pleased to inform those present, that Cefn Glas Infants School had become the first infants school in Wales to achieve the ‘Investors in People Gold’ accreditation, meaning it was among the very best at supporting, developing and motivating its staff. Earlier this year, assessors spent time interviewing groups of staff to gather their views on working at the school, and their feedback was clear, ie that they are being given the skills and support to help them thrive and develop their careers. The school has worked extremely hard to achieve such high standards, and the leadership of Sue Henderson was very forward thinking, and described as inspirational by staff, so he extended his thanks to Ms. Henderson and the school.

 

The Deputy Leader also wished to briefly offer congratulations to Ysgol Bryn Castell who had successfully achieved the Quality Mark for Achievement for All and in doing so had become only the second school within Wales to do so. As one of the original Pathfinder schools within the Central South Consortium, the commitment, hard work and dedication of the whole staff and community surrounding the school, had allowed it to work in partnership and attain this significant status.

 

The Deputy Leader had also been recently informed that the Minister for Education and Skills had approved in principle, the Outline Business Case for Brynmenyn Primary School, and he hope to bring Members further details on this in due course.

 

Finally, the Deputy Leader announced that the Estyn Inspection report for Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen was published yesterday. As a result of the unsatisfactory of judgement of both current performance and prospects for improvement, the school has been placed in special measures. However, the new interim leadership arrangements that have been put in place, had already made a positive and significant impact, and he was confident that improvements will continue to take place, and Cabinet would be kept informed of progress at the school periodically in the future.

 

Cabinet Member – Communities

 

The Cabinet Member Communities, confirmed that it was fitting that Members had recently been discussing how the Authority needed to change the way in which recycling and refuse collections were carried out in future, as BCBC were also supporting the national Pledge For Plastics campaign. This urges householders to recycle more plastic, as an astonishing 15 million items are binned every year which could be recycled into new products. From shampoo bottles to yoghurt pots, our homes quickly fill up with plastic containers, so the campaign is asking people to pledge to recycle one extra plastic item every week. Local residents recycled nearly 1,500 tonnes of plastic last year via the kerbside collection, but there was always room to do more, so he hoped Members would share this with their constituents and encourage them to take part. Full details were available on the website.

 

The Council had received some excellent news recently with confirmation that the Welsh Government had approved the first phase of its proposals for replacing the asphalt shoreline at Porthcawl’s town beach with all-new sea defences. The plans will now move on to the design and development phase and the beach will see a lot of activity over the next few months as engineers test the site to establish what specific works will be necessary. The current asphalt defences were set in place in 1984, and whilst it had done its job well over the last 30 years, further maintenance was required, so the Council had taken the opportunity to look at introducing a fresh new ‘terraced’ design which was identified following public consultation in 2013, and was capable of standing up to the elements for the next 100 years. He was looking forward to seeing these plans develop further over the coming year.

 

Finally, announced the Cabinet Member – Communities, the last phase of the £6m Caerau housing renewal scheme would see much-needed repairs carried out on eight homes in Greenfield Terrace. This initiative began in 2006 to help improve the standards of local housing and amenities over a ten year period, and more than 700 properties had benefitted from the scheme to date. This work had really benefitted the area, with an additional upgrade of the Senior Citizens’ Centre, improvements to the Bethel and Salem chapels and the demolition of a derelict house which was replaced with a walled garden. He was sure Members would join him in congratulating everyone who had helped deliver these improvements for the local community.

 

Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care and Wellbeing

 

The Cabinet Member – Adult Social care and Wellbeing announced, as Members may be aware, that the Council has been seeking feedback on opportunities for older people as part of it’s Ageing Well Strategy, and a very successful event was held recently at the Bethlehem Life Centre in support of this.

 

The event was organised by the Sport, Play and Active Wellbeing service and was designed to give older residents a taste of some of the activities and initiatives that are available to help them lead active, healthy lives.

 

In addition to dancing and socialising, they were able to participate in the likes of Nordic walking and other exercises, before completing a survey.

 

The Authority he confirmed, would be using the results of this to help shape the Ageing Well Plan, which focuses on issues such as age-friendly communities, falls prevention, supporting people with dementia, loneliness and isolation, and opportunities for learning and employment.

 

Cabinet Member – Children’s Social Services and Equalities

 

The Cabinet Member – Children’s Social Services and Equalities stated that she would like to ask Members help in promoting foster care within local communities. Since 2010, the number of children in care has increased by 21 per cent, and the Authority currently had 374 children and young people who were looked after in Bridgend County Borough. In Wales, 550 foster families are still needed to look after various age ranges, as well as sibling groups, to ensure that they have the best chance of finding a loving foster family who not only meet their needs, but help them to build a positive future. Whether it is through short-term support or long-term care, fostering is one of the best ways of giving vulnerable children and young people a new or better life. As such, the service were looking for local people who have the time and energy to invest in a child or young person. They must also be flexible, patient and understanding. Carers received a weekly allowance and have the support of Bridgend County Borough Council’s professional team 24 hours a day, seven days a week. More information on fostering was available by contacting Bridgend Foster Care on (01656) 642674 or visiting www.bridgendfostercare.wales.

 

She also reminded Councillors that victims of domestic abuse can now gain access to a wide range of support following the recent launch of the Civic Offices’ new Domestic Abuse Support and Information Service. This brings organisations such as the Council, South Wales Police, Probation Service, Victim Support and Calan DVS together as part of a multi-agency hub, to offer confidential advice and support on issues ranging from physical, psychological, sexual, emotional and financial abuse, safety planning for victims and their children, and more. Anyone who wanted to access the service and speak to someone in confidence, could do so by approaching reception and asking for the ‘Assia Suite’, which has been named in honour of Pencoed resident Assia Newton, who was tragically murdered in her home after decades of domestic abuse. They could also call 01656 815919 or email the team at assia@calandvs.org.uk.

 

Cabinet Member – Resources

 

The Cabinet Member - Resources advised Members that there were two pre-Council presentations planned for the New Year. In January, there would be one from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and in February Members would have an update on the Social Services and Wellbeing Act. Details would be placed in Member’s calendars when these had been confirmed.

 

Webcasting training for Officers and Members ass planned to be held on the 4th and 25th January in the Council Chamber. There will be a total of four sessions held over the two days with some sessions being targeted towards specific Committees.

The sessions would provide refresher training for Members, although they will be open to all Members and Officers. Members were requested to attend at least one of these sessions.

 

Finally, he announced that Disability Wales was delivering a training programme on behalf of the Welsh Government to support understanding of the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, the Wales Specific Equality Duties and the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People and how they can be used to underpin a human-rights-based-approach to service delivery. It has been agreed that Bridgend County Borough will host this event for up to 35 people before the end of March 2016 with representatives from Swansea and Neath Port Talbot being invited to attend.

Dates are currently being considered, and Members would be provided with further information in due course.

 

Cabinet Member – Regeneration and Economic Development

 

The Cabinet Member – Regeneration and Economic Development confirmed that two fledgling companies from Bridgend County Borough have made it through to the final of Test Town, a national enterprise competition where they will compete for the chance to win £10,000 to develop their business ideas. The winning young entrepreneurs were Simon Allen for his work towards setting up Fy Siop Fferm, an enterprise offering local farm products, and Geraint Robson and Caitllyn Corless, who are developing Ddraig Valley Park Farm as an educational visitor centre with animals. They beat off competition from more than 30 other entrants after Bridgend College and Bridgend County Borough Council submitted a successful joint bid that saw Bridgend town centre selected as one of just ten locations to participate in Test Town UK, and the only location in Wales to host the regional heats for Test Town 2015, so it was especially good to see that local young people are going forward to the final in Scotland. He was sure that Members would join him in wishing them the very best of luck.

 

Bridgend town centre was the scene for Wales' biggest gathering of elves once again last weekend for the annual Elf-steddfod. This family event has gone from strength to strength since it was launched a few years ago, and there was plenty of festive fun to be had, including storytelling, games, balloon modelling, Christmas crafts, lessons in how to train reindeer and much more. This popular event supported traders during the run-up to Christmas and the Cabinet Member – Regeneration and Economic Development thanked everyone who had helped to make this a success.

 

 

Finally, he announced that Members may want to advise their constituents to be alert for a popular scam that has resurfaced in the County Borough. The authority had received a number of calls from householders who have been contacted by con-artists telling them they are in line for a rebate on their Council Tax. The scammers then ask for personal details that they use to raid bank accounts. The fact of the matter is he added, the Council would never call a constituent randomly and ask for bank details over the telephone. Anyone who felt they may have fallen victim to the scam is advised to contact their banks immediately and report it also to Trading Standards or call 101.

 

Chief Executive’s announcement

 

The Chief Executive advised Members that he and a number of partners had met to consider Bridgend County Borough’s response to the crisis facing Syrian refugees.

 

He stated that the County Borough of Bridgend would play a proud part in welcoming Syrian refugees and ensuring that they are given all of the support they need to settle in our communities and rebuild their lives.

 

These he added, were obviously extremely vulnerable people fleeing a war zone, and it was essential that BCBC considered all aspects of how it could best support their complex needs by working with partner organisations to look at issues including housing, health, education and community cohesion.

 

All of the refugees that were being resettled would come from the camps that have been set up in countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, and they will go through a thorough vetting process.

 

Those who are accepted would be granted refugee status, meaning that they will be able to live, work and contribute to life in the UK and funding was being provided by the UK Government to help BCBC and its partners, and other agencies to support refugee families for up to five years.

 

The first refugees from the conflict had already started arriving in Wales, with Councils in Torfaen, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot and Caerphilly welcoming a total of 50 refugees between them.

 

Our response was part of a UK Government led national response and, as such, the number of people involved was relatively small. This number was about 1,000 refugees coming to Wales over a five year period, so for each local authority that works out at around 10 people, or two families per year.

 

He concluded by confirming that BCBC and partners would be ready to welcome them with compassion and kindness, and he advised that he would be bringing Members more information on this situation as it developed further.