(i) Mayor (or person presiding)
(ii) Members of the Cabinet
(iii) Chief Executive
Minutes:
Mayor
The Mayor informed Council of the engagements which she had attended in the past month which included a tour of Heronsbridge School, attending the Building Excellence Awards and 100th birthday celebrations of 3 residents in the County Borough. The Mayor had also visited Cefn Cribwr Primary School and had attended a dinner party for Civic Heads hosted by the Lord Mayor of Swansea. The Mayor was also pleased to have presented awards to individuals and groups at the Annual Citizenship Awards and had also attended the Palm Sunday Service of Remembrance at Margam Crematorium. The Mayor also attended an event organised by the Citizens Advice Bureau along with the Leader, Cabinet Members and Huw Irranca Davies AM.
Deputy Leader
The Deputy Leader informed Council of the revised arrangements for recycling and waste collections over the forthcoming Easter weekend. He also advised Members of some of the outcomes from the recent Democratic Services Committee meeting, in that there would be a review of the Member referral system. He also drew Members’ attention of the requirement for them to complete E-learning modules by 1 June and of the forthcoming Development Control Committee training; Member Development sessions and pre-Council briefings.
Cabinet Member Communities
The Cabinet Member Communities announced that he had attended the recent Building Excellence Awards organised by the Building Control Team. He also informed Members that the Council would shortly be recruiting to a number of positions for School Crossing Patrols for which it had vacancies.
Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help
The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help announced that the Council had recently marked World Social Work Day by inviting people to find out more about the role social workers play within the community. A display was also set up in the foyer of the Civic Offices and he shared some of the lines from a poem which had been written anonymously by a social worker.
Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations informed Council that she was pleased to see Gemma Hartnoll receive a Mayor Citizenship Award for her WINGS Cymru initiative, which had to the trial of offering menstrual products across 14 schools in the County Borough.
Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration announced that the Council had teamed up with the CF31 BID group to ensure free car parking would continue at the Rhiw which would again be reviewed in January 2019. He also shared with Members the recent achievements of Leanne Rees Sheppard of Tremains Primary School on reaching the finals of School Chef of the Year 2018 and Porthcawl and Bryntirion Comprehensive Schools where more than 100 sixth form pupils had made donations to the Welsh Blood Service. He informed Members that Litchard Primary school had received a ‘good’ rating across the board from Estyn in each of the five key inspection areas. He also announced that Heronsbridge School had been awarded a gold accreditation from the Investors in People scheme.
Chief Executive
The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing announced on behalf of the Chief Executive the preparations being made by the Council for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations which will come into force on 25 May 2018. The GDPR will replace the Data Protection Act to take account advances in technology and oversee how organisations will process personal information in future. She informed Members that Council policies are being updated to take account of breach notification procedures, fair processing policies, data protection updates, subject access and more.
Monitoring Officer
The Group Manager Legal reminded Members of the need for them to complete and formally declare any Related Party Transactions by 13 April 2018 for the financial year 2017-18.