(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

The Mayor informed Council of the engagements which she had attended in the past month which included opening the annual Book Fayre in the Westward Centre, Cefn Glas in conjunction with the Lions which had raised £180,000 for local charities.  The Mayor had also attended events to mark the Centenary of the RAF within the County Borough, in Swansea and in the Vale of Glamorgan.  The Mayor was also pleased to have visited residents, Mr and Mrs Thomas who were celebrating their 60^th Wedding Anniversary.  The Mayor and Consort attended a social evening in the Heronston in aid of her charities, 2 further events are to be held to support her chosen Charities with a Tom Jones Tribute evening on 17 April at the Hi Tide and the Gala on 28 April taking place at the Heronston.

The Mayor also announced that she had opened the Veterans ‘call in’ for Veterans and families held in the Zone.  She thanked the ladies in the Zone and the franchise holder of Subway for providing the catering and Mr Gareth Evans and the veterans who belong to a charity called ‘stepping out’ which is a charity for the forces for organising everything.  She also thanked Madeleine Moon MP and members of the Cabinet for their presence at the event.  

The Mayor announced that she had attended the Senedd to celebrate the Centenary of the St Johns Ambulance.  She had also visited the Westward Centre for a celebration of the ‘Young at Heart’ and wished this Group well for the future.  The Mayor was asked by the Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan Dame Kate Thomas if she could think of a person who  deserved to go to the forthcoming Royal Wedding and of the worthy recipients she had recommended the Hodge family from Bettws who were nominated by Councillor Martin Jones.  She stated that the family had lost their son two years ago through Leukaemia and had had raised over £20,000 for Cancer. 

Deputy Leader

The Deputy Leader informed Members that nearly 10,000 households had signed up to the absorbent hygiene products collection since it was launched in June 2017.  So far, 662 tonnes have been diverted from going to landfill, and sent to the pioneering Nappicycle plant in Ammanford instead who produce recyclable materials.  He requested Members’ assistance in reminding their constituents of a scheme whereby parentsof young children can take advantage of a discount deal on re-usable ‘real nappies’.

He also announced that new rates of pay had been agreed for all NJC employees effective from 1 April 2018 and the increase will be paid from May 2018.  He stated that the minimum wage will therefore reach £9 per hour by 1 April 2019, which is in line with the Chancellor’s wish that the national minimum wage should be £9 an hour by 2020.

Cabinet Member Communities     

The Cabinet Member Communities informed Members that the large tulip tree located directly opposite the Civic Offices following an assessment is

diseased and must be felled in the interests of safety.  Its removal would be undertaken at the same time as the current cycle path works and new trees have been planted adjacent to the site of the tulip tree as part of that project. 

He announced that the Welsh Government had informed that the funding bid to carry out a full range of road safety improvements along the A48 between the Broadlands and Waterton roundabouts has been successful.

This follows some preparatory work which was carried out along the 5km route late last year.  The proposed improvements range from new pedestrian refuges at key points along the route, resurfaced footpaths and extended footway links to new signage, new road markings, and undergrowth clearance work.  A new 50mph speed limit could also be proposed between the Ewenny and Broadlands roundabouts instead of the current 60mph limit.

Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help

The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help informed Members that the new transitional fostering scheme is about to begin and is intedned to provide short-term specialist placements of up to 24 weeks that help children and young people who have a variety of complex needs and challenging behaviours.  The overall aim of the scheme is to move the young person on into a successful, long-term arrangement that aligns with their needs and ambitions and he sought Members help in publicising the initiative. 

The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help also updated Members as to the progress with themulti-agency safeguarding hub (MASH).  He stated that the first phase had begun earlier this month when 12 members of staff from South Wales Police, Children’s Services, Early Help and ABMU moved into the Ravens Court offices.  They will be joined by further colleagues in the coming months until their numbers grow to almost 90 in total.

He also announced that following a question received from Councillor Alex Williams and in light of the recent Victoria Derbyshire television programme, the number of looked after children was 375 at present of these 266 were identified as being part of a sibling group.  There were 103 sibling groups which comprised of between 2 and 6 children.  The statement that ‘58% of children currently in care in Bridgend have been split from their siblings’ has been derived from the number of sibling groups (not individualchildren) who were not all placed together.  It comprised of 60 sibling groups (there were 103 in the total population of 388).

If the requestor had based the calculation on individual children rather than ‘households/groups’ the figure would have been 43%.  This comprised of 115 individuals (there were 266 children with siblings in the total looked after population of 388).  He stated that when this was analysed further it was notable that of the 115 individuals, 72 had been ‘separated’ by the local authority immediately or shortly after all becoming looked after at the same time.  These 72 children represent 18.5% of the total looked after children population.  The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help informed Members that the Council would always follow best practice and seek to keep a sibling group together wherever possible as the first priority. There are some cases, however, where it was assessed that children will benefit from living separately.  He stated that Bridgend Foster Care make every effort to keep sibling groups together and are in a fortunate positon to have some extended fostering families i.e. families that consist of several households providing foster placements.  One family where the 3 adult siblings are all approved as fostering households and now one of their own children providing a fostering household, with another being assessed.  This has recently enabled a large sibling group of 6 children being placed within this fostering family network and improving the sibling contact and opportunities to spend time together.

Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations informed Members that all current users of the Brynmenyn hostel have moved into alternative accommodation while urgent repairs are carried out on the building.  The work is being carried out after the building showed signs of damage caused by subsidence.  The hostel plays an important role in sheltering people who have been made homeless, and enables them to access other services that are designed to help them get back on their feet and find permanent accommodation.  It also ensures that the Council does not have to use bed and breakfast accommodation to temporarily house families with children.

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations announced that that a ‘Step Out For Stroke’ event is being arranged for next month, which is likely to include stroke awareness and ‘know your blood pressure’ awareness-raising sessions.

Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration

The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration informed Members that the mobile camera car which is capable of targeting unsafe or illegal parking outside schools is about to start patrolling.  He stated that the car features automatic number plate recognition technology and is focused entirely on increasing road safety outside local schools, and helping to keep children safe.  He also informed Members that a ‘No Pass, No Travel’ scheme is currently being trialled on school buses travelling to and from Brynteg Comprehensive as transport contractors have reported large numbers of non-eligible children attempting to use free school transport.  As a result, a number of services have become severely over-crowded, which had led to safety concerns and behavioural issues on some routes.  Once the trial is over, the results will be analysed before a decision is taken to roll the scheme out across other secondary schools.

He also announced that planning for the Festival of Learning 2018 is well underway, and Members should soon be receiving an events pack and invitation to take part.  Schools are working closely with officers to develop a range of workshops and activities for both the symposium and learner’s day, and a workshop programme has been issued to schools outlining how they can participate and benefit from the events.

Chief Executive

The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing announced on behalf of the Chief Executive of the launch of the Council’s new website and My Account.  Residents were being encouraged to view the new website and to register for My Account and those who live in the County Borough can log in to link to their council tax account, make online payments, set up and manage direct debits and help the Council save money by opting for eBilling.