(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

The Mayor congratulated Bridgend Fire Station on their success on winning for the third time in a row the World championship for extraction from a motor vehicle.  He informed Council that nominations are being sought for his Annual Citizenship Awards with the deadline for nominations being 25 January 2019, with the winners being honoured at an event in March 2019.  

The Mayor informed Council of the engagements which he and his Consort had attended in the past month which included laying a wreath in Bridgend Town Centre to mark the centenary of the end of World War One.  The Mayor and Consort had visited companies who received awards in the Bridgend business awards and attended the BAVO volunteer awards, the Rotary children’s football tournament, the Brynteg school production of High School Musical, Nottage Primary school’s harvest festival and the Hot Rod car show in Bridgend.  He and his Consort spent time selling poppies with Councillor DBF White at the relaunch of the Cefn Glas Wellbeing Centre.  They had also visited Afon y Felin school to assist in the unveiling of a sculpture in the school grounds and had represented the authority to mark the official opening of the Coroner’s Court in Pontypridd and had attended the Vale of Glamorgan Civic Service.

Deputy Leader

The Deputy Leader informed Council of the ‘Shaping Bridgend’s Future’ budget consultation which had closed earlier this week, which had seen 2,677 completed surveys returned, 679 people took part in clicker pad sessions and 2,148 people had interacted at events.  While there had been direct engagement with groups such as the Bridgend Coalition of Disabled People and BAVO.  A full publicity programme had been undertaken, along with a series of public engagement stands and debates had taken place on the Council’s social media platforms.  A series of very productive budget workshops were held at secondary and primary schools, encouraging younger people to become more engaged in the democratic process.  He thanked officers for their hard work in delivering the consultation and the public for engaging in the consultation.

Cabinet Member Communities

The Cabinet Member Communities announced that new CCTV cameras had been installed to help make the beaches at Rest Bay and Newton safer.  The cameras will be monitored remotely by volunteers from the National Coastwatch Institution, who will work closely with the RNLI lifeguards.  Both organisations will report any safety incidents directly to the coastguard and emergency services.  The cameras have been installed by the Council as part of collaborative efforts to make the coastline as safe as possible.

He also announced that a £400,000 programme is underway to improve pavements and footways at key locations in the County Borough, with 16 streets being targeted for repairs and improved drainage.  The streets to be targeted are Heol Onnen and Fairfield, North Cornelly, Dol Afon and Maes Y Wern, Pencoed, Princess Street, Maesteg, Blosse Street, Nantyffyllon, East Avenue and West Avenue, Cefn Cribwr, West Drive, Porthcawl, Burns Crescent, Bryntirion, Brynffrwyd Close, Coychurch, Heol Dewi Sant, Bettws, Hill View, Pontycymer, Moira Terrace, Ogmore Vale, and Kenry Street, Evanstown. 

Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help

The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help announced that he and the Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations had visited the Lon Derw, Ynysawdre development to view the progress.  The Extra Care facility is in the final stages of preparation, while the affordable homes element has been specially designed and adapted to support who have a range of needs and disabilities.  He and the Cabinet Member Wellbeing And Future Generations had witnessed the positive impact the development is already having on the lives of local people and he looked forward to seeing the Lon Derw development open in full. 

He also announced that the Council had recently marked National Safeguarding Week with a series of events designed to raise awareness about the different forms that abuse can take.  This followed the recent launch of the Bridgend Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, which is protecting vulnerable people from abuse and exploitation.  He stated that the Council   and its partners delivered sessions on topics that included how to spot child sexual exploitation, talking to teenagers about their health and well-being, dealing with drug and alcohol abuse, ‘sexting’, e-safety, doorstep scams and much more.  He informed Members that Safeguarding can take many forms, and all have a role to play in helping to keep others safe.  He was pleased to see the Council marking the week in a thorough and comprehensive manner and hoped that it helped people to recognise the dangers and access appropriate help and support.

Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations announced that more than £8,000 had been invested into grassroots sport due to the latest round of Community Chest grants.  As a result of the funding support the Cornelly Striders, Pencoed Triathlon Club, Aberkenfig Boys and Girls Club, Rest Bay Lifeguards, Tondu Field Target Shooting, Vertigo Trampoline Club, All Star Gymnastics Club and the Impetus Dance Community Interest Group will all benefit.  She stated that Community Chest is funded by Sport Wales and is run locally by the Council and offers grants of up to £1,500 to sports clubs, organisations and groups to help people become more active.  She urged Members to let their constituents know of this opportunity, with details being available from the Sport Wales website.  

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations informed Members of the plans in place to support rough sleepers this winter.  She stated there is a safe, dry and warm environment to sleep, provided through the floor space scheme, available at The Elms in Bridgend Industrial Estate from 8pm to 8am, with extended hours on Bank Holidays or if the weather becomes severe.  Floor space is allocated on a daily basis with users presenting to the Gwalia Local Support Hub in the Brackla Street Centre between 3pm – 5pm.  A Breakfast Run operates between 6:30am – 9am, where rough sleepers are provided with a breakfast roll and a hot drink and a drop-in centre is available on Park Street between 9:30am – 12pm, which provides washing facilities and telephone and computer access.  There is also an afternoon drop-in service available at The Zone in Dunraven Place between 1.30pm to 4.30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12 noon on Saturdays, where service users can access a meal. 

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations informed Members that the Housing Solutions Team’s out-of-hours service is in place, offering support, advice and practical help at all the services mentioned, with the ultimate aim being to get the rough sleeper off the street and into accommodation.

Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration

The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration announced that it was now possible to make online applications for secondary school admissions.  The launch of the new facility had been very encouraging and close to a thousand applications had been received to date for the September 2019 intake.  Infant, primary and junior school admissions are now set to go live on 26 November and he asked Members to inform their constituents of this. 

The applications can be made using forms available in the ‘My Account’ section of the website.

The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration congratulated Croesty Primary on becoming the latest school to earn the Bronze Active Travel Award from Sustrans Cymru, in recognition of the way pupils and parents are choosing two wheels over four to make the daily school run. 

He also announced that more than 1.5m nutritious school meals are cooked and served at local schools every year, which was one of the facts publicised to promote national School Meals Week.  As part of the event, Tremains Primary School chef Leanne Rees Sheppard who is the reigning Welsh School Chef of the Year spent a day in the kitchen at the James Sommerin restaurant in Penarth.  He informed Members that school meals play an important role and fifty schools now accept online payments.

Chief Executive

 The Chief Executive announced that leisure industry quality assessor ‘Quest’ recently scrutinised the combined work of Bridgend County Borough Council, Halo Leisure, local schools, clubs and voluntary groups who had delivered an ‘excellent’ rating, and praised the impact of the partnership approach on the health, wellbeing and fitness of local residents.  He stated that this is the first time that Quest has assessed a partnership approach in Wales, so the ‘excellent’ rating is a significant achievement.  Since the commencement of the leisure partnership began in 2012, there had been a 9% increase in visits to life centres alongside major investment in new facilities.

Quest noted the work of the partnership to broaden opportunities for disability sports and tackle issues such as disadvantage and gender equity, and highlighted successful initiatives such as the Exercise Referral Scheme, the Girls Network, Family Active Zone, OlympAge Games, Access To Leisure, Move More Often, the silver InSport accreditation, and more.  He stated that partnership had been key to enabling all this, and he congratulated officers, Members and partners who have helped achieve this success.  He hoped that such partnerships will continue to deliver high-quality services for local people.