(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

(iv) Monitoring Officer

Mayor

 

Since the last Council meeting the Mayor announced that he and his Consort have had a fairly quiet time.  They had carried out 11 official engagements, which had been very varied and very enjoyable, and he especially would like especially to mention the following.

 

They were delighted to attend the re-opening of the Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club. The club has recently been refurbished and is now a community hub providing great facilities for the local community. It was great meeting particularly for all the people who have worked so hard to make it happen.

 

Last week they had attended the High Sheriff’s Youth Community awards, and they were especially proud that there were 3 winners from Bridgend.  The MPTC were recognised for their community fundraising, Heronsbridge School were awarded the Duke of Edinburgh Group Award for their continued achievements and The Zone in Bridgend were commended for their youth work.

 

Earlier this month the Mayor and his consort were invited to meet with 3 school councils, Corneli Primary, Afon y Felin and Ysgol yr Sger.  The children questioned them about them roles and it was fun but challenging. They found out what the young people feel are concerned about and heartening to see them so engaged.

 

Details of all recent events the Mayor had recently attended are outlined hereunder:-

 

• Nantymoel opening of boys and Girls club;
• Lord Mayor of Cardiff St David’s day service;
• Porthcawl Life boat fund raising;
• Mini Olympage games Ogmore vale.
• Mulligan Community sensory rooms opening;
• Cawl a Chan Pencoed Choir;
• re-opening of Pyle library;
• High Sheriff Youth Community awards;
• Meeting 3 School Corneli Primary school;
• Neath Port Talbot Mayor’s Charity dinner.

 

Deputy Leader

 

The Deputy Leader began by congratulating the pupils of Cwmfelin Primary School for generating the winning poster in a competition organised as part of the Bridgend Food Waste Mission.

 

This initiative has so far educated more than 3,000 local pupils from 39 primary schools on how food waste can be recycled and converted into electricity.

 

Each pupil was invited to design and submit a poster explaining the many benefits of food waste recycling, and Cwmfelin came up with the winning idea.

 

This design will now go on prominent display when it is added to the sides of recycling vehicles across the county borough, while Cwmfelin pupils will be treated to a tour of the Agrivert Plant at Stormy Down to see the process in action.

 

Our Financial Advice and Support Service team recently hosted an open event at Bridgend Citizens Advice in the town centre

 

It included representatives from a wide range of organisations including BAVO, the MC Hub, Communities for Work, the Bridgend Coalition of Disabled People, Hafod, the Zone and more.

 

There was a great response and they engaged with more than 150 people, several of whom popped in after hearing about the event from others in the town centre.

 

It generated a number of referrals, all of which have been followed up, and he was really pleased to see the participating organisations coming together to work in partnership, share good practice and support local people.

 

Finally, the Deputy Leader announced that he was shocked to learn that between April and September last year, cyber crime saw more than £34 million stolen from UK residents and businesses.

 

With £190,000 stolen every day during that same period in Wales, cyber-crime is on the rise and poses a very real and modern threat.

 

That’s why he was so pleased to see that the Regional Organised Crime Unit will be bringing its Wales Cyber Safety Bus Tour to Bridgend town centre this Friday.

 

The bus will set up stall in Dunraven Place between 12 noon and 8pm. It is free to visit, and will offer individuals and businesses alike expert advice on how to avoid scammers and stay safe online.

 

This is of course of great benefit for local people, and he hoped that members would let their constituents know about this event.

 

Cabinet Member – Well-Being and Future Generations

 

The Cabinet Member – Well-being and Future Generations confirmed that she had some fantastic news to share with Members.

 

UK leisure industry quality assessor Quest, has presented Bridgend County Borough Council and Halo Leisure with first place in its ‘Active Communities’ award category for our work.

 

This means that services which encourage people to live healthier and more active lives in Bridgend have been officially recognised as being the best in the UK.

 

The Council and Halo also received an ‘excellent’ rating in recognition of the high-quality overall service offered by their successful partnership.

 

This is one of seven ratings used by Quest when measuring the effectiveness of leisure facilities and sports management teams.

 

Quest’s assessors looked at a range of factors which included how disabled people are supported, how we encourage inactive people to become active, our engagement with children and young people, our approach to financial management and business development, the exercise referral programme, older people engagement rates, and more.

 

With Quest accreditation in place at each of our leisure centres and swimming pools, the award also reflects initiatives such as our Family Active Zones and OlympAge sessions which look towards wider participation than just helping regular gym goers to get fitter.         

 

Visits to our leisure centres and swimming pools have increased significantly since the Council and Halo first went into partnership together seven years ago, local people have really embraced the national drive to lead healthier, more active lifestyles.

 

The award acknowledges not only our partnership way of working, but also the work undertaken by local schools, clubs and community organisations as well.

 

The Cabinet Member was sure that all Members will agree that to be officially recognised as being the best in the UK is a fantastic achievement.

 

She wished to thank and congratulate everyone who has helped make it such a huge success.

 

The Cabinet Member – Well-being and Future Generations also wanted to remind Members that a free pop-up business school will be held at Bridgend Life Centre all next week.

 

It is designed to provide participants with the knowledge and tools needed to start their own business, and is open to anyone with an interest in business.

 

A number of subjects will be on offer every day which will range from how to start a business, how to create an effective website, how to find customers online and much more.

 

The week is being organised alongside Employability Bridgend and Halo and will take place at the Bridgend Life Centre between Monday 25 to Friday 29 March, 10am to 3pm each day.

 

Participants will need to book places in advance, and this can be done by visiting Pop Up Business School Dot Co Dot UK. The website also offers full information about each of the day’s topics and activities.

 

Last time we organised this event it was a highly successful event and drew a lot of interest and she sure that it would prove to be of great interest again next week.

 

Finally, the Council marked World Social Work Day yesterday with an in-house event.

 

The event looked at how our social care staff can help to bring generations together, help older people stay in touch with their families, and help children looked-after to plan for their future by understanding their past.

 

Based around the theme of ‘The Importance of Human Relationships’, the event showcased intergenerational practice and considered a new tool called ‘The Book Of You’ which uses reminiscence therapy such as creating a life story using words, pictures, music and film.

 

Staff explored “Life Journey Work” for children, which supports them in making sense of their situation, accepting it and moving forward. Staff also studied how the prevention and wellbeing service can bring people together within communities to maintain and form relationships.

 

Staff have stated that they felt it was a highly useful and insightful event, one which will now be incorporated into the work they do and reflected upon.

 

Cabinet Member - Regeneration and Education

 

The Cabinet Member – Regeneration and Education was sure that Members would join him in congratulating eleven year old Litchard Primary pupil Hollie Evans and her mum, Hayley.

 

Thanks to their efforts, Litchard Primary now features the work of internationally renowned street artist, James Ame.

 

Working under the name ‘Ame 72’, the artist specialises in painting works of art featuring Lego figures. He made headlines recently when three of his creations recently appeared in Port Talbot to join the town’s famous Banksy graffiti art.

 

This time, he has provided a colourful tribute in support of Hollie’s efforts to raise positive awareness of Down’s Syndrome, and visitors to Litchard Primary will be surprised to see a Lego figure with a heart-shaped balloon painted on one of the school walls.

 

Hollie is a truly inspirational little girl, and a credit to the school, her family and the community. In 2014, she donated eighteen inches of her hair to the Little Princess Trust, which supports young cancer sufferers undergoing treatment.

 

For the last few years, Hollie and her sister Poppie have also collected hundreds of Easter eggs which they donate to poorly children at the Princess of Wales Hospital and the Noah’s Ark children’s Hospital for Wales.

 

He was delighted then, that Hollie’s kindness will be recognised on Friday when she receives a well-earned Mayor’s Citizenship Award. Together with the artwork at Litchard Primary, this will be a fitting tribute to her kind nature and a fantastic example to others.

 

The Council’s partnership with Awen Cultural Trust witnessed another development last week with the re-opening of a new-look Pyle Library following a £100,000 refurbishment.

 

The renovation, which was jointly funded using a Transformation Capital Grant from the Museums, Archives and Libraries Division of Welsh Government, has enabled the library to become a larger, lighter, more flexible space with easier access for visitors.

 

At the same time, Awen has announced that it will no longer charge fines for overdue library books after 1 April as part of an initiative which seeks to encourage more people to use the library service, and to rediscover the benefits of reading and learning.

 

Members may be interested in a forthcoming digital resource which helps children to learn about and understand local biodiversity in the county borough.

 

Conservation grazing in areas such as Kenfig National Nature Reserve helps to control aggressive and invasive plants while establishing habitats for pollinators, ground nesting birds, butterflies and other species.

 

This is being explained as part of a new ‘Digital Shepherd’ resource which promotes ways of dealing with eco-system decline while encouraging people to act more responsibly around livestock.

 

The ‘Digital Shepherd’ resource website can be found at the Bridgend Reach website if members would like to learn more about it.

 

Finally, the Council recently received some very good news from Welsh Government concerning budget pressures posed by school maintenance issues.

 

With more than £40 million pounds of capital funding set to be shared between Councils for the purpose of addressing schools that are in a poor state of condition, Welsh Government has confirmed that local authorities will also be able to prioritise where and how this money will be spent.

 

This is quite different to the terms of last year’s grant, and he was pleased that it is going to support the work undertaken as part of the 21st Century Schools Programme.

 

With Band B of the programme due to start next year, Welsh Government has indicated that it wants to forge closer working links with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) and provide further support for the longer-term maintenance of schools across Wales.

 

The WLGA has been lobbying on this issue for some time, so this is excellent news upon which he would bring more details soon.

 

Corporate Director – Social Services and Wellbeing

 

The Corporate Director – Social Services and Wellbeing was sure that Members will have already noted the recent report to Cabinet and the Interim Chief Executive’s internal update to staff on where we are with our preparations for Brexit.

 

She didn’t wish to summarise them again, but appealed to Members as elected representatives to help BCBC to promote two very important messages within our local communities.

 

The first is that the Home Office’s EU Settlement Scheme is now open, and any non-UK EU citizens who want to continue to live and work in Wales will need to register for settled or pre-settled status.

 

The application process is simple to complete and includes a range of options which you can read about at the www.gov.uk website.

 

As regards any Council employees who may be affected by this, we were offering support and guidance to help them complete the process.

 

The second message concerns local businesses.

 

Minister for Economy and Transport, Ken Skates, has contacted all local authorities to stress the importance of helping businesses make adequate preparations for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

 

We have been working with businesses based within Bridgend County Borough for some time on this, but there is always the possibility of a small enterprise or a solo trader whom may not be in contact with either the Council or Bridgend Business Forum.

 

She asked Members to consider if they can think of any individual or business based within their wards who may fit this bill.

 

If so, she asked them to encourage these to contact the authority as soon as possible for our expert advice and guidance.

 

They can also visit a ‘Brexit Portal’ and complete a self-assessment on the Business Wales website, which will help them understand just how prepared they are for Brexit.

 

Business Wales is also organising workshops designed to help businesses and traders get ready for Brexit, and offers a specialist helpline.

 

All of this and more can be found at www.businesswales.gov.wales she concluded.