(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Interim Chief Executive

(iv) Monitoring Officer

Mayor

The Mayor informed Council of the engagements which he and his Consort had attended in the past month which included the Citizenship Awards for which he thanked officers for their efforts in making the day a success.  The Mayor and Consort had opened the new Pencoed Primary School and attended the opening of Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Calon y Cymoedd in Bettws.  Additionally, the Mayor and Consort had attended the Rockwool 40^th Celebration dinner, the Muslim Council of Wales interfaith Dinner, opening of the Vernon Hartshorn Exhibition, Rotary Club President Dinner, BEM Presentation to Alan Humphreys and the Cor Merched Llynfi’s annual Concert.  He also opened the new disabled toilet and changing area at Halo Bridgend, the prize giving of the Bridgend Rotary Club Charity Cycle ride, the Porthcawl Mayor’s charity ball, the Palm Sunday service at Margam Crematorium and the 60^th Wedding anniversary Mr & Mrs G Evans of Maesteg.

Deputy Leader

The Deputy Leader informed Members of the recent opening of two new primary schools at Pencoed Primary and Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Calon Y Cymoedd, Betws serving the Garw and Ogmore valleys, at which his 3 grandchildren are pupils.  He stated that the Council is extremely grateful for the funding received from the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools and Education Programme, and he commended BAM Construction for their work at Pencoed Primary and Andrew Scott Ltd, who were the constructors for Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Calon Y Cymoedd, who had delivered two extremely impressive schools which enable pupils and teachers to benefit from state-of-the-art learning environments and supporting pupils to excel and fulfil their potential.

The Deputy Leader announced that more than 80 up-and-coming local entrepreneurs have gained the knowledge and tools needed to start their own business after attending a free week-long course with the PopUp Business School.  The event was held at Bridgend Life Centre, supported by the Council’s Employability Bridgend team, funded through the European Social Fund and Welsh Government.  Local entrepreneurs will continue to be supported and details are available on the Council’s website.

Cabinet Member Communities

The Cabinet Member Communities announced that the Council will be participating in the Welsh Government’s latest domestic energy efficiency programme which is being created to tackle fuel poverty across Wales.

Hundreds of local homes will be eligible to receive new funding later this year to carry out energy efficiency improvements, aimed at reducing fuel bills.  Energy saving measures that could be funded through the programme include; draught proofing, low energy light bulbs, loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, external wall insulation, thermostatic radiator valves, central heating systems, radiators, and renewable technologies such as heat pumps and solar panels.  He stated that the Council will be working in partnership with Arbed am Byth and the Welsh Government to decide where the programme will be offered locally to maximise its impact.

The Cabinet Member Communities also informed Council of the recent launch of the “Love It Don’t Trash IT” campaign which had been attended by participating schools.    

Cabinet Member Social Care and Early Help

The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help announced that the first ever inter-generational mini-OlympAge Games event was held at Halo’s Ogmore Valley Life Centre recently.  Children and older people from the local community teamed up to compete in activities designed to improve mobility, fitness and social interaction, and offered a fun way of encouraging people of all ages to stay active.  He looked forward to seeing more mini-Olympage Games taking place in the future.

He also informed Members that responsibility for health care services in Bridgend County Borough has now moved from ABMU Health Board to the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board.  He asked Members may wish to remind constituents that the boundary change would not affect how services are delivered to patients, who will continue to access and receive their care in the same way and from the same locations as they currently do.  He stated that the boundary change will see more of collaborations shift to the east and the Cardiff Capital Region, and while there has been a significant amount of work behind the scenes, a seamless transition has been achieved, thanks to the efforts of officers and particularly the Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing. 

Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations announced that discussions are underway between the Council, Shared Regulatory Service and Natural Resources Wales on a project to monitor air quality in the vicinity of local schools.  The monitoring project will take place over the course of a year and will examine and record levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is a known traffic-derived pollutant, with monitoring equipment being installed at Pencoed Comprehensive, Penybont Primary, Bridgend College, Oldcastle Primary, Cwmfelin Primary, Newton Primary and Bryncethin Primary.  Information will be analysed and used to support efforts to change the ways in which children get to and from school, and to raise greater awareness about air quality concerns.  The collected data will be included in the Council’s local air quality management progress report for 2020.  If levels are found that encroach upon or exceed air quality objectives, further action may be required to introduce management areas and draw up strategic measures that will alleviate problems and improve air quality.

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations informed Council that working parents in the County Borough will soon be able to access up to 30 hours of funded childcare for up to 48 weeks of the year for their three and four-year-olds.  The scheme will commence on 29 April and will help reduce the strain of childcare issues on working parents, and ensure childcare is not a barrier to people who are looking to return to work.  Further details are available on the Council’s website.

Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration

The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration announced that following support from the Council’s Dunes 2 Dunes project, Royal Porthcawl has become the first golf club in Wales to obtain the GEO-Certification sustainability award.  The scheme has brought together organisations, landowners and farmers in a partnership which seeks to sustainably manage the local coastline.  He stated that degenerate gorse has been removed from Royal Porthcawl to reinstate open sandy areas and encourage coastal heather regeneration, ponds have been improved, and habitats have been both created and restored for species like the Great Crested Newt and birds such as linnets, kestrels and yellow hammers.  He hoped Members will welcome these efforts which demonstrate a clear commitment towards nature, sustainability, coastal grassland protection and habitat restoration.

He also announced that new funding has been secured to help businesses in Bridgend town centre look more appealing to shoppers and visitors.  The Urban Centre Property Enhancement Fund has been established by the Council and Welsh Government to provide financial support towards renovation work on shopfronts, signage, windows and doors, and also internal and external structural improvements.  As well as making the town centre more vibrant, the fund aims to help vacant non-residential properties become more appealing for letting, support existing businesses to become more accessible, increase footfall, and create jobs.  The commercial improvement scheme will tie in with the county-wide plans to bring empty properties back into use, following on from the success of the Townscape Heritage Initiative which has been making a big impact in town centres for more than a decade.  Further details on the scheme are available from the Council’s regeneration team.

Interim Chief Executive

The Interim Chief Executive informed Council that he had been reviewing some waste and recycling information recently and gave an overview of how the County Borough has changed and developed since the millennium.  In 2000 when the country-wide recycling rate stood at just 6% of all household waste, the Welsh Government set an initial target of 15% by 2004.  He stated that the County Borough hit this target on time and also opened new household waste recycling centres.  This was ahead of the introduction of a kerbside recycling service for paper and glass waste in 2005.

By 2006, the recycling rate had risen to 26%, after factoring in food, plastics and cans and the introduction of fortnightly refuse collections, it rose again to achieve 48% by 2011.  Garden waste recycling was introduced in 2013, and in 2016 the overall recycling rate stood at 59%.  This was prior to the Council entering into its current arrangements with new containers, a two-bag limit and fortnightly nappy collections.

He informed Members that by this time next year, all Welsh local authorities will need to hit a new recycling target of 64% to avoid heavy financial penalties as part of the Welsh Government’s efforts to make Wales the top recycling nation in the world.  He was delighted to confirm that Bridgend County Borough is well on track to surpass the Welsh Government’s 64% recycling target for 2020.  With the current overall recycling rate of 68.6%, which means that the Council is placed second in Wales for recycling and are only narrowly behind the Isle of Anglesey.  He informed Members that getting to this point had not been an easy task, in that attitudes as well as procedures have had to change and adapt, and this success is ultimately down to the recycling efforts of local residents.  He stated that the process is not over yet and further improvements are being looked at in order to reach the next Welsh Government target of 70% by 2025.  He reminded Members that the County Borough has progressed from 15% in the year 2000 to 68.6% in 2019. 

Monitoring Officer

The Monitoring Officer informed Council that some Members had yet to complete DBS checks and a reminder would be sent to Members requesting that they complete the checks.