Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Ebbw Vale

Contact: Democratic Services  6139

Items
No. Item

1.

Simultaneous Translation

You are welcome to use Welsh at the meeting, a minimum notice period of 3 working days is required should you wish to do so.  A simultaneous translation will be provided if requested.

 

Minutes:

It was noted that no requests had been received for the simultaneous translation service.

 

2.

Apologies

To receive.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from:-

 

Councillors P. Baldwin, G. A. Davies, G. L. Davies, L. Elias, D. Hancock, W. Hodgins, M. Holland, J. Holt. G. Thomas.

 

3.

Declarations of Interest and Dispensations

To consider any declarations of interest and dispensations received.

Minutes:

The following declaration of interest was reported:-

 

Councillor J. C. Morgan

Item No. 27: Capital Programme 2019/2020 – 2025/2026

 

4.

Chair's Announcements

To receive.

Minutes:

Congratulations

 

Congratulations were expressed to:-

 

ØAbertillery Learning Community pupil (Secondary Campus) Jack Minchin-Hayes who had represented Wales in the Commonwealth Games in Walsall. Jack had won a bronze medal in the under 42kg Judo Category.

 

          RESOLVED that a letter of congratulations be sent.

 

ØEmily Hoskins a young resident from Abertillery who had courageously and bravely spoken out about her individual battle with an eating disorder on BBC Wales News and BBC Wales Live on 2nd October, 2019 and explained how she was campaigning to improve facilities across Wales for others battling with eating disorders.

 

RESOLVED that a letter be sent to Emily commending her on her courage and bravery and to express support for her campaign.

 

5.

Minute Book - May - September 2019

Minutes:

The Minute Book for the period May – September 2019 was submitted for consideration, whereupon:-

 

Item No. 17 – Education & Learning Scrutiny Committee – 26th June, 2019

 

It was reported that Councillor Jonathan Millard had been in attendance at the above-named meeting.

 

RESOLVED, subject to the foregoing, that the minutes be approved and confirmed as a true record of proceedings.

 

 

6.

Ordinary Meeting of the Council pdf icon PDF 367 KB

 

To consider and if thought fit, approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 11th July, 2019.

 

Minutes:

Agreed.

7.

Planning, Regulatory & General Licensing Committee pdf icon PDF 392 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Planning, Regulatory & General Licensing Committee held on 4th July, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

8.

Special Planning, Regulatory & General Licensing Committee pdf icon PDF 307 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Special Planning, Regulatory & General Licensing Committee held on 9th July, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

9.

Statutory Licensing Committee pdf icon PDF 199 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Statutory Licensing Committee held on 9th July, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

10.

Planning, Regulatory & General Licensing Committee pdf icon PDF 275 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Planning, Regulatory & General Licensing Committee held on 5th September, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

11.

Special Planning, Regulatory and General Licensing Committee pdf icon PDF 160 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Special Planning, Regulatory and Licensing Committee Meeting held on 17th September, 2019.

 

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

12.

Special Statutory Licensing Committee pdf icon PDF 130 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Special Statutory Licensing Committee held on 17th September, 2019.

 

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

13.

Executive Committee pdf icon PDF 300 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Executive Committee held on 17th July, 2019.

 

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

14.

Executive Committee pdf icon PDF 507 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Executive Committee held on 26th September, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

15.

Special Environment, Regeneration & Economic Development Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 156 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Special Environment, Regeneration & Economic Development Scrutiny Committee held on 15th May, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

16.

Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 141 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee held on 24th June, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

17.

Audit Committee pdf icon PDF 360 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Audit Committee held on 25th June, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

18.

Education & Learning Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 184 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Education & Learning Scrutiny Committee held on 26th June, 2019.

Minutes:

 

It was reported that Councillor Jonathan Millard had been in attendance at the above-named meeting.

 

 

 

19.

Community Services Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 231 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Community Services Scrutiny Committee held on 27th June, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

20.

Social Services Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 245 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Social Services Scrutiny Committee held on 3rd July, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

 

21.

Special Joint Scrutiny Committee (Budget Monitoring) pdf icon PDF 311 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Special Joint Scrutiny Committee (Budget Monitoring) held on 12th July, 2019.

Minutes:

 

 

Agreed.

22.

Audit Committee pdf icon PDF 352 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Audit Committee held on 23rd July, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

23.

Special Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 130 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Special Corporate Overview Committee held on 10th July, 2019.

Minutes:

Agreed.

24.

Members Questions

To receive questions, if any, from Members.

 

Minutes:

There were no questions submitted by Members.

 

25.

Public Questions

To receive questions, if any, from the public.

 

Minutes:

There were no questions submitted by members of the public.

 

26.

Motion - Aberfan

To consider the following Motion:-

 

That Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council invites our schools to observe a minute’s silence on the morning of October 21 annually in remembrance of the 144 children, teachers and others killed on that date at Aberfan in 1966, as well as the countless thousands who died in the coal industry in this county and many other parts of Wales.

 

 

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the following Motion:-

 

That Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council invites its schools to observe a minute’s silence on the morning of October 21 annually, in remembrance of the 144 children, teachers and others killed on that date at Aberfan in 1966, as well as the countless thousands who had died in the coal industry in this country and many other parts of Wales.

 

Upon a vote being taken the Motion was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED accordingly.

 

27.

Proposed Forward Work Programme 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 378 KB

To consider the attached report.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Democratic Officer.

 

The Leader of the Council advised that the annual Council Forward Work Programme had been presented for approval.  It was noted that as with any work programme this was a fluid document with flexibility to allow for regular review.  The Leader concluded by proposing that the document be endorsed.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, i.e. that the Council Forward Work Programme 2019/20 be approved.

28.

Capital Programme - 2019/2020-2025/2026 pdf icon PDF 844 KB

To consider the report of the Chief Officer Resources.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Chief Officer Resources was submitted for consideration.

 

At the invitation of the Chair, the Chief Officer Resources spoke in detail to the report which had been presented to Members to consider options to allocate £9.9m of capital funding to the capital programme for the period to 2025/26 based on a review of current available resources and an assumption of capital funding from Wales Government for 2024/25 and 2025/26.

 

Councillor J. P. Morgan joined the meeting at this juncture.

 

As a significant amount of capital projects had been identified (27 in total) for this period, a prioritisation mechanism (using the two staged approach outlined in paragraph 2.8 of the report) had been used as a means of ensuring that the highest priority projects could proceed.   Appendix 3 attached to the report provide a summary of all the potential projects together with their associated scores and rank based on this two stage process.

 

The Chief Officer Resources continued by pointing out that allocating all of the identified funding to the Capital Programme came with significant risks and should alternative higher priority projects be identified in the future or agreed schemes exceeded the approved budget, the Council would need to identify alternative funding sources e.g. use of reserves, revenue funding, reprioritising projects.  Therefore, to mitigate this risk it was proposed that a contingency be retained and not all of the available resources be allocated at this point in time.

 

The three options were, thereupon, outlined and the officer highlighted that Option 3 was the preferred option which included a combination of paring down the schemes in period 1 (2019/20 to 2023/24 which was the most oversubscribed) by 20% to allow the funding to meet the requirements of an optimum number of schemes and allocating to the highest scoring projects in periods 2 and 3, leaving funding remaining in each period for allocation at a future date.

 

 

It was noted that Welsh Government had recently announced a number of enhanced capital grants for 2019 to 2021.  The Council would receive £410,000 in 2019/2020 for the Public Highways Refurbishment Grant and a capital grant totalling £444,465 to support Economic Stimulus within local authorities.

 

The Chief Officer Resources concluded by advising that through the maximisation of these and other capital grants, there was the potential to further review the re-allocation of capital resources in this timeframe.

 

Members were then given the opportunity to raise questions/comment on the report.

 

Household Waste Recycling Centre – Roseheyworth Industrial Estate – The Leader of the Labour Group referred to this particular capital project and pointed out that in 2016 a number of Members had requested that a Working Group be established to test the veracity of this approach and had undertaken a piece of work in relation to this proposal.

 

He noted that a bid had been submitted to Welsh Government in the sum of £2.5 million for 2019/2020 and enquired as to the status of that bid i.e. had the Council been notified whether or  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

29.

Assessment of Performance 2018/2019 pdf icon PDF 572 KB

To consider the report of the Service Manager – Performance & Democratic.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

 

 

Members considered the report of the Service Manager – Performance & Democratic.

 

The Assessment of Performance fulfilled the statutory obligations placed on the Council as part of the requirements of the Local Government Measure (Wales) 2009 and was required to be published by 31st October each year.  This report was subject to external audit by the Wales audit Office.

 

Councillor J. Millard left the meeting at this juncture.

 

Appendix 1 of the report detailed and highlighted the key activities and progress made against each of the Council’s Well-Being Objectives.

 

Education - The Leader of the Labour Group acknowledged the importance of the document and that it was aligned to the Council’s Corporate Plan.  However, he expressed his concern that the information contained therein should be a more detailed and an accurate reflection.  By way of an explanation he pointed out that whilst the GCSE results in secondary schools had been recorded as improving he had received conflicting information that Estyn was currently inspecting one of the schools due to its performance and that results had declined in other schools.

 

The Corporate Director of Education explained that education was currently undergoing national reform and as part of this process the reporting measures were also changing. At the time of the compilation of the document, the reporting measure was ‘Level 2+’ and performance at GCSE level during the summer of 2019 had increased from 41.1% to 44.5%.  Moving forward the national reporting measure would be ‘CAT 9’.

 

The Leader of the Labour Group again expressed his concern regarding the conflicting information being received i.e. the information within the Self-Assessment advised that good progress was being made but Estyn was inspecting a school due to its performance. Therefore, he stated that the Self-Assessment did not provide an accurate picture.

 

The Corporate Director of Education reiterated that performance had increased from 41.1% to 44.5% for the Level 2+ national performance measure for summer 2018.  This performance related to 5 GCSE’s including English and Maths.

 

National Public Accountability Measures – 21st in Wales for Clearing Fly Tipping – a Member pointed out that Blaenau Gwent was now 21st in Wales in relation to this measure and asked for an explanation why the average timescale for Blaenau Gwent clearing reported fly tipping was almost three times higher than the Welsh average.  He pointed out that under the previous administration Blaenau Gwent had been the best performing authority.

 

The Executive Member – Environment acknowledged that these statistics needed to improve but measures were being introduced to address this issue which included a capital bid for a new Household Waste Recycling Centre and enforcement action would be taken to prosecute individuals for fly tipping offences.

 

In reply to a further question, the Executive Member – Environment said that measures and actions would be put in place shortly to improve performance and to improve Blaenau Gwent’s position nationally in terms of this measure.

 

A Member pointed out that the Scrutiny Committee whose remit this was had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

30.

Preparations for Exiting the EU pdf icon PDF 597 KB

To consider the joint Officers’ report.

Minutes:

The joint Officers’ report was submitted for consideration.

 

The Managing Director commenced by stating that this was a very topical subject at present and this report provided Members with an update on the preparatory work undertaken at the Council to prepare for the UK’s exit from the EU.

 

It was noted that the report had also been considered at the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee detailing the issues and consequences of exiting the EU and in addition, a Member Briefing had taken place on 16th October that provided the opportunity to Members to explore the issues further.  It was noted that a Member Briefing had also taken place in January 2019 when the proposed exit date at that time had been 31st March, 2019.

 

Whilst the date and way the UK exited the EU was still extremely uncertain a Brexit specific impact assessment had been undertaken and work was continuing to ensure that the Council and community were able to deal with consequence of a departure.

 

Preparedness work would now continue aligned to the exit date of 31st October, 2019.  The Council was also working in partnership and as part of the all Wales Network. Work was also continuing in conjunction with Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Government Association to ensure that preparations were joined up across both national and local government.

 

It was noted that Welsh Government had published an action plan for a no deal Brexit.  Blaenau Gwent had undertaken a high level impact assessment which identified how these risks would impact on the community and the work undertaken to mitigate those risks.  High levels risks included the loss of EU funding and disruption to supply chains. There would also be an impact on the workforce of local businesses and suppliers.  Therefore, there would be a need to continually monitor these issues within the community.

 

Councillor J. C. Morgan left the meeting at this juncture.

 

Exiting the EU had also been identified as a risk in the corporate risk register.  Members would recall that a discussion at a recent budget monitoring meeting whereby it was highlighted that there could also be a potential risk to the Council’s own budget.   Officers were also working with the Local Resilience Forum to address any potential civil contingencies issues and officers were part of the Operation Yellow Hammer arrangements.  To ensure all reasonable actions were taken so that the Council was prepared as it possibly could these arrangements were being ramped up in readiness for 31st October.

 

The Managing Director said she appreciated that the situation remained extremely uncertain – even if the exit took place on 31st October any impact would not be expected overnight – this would become evident over the coming weeks and months ahead.  This was a good example of all Council services working jointly in order to try and mitigate the pending situation ahead. The Managing Director concluded by stating that as the situation developed communication would continue with Members and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

31.

Amendments to the Constitution pdf icon PDF 421 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Legal & Corporate Compliance.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor J. P. Morgan re-joined the meeting at this juncture.

 

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Legal and Corporate Compliance.

 

It was noted that the proposed amendments were of a consequence of changes arising out the Annual Meeting of the Council and also to reflect current operational practice and changes in legislative requirements.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED that the report be accepted and the suggested amendments be approved and incorporated into the existing Constitution.

 

32.

Renewal of Public Space Protection Orders for Dog Control Offences - Results of Statutory Consultation pdf icon PDF 520 KB

To consider the report of the Service Manager – Public Protection.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered the report of the Service Manager – Public Protection.

 

The Executive Member – Environment spoke in detail to the report which informed Council of the findings of the public consultation on the proposed new Public Space Protection Order for Dog Control Offences and to seek approval for the new Order to commence on 1st November, 2019.

 

A Member said that she wholly supported the new Orders but also advised that it was important that the Orders be enforced.  She explained that in recent weeks a number of rugby matches in Blaina had been cancelled due to the amount of dog fouling on the pitches.  Dog fouling was a serious health matter which could result in sight loss. 

 

Councillor P. Edwards returned to the meeting at this juncture.

 

The Member continued by acknowledging that she knew it was not an easy task to catch perpetrators but parks were being severely affected by this issue and enforcement action had declined over recent years.  She requested an assurance that increased patrols would take place in this area.

 

The Executive Member – Environment confirmed that the situation in Blaina was atrocious and the overall position was not acceptable and stated that if the Orders were approved they would be enforceable. Currently a review of the whole enforcement service was being undertaken to provide further resilience to address these kinds of issues.  Once this review had been completed a report would be presented to Members for consideration.

 

A Member said that he also supported the Orders and said that this should be a fluid document rather than a document that was renewed every 3 years. He pointed out that a number of CAT transfers of grounds had taken place over recent months and these organisations may have ideas on how to address these issues.

 

Councillor S. Healy left the meeting at this juncture.

 

Another Member said that health and safety was of paramount importance to young children who should be able to play in areas in a safe manner.  Enforcement and prosecutions needed to increase and publicised accordingly. There also needed to be sufficient public notices erected advising of the Public Space Protection Orders for Dog Control Offences.

 

Councillor S. Healy returned to the meeting at this juncture.

 

The Corporate Director of Regeneration & Community Services pointed out that in addition to enforcement action it was also the responsibility of the owners to look after their dogs.  Whilst it was difficult to catch the perpetrators, they were prosecuted if caught.  However, if Members were able to raise awareness of issues within certain areas officer resources could be deployed to those particular areas accordingly.  It was noted that the Council currently had four Enforcement Officers that were deployed throughout the County Borough but further resilience was being sought as part of the review process.

  

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the new Public Space Protection  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Resilience Forward Plan (2019-2022) pdf icon PDF 551 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Community Services.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Community Services.

 

The Executive Member – Environment spoke in detail to the report and highlighted points contained therein.

 

The Chair said that the issue of energy in particular the street lighting should be addressed as part of this Plan.

 

 

The Corporate Director Regeneration & Community Services said that this was a very topical report especially in light of reports regarding climate change.  This Plan was a very important part of dealing with climate change within Blaenau Gwent and whilst the issue of energy had not been specifically included within the Plan, this could be addressed in other areas of Council work and cross referenced in the Plan moving forward.

 

Another Member referred to a recent award received for a housing estate that had been developed ecologically and commended these types of projects.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and Option 2 be endorsed, namely that the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Resilience Forward Plan 2019/2022 be approved.

 

Councillor J. Millard returned to the meeting at this juncture.

 

34.

Application to Acquire Land at Bedwellty Park pdf icon PDF 550 KB

To consider the report of the Corporate Director Regeneration & Community Services.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered the report of the Corporate Director of Regeneration and Community Services.

 

Councillor J. Millard left the meeting at this juncture.

 

The Executive Member – Environment spoke to the report which had been submitted to obtain the approval of Council (acting as Trustees of Bedwellty House and Park Charity) to transfer a parcel of land to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board for use as part of the proposed Tredegar Health and Well Being Centre.

 

The Corporate Director of Regeneration & Community Services advised that this was a statutory process and if agreed the consent of the Charity Commission to the disposal of the land would need to be obtained.  It was noted that extensive consultation had taken place regarding the proposal and the use of land would be for a green plaza - there would be no loss of amenity space for the community if this proposal was approved.

 

The Leader of the Labour Group said that whilst he would have preferred an option of a lease, he commended Option 1.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the Council as Charitable Trustees agree the principle of the disposal of the area of land either on a freehold or long leasehold basis to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board for inclusion within the development of its proposed Health and Well-Being Centre on terms to be agreed subject to:-

 

(i)           Successfully obtaining the consent of the Charity Commission to the disposal, which must be obtained prior to a transfer being effected.

 

(ii)         Considering implications (if any) concerning the restrictive covenant contained in the 1910 transfer of land to Tredegar UDC.

 

(iii)        Advertising the proposed transfer under s.123 of the Local Government Act 1972 and taking account of any representations made.

 

(iv)        Advertising the disposal in line with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 as detailed in paragraph 5.3.3 of the report.

 

(v)         Taking the appropriate advice of an RICS qualified surveyor on the method and transfer of the transfer.

 

(vi)        As detailed in paragraph 5.1.1 of the report any capital receipt be ring fenced for use by the Charity and not pooled for use with the Council’s General Fund.

 

35.

Strategic Development Plan - Cardiff Capital Region Area pdf icon PDF 823 KB

To consider the joint Officers’ report.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The joint Officers’ report was submitted for consideration.

 

The Executive Member – Regeneration & Economic Development spoke briefly to the report and explained that the development of a Strategic Development Plan for the Cardiff Capital Region area was a key project.  In order to progress the preparation of the Plan regionally it was proposed that a Strategic Planning Panel be established which would consist of at least one member from each authority.  Blaenau Gwent had been allocated one Member on the panel and one vote as per the weighted voting allocation.

 

It was noted that the establishment of a Panel would not detract from the remit of the Planning Committees in each borough.

 

The cost of setting up and running the Panel for the first 5 years was £3m pro rata across each authority and this for Blaenau Gwent would be £136,590 staggered over 5 years would equate to £25,318 per annum.

 

The Executive Member expressed his appreciation to the Team Manager – Building Control and Development Plans and her team for the tremendous amount of work undertaken on the Local Development Plan.   It was proposed that Councillor Mandy Moore in her capacity as Vice-Chair of Planning Committee be appointed as the Blaenau Gwent representative on the Strategic Planning Panel. 

 

The Leader of the Labour Group said that he keen to promote and was supportive of this concept.  He continued by referring to the appointment to the Strategic Planning Panel and said this representative would be given delegated responsibility to make decisions on behalf of the Council and said he felt that an Executive Member should have been appointed to this role.  He concluded by seeking the rationale for the appointment and clarity in terms of the remuneration level.

 

The Executive Member – Regeneration & Economic Development clarified that the Leader determined the appointments made to the Panel and that the Member had been nominated in her capacity as Vice-Chair of Planning Committee as the SDP was the remit of this portfolio. Whilst he was unable to clarify the appointments to the Panel made by other local authorities in terms of remuneration there would be no direct responsibility payments – only travel expenses would be reimbursed.

 

The Leader of the Council reported that it had taken some time and had been an arduous process to reach this position and there had been many discussions along the way and commended the tremendous amount of work undertaken by officers.

 

He confirmed that the appointment arrangements were not out of keeping with what the other authorities were suggesting and quite rightly there was a strong move for gender balance on committee and he was personally pleased that this request could be supported.  There was also a strong argument to broaden individual experience and succession planning.   He confirmed that the report remained silent on anything but travelling expenses.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that a Strategic Development  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

36.

Feedback/Information from Outside Bodies: South Wales Fire & Rescue Authority pdf icon PDF 281 KB

To consider the attached report.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report produced by Councillor Julie Holt, the Council’s appointed representative on the South Wales Fire & Rescue Authority.

 

A Member said that he was very pleased that feedback was being received from those Members appointed to outside bodies and that he had championed for this for a considerable amount of time. 

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED that the report be accepted and the information contained therein be noted.

 

37.

Feedback/Information from Outside Bodies: Brecon Beacons National Park Authority pdf icon PDF 263 KB

To consider the attached report.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report produced by Councillor John Hill, the Council’s appointed representative on the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.

 

A Member referred to issues being experienced with off road motorbikes in the Tredegar area (on the boundary with the National Park) and asked if this issue had been raised at the Park Authority Meetings.  Councillor Hill advised that this issue may have been reported directly to officers at the National Park and undertook to investigate the matter.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and the information contained therein be noted.

 

38.

Standards Committee pdf icon PDF 209 KB

To receive the report of the Standards Committee held on 5th July, 2019.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the meeting held on 5th July, 2019.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED that the report be accepted and the information contained therein be noted.

 

39.

Memberships Report pdf icon PDF 354 KB

To consider the attached report.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to:-

 

GAVO – Local Committee

 

RESOLVED that Councillor John Mason replace Councillor Keri Rowson on the GAVO Local Committee.

 

 

 

Advisory Panel for Local Authority School Governors

 

The following recommendations were made by the Panel on 1st October, 2019  to appoint:-

 

Natasha TepielowBlaen-y-Cwm Primary School

Stephanie Hopkins – Brynmawr Foundation School

Natalie Marshall – Cwm Primary School

Councillor Jonathan Millard – Ebbw Fawr Learning Community

Councillor David Davies – Willowtown Primary School

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED that the above appointments be endorsed.

 

40.

Exempt Items(s)

To receive and consider the following report(s) which in the opinion of the proper officer is/are an exempt item(s) taking into account consideration of the public interest test and that the press and public should be excluded from the meeting (the reason for the decision for the exemption is available on a schedule maintained by the proper officer).

 

Minutes:

Having regard to the views expressed by the Proper Officer regarding the public interest test, that on balance the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information and that the following reports should be exempt.

 

41.

Case Reviews: Community Asset Transfer Process, Selection of Approved Users

To consider the report of the Corporate Director Regeneration & Community Services.

Minutes:

Councillor J. C. Morgan declared an interest in this item but remained in the meeting whilst it was under discussion.

 

Having regard to the views expressed by the Proper Officer regarding the public interest test, that on balance, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information and that the report should be exempt.

 

RESOLVED that the public be excluded whilst this item of business is transacted as it is likely there would be a disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act, 1972 (as amended).

 

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Regeneration & Community Services.

 

The Service Manager Development & Estates highlighted the robust review process that had been undertaken on a case by case basis and gave details of the three individual cases and the preferred options contained therein.

 

A Member referred to Appeal No. 2 and pointed out that there were historic differences between the two clubs and felt that by not allowing the appeal would not heal these differences and he proposed that Option 2 be endorsed and the appeal be allowed and the case referred pack to the Selection Panel to reassess the case.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was

 

RESOLVED that the report which related to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority) be accepted and

 

-      Appeal 1: – upon a vote being taken it was unanimously resolved that Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the appeal be dismissed and the original decision to award the CAT to the organisation named in the report be upheld.

 

-      Appeal 2: – upon a vote being taken it was resolved that Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the appeal be dismissed and the original decision to award the CAT to the organisation named in the report be upheld.

 

Councillor H. McCarthy requested that his name be recorded against this decision.

 

-      Appeal 3: – upon a vote being taken it was unanimously resolved that Option 2 be endorsed, namely that the appeal be allowed and the case referred back to the Selection Panel to reassess the case in light of further evidence and information emanating from the appeal process.

 

42.

Shortlisting (JNC) Officers

To consider the report of the meeting held on 25th September, 2019.

Minutes:

Having regard to the views expressed by the Proper Officer regarding the public interest test, that on balance the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information and that the report should be exempt.

 

RESOLVED that the public be excluded whilst this item of business is transacted as it is likely there would be a disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12 & 13 Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act, 1972 (as amended).

 

Consideration was given to the report of the meeting held on 25th September, 2019.

 

Upon a vote being taken it was unanimously,

 

RESOLVED that the report which related to staffing matters be accepted and the decision contained therein be noted.