Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Guildhall, Swansea
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Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests. Minutes: The Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Business Intelligence gave
advice regarding the potential personal and prejudicial interests that
Councillors and / Officers may have on the agenda. The Head of Democratic Services reminded Councillors and Officers that
the “Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests” sheet should only be
completed if the Councillor / Officer actually had an interest to declare. Nil returns were not required. Councillors and Officers were also informed
that any declarable interest must be made orally and in writing on the sheet. In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct adopted by
the City and County of Swansea the following interests were declared: 1)
Councillors M B
Lewis and L G Thomas declared a Personal Interest in Minute 94 “Standards
Committee Annual Report 2016-2017”. 2)
Councillors D W
Helliwell, P R Hood-Williams, O G James, J W Jones, M H Jones, L J Jones, M A
Langstone, W G Thomas and L V Walton declared a Personal Interest in Minute
99 “Proposal to Pass a New Resolution
Not to Issue Casino Licences and Proposed Amendments to the Council’s Gambling
Policy”. 3)
Councillors C
Anderson and M Durke declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in Minute
99 “Proposal to Pass a New Resolution
Not to Issue Casino Licences and Proposed Amendments to the Council’s Gambling
Policy” and left prior to discussion. 4)
Councillors C
Anderson, J P Curtice, J W Jones, M H Jones, W G Lewis, S M Pritchard, D G
Sullivan and T M White declared a Personal Interest in Minute 100 “Amendments
to the Constitution.” |
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To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record. Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved that the following Minutes be approved and
signed as a correct record: 1)
Extraordinary Meeting of Council held on 28
September 2017; 2)
Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 28
September 2017. |
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Written Responses to Questions asked at the Last Ordinary Meeting of Council. PDF 95 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Head of
Legal, Democratic Services and Business Intelligence submitted
an information report setting out the written responses to questions asked at
the last Ordinary Meeting of Council. |
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Announcements of the Presiding Member. Minutes: 1)
Condolences a)
Former Councillor A C S
(Tony) Colburn The Presiding Member
referred with sadness to the recent death of former Councillor Tony
Colburn. Former Councillor Colburn
served the Oystermouth Electoral Ward between 1 May 2008 and 4 May 2017. b)
Ruth Thomas,
Grandmother of Councillor Clive E Lloyd The Presiding Member referred with sadness to the
recent death of Ruth Thomas, grandmother of Councillor Clive E Lloyd. All present stood as a mark of sympathy and respect. 2)
Recognition / Awards a)
Team Around the Family (TAF) Service The Presiding Member
referred to the Team
Around the Family (TAF) Service which had been
shortlisted for honours in the Guardian Public
Service Awards 2017. This
initiative supports children and significantly reduces pressure on the Council
by empowering primary school staff to tackle early-stage social challenges
faced by families. He congratulated all
involved and wished them good luck at the awards in November. b)
Childcare Legal Team The
Presiding Member referred
to the Childcare Legal Team who had been shortlisted as a finalist in the
Lawyers in Local Government Awards for 2017.
The award is for People Related Team of the Year, which recognises
outstanding achievement by a Local Authority Team in any field of law relating
to people including children law, adult social care, health and employment. He congratulated
the Team for this excellent peer recognition.
This is an outstanding achievement as it is a UK wide award with the
winner being announced on 24 November 2017 in
Birmingham. c)
Go Awards Wales, Excellence in Public
Procurement The
Presiding Member referred
to two of Swansea Council’s initiatives which have reached the final of the Go Awards Wales, Excellence in Public
Procurement. Beyond Bricks and Mortar has been
shortlisted under the Procurement Innovation in Government and Housing. A joint submission between Adult Social
Care, the Procurement Team and Beyond Bricks and Mortar is also shortlisted in
Procurement Innovation in Social Care and Health Category. d)
St Helen’s Primary School - Pearson Teaching Awards The
Presiding Member referred to Mark Thompson, who leads St Helen’s Primary School. Mr Thompson will be attending the grand
finale of the Pearson Teaching Awards in London shortly where he’s shortlisted for a Gold Award in the Head Teacher of the
Year category. There’s
been a remarkable transformation at St Helen’s, both in its physical appearance
and in pupil achievement and attendance.
Mark was recognised for his exceptional
leadership when he won the Welsh category earlier this year. e)
Flying Start The Presiding Member referred
to one of
Swansea Council’s Flying Start projects which has had
a fantastic inspection report from the Care and Social Care Inspectorate Wales
(CSSIW). Inspectors looked at four areas
at the Seaview project and gave the following ratings: Excellent - “Children’s Wellbeing” and
“Environment”; Good - “Care & Development” and “Leadership
& Management”. f)
European Para Table
Tennis Championships – Slovenia 2017 The Presiding Member referred to Paul Karabardak of Cockett.
Mr Karabardak started playing Table Tennis
with Swansea based charity “Friends of the Young Disabled” many years ago. He has recently won the Gold Medal for Team
GB at the European Para Table Tennis Championships 2017 in Slovenia. g)
Invictus Games -
Toronto 2017 The Presiding Member
referred to Matthew Neve of Three Crosses. Mr Neve was a Senior
Aircraftman in the Royal Air Force before being discharged
in 2004. His mental health difficulties
have led to a number of challenges including depression, and a lack of
self-worth and purpose. Since taking up archery, Matt has used the sport to
give his life focus again and help him on his recovery journey. The
Presiding Member stated that he was delighted to announce that Matthew won a Gold Medal for Archery at the Invictus Games - Toronto 2017. 3)
Amendments / Additions to the Council Summons Item 13
“Amendments to the Constitution”. The Presiding Member
stated that an amended extract of Paragraph 3.5 of the
report had been circulated. Item 14
“Membership of Committees”. The Presiding Member
stated than an amended report had been
circulated. Urgent Notice of
Motion The Presiding
Member stated that he had accepted an urgent Notice of Motion relating to
Universal Credit. The Notice of Motion had been circulated. |
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Announcements of the Leader of the Council. Minutes: a)
Religion & Heritage Councillor Champion The
Leader of the Council stated that he’d appointed Councillor Sam Pritchard as
the “Religion & Heritage” Councillor Champion. b)
City Deal Update The
Leader of the Council provided an update on the City Deal. c)
City of Culture Visit The
Leader of the Council thanked all involved for ensuring that the Bid
Committee’s visit to Swansea was successful. d)
Skyline (New Zealand) Visit The
Leader of the Council stated that Skyline (New Zealand) had recently visited
Swansea as part of them seeking a European location for extreme sports and a 5
star restaurant on Kilvey Hill. e)
Liberty Stadium The
Leader of the Council provided an update on the ongoing negotiations with
Swansea City Football Club in relation to the Liberty Stadium. f)
E-voting The
Leader of the Council stated that Cabinet Meetings would be using the Council
Chamber’s e-voting system later in 2017 and that the system would be rolled out
wider once the trials had been undertaken. g)
Webcasting The
Leader of the Council stated that the Webcasting tender would be issued later
in 2017. This in time would allow
certain meetings to be webcast. |
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Public Questions. Questions must relate to
matters on the open part of the Agenda of the meeting and will be dealt within
a 10 minute period. Minutes: A
question was asked by a member of the public.
The relevant Cabinet Member responded accordingly. No questions required a written response. |
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Public Presentation - None. Minutes: No Public Presentations were
received. |
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Standards Committee Annual Report 2016-2017. PDF 151 KB Minutes: The Chair of the Standards Committee, Jill Burgess presented the Standards Committee Annual Report 2016-2017 for information. The report set out the work of the Standards Committee from 19 May 2016 to 24 May 2017. |
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Urgent Item Minutes: The Presiding Member stated that pursuant to Paragraph 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972 he considered that the “Urgent Notice of Motion - Councillors R C Stewart, C A Holley, C E Lloyd, J A Raynor, D H Hopkins, R Francis-Davies, M Thomas, J E Burtonshaw, M Sherwood, M C Child, A S Lewis, W Evans, M H Jones, E W Fitzgerald and D G Sullivan” in relation Universal Credit should be considered at the meeting for the reasons given. |
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Urgent Notice of Motion - Councillors R C Stewart, C A Holley, C E Lloyd, J A Raynor, D H Hopkins, R Francis-Davies, M Thomas, J E Burtonshaw, M Sherwood, M C Child, A S Lewis, W Evans, M H Jones, E W Fitzgerald and D G Sullivan Minutes: Reason for Urgency:
On the grounds of the imminent roll out of Universal Credit. Proposed by Councillor R C Stewart and Seconded by Councillor C A Holley. “Council agrees that
the intention of Universal Credit (UC) to make benefits less complicated and to
allow those in low paid work to keep more of their wages is a good idea, but
believes that the evidence demonstrates that the Universal Credit process is
flawed and causing unnecessary hardship to local families. Council notes that UC was
deliberately introduced on a slow rollout so that any issues could be
seen and corrected before the benefit was introduced to all claimants. Council further notes
that the evidence of this council and others across the country is that UC is
causing huge increases in rent arrears and in general
debt levels amongst claimants, many of whom have never been in debt before. In
addition, evidence demonstrates that most private landlords
and even some housing associations are refusing to accept tenants receiving UC,
leading to an increase in those registering as homeless and seeking temporary
accommodation. Council therefore
resolves that the Leader on behalf of the Council to write to the Secretary of
State for Work and Pensions, making these points, requesting that the
Government addresses these issues, and that the
roll-out is halted until the problems are fixed.” Councillor
R C Stewart proposed an amendment
which amended the final paragraph by
calling on all Political Group Leaders to write to the Secretary of State for
Work and Pensions. Councillor C A Holley indicated that he accepted
the amendment. Council further notes
that the evidence of this council and others across the country is that UC is
causing huge increases in rent arrears and in general
debt levels amongst claimants, many of whom have never been in debt before. In
addition, evidence demonstrates that most private landlords
and even some housing associations are refusing to accept tenants receiving UC,
leading to an increase in those registering as homeless and seeking temporary
accommodation. Council therefore
resolves that the Political Group Leader on behalf of the Council write to the
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, making these points, requesting that
the Government addresses these issues, and that the roll-out is halted until
the problems are fixed.” In accordance
with Council Procedure Rule 30 “Voting” a recorded
vote was requested. The voting was recorded as follows:
RESOLVED that: 1)
The Notice of Motion as amended be approved. |
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Mid Term Budget Statement 2017/18. (Verbal Update) Minutes: The Section 151 Officer gave a presentation on the Mid Term
Budget Statement 2017-2018. He outlined
the current year’s financial performance together with an updated assessment of
savings requirements over the period of the Medium Term Financial Plan. The Leader of the Council also provided a statement. Resolved that: 1)
The presentation be noted. |
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Review of Revenue Reserves. PDF 140 KB Minutes: The Section 151 Officer submitted a report, which outlined
the mid-term review of the Revenue Reserves position and sought to agree any
suggested reclassification of reserves based on current requirements. Resolved that: 1)
Sections 3.13 to 3.16 of the report be noted and approved. |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: The Commercial Opportunities and Innovation Cabinet Member
submitted a report, which considered the outcome of the consultation in respect
of a proposal to pass a new resolution not to issue casino premises licences;
and proposed amendments to the City and County of Swansea’s Statement of
Principles (Gambling Policy). It also
sought a decision regarding passing a new resolution not to issue casino
premises licences. Resolved that: 1) The outcome of the consultation in respect of a proposal to pass a new resolution not to issue casino premises licences and proposed amendments to the City and County of Swansea’s Statement of Principles (Gambling Policy) be considered; 2)
The matters identified in paragraph 4 of the
report be taken into account and a new resolution not to issue casino premises
licences be agreed; 3)
The proposed amendments to the Gambling Policy
be agreed for publication and that it specifies the date of the 6 December 2017
as the date on which the resolution takes effect. |
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Amendments to the Constitution. PDF 133 KB Minutes: The
Presiding Member, Monitoring Officer and Head of Democratic Services jointly
submitted a report, which sought to make amendments in order to simplify,
improve and / or add to the Council Constitution. The
proposed changes related to the following area of the Council Constitution: i)
Part 3 “Responsibility for Functions”, “Terms of Reference”, “Local
Authority (LA) Governor Panel”. The
Head of Democratic Services stated that an Amended report had been circulated
and he also made a few other amendments. Resolved that: 1)
The changes to the Council Constitution as outlined below be adopted: “Part 3 “Responsibility for
Functions - Terms of Reference”. 2.4.4
Local Authority (LA) Governor Panel: a)
Be removed from Part 3 “Responsibility
for Functions - Terms of Reference”; b)
Be renamed the Local Authority (LA)
Governor Appointments Procedure and added to Part 4 “Rules of Procedure” of the
Council Constitution; c)
Be redrafted as follows: 1.
All Local Authority Governor
Appointments shall be made by Cabinet following a recommendation from the Chief
Education Officer in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Children,
Education and Lifelong Learning and the Councillor(s) representing the ward(s)
in the catchment area of the schools’ views will be sought to input into the
decision-making (Referred to within this document as Local Councillor(s)). 2.
The Chief Education Officer
in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Lifelong
Learning and Local Councillor(s) will consider any applications in line with
the governing body skills matrix alongside each individual governor application which will include a brief description by the
applicant about the experience and knowledge they can offer the governing body. 3. The
Local Authority Governor Application Form will be amended
to include opportunity for applicants to include details (up to 300 words) of
experience, knowledge and skills to demonstrate how their appointment will help
address any skill gap identified within the school governing body skill matrix. 4.
The Chief Education
Officer, Cabinet Member and Local Councillor(s) will make recommendation on the
appointment of the governor who is deemed to have the most appropriate skills
and expertise to support and challenge the governing body, and make
recommendations to Cabinet for filling LA vacancies on Governing Bodies. 5.
The Councillor(s)
representing the ward(s) in the catchment area of the schools’ views will be sought to input into the decision-making. 6.
The following criteria
shall be used in considering applications: a.
Firstly the Councillor(s) representing ward(s) in the catchment area of the
relevant school if they meet the skills criteria provided by the school. The School and Governor Unit shall assist
Councillors in acquiring those skills (where possible) by utilising the
training courses available within the Authority. Each Councillors training record is available
at www.swansea.gov.uk/councillors; b. Secondly, if the Councillors(s)
representing ward(s) in the catchment area of the relevant school do not
express an interest, the vacancy be offered to other Councillors of the Local Authority
if they meet the skills criteria provided by the school; c. Following application of the above criteria, vacancies be
offered to persons who, in the opinion of the Chief Education Officer in
conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Lifelong
Learning and Local Councillor(s), would be suitable to the role of governor and
who would contribute effectively to the school in terms of skills and
experience in meeting the skills criteria provided by the school. 7. In each of the above categories whenever there are more
candidates than vacancies, Local Authority representatives will be recommended
to Cabinet on the basis of whom, in the opinion of the Chief Education Officer
in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Lifelong
Learning and Local Councillor(s), will make the most effective contribution to
the management of the school concerned as provided for in the skills criteria
provided by the school. 8.
The Chief Education Officer
in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Lifelong
Learning and Local Councillor(s), shall receive, discuss and determine any
representations made to them whenever they make any change to representation on
a particular Governing Body. 9. The Chief Education Officer in conjunction with the Cabinet
Member for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning and Local Councillor(s),
shall hear any request made to them to remove an LA Governor in Accordance with
Regulation 27 of the Government of Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations 2005
2005 and make a recommendation to Cabinet for approval. 10.
The Chief
Education Officer in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Children,
Education and Lifelong Learning and Local Councillor(s), will expect all newly
appointed Governors to undertake mandatory governor training in accordance with
Welsh Government requirements within a year of them taking up the position in
order to prepare them for their role and improve understanding of their
responsibility to both challenge and support the school and Head teacher. 11. Applications must be submitted no later than 7 clear working
days before the date of the Chief Education Officer in conjunction with the
Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning and Local
Councillor(s) meeting / discussion and late applications will only be
considered at their discretion.” |
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Membership of Committees. PDF 95 KB Minutes: The Service
Transformation & Business Operations Cabinet Member stated that an amended
report had been circulated. He referred to the report
stating that the Leader of the Council had also made changes to the Authority’s
Outside Bodies as outlined below: 1)
Gower College Swansea Remove Councillor JA Raynor. Add Councillor K M Roberts. Resolved that: 1)
The membership of the Council Bodies listed
below be amended as follows: i)
Challenge Panel Remove Councillors J E Burtonshaw, N J Davies, H M
Morris, M Sherwood, & M Sykes. Add Councillors C Anderson, M B Lewis, P Lloyd, S
Pritchard & T M White. ii)
Safeguarding Policy
Development & Delivery Committee Remove Councillor K M
Roberts. Add Councillor C Anderson. |
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Councillors' Questions. PDF 122 KB Minutes: 1)
Part
A ‘Supplementary Questions’ Ten
(10) Part A ‘Supplementary Questions’ were submitted. The relevant Cabinet Member(s) responded by
way of written answers contained in the Council Summons. No supplementary
question(s) required a written response. 2) Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ Three (3) Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ were submitted. |