Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Guildhall, Swansea
Contact: Democratic Services - 636923
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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: Councillors 1)
Councillors C Anderson, P M Black, J E Burtonshaw, S E Crouch, J P
Curtice, N J Davies, A M Day, P Downing, C R Doyle, M Durke, C R Evans, V M
Evans, E W Fitzgerald, R Francis-Davies, S J Gallagher, L S Gibbard, F M Gordon, K M Griffiths, D W Helliwell, T J
Hennegan, C A Holley, P R Hood-Williams, B Hopkins, D H Hopkins, O G James, L
James, Y V Jardine, J W Jones, L R Jones, P K Jones, S M Jones, E T King, E T
Kirchner, M A Langstone, A S Lewis, M B Lewis, R D Lewis, W G Lewis, C E Lloyd,
P Lloyd, I E Mann, P N May, H M Morris, D Phillips, C L Philpott, S Pritchard,
A Pugh, J A Raynor, C Richards, K M Roberts, B J Rowlands, M Sherwood, P B
Smith, R V Smith, A H Stevens, R C Stewart, D G Sullivan, M Sykes, D W W Thomas, M Thomas, W G Thomas, L J Tyler-Lloyd, G D
Walker, L V Walton & T M White declared a Personal Interest in Minute 20
“Councillors & Co-Opted Members Allowances & Expenses 2017-2018”. Officers 1)
T Meredith declared a Personal & Prejudicial Interest in Minute 22
“Senior Management Structure” and withdrew prior to its discussion. |
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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) Ceremonial Meeting of
Council held on 18 May 2018; 2) Annual Meeting of Council
held on 24 May 2018 subject to Councillor S M Jones being removed from the list
of apologies and being marked as present. |
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Written Responses to Questions asked at the Last Ordinary Meeting of Council - None. Minutes: There were no written
responses to questions asked at the last Ordinary Meeting of Council. |
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Announcements of the Presiding Member. Minutes: 1)
South & West Wales Occupational
Safety Group (SWWOSG) Awards The Presiding Member congratulated the Corporate
Health, Safety, Emergency Management & Wellbeing
Service as they had been awarded the “Wellbeing Shield” by the South & West
Wales Safety Group for 2017, as a result of the innovative work of Stress
Management & Counselling, the Helping Hands volunteers and the Occupational
Health Unit in improving employee Wellbeing. Corporate Health & Safety were also awarded for
“Outstanding Safety Performance” in 2017 again. Craig Gimblett, Andy Langford, Tracy Dicataldo, and Liz Thomas-Evans were present to receive the
award. Martin Rogers of Waste Management (also present)
was also awarded runner up for employee of the year by the Group, for his
ongoing dedication to improving health & safety standards at the Bailing
Plant. 2)
Morriston Primary
School - Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative Competition 2018 The Presiding Member announced that Morriston Primary School celebrated
its 150th anniversary on 15 June 2018. In addition to this achievement, the School
has been acknowledged by the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative with a prize for their efforts
in bringing the event together, with many months spent trawling through the
Swansea Archives to find the Head Teacher logs dating back to when the School
first opened in 1868. He stated that
apparently it wasn’t easy as the Head Teachers’ handwriting was extremely
difficult to read in the early records. 3)
Head Teacher of the Year in Wales -
Professional Teaching Awards Cymru The Presiding Member congratulated Janet Waldron
(MBE), Headteacher at Pontarddulais Comprehensive School, for recently being
named Headteacher of the Year in Wales at the Professional Teaching Awards
Cymru ceremony. 4)
Gower College Student
Awards 2018 The Presiding Member congratulated the Authority
for winning the ‘Employer Partner’ of the Year Award at the Gower College
Student Awards 2018. Councillor Will
Evans received the Glass Plaque and a cheque payable to the Lord Mayor’s Fund
on behalf of the Authority. 5)
All Wales Continuous
Improvement Community Annual Awards 2018 The Presiding Member congratulated Swansea’s Team Around the Family (TAF) Service for winning its second award
in 6 months. Recently the Team won an
All Wales Continuous Improvement Council / Academi
Wales 2018 Award for its TAF in Schools (TiS) model
of delivery in the Public Value category. The Team is an innovative and sustainable
initiative developed to empower and up-skill Primary School-based staff to
support children and their families to tackle early stage social
challenges. TiS
has upskilled workers in 73 out of the city’s 79 Primary Schools by boosting
their confidence and ability to support vulnerable families, ensuring their
needs are met at the earliest possible opportunity by people they know and
trust. This has resulted in a reduction in demand for more
intensive services, a more responsive Offer for families within their own communities
and positive feedback from Schools in relation to being able to confidently and
directly provide support for the well-being of children and their families. As a result of winning the National Guardian Public
Services Award there has been continued interest in the TiS
model from Wales and further afield. In
early June, Early Intervention Services hosted a visit of the Director of
Education for the New Zealand Government who was interested in learning from
the innovative practice and approaches that have been developed here in
Swansea. Professor Karen Graham, Wales
and the UK representative on the World Forum Foundation, will be presenting the
works of TiS at the 2019 World Forum. 6)
Wales - The World’s
First Fair Trade Nation The Presiding Member stated that ten years ago on 6
June 2008, Wales became the World’s First Fair Trade Nation. Supporting and promoting Fair Trade is still
an important way for Councils to demonstrate their commitment to a Globally
Responsible Wales, as required by the Well-Being of Future Generations Act. Cabinet resolved in August 2004 to support Fair
Trade, as part of Swansea's bid to become a Fair Trade City, helping Wales
achieve Fair Trade Nation status. In the
coming months, this Authority will be asked to renew that resolution which will
be much more detailed than the original. Hopefully, Swansea can continue to lead the
way in being globally responsible. 7)
Queen’s Birthday
Honours 2017 The Presiding Member congratulated
the Citizens of Swansea and / or People with Links to Swansea who received
awards in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. a)
Commander of the Order
of the British Empire (CBE) i)
Professor
Jill Hunter. Professor of Midwifery at Cardiff University. For services to
Midwifery and Midwifery Education in the UK and Europe. (Sketty, Swansea). b)
Member of the Order of
the British Empire (MBE) i)
Janet
Waldron. Head Teacher at Pontarddulais Comprehensive School. For services to
Education. (Neath Port Talbot). c)
British Empire Medal (BEM) i)
Joan
E Darbyshire. For Charitable services. (West Cross,
Swansea); ii)
Wendy
A Pressdee. For services to Netball. (Pennard,
Swansea); iii)
Ruth
Ridge. For services to the Gower Society
and the Community of Gower. (West Cross, Swansea). 8)
Happy 70th Birthday to Aneira Thomas of Loughor and to the National Health Service
(NHS) The Presiding Member extended the Council’s best wishes to Aneira Thomas of Loughor on her 70th
birthday. Aneira
was born shortly after midnight on 5 July 1948 after the midwives encouraged
her mother with the words “Hang on Edna…”. Aneira was the
first baby born under the National Health Service and now spends much of her
time touring the country as a powerful supporter and advocate of our NHS. He also extended the Council’s best wishes which also was celebrating
its 70th birthday. 9)
Amendments / Corrections to the
Council Summons i)
Agenda Item 10 “Safer Swansea
Community Safety Strategy” The pie charts shown on Pages 43-53 had not printed correctly. The amended pages were circulated. ii)
Agenda Item 11 “Councillors and
Co-opted Members Allowances & Expenses 2017-2018 Paragraphs 2.4 and 2.9 of the report need to be amended so as to clarify
the ICT Allowance and the Subsistence Allowance. The paragraphs should read as follows: “2.4 The ICT
Allowance is set at a maximum of £1,808 over a period of 5 years
(2017-2022). This is broken down as
£1,008 in the year immediately following the election of the Councillor and
£200 each year thereafter. The amounts
do not need to be taken in the specific year but the amount of £1,808 cannot be
exceeded. 2.9 Subsistence
Allowance - These costs relate to any subsistence costs incurred including accommodation
and conference / seminar costs.” iii)
Agenda Item 14 “Amendments to the
Council Constitution” Paragraph 3.1 a) and b) should be amended to read: a)
Part 3 -
Terms of Reference - Constitution Working Group; b)
Part 4 -
Council Procedure Rules - Rules of Debate. iv)
Agenda Item 17 “Notice of Motion” This Item has been withdrawn. 10)
Suspension
of Council Procedure Rule 17.2 “Rules of Debate – Standing when Speaking” Council agreed to suspend Council Procedure Rule 17.2 in order to allow
Councillors to remain seated whilst speaking.
The purpose being to aid those with hearing difficulties. |
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Announcements of the Leader of the Council. Minutes: 1) The BBC’s
Biggest Weekend, Swansea The
Leader of the Council congratulated all involved with the BBC Biggest Weekend,
Swansea which was held on 27 and 28 May 2018.
The event was a sell out and was one of the most exciting live music
event of the summer, as BBC Music and Radio 1 joined forces to bring two days
of spectacular performances to Singleton Park. 2) Swansea
Bay City Deal The
Leader of the Council stated that Cabinet earlier that day had approved the
establishment of the Swansea Bay City Deal Joint Committee and associated
funding streams. A report on the City
Deal would be presented to Council on 26 July 2018. 3) Tidal
Lagoon The
Leader of the Council stated that he would be meeting the Secretary of State
for Wales on Monday, 25, June 2018, where he would continue to press for a
positive response on the scheme. 4) Deb
Yeates – Leaving the Authority The Leader of the Council congratulated Deb Yeates
on her forthcoming retirement and wished her the best for the future following her
37 years in Local Government. Deb
started her career as a Social Services Personnel Officer in the former West
Glamorgan County Council. She worked her
way through the Authority and was for some time the Acting Head of HR. One of Deb’s remarkable achievements during that
time was the fact that she never took a day’s sickness. 5) Chris Sivers – Pastures New The Leader of the Council congratulated Chris Sivers
on her new role in Gloucestershire. He
referred to her 5 years in Swansea and outlined her achievements in joint
working between social care and education, focussing on prevention, early
intervention and better commissioning. |
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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 with in a 10 minute period. Minutes: A
number of questions were asked by members of the public. The relevant Cabinet Member responded. No questions required a written response. |
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Public Presentation - None. Minutes: No Public Presentations were
received. |
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Minutes: The Homes & Energy Cabinet Member submitted a report,
which outlined proposed amendments to the current Private Sector Housing
Renewal and Disabled Adaptations: Policy to Provide Assistance 2017-2022,
following changes to the Welsh Government Houses in Homes and National Home
Improvement Loan Scheme, and to publish an addendum to the Policy. Resolved that: 1)
The revisions
to the Welsh Government’s Houses in Homes and National Home Improvement Loans
Scheme as detailed in the report be approved and included as an addendum to the
Private Sector Housing Renewal and Disabled
Adaptations: Policy to Provide Assistance 2017-2022. |
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Safer Swansea Community Safety Strategy. PDF 119 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Better Communities Cabinet Member submitted a report,
which presented a strategic partnership response for delivering priorities as
identified in the Safer Swansea Community Safety Strategy. Resolved that: 1)
The Safer
Swansea Community Safety Strategy be approved. |
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Councillors & Co-Opted Members Allowances & Expenses 2017-2018. PDF 142 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Head of Democratic Services submitted an information report, which presented the amount of allowances and expenses paid to each Councillor and Co-opted Member during 2017-2018 under the Councillors Allowances Scheme. Following a request from the Head of Democratic Services,
Council agreed that Paragraphs 2.4 and
2.9 of the report be amended so as to clarify the ICT Allowance and the
Subsistence Allowance. The paragraphs
were amended to read as follows: “2.4 The ICT
Allowance is set at a maximum of £1,808 over a period of 5 years
(2017-2022). This is broken down as
£1,008 in the year immediately following the election of the Councillor and
£200 each year thereafter. The amounts
do not need to be taken in the specific year but the amount of £1,808 cannot be
exceeded. 2.9 Subsistence
Allowance - These costs relate to any subsistence costs incurred including
accommodation and conference / seminar costs.” |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The Economy & Strategy Cabinet Member submitted a
report, which proposed a response to the consultation on the Welsh Government
Green Paper regarding Local Government Reform: ‘Strengthening Local Government –
Delivering for People’. Resolved that: 1)
The response
to the consultation on the Welsh Government Green Paper regarding Local Government Reform: ‘Strengthening Local Government –
Delivering for People’ be noted and endorsed. |
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Senior Management Structure. PDF 605 KB Minutes: The Chief Executive submitted a report, which sought
agreement for a new Senior Management Structure. Resolved that: 1)
The posts of Director of Resources, Director of
People, Chief Social Services Officer, Chief Education Officer and Head of
Financial Services & Service Centre be removed from the establishment; 2)
The post of Deputy Chief Executive be established
and advertised; 3)
The post of Director of Social Services be
established and advertised; 4)
The post of Director of Education be established
and advertised ; 5)
The post of Head of Financial Services &
Service Centre be replaced by the post of Chief Finance Officer and be
advertised; 6)
The spans of control for the Chief Operating
Officer (currently vacant) be amended and appointed from existing Heads of
Service; 7)
The post of Head of Legal, Democratic Services and
Business Intelligence be replaced by the post of Chief Legal Officer and the
incumbent be slotted into that post; 8) The post of Deputy Chief Finance Officer be
established and advertised; 9)
The post of Deputy Chief Legal Officer be
established and the incumbent be slotted into that post; 10)
The Place Directorate be amended as outlined in
Paragraph 6 of the report. |
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Amendments to the Council Constitution. PDF 22 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: a)
Part 3 - Terms of Reference - Constitution Working
Group; b)
Part 4 - Council Procedure Rules - Rules of Debate. Resolved that: 1)
The Terms of Reference of the Constitution
Working Group be amended to include the following line: “3. To
consider all aspects of any Boundary Reviews and make recommendations to
Council as appropriate”. 2)
Council Procedure
Rule 17 “Rules of Debate” be amended to read: 1
“Respect for
Chair When the Presiding Member stands during
a debate all Councillors must immediately stop speaking and the Council must be
silent. 2
Standing when
Speaking A Councillor,
when speaking at Council, must address the Presiding Member; all others must
remain silent, unless raising a point of order, a personal explanation or a
point of information. This Procedure Rule does not apply to
other Council Body meetings such as Cabinet, Committees etc. When a Councillor raises a “Point of
Order”, a “Personal Explanation” or a “Point of Information”, Paragraph 17(12)
“Personal Explanation, Points of Order and Points of Information” applies. If this occurs, the Councillor has the floor. 3 Order of Speaking If two or
more Councillors indicate their wish to speak, the Presiding Member will call
on one and the other(s) must be silent.
The Presiding Member may decide and announce that Councillors will be
called in a given order at specified points during the debate. Alternatively, the Presiding Member may also
decide to open a list of Councillors wishing to speak and to restrict the
speakers to those that indicate an intention to speak prior to the closure of
the list. The Presiding Member shall
announce when this list is closed.” Note: The remainder of Council Procedure Rule 17 “Rules of Debate” remains
unchanged. |
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Membership of Committees. PDF 96 KB Minutes: The Business
Transformation and Performance Cabinet Member submitted a report, which sought approval
for nominations / amendments to the Council Bodies. He stated that the Leader
of the Council had also made the following changes to the Authority’s Outside
Bodies. 1)
Police
and Crime Panel Remove
Councillor K M Roberts. Add
Councillor E T Kirchner. Resolved that the membership of the Council Bodies
listed below be amended as follows: 1)
Corporate Parenting Board Remove Councillor M C Child. Add Councillor E J King. 2)
Audit Committee Remove Councillor B Hopkins. Add Labour Vacancy. |
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Councillors' Questions. PDF 142 KB Minutes: 1) Part A
‘Supplementary Questions’ Nine
(9) Part A ‘Supplementary Questions’ were submitted. The relevant Cabinet Member(s) responded by
way of written answers contained in the Council Summons. The following supplementary
question(s) required a written response. Question 2 a)
Councillor C A Holley asked: i)
“Can
the Leader of the Council provide Councillors with the details of the new lease
at the Liberty Stadium specifically changes to the repair / maintenance element
of the lease?” The Leader of the Council stated
that a written response would be provided. 2) Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ Five (5) Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ were submitted. |
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Notice of Motion - Councillors P M Black, C A Holley, A M Day, L G Thomas, C L Philpott, J W Jones & M H Jones. Council notes the advisory referendum
that took place on 5th June 1975 in which 67% of those voting
confirmed our membership of the European Economic Community on the basis of
clearly set out terms of membership. Council notes the further advisory
referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in which 52% of those voting decided
that the United Kingdom should no longer remain a member of the European Union. Council further notes that neither the
question of our continuing membership of the single market nor the terms for
withdrawal were put before the electorate to determine as part of the 2016
referendum. Council further notes the subsequent
difficulties in negotiating the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union
concerning the Irish border and the future of the Good Friday Agreement, the
future of Gibraltar, estimates that Wales would see a reduction of £1.1 billion
in GVA from a hard Brexit, the impact on Higher Education and scientific
research from lost grants, a possible loss of manufacturing and financial
sector jobs to continental Europe and the impact on aviation and nuclear
medicine as a result of abandoning international agreements. Council also notes the impact of Brexit
on imported labour, which combined with the current government’s clampdown on
visas is already leaving the NHS short-staffed in key areas and undermining
agriculture and other labour-intensive industries. Council also expresses concern over the
uncertainty facing European citizens living and working in the UK and those UK
citizens living and working in Europe. Council notes the non-existent progress
being made by the UK Government in securing alternative trade deals outside of
the European Community and is concerned that once the UK has left the EU we
will be isolated, have a weak negotiating position and be at the mercy of
bigger trading partners such as the USA, who will want to impose unacceptable
terms on any deals we do with them. Council notes that it is possible to
increase trade with non-European countries whilst remaining a member of the
single market, as evidenced by a 27% year-on-year increase in UK cheese exports
to Asia. Council believes that given the
uncertainties listed above, the consequences for our economy and individual
lifestyles of a hard Brexit as currently being promoted by the UK Government,
and the consequences of Brexit that have emerged since June 2016, that voters
should have the final say in a referendum on any deal struck between the UK
Government and the EU, with an option to stay in the EU if they consider that
to be the best course for the UK. Council resolves that the Leader should
to write to local MPs, the Secretary of State for Wales and the Prime Minister
to set out this case for a final referendum on the Brexit deal.
Minutes: The Notice of Motion was withdrawn. |