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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Guildhall, Swansea

Items
No. Item

68.

Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests.

Minutes:

The Chief Legal Officer 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 P M Black, M C Child, J P Curtice, N J Davies, A M Day, M Durke, C R Evans, R Francis-Davies, C A Holley, B Hopkins, O G James, Y V Jardine, S M Jones, A S Lewis, M B Lewis, C E Lloyd, P Lloyd, P M Matthews, P N May, C L Philpott, S Pritchard, A Pugh, K Roberts, B J Rowlands, M Sherwood, R V Smith, A H Stevens, R C Stewart, D G Sullivan, M Sykes, D W W Thomas, M Thomas, W G Thomas, G D Walker, L V Walton and T M White declared a Personal Interest in Minute 79 “City & County of Swansea Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2017-2018”.

 

2)              Councillors M A Langstone, P N May, B J Rowlands and W G Thomas declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in Minute 80 “Outcome of Swansea LDP Examination & Requirements for Public Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Plan”.

 

3)              Councillors P M Black and M C Child declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in Minute 81 “Nomination of Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor Elect 2019-2020” and withdrew from the meeting prior to its discussion.

 

4)              Councillors A M Day, C R Evans, C A Holley, J W Jones, M H Jones, P Lloyd, P N May, J A Raynor, G J Tanner and L G Thomas declared a Personal Interest in Minute 81 “Nomination of Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor Elect 2019-2020”.

 

5)              Councillor V M Evans declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in Minute 84 “Notice of Motion - Swansea Tidal Lagoon” and withdrew from the meeting prior to its discussion.

 

Officers:

 

6)              Huw Evans, Allison Lowe, Martin Nicholls, Phil Roberts, Ben Smith and Deb Smith declared a Personal Interest in Minute 79 “City & County of Swansea Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2017-2018”.

 

7)              Huw Evans declared a Personal Interest in Minute 80 “Outcome of Swansea LDP Examination & Requirements for Public Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Plan”.

69.

Minutes. pdf icon PDF 158 KB

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)              Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 20 September 2018.

70.

Written Responses to Questions asked at the Last Ordinary Meeting of Council. pdf icon PDF 93 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chief Legal Officer submitted an information report setting out the written responses to questions asked at the last Ordinary Meeting of Council.

71.

Announcements of the Presiding Member.

Minutes:

1)              Condolences - Former Councillor Brian Ludlam

 

The Presiding Member referred with sadness to the recent death of former Councillor Brian Ludlam.  Former Councillor Ludlam served the Castle Electoral Ward.  Former Councillor Ludlam was also a former Chair of the West Glamorgan County Council 1991-1992.

 

All present stood as a mark of sympathy and respect.

 

2)              Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) People Related Lawyer / Team of the Year Award

 

The Presiding Member stated that Stephanie Williams and Stephen Holland of the Authority’s Legal Education Team had been shortlisted for the Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) People Related Lawyer / Team of the Year Award.  This is in recognition of the excellent service that they provide to Schools.

 

3)              Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) National Wellbeing Innovation Awards

 

The Presiding Member stated that the Stress Management & Counselling Team & the Helping Hands volunteers had made the final of the CIPD Wales Awards again this year.  The award ceremony, will take place on the 22 November 2018 at the National Museum in Cardiff.

 

4)              Government Opportunities (GO) Excellence in Public Procurement Awards Wales 2018-2019

 

The Presiding Member stated that the Facilities Team within Corporate Property along with Ministry of Furniture had been selected as a finalist at this year’s GO awards for the Agile Working Project.  The Social and Community Benefit in Procurement Award highlights the good work that has been done in the refurbishment of the new agile office environment.

 

The award recognises the crucial role that public procurement in Wales can play in providing a more sustainable and equitable society.  It highlights organisations who have embedded social and community benefit requirements at the heart of their procurement and supply chain activities to enable better outcomes for the citizens of Wales.

 

The winner will be announced in Cardiff on the 8 November 2018.

 

5)              Amendments / Corrections to the Council Summons

 

i)                Agenda Item 4 “Written Responses to Questions Asked at the Last Ordinary Meeting of the Council”

 

Page 12.  Question 2.  The question was asked by Councillor A M Day, not Councillor W G Thomas as the report implies.

 

ii)              Agenda Item 19 “Notice of Motion - Tidal Bay Lagoon”

 

Councillor R C Stewart’s name to be removed from the list of those submitting the Notice of Motion.

72.

Announcements of the Leader of the Council.

Minutes:

1)              Housing Fund Grant

 

The Leader of the Council stated that the Council had received excellent news as it had been awarded a Housing Fund Grant.

 

2)              Congratulations to the Child & Family Services Section of the Authority

 

The Leader of the Council stated that the Authority’s Child and Family Services had been described as an excellent service.  The Leader of the Council congratulated the work of the Section and Councillors W Evans and E J King.

 

3)              Ill-Judged Words by the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services

 

The Leader of the Council stated that he would be raising the issue of the ill-judged words used by the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Service.

 

He stated that Local Government required a fair funding deal in order to meet the pressures placed upon it.

 

4)              Tidal Bay Lagoon

 

The Leader of the Council stated that the PIN notice had been issued, inviting people to see how they can financially support the Tidal Bay Lagoon Scheme 2.0.

73.

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 question was asked by a members of the public in relation to Minute 77 “Review of Revenue Reserves”, Minute 78 “Mid Term Budget Statement 2018-2019”, Minute 79 “City and County of Swansea Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2017-2018” and Minute 80 “Outcome of Swansea Local Development Plan (LDP) Examination and Requirement for Public Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Plan”.

 

The relevant Cabinet Member responded accordingly.  There were no questions requiring a written response.

74.

Public Presentation - None.

Minutes:

No Public Presentations were received.

75.

Audit Committee Annual Report 2017/18. pdf icon PDF 561 KB

Minutes:

The Chair of the Audit Committee, Paula O’Connor submitted the Audit Committee Annual Report 2017-2018 for information.  The report set out the work of the Audit Committee during 2017-2018.

76.

Annual Review of Well-being Objectives and Corporate Plan 2018/22. pdf icon PDF 139 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Business Transformation & Performance Cabinet Member submitted a report, which sought to adopt and publish a refreshed Corporate Plan containing the Council’s Well-Being Objectives for 2018-2022 in line with the requirements set out within the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and statutory guidance relating to public bodies.

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The Corporate Plan 2018-2022 be adopted.

77.

Review of Revenue Reserves. pdf icon PDF 129 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report, which sought to undertake a mid-year review of the Revenue Reserves position and to agree any suggested reclassification of reserves based on current requirements.

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The recommendations made within the report at Sections 3.11 to 3.13 be considered and approved.

78.

Mid Term Budget Statement 2018/19. (Verbal)

Minutes:

The Section 151 Officer gave a presentation on the Mid Term Budget Statement 2018-2019.  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.

79.

City & County of Swansea Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2017/18. pdf icon PDF 33 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report which sought approval for the Statement of Accounts 2017-2018 for the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund.

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The City and County of Swansea Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2017-2018 as attached at Appendix 1 of the report be approved;

 

2)              The recommendations and findings of the Wales Audit Office ISA 260 Report as attached at Appendix 2 of the report be noted.

80.

Outcome of Swansea Local Development Plan (LDP) Examination and Requirement for Public Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Plan. pdf icon PDF 14 MB

Minutes:

The Delivery Cabinet Member submitted a report, which sought consideration of the main issues that have emerged from the Examination of the Swansea Local Development Plan (LDP), the need for the Council to recommend ‘Matters Arising Changes’ (MACs) to the Deposit Plan, and to authorise a public consultation exercise on the MACs and associated documents.

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The Matters Arising Changes to the Deposit LDP be as referenced in Appendix A of the report be approved for public consultation;

 

2)              The updated Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) as referenced in Section 5 of the report be approved for public consultation.

 

Note: Councillor E W Fitzgerald asked:

 

i)                What are the overrun costs of the LDP?

 

ii)              Please provide the details of the Third Party Costs associated with the LDP (Consultants etc.)?

 

iii)             The number of new houses outlined in the report seems to differ from those referred to by the Planning Inspectorate.  How many new homes are predicted in the LDP?

81.

Nomination of Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor Elect 2019-2020. pdf icon PDF 161 KB

Minutes:

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report which sought to nominate the Lord Mayor Elect and Deputy Lord Mayor Elect 2018-2019 in order to enable the arrangements for the Inauguration of the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor event to proceed.

 

He stated that Councillor P Lloyd was scheduled to be considered for the role of Deputy Lord Mayor 2019-2020 in line with the Seniority List; however he asked for his Term of Office to be deferred for an unspecified length of time.

 

This deferment led to a situation where four Councillors all had exactly the same length of service.  In line with the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor Protocol, the Head of Democratic Services drew lots on 20 September 2018 in order to establish the order of the Term of Office of the four Councillors.  The outcome of the draw being: Councillors M C Child, M H Jones, A M Day and L G Thomas.

 

Resolved that:

 

1)       Councillor Peter M Black be nominated as Lord Mayor Elect 2019-2020;

 

2)       Councillor Mark C Child be nominated as Deputy Lord Mayor Elect 2019-2020.

82.

Scrutiny Annual Report 2017-18. pdf icon PDF 103 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair of the Scrutiny Programme Committee, Councillor M H Jones presented the Scrutiny Annual Report 2017-2018 for information.  The report set out the work of the Scrutiny Programme Committee during 2017-2018.

83.

Councillors' Questions. pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Minutes:

1)              Part A ‘Supplementary Questions’

 

Two (2) 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’

 

Five (5) Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ were submitted.

84.

Notice of Motion from Councillors P K Jones, M Sherwood, R C Stewart, C E Lloyd, J P Curtice, D W W Thomas, A S Lewis, K M Roberts, M B Lewis, L V Walton, W G Lewis, M C Child, R Francis-Davies.

Swansea was awarded Fairtrade Town status by the Fairtrade Foundation in December 2004; in 2008, Wales was the first country to be awarded Fairtrade Nation status. 

 

In this tenth anniversary year of Wales' Fairtrade Nation status, this Council resolves to reaffirm its commitment to Fairtrade principles and products. The Council is committed to implementing sustainable development, as expressed through the seven well-being goals and five ways of working set out in the Welsh Government Well-being of Future Generations Act. The well-being goal for 'A globally responsible Wales', which commits to making a 'positive contribution to global well-being', is of particular relevance. Fairtrade status expresses the Council's commitment to supporting, both financially and ethically, farmers, growers, producers and their families in low-income developing countries, and to ensuring for them a viable and sustainable future, free from exploitation. 

 

On a practical level, the Council commits to source, use and provide Fairtrade products, wherever possible, in its canteens, cafe outlets and schools; we encourage retail outlets across Swansea to follow the Council's example.

 

The Council will also ensure that it has a representative on the Swansea Fair Trade Forum, which is the designated community group that manages Swansea's Fairtrade County status.

 

This Council will do what it can to improve the lives and opportunities of people across the planet: Fairtrade makes an important contribution to achieving this objective.

 

Minutes:

Proposed by Councillor P K Jones and Seconded by Councillor M Sherwood.

 

“Swansea was awarded Fairtrade Town status by the Fairtrade Foundation in December 2004; in 2008, Wales was the first country to be awarded Fairtrade Nation status.

 

In this tenth anniversary year of Wales' Fairtrade Nation status, this Council resolves to reaffirm its commitment to Fairtrade principles and products. The Council is committed to implementing sustainable development, as expressed through the seven well-being goals and five ways of working set out in the Welsh Government Well-being of Future Generations Act. The well-being goal for 'A globally responsible Wales', which commits to making a 'positive contribution to global well-being', is of particular relevance. Fairtrade status expresses the Council's commitment to supporting, both financially and ethically, farmers, growers, producers and their families in low-income developing countries, and to ensuring for them a viable and sustainable future, free from exploitation.

 

On a practical level, the Council commits to source, use and provide Fairtrade products, wherever possible, in its canteens, cafe outlets and schools; we encourage retail outlets across Swansea to follow the Council's example.

 

The Council will also ensure that it has a representative on the Swansea Fair Trade Forum, which is the designated community group that manages Swansea's Fairtrade County status.

 

This Council will do what it can to improve the lives and opportunities of people across the planet: Fairtrade makes an important contribution to achieving this objective.”

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The Notice of Motion be approved.

85.

Notice of Motion from Councillors M C Child, A S Lewis, J P Curtice, R Francis-Davies, M B Lewis, L V Walton, E J King, C E Lloyd & K M Roberts.

Swansea Tidal Lagoon

 

This Council is appalled at the UK government’s decision not to support the Swansea Tidal Lagoon despite overwhelming support in Swansea and in Wales and a clear recommendation in the Governments’ own Hendry report.  This concept remains a viable reliable green energy producing project. 

 

This energy project offers over 125 years of clean reliable energy, creating the start of a new industry for the UK and allowing Wales to take a significant step to become a renewable energy sufficient nation and demonstrate our commitment to long term thinking on energy under the Wellbeing of future generations act.

 

This deplorable decision comes after a decision not to invest in electrification of the rail lines West of Cardiff and demonstrates the lack of fairness and concern for the people and economy of South and West Wales, by the Conservative Government in London.  Seldom has such an imaginative and bold infrastructure project gained such a level of public support and the rejection of the proposal on inaccurate or extremely narrow value for money arguments is a blow to the economy of Swansea and the region.  This is an ominous signal of the Conservative Government’s approach to investment in Wales and their promises to replace European money with money from the UK Government when we leave the EU in 2019.

 

This Council resolves to continue to support the delivery of a Tidal Energy Scheme in Swansea Bay.

We thank the Welsh Government for their continued support and specifically the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance for the in principle offer of support for a new funding model, the Swansea Bay City Region who have endorsed activity to bring together a new business model, businesses and the people of Wales for their continued and overwhelming support.

We support the Leader’s convening of a steering group bringing together parties to explore alternative business models which could allow the Tidal Bay Lagoon to be delivered differently and potentially without UK Government involvement.  We call on all interested in long term investment in Carbon Free energy, new technologies and the future prosperity of Swansea and the South West Wales region to continue to work to bring a scheme to fruition.

This Council notes that yet again the Secretary of State for Wales has failed to deliver for Swansea and South West Wales and calls on him to ensure that Wales gets a fairer share of funding and investment.

 

Minutes:

Proposed by Councillor M C Child and Seconded by Councillor A S Lewis.

 

“Swansea Tidal Lagoon

 

This Council is appalled at the UK government’s decision not to support the Swansea Tidal Lagoon despite overwhelming support in Swansea and in Wales and a clear recommendation in the Governments’ own Hendry report.  This concept remains a viable reliable green energy producing project.  This energy project offers over 125 years of clean reliable energy, creating the start of a new industry for the UK and allowing Wales to take a significant step to become a renewable energy sufficient nation and demonstrate our commitment to long term thinking on energy under the Wellbeing of future generations act.

 

This deplorable decision comes after a decision not to invest in electrification of the rail lines West of Cardiff and demonstrates the lack of fairness and concern for the people and economy of South and West Wales, by the Conservative Government in London.  Seldom has such an imaginative and bold infrastructure project gained such a level of public support and the rejection of the proposal on inaccurate or extremely narrow value for money arguments is a blow to the economy of Swansea and the region.  This is an ominous signal of the Conservative Government’s approach to investment in Wales and their promises to replace European money with money from the UK Government when we leave the EU in 2019.

 

1.               This Council resolves to continue to support the delivery of a Tidal Energy Scheme in Swansea Bay.

 

2.               We thank the Welsh Government for their continued support and specifically the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance for the in principle offer of support for a new funding model, the Swansea Bay City Region who have endorsed activity to bring together a new business model, businesses and the people of Wales for their continued and overwhelming support.

 

3.               We support the Leader’s convening of a steering group bringing together parties to explore alternative business models which could allow the Tidal Bay Lagoon to be delivered differently and potentially without UK Government involvement.  We call on all interested in long term investment in Carbon Free energy, new technologies and the future prosperity of Swansea and the South West Wales region to continue to work to bring a scheme to fruition.

 

This Council notes that yet again the Secretary of State for Wales has failed to deliver for Swansea and South West Wales and calls on him to ensure that Wales gets a fairer share of funding and investment.”

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The Notice of Motion as amended be approved.