Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

The Deputy Head of Legal and Democratic Services 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)            Councillor R Francis Davies, C Richards and R C Stewart declared a Personal Interest in Minute 56 “Public Questions”;

 

2)            Councillor T J Hennegan declared a Personal Interest in Minutes 58 “Report of the Wales Audit Office - Audit of Financial Statements Report - City & County of Swansea”;

 

3)            Councillor T J Hennegan declared a Personal Interest in Minutes 59 “Report of the Wales Audit Office - Audit of Financial Statements Report - City & County of Swansea Pension Fund”;

 

4)            Councillors C Anderson, R A Clay, T J Hennegan, P R Hood-Williams, L James, J W Jones, P M Meara, D Phillips, R V Smith, C Thomas, L V Walton and T M White declared a Personal Interest in Minute 60 “Audit Committee Annual Report 2015/16”;

 

5)            Councillors P M Black, C A Holley and L G Thomas declared a Personal Interest in Minute 68 “Councillors' Questions”.

To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the following Minutes be approved and signed as a correct record:

 

1)        Ceremonial Meeting of Council held on 28 July 2016 subject to Councillor N M Woollard being added to those Councillors present;

 

2)        Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 28 July 2016 subject to Minute 38 “Announcements of the Presiding Member”, “3) Council Meetings” being amended to read:

 

“The Presiding Member stated that the Council Meeting scheduled for 25 August 2016 has been cancelled.

 

He also stated that the Ceremonial Meeting of Council (Inauguration of the Lord Mayor) scheduled for 19 May 2017 has been re-scheduled.  The meeting will now be held at 2.00pm on Friday, 26 May 2017.”

The Deputy Head of Legal and Democratic Services submitted an information report setting out the written responses to questions asked at the last Ordinary Meeting of Council.

1)       Condolences

 

a)              Jeremy Thomas, Former Directorate Lawyer, Head of Scrutiny and Cabinet Secretary

 

The Presiding Member referred with sadness to the recent death of Jeremy Thomas.  Jeremy was a former Directorate Lawyer, Head of Scrutiny and Cabinet Secretary with the Authority prior to leaving in 2005 to take up the Head of Law and Governance role with Oxford City Council.

 

Sadly, Jeremy was taken ill while participating in Bike Oxford's 50-mile cycling event and tragically died later that day, aged 47.

 

All present stood as a mark of sympathy and respect.

 

2)       Congratulations

 

a)       Team GB – Rio Olympics 2016

 

The Presiding Member congratulated Team GB for their recent success in the Rio Olympics 2016.  Team GB came 2^nd in the Medal Table with 67 Medals, 27 of which were Gold.

 

b)       GB Paralympian – Aaron Moore – Rio 2016

 

The Presiding Member congratulated Swansea based Paralympian Aaron Moore for winning a Gold Medal in the 100m breaststroke SB14 final.

 

c)       Team GB – Rio Paralympics 2016

 

The Presiding Member congratulated Team GB for their recent success in the Rio Paralympics 2016.  Team GB came 2^nd in the Medal Table with 147 Medals, 64 of which were Gold.

 

d)               Prisoners’ Education Trust – Prisoner Learning Alliance Award Winners

 

The Presiding Member stated that in November 2012, the Prisoners’ Education Trust set up the Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA) with the aim of providing expertise and strategic vision to inform future priorities, policies and practices relating to prison education, learning and skills.

 

The PLA wished to recognise and reward those people who go the extra mile to promote and encourage learning in prison; and therefore established the Prisoner Learning Alliance Awards Ceremony.

 

He congratulated Vicky Dickeson and Valerie Samuel (both of the Swansea Library Service) for winning awards in the “Outstanding Individuals” category at the Prisoner Learning Alliance Awards Ceremony.  Both were present to receive the award.

 

e)              School Attendance Poster Competition

 

The Presiding Member congratulated Cora Ellacott for winning the recent poster competition to highlight the importance of good attendance in schools across the Authority.

 

Cora’s winning design was one of hundreds of entries from pupils for our recent attendance poster competition.  The design and super-hero “Mighty Attender” will be the focal point of the Authority’s Incentivising Attendance Programme.  The IAP will launch shortly and aims to boost and promote attendance throughout all Swansea schools.

 

Cora Ellacott was present to receive the award.

 

f)               Swansea in Bloom Winner 2016

 

The Presiding Member stated that the Swansea in Bloom Committee was a voluntary group which is supported by the Authority.  It runs an annual competition to encourage businesses, schools and residents to decorate their premises with beautiful floral displays, making their local community and Swansea as a whole, a more attractive place to live, work and visit.

 

He announced that the City and County of Swansea received a special award from the Committee for the displays of wildflowers that have spread across the City and made a huge improvement to the environment for residents and visitors.

 

The Authority has been running the wildflower scheme for about 5 years and is now in almost 200 sites across the City.  Local Councillors and Community / Town Councils part fund the cost of material and installation and as you will note from the number of sites the scheme has been a fantastic success.

 

Peter Lewis, David Smith and Dave Stares were present to receive the award.

 

g)       Swansea Family Information Service (FIS)

 

The Presiding Member announced that the Swansea Family Information Service (FIS) has recently been awarded the Families First Quality Award for helping local families get the information they need to make the most of their lives.

 

The Families First Quality Award is a national quality assurance process and quality improvement tool designed to help keep families at the heart of our practice and help FIS to provide gold standard information.

 

The award was developed by the National Association of Family Information Services (NAFIS) in conjunction with Department of Education (DfE) and Suffolk County Council as a tool to measure the effectiveness of a local authority Family Information Service (FIS) and demonstrates how it meets statutory obligations in the Childcare Act 2006 (Information Duty Section 27) and the SEND Code of Practice 2014.

 

The Welsh Government also acknowledged the importance of the information Duty as part of its own Childcare Act and has supported NAFIS as it works with the 22 FIS in Wales to ensure that the standards facilitate a dual assessment role against the requirements of section 27 (the information duty) of the childcare Act for Wales.

 

Allison Williams, Claire Bevan, Gary Mahoney, Christopher Jones, Sian Fennell and Finley the Bear were present to receive the award.

 

4)       Ceremonial Meeting of Council

 

The Presiding Member reminded Council that a Ceremonial Meeting of Council has been arranged for 5.00 pm on Thursday, 20 October 2016.  The meeting will be the ceremonial conferring of Honorary Freedom of the City on Chris Coleman.

 

5)       Best Wishes and Speedy Recovery

 

The Presiding Member wished Councillors V M Evans and P M Matthews best wishes and a speedy recovery from their respective illnesses.

 

6)       LC, Swansea Gold Award

 

The Leader of the Largest Opposition Political Group advised the Presiding Member and Council of the LC’s recent Gold Award.

 

The LC Swansea was awarded a coveted Gold Award under the Visit Wales Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS).  The scheme sees attractions in Wales independently assessed against national standards, according to customer experience, with 11 venues in Swansea currently sporting a VAQAS award.

1)        City Deal Update

 

The Leader of the Council updated Council as to the progress of the Swansea Bay City Deal bid.

 

2)         Visit by Delegation from Wuhan, China

 

The Leader of the Council referred to a recent visit from a delegation from Wuhan, China.  He stated that it was an important visit and had many potential benefits for the Authority.  Discussions had commenced in relation to creating a Friendship Agreement.

 

3)         Honorary Freedom Dinner for Chris Coleman

 

The Leader of the Council reminded Councillors that tickets were still available for the Honorary Freedom Dinner for Chris Coleman at the Brangwyn Hall on 20 October 2016.  He also announced that the Manic Street Preachers would be playing their music at the dinner.

 

4)         Cabinet – 20 October 2016

 

The Leader of the Council stated that the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday, 20 October 2016 would commence at 3.00pm.

Questions must relate to matters on the open part of the Agenda of the meeting and will be dealt within a 10 minute period.

A number of questions were asked by members of the public.  The relevant Cabinet Member responded accordingly.  Those questions requiring a written response are listed below:

 

1)        Tony Beddow asked the Leader of the Council a question in relation to Minute 58 “Report of the Wales Audit Office – Audit of Financial Statements Report – City and County of Swansea”:

 

i)             What is the current value of the Liberty Stadium, Swansea?”

 

The Leader of the Council stated that a written response would be provided.

No Public Presentations were received.

John Herniman, Wales Audit Office (WAO) presented the “Wales Audit Office, Audit of Financial Statements Report 2015-2016 for the City and County of Swansea”.

 

John Herniman (WAO) responded to questions of a technical nature whilst Mike Hawes (Section 151 Officer) responded to questions relating to the position of the City and County of Swansea.

John Herniman, Wales Audit Office (WAO) presented the “Wales Audit Office, Audit of Financial Statements Report 2015-2016 for the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund”.

 

John Herniman (WAO) responded to questions of a technical nature whilst Mike Hawes (Section 151 Officer) responded to questions relating to the position of the City and County of Swansea.

The Chair of the Audit Committee, Alan Thomas presented the Audit Committee Annual Report 2015-2016 for information.  The report set out the work of the Audit Committee during the period.

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report which detailed the timescale involved in the completion and audit of the Council’s Statement of Accounts for 2015-2016.  He advised that in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2014, the Council had to approve the Statement of Accounts 2015-2016 on or before 30 September 2016.

 

RESOLVED that the 2015-2016 Statement of Accounts be approved.

The Section 151 Officer submitted an information report which detailed the Council’s Treasury Management activities during 2015-2016 and compared actual performance against the strategy laid down at the start of the year.

 

Note:  Councillor J W Jones referred to Appendix 1 on Page 79 of the report and asked what the original figure of the Authorised Limit for External Debt was prior to it being revised to “606,216,000.”

 

The Section 151 Officer stated that a written response would be provided.

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report which outlined the annual review of governance arrangements for 2015-2016.

 

RESOLVED that the:

 

1)        Annual Governance Statement 2015-2016 be approved.

The Transformation and Performance Cabinet Member submitted a report which outlined the Sustainable Development Report 2015-2016.

 

RESOLVED that the:

 

1)        Report content be approved for publication alongside the Annual Statement of Accounts.

The Chief Executive submitted a report which sought ratification of the recommendation from the Appointments Committee regarding the appointment of the Chief Transformation Officer following the recruitment and selection process undertaken.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1)        Sarah Caulkin as recommended by the Appointments Committee at its meeting on 25 August 2016 be confirmed in post as the Chief Transformation Officer.

The Transformation and Performance Cabinet Member submitted a report which sought approval of the nominations / amendment to the membership of Council Bodies.

 

He referred to the report stating that the Leader of the Council had not made any changes to the membership of the Authority’s Outside Bodies.

 

RESOLVED that the membership of the Council Bodies listed below be amended as follows:

 

i)             Social Services Rota Visits

Remove Councillor R D Lewis.

The Chair of the Scrutiny Programme Committee submitted an information report setting out the Scrutiny Dispatches - Quarterly Impact Report.

1)         Part A ‘Supplementary Questions’

 

Eleven (11) 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’

 

One (1) Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ was submitted.