Venue: Council Chamber, Guildhall, Swansea
No. | Item | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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: 1)
Councillors C Anderson, P M Black, J E Burtonshaw, S E Crouch, J P
Curtice, N J Davies, P Downing, C R Doyle, M Durke, V M Evans, W Evans, E W Fitzgerald, R
Francis-Davies, S J Gallagher, L S Gibbard, F M Gordon, K M Griffiths, J A
Hale, D W Helliwell, T J Hennegan, C A Holley, P R Hood-Williams, B Hopkins, O
G James, L James, Y V Jardine, J W Jones, L R Jones, M H Jones, P K Jones, S M
Jones, E J King, E T Kirchner, M A Langstone, A S Lewis, M B Lewis, W G Lewis,
C E Lloyd, P Lloyd, I E Mann, P M Matthews, P N May, H M Morris, C L Philpott,
S Pritchard, A Pugh, C Richards, J A Raynor, K M Roberts, B J Rowlands, M
Sherwood, P M Smith, R V Smith, A H Stevens, R C Stewart, D G Sullivan, G J
Tanner, D W W Thomas, L G 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 94 “Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW)
Draft Annual Report 2019-2020 – Consultation”. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s)
as a correct record. Minutes: Resolved that the following Minutes be approved and
signed as a correct record: 1) Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 25 October 2018. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Written Responses to Questions asked at the Last Ordinary Meeting of Council. PDF 94 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. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcements of the Presiding Member. Minutes: 1)
Lawyers in Local Government
(LLG) People Related Lawyer / Team of the Year Award The Presiding Member stated that he was delighted to
announce that Stephanie Williams and Stephen Holland of the Authority’s Legal Education
Team had recently won 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. The judges were hugely impressed by the value placed on the Team's bespoke service by Head Teachers across Swansea, who described it as "a vital extension of the school community" and praise the "sheer professionalism" and courteous approach of the specialist lawyers involved”. Stephanie Williams and Stephen Holland from Legal
Services were present to receive the award. 2)
Government Opportunities
(GO) Excellence in Public Procurement Awards Wales 2018-2019 The Presiding Member stated that he was delighted to
announce that the Facilities Team within Corporate Property along with Ministry
of Furniture were highly commended 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. 3)
APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) Annual
Service Awards The Presiding Member stated that the APSE (Association for Public
Service Excellence) Annual Service Awards which took place in September
recognise and celebrate the delivery of outstanding local government frontline
services. They received over 370
submissions this year from Local Authorities across the whole of the UK, with
Swansea Council being shortlisted in five categories. The Awards were held in Edinburgh and I am
delighted to announce that Building Services were announced as the winners of
the Best Workforce Initiative Award. Swansea Council’s Building Services department were recognised for this
prestigious award due to its staff training and development programme and for
its apprenticeship program which has taken on almost 200 apprentices since it
was initiated in 2003. The department
recognised and replicated this best practice approach across its entire service
provision which will ensure future capacity and “fit for purpose” skills for
the team. Emma Lewis and Malcolm Jones from Building Services were present to receive the award. 4)
Apprenticeship Scheme
& Apprentice of the Year The Presiding Member stated that the Authority’s Apprenticeship Scheme had been running since 2003 with an intake of almost 200 apprentices during that period. The Apprenticeship Scheme allows the Authority to develop a new generation of carpenters, plumbers, electricians, plasterers and multi-trade personnel. The overall Apprentice of the Year was Luke Evans who had just completed his 4th year. The other winners being: 1st
Year Apprentice Award Mechanical
& Electrical Apprentice of the Year goes to Lewis Morgan; Craft
Apprentice of the Year goes to Joshua
Collins. 2nd
Year Apprentice Award Mechanical
& Electrical Apprentice of the Year goes to Connor Phillips; Craft
Apprentice of the Year goes to Joshua
Phelps. 3rd
Year Apprentice Award Mechanical
& Electrical Apprentice of the Year goes to Llewellyn Richards; Craft
Apprentice of the Year goes to Rory
Grey. 5)
Armed Forces - Gold Award
from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme The Presiding Member stated that
he was delighted that the Authority’s efforts to support the Armed Forces have
been recognised with a Gold Award from the Defence Employer Recognition
Scheme. We’re the only council in Wales
to have received this award which is organised by the Ministry of Defence. Spencer Martin and Stephen Jenkins
went to London recently to receive the award. Spencer Martin and Stephen Jenkins were present to
receive the award. 6)
Diamond
Project Wins a Diana Award The Presiding Member stated that the Diamond Project is a scheme that
helps Swansea’s Looked After Children find out more about life in university to
inspire them, raise aspirations, increase confidence and self-esteem, and
empower their voice has recently won a Diana Award. The Diamond Project started out as a one-day taster session for older
children but has grown thanks to their enthusiasm and support from Swansea
Council’s Looked After Children’s Education Team and
the South West Wales Reaching Wider Partnership. The young people now attend regular meetings
and days out at Swansea University and are planning on extending it further so
they can mentor younger children like themselves to seize opportunities they
might have thought would never be within their grasp. The Diana Award was established in 1999 by the British Government who
wanted to continue Princess Diana’s legacy by establishing a formal way to
recognise young people who were going above and beyond the expected in their
local communities. The young people involved in the Diamond Project will now be invited to
attend a ceremony in Cardiff to receive their award. This is the second time they have been
recognised for their work recently after winning an award at Swansea Council’s
own High Five Awards last month. He
congratulated all involved. 7)
National Fleet Awards The Presiding Member stated that he was delighted to
announce that the Authority has been selected as finalists for two National
Fleet Awards. The first is the Green Fleet Awards to be held in Leeds on 22 November
2018, where the Authority are finalists in the Public Sector Fleet of the Year
(Medium to Large) category. The second
is the What Van Awards to be held in London on 13 December 2018, where the
Authority are finalists in the Green Fleet of the Year category These nominations are based on
the introduction of 40 fully electric vans, the general approach that the
Authority has adopted to reduce the environmental impact of our fleet and the
proposed adoption of a Green Fleet Policy. 8)
White Ribbon Campaign The Presiding Member stated that the White Ribbon Campaign was a global
movement working to end violence against women and girls. He stated that the Authority would be marking
White Ribbon Day be hosting a number of events in the Civic Centre, Swansea on
26 November 2018. 9)
Amendments / Corrections to the Council Summons i)
Agenda
Item 15 “Notice of Motion” The Presiding Member stated that
Councillor C A Holley had asked that the Notice of Motion printed on Pages
60-62 of the Council Summons be withdrawn. ii)
Urgent
Notice of Motion The
Presiding Member stated that pursuant to
paragraph 100B (4)(b) of the Local Government Act
1972, he considered the circulated Notice of Motion as an urgent matter. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcements of the Leader of the Council. Minutes: 1)
Christmas Parade The Leader of the Council apologised for the Christmas Parade held on 18
November 2018 stated that it fell far short of expectations. He stated that action had been taken swiftly and
that the contract with the external company had been terminated. He stated that the Authority had organised the successful Christmas
Parade in 2017 and committed to bringing it fully back in-house next year using
the Authority’s in-house team that delivered the Wales Airshow
and partnered with the BBC to deliver the blockbuster BBC Music Biggest
Weekend. 2)
Welsh Government
Settlement The Leader of the Council stated that the Authority had received some
better news on the budget for a change.
Whilst, the Authority has only had headline all-Wales figures so far, it
looks like at least £1.5m extra will be coming in during 2018-2019. This money will help the Authority meet some of the shortfall in funding
for teachers pay (which will help relieve schools pressures) and winter social
care pressures. 3)
Changes to Cabinet
Portfolios The Leader of the Council stated that he’d made the following amendments to Cabinet Portfolio’s: i)
The
responsibility for Petitions sits within the Deputy Leader of the Council Cabinet
Portfolio. ii)
Communities
First has been removed from the Children Services
Cabinet Portfolio and added to the Better Communities Cabinet Portfolio. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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: One question
was asked by a member of the public relating to the following agenda items: 1)
Urgent Notice of Motion – Brexit. The relevant Cabinet Member responded accordingly. No
questions requiring a written response. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Public Presentation - None. Minutes: No Public
Presentations were received. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Council Tax Base Calculation 2019/2020. PDF 130 KB Minutes: The Business Transformation and Performance
Cabinet Member submitted a report detailing the calculation of the Council Tax
Base for the City and County of Swansea, its Community / Town Councils and the
Swansea Bay Port Health Authority for 2019-2020. The Council is required to determine the
Council Tax Bases for 2019-2020 by 31 December 2018. Resolved that: 1) The
calculation of the Council Tax Bases for 2019-2020 be approved; 2) In accordance with the Local Authorities
(Calculation of Tax Base) (Wales) Regulations 1995, as amended, the calculation
by the City and County of Swansea Council for the Year 2019-2020 shall be:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minutes: The Head of
Democratic Services submitted a report informing Council of the Independent
Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW) Draft Annual Report 2019 and outlined the
determinations proposed by the IRPW. The
report also contained the recommended draft response of the Democratic Services
Committee of 6 November 2018 to the consultation. Resolved that: 1) The
comments and observations as set out in Appendix A of the report be adopted as
the Authority’s formal response to the IRPW. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Review of Councillors Handbook. PDF 67 KB Minutes: The Head of
Democratic Services submitted a report seeking approval of the recommendations
of the Democratic Services Committee of 6 November 2018 following its review of
Section A “Councillor and Co-opted Member Remuneration
(Salaries, Allowances & Expenses)” of the Councillors Handbook. Resolved that: 1) The
amendments to Section A “Councillor and Co-opted
Member Remuneration (Salaries, Allowances & Expenses)” of the Councillors
Handbook as outlined in Appendix A of the report be adopted. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amendments to the Council Constitution. PDF 133 KB Minutes: The
Presiding Member, Monitoring Officer and Head of Democratic Services jointly
submitted a report seeking to amend in order to simplify, improve and / or add
to the Council Constitution in relation to the following areas: a)
Part 3 “Responsibility for Functions” - Corporate Parenting Board &
Pension Fund Committee Terms of Reference; b)
Part 4 “Rules of Procedure” - Council Procedure Rules - “Extraordinary
Meeting of Council” and “Public Presentation & Question Time”; c)
Part 4 “Rules of Procedure” - Cabinet Procedure Rules - “Call In
Procedure”; d)
Part
4 “Rules of Procedure” - Contract Procedure Rules - Dispensations, Single
Tender Procedures and Waivers; e)
Part
6 “Councillors’ Allowances Scheme”. Resolved that: 1)
Paragraph 7 a) of the Terms of Reference of the Corporate Parenting
Board as set out in Part 3 “Responsibility for Functions” of the Council
Constitution be amended to read: “7 a) The Board would normally meet on a quarterly
basis but may meet as required”. 2)
The following Paragraph be added to the Terms of Reference of the Pension
Fund Committee as set out in Part 3 “Responsibility for Functions” of the
Council Constitution: “12. To approve the Authority’s Pension Statement
of Accounts”. 3)
Council
Procedure Rule 10 relating to “Extraordinary Meeting of Council” as set out in
Part 4 “Rules of Procedure” of the Council Constitution be amended to include
the following items of business: a)
Announcements / Communications from the
Presiding Member; b)
Announcements / Communications from the
Leader of the Council; c)
Public Questions. 4)
Paragraph
26.5 of Council Procedure Rule 26 relating to “Public Presentations and
Question Time” as set out in Part 4 “Rules of Procedure” of the Council
Constitution be amended to read: “26.5 At the
discretion of the Presiding Member any Third Sector Organisation or other
Organisation may make a presentation to Council on a matter for which the
Council has responsibility.
Presentations will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.” 5)
The
title of Council Procedure Rule 26 be amended to read: “26. Presentations & Public Question
Time”. 6)
Cabinet
Procedure Rule 14 relating to “Order of Business” as set out in Part 4 “Rules
of Procedure” of the Council Constitution be amended and re-numbered to include
the following: “Announcements / Communications from the Leader of the Council”. 7)
Paragraph
18.3.1 of Cabinet Procedure Rule 18.3 relating to “Validity of Call In” as set
out in Part 4 “Rules of Procedure” of the Council Constitution be amended to
read: “18.3.1 It is
not made by 23.59 on the 3rd clear working day of the publication of
the decision;” 8)
Contract
Procedure Rule 20 relating to “Dispensations, Single Tender Procedures and
Waivers” as set out in Part 4 “Rules of Procedure” of the Council Constitution be
amended so that the duty to consider approving or waiving all Dispensations, Single
Tender Procedures and Waivers and that a register be kept be transferred to the
Head of Commercial Services. 9)
The
Councillors’ Allowance Scheme as set out in Part 6 “Councillors’ Allowances
Scheme” be deleted in its entirety and replaced with: “Information
relating to Councillor and Co-opted Members’ Remuneration may be viewed at Member’
Schedule of Remuneration.” |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrutiny Dispatches – Quarterly Impact Report. PDF 125 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair of the Scrutiny Programme
Committee submitted an information report setting out the Scrutiny Dispatches -
Quarterly Impact Report. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Councillors' Questions. PDF 162 KB Minutes: 1)
Part A ‘Supplementary
Questions’ Eight (8) Part A
‘Supplementary Questions’ were submitted.
The relevant Cabinet Member(s) responded by way of written answers
contained in the Council Summons. Those supplementary
question(s) required a written response are shown below: Question 6. Councillor C L Philpott asked: “Can the Cabinet Member provide a briefing note to all Councillors
outlining the rules in place in relation to the Authority’s weed spraying
scheme?” The Environment &
Infrastructure Management Cabinet Member stated that a written response would
be provided. 2) Part
B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ Three (3) Part B ‘Questions
not requiring Supplementary Questions’ were submitted. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minutes: This item was withdrawn. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Urgent Item Minutes: The Presiding Member stated that
pursuant to paragraph 100B (4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, he
considered that the “Notice of Motion from : Councillors R C Stewart, C A Holley, P M Black, J E
Burtonshaw, M C Child, A M Day, W Evans, R Francis-Davies, D H Hopkins, J W
Jones, M H Jones, E J King, A S Lewis, C E Lloyd, J A Raynor, M Sherwood and M
Thomas in relation to Brexit should be considered at the meeting as a
matter of urgency. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Urgent - Notice of Motion from Councillors R C Stewart, C A Holley, P M Black, J E Burtonshaw, M C Child, A M Day, W Evans, R Francis-Davies, D H Hopkins, J W Jones, M H Jones, E J King, A S Lewis, C E Lloyd, J A Raynor, M Sherwood and M Thomas Minutes: Reason for Urgency: It is widely reported in the press that the Prime Minister is hoping to achieve a Brexit deal on 25 November 2018, when she attends an emergency EU summit in Brussels for that express purpose. It is widely understood that the vote could take place as early as 7 December 2018. Therefore there is a clear need to treat this Notice of Motion as urgent. Proposed by Councillor R C Stewart and Seconded by
Councillor C A Holley. “It
has become clear that over the last two weeks the deal to exit the EU in March
2019 is a deal that pleases neither remainers nor Brexiteers, and has little chance of being agreed in
Parliament. To give the UK
Government a clear view of how we think they should resolve this situation,
this Council calls on the Government to either call a General Election and / or
provide the people including 16 and 17 year olds an opportunity to vote on the
deal via a People’s Vote. This vote
should include an option to remain in the EU or exit with no deal. Given that the Brexit
referendum was dogged by huge amounts of misinformation, this Council calls on
all Government agencies to ensure that any relevant information is made easily
available to the public. We resolve to call
upon the Leader of Council to write to the Prime Minister setting out the views
stated in this motion.” Resolved that the Notice of Motion outlined above as amended by adopted. |