Venue: Council Chamber - Guildhall, Swansea. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services - 636824
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)
Councillor M C Child declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in Minute
91 “Council Tax Premiums in Wales” and withdrew from the meeting prior to its
consideration; 2)
Councillor M Durke declared a Personal Interest in Minute 92
“Councillors’ Questions – Question 3”. |
|
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 26
September 2019. |
|
Written Responses to Questions asked at the Last Ordinary Meeting of Council. PDF 205 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)
Condolences i)
Honorary Alderman Alan
Lloyd The Presiding Member referred with sadness to the
recent death of Honorary Alderman, former Councillor, former Lord Mayor and
former Mayor Alan Lloyd. Alan is the
father of Councillor Clive Lloyd. Alan served
the Castle and Townhill communities for nearly 45 years. He served: Ø Swansea Borough Council
12 May 1967 to 31 March 1974; Ø Swansea City Council 1
April 1974 to 23 February 1984; Ø Swansea City Council 22
March 1984 to 31 March 1996; Ø City & County of Swansea
4 May 1995 to 3 May 2012. He served as Mayor of Swansea in 1980-1981 and Lord
Mayor of the City and County of Swansea in 2009-2010. He was also Deputy Leader of the Swansea City
Council. Honorary Alderman Alan Lloyd’s funeral will be held
at 12.30 on 1 November 2019 at Swansea Crematorium. This will be followed by a wake at the
Liberty Stadium. ii)
Condolences - Debbie
Hale, Wife of Cllr Joe Hale The Presiding Member referred with sadness to
the recent death of Debbie Hale, wife of Councillor Joe Hale. Debbie Hale’s funeral
will be held at 10.00 on 4 November 2019 at Swansea Crematorium. This will be followed by a wake at the Swansea Dockers Club, St
Thomas. iii)
Stephen Richards, Son
of Former Councillor Alan Richards The Presiding Member referred with sadness to the
recent death of Stephen Richards, son of former Councillor Alan Richards. Alan Richards represented the St Thomas
Electoral Ward on the City & County of Swansea and the former Swansea City
Council. iv)
Doreen Morris, Wife of
Former Councillor Arthur Morris The Presiding Member referred with sadness to the
recent death of Doreen Morris, wife of former Councillor Arthur Morris. Arthur Morris represented the former St
John’s Electoral Ward on West Glamorgan County Council. v)
Brian Walters, Former
Political Correspondent with the South Wales Evening Post (SWEP) The Presiding Member
referred with sadness to the recent death of Brian Walters, Former Political
Correspondent with the South Wales Evening Post (SWEP). All present stood as a
mark of sympathy and respect. 2)
Waste Management – Winner of a National APSE Award The Presiding Member announced that the Waste
Management Service have won a national Association for Public Service
Excellence (APSE) Award. The Service won the “Best Workforce Initiative”. This relates to the Council’s Waste
Management Trainee Partnership which is in its second year. All ten of the Year
1 Trainees passed the Traineeship with an NVQ Level 2 and were slotted into
full time permanent posts. There are currently a further 13 Year 2 Trainees
spending time working in a variety of aspects of Waste Management to gain a
wide ranging knowledge of the service to provide a workforce with a broad and
deep understanding of their roles. Fran Williams from the Waste Management Service was
present to receive the award. 3)
Race Council Cymru - Diversity Mover, Shaker & Legacy
Maker Award 2019 The
Presiding Member announced that at the recent Black History Month family day
celebration, Chris Mellor of Leisure Services was presented with Race Council
Cymru – Diversity Mover, Shaker & Legacy Maker Award. The award is for people who make a big
difference to our diverse communities and Chris was recognised for the development
of the Culture and Digital Hub at the Theatre; bringing 17 partners together in
delivering our Diversity Pledge; enabling communities to develop their creative
and digital skills, creating opportunities and a safe place to express them. Chris Mellor was present to receive the award. 4)
Councillor Will Thomas
- Berlin Marathon 2019 The Presiding Member congratulated Councillor Will
Thomas for recently completing the Berlin Marathon in a fantastic time of 3
hours, 41 minutes and 54 seconds. |
|
Announcements of the Leader of the Council. Minutes: 1)
Giant Redwood Chopped Down by a Developer at Penllergaer The Leader of the Council
congratulated the Chief Legal Officer, her Legal Team and all involved in the
successful prosecution against the developer that chopped down a 200 year old
giant redwood in Penllergaer. 2)
Parc y Werin Primary School The Leader of the Council congratulated the Chief
Legal Officer, her Legal Team and all involved in preventing the challenge to
prevent the Parc y Werin Primary School being built. 3)
Flooding throughout Swansea The Leader of the Council thanked all Officers for
their excellent work in combating flooding during the recent period of adverse
weather. 4)
Swansea Bay City Region Deal The Leader of the Council stated that the Terms of
reference of the City Deal had recently been released whish should lead to the
release of City Deal monies in due course. |
|
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 in relation to: Ø Minute 91 “Council
Tax Premiums in Wales”; Ø Minute 92
“Councillors’ Questions (Question 1, Home Farm); Ø Minute 93 “Notice
of Motion on Carbon Based Investments”. The
relevant Cabinet Member(s) responded. No
questions required a written response. |
|
Presentation - None. Minutes: A Presentation was not
received. |
|
Audit Committee Annual Report 2018/19. PDF 606 KB Minutes: The
Chair of the Audit Committee, Paula O’Connor submitted the Audit Committee
Annual Report 2018-2019 for information.
The report set out the work of the Audit Committee during that period. The Vice Chair of the Audit Committee, Councillor P R Hood-Williams presented the report. |
|
Scrutiny Annual Report 2018/19. PDF 224 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The
Chair of the Scrutiny Programme Committee, Councillor M H Jones presented the Scrutiny Annual Report 2018-2019 for
information. The report set out the work
of the Scrutiny Programme Committee during that period. |
|
Review of Revenue Reserves. PDF 810 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 and 3.12 be considered and approved. |
|
Council Tax Premiums in Wales. PDF 235 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Chief Finance
Officer & Section 151 Officer submitted a report, which provided
information and sought consideration whether to continue to allow 50% Council
Tax discounts on unoccupied and unfurnished properties after any statutory
period of exemption expires. The report also
provided information and sought consideration of the discretionary powers to
charge higher amounts of Council Tax (premiums) on certain properties provided
for by the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. Resolved that: 1)
The
details of the discretionary powers relating to Council Tax premiums,
discretionary discounts for unoccupied and unfurnished dwellings and the
related issues outlined in this report be noted; 2)
The
outcome of the consultation exercise undertaken by the Council in July and
August 2019 be noted; 3)
In
accordance with Section 11 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 that the
Council ceases to allow a 50% Council Tax discount on dwellings that remain
unoccupied and unfurnished after any statutory period of exemption has expired
and from 1 April 2020 ceases to allow such discounts; 4)
In
accordance with S139 Housing (Wales) Act 2014 (which amended the Local
Government Finance Act 1992) that the Council considers exercising its
discretion on whether to charge Council Tax premiums of up to 100% of the
standard rate of Council Tax on long term empty dwellings and second homes and: i)
From 1
April 2020 for dwellings in its area that have been unoccupied and unfurnished
for more than 12 months (long term empty properties) under Section 12A of the
Local Government Finance Act 1992 determines to charge a premium of 100% on top
of the standard rate of Council Tax; ii)
From 1
April 2021 for dwellings in its area that are occupied periodically (commonly
referred to as “second homes”) under Section 12B of the Local Government
Finance Act 1992 determines to charge a premium of 100% on top of the standard
rate of Council Tax. 5)
Should
the Council determine to charge Council Tax premiums, an additional full time Council
Tax Property Inspector be employed on a permanent basis to support compliance
measures and a new full time post of Council Tax Premiums Officer be created
for a temporary period (up to 2 years) to manage the implementation of the
premiums. Both posts to be funded from the additional revenue raised from
charging Council Tax premiums. |
|
Councillors' Questions. PDF 322 KB Minutes: 1) Part A ‘Supplementary Questions’ Six
(6) 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 listed below: Question
1 Councillor C A Holley asked the relevant
Cabinet Member: “Can
you please share the Terms of Reference of the Grant for the Palace Theatre and
does the grant relating to the Palace Theatre include the land around the
Palace Theatre or only the Palace Theatre itself?” The Leader of the Council stated that a
written response would be provided. Question
2 Councillor J W Jones asked the relevant
Cabinet Member: “The
response shows that 2 suppliers have gone into administration since April
2018. What financial cost has this had
on the Authority?” The Leader of the Council stated that a
written response would be provided. Question
2 Councillor C L Philpott asked the relevant
Cabinet Member: “I
am concerned at the recent works at Clyne Court. Can the relevant Cabinet Member outline the
actions taken to rectify the issues and the lessons learnt from the works?” The Homes, Energy & Service
Transformation Cabinet Member stated that she would arrange a meeting with
Councillor C L Philpott to discuss the issues. 2) Part B ‘Questions not
requiring Supplementary Questions’ Four
(4) Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ were submitted. |
|
Notice of Motion on Carbon Based Investments. PDF 104 KB Minutes: Proposed by
Councillor C A Holley and Seconded by Councillor R C Stewart. “We understand the great strides which our
pension fund has made to divest from carbon based investments. Congratulations are in order for the award
which was announced in the Evening Post Monday 23rd September 2019
for the work carried out by Officers and the Members on the fund. We therefore ask the Cabinet Member to
report in the next 6 months to what action we are taking to remove ourselves
from carbon based investments.” Resolved that: 1)
The
Notice of Motion be approved. |