Agenda and minutes

Venue: Chamber, County Hall

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES AND OTHER MATTERS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor G.O. Jones and T.J. Jones.

 

The Board extended its sincere condolences to the family of the late Jo Cox MP on her sad and untimely passing.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL INTEREST.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor

Minute No.

Nature of Interest

Councillor E. Dole

12 – Transfer of Parks, Playgrounds, Amenity Areas – Community Asset Transfer Update

Hi is member of Llannon Community Council

Councillor D.M. Jenkins

12 – Transfer of Parks, Playgrounds, Amenity Areas – Community Asset Transfer Update

He is a member of Cwmamman Town Council

Councillor D.M. Jenkins

21 – Lease of Land at Penybont Park, Glanamman to Cwmamman United A.F.C.

He is a member of Cwmamman Town Council

Councillor P.A. Palmer

12 – Transfer of Parks, Playground, Amenity Areas – Community Asset Transfer Update

Chair of Peniel Community Association

Councillor L.M. Stephens

8 – MEP – Proposal to Change the Language Category of Ysgol Bro Myrddin from Bilingual (2A) to Welsh Medium (WM)

She represents the Authority on the Governing Body of Ysgol Bro Myrddin

 

3.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 290 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board held on the 9th and 23rd May, 2016 be signed as correct records.

 

4.

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE BY MEMBERS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair advised that no questions on notice had been submitted by members.

 

5.

PUBLIC QUESTIONS ON NOTICE

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed to the meeting members of the public who had submitted public questions on notice to Councillor Gareth Jones, Executive Board Member for Education & Children.  The Chair explained that, due to a longstanding commitment, Councillor Jones had tendered apologies for today’s meeting and in his absence, Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children would respond to the questions.

 

Concern was expressed that the questioners were unable to exercise their right to ask a supplementary question of the member to which their question was addressed as the Executive Board Member was not in attendance.  It was therefore

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the questioners who wished to ask their questions at today’s meeting proceed to do so and the questions submitted by questioners who wished to address their question directly to the Executive Board Member for Education & Children and have the opportunity to ask a supplementary question be deferred to the meeting of the Executive Board to be held on 26th July, 2016.

Consequently, the questions submitted by Mr Steve Hatto, Ms Nikki Lloyd, Mrs Michaela Beddows, Mrs Jacqueline Seward, Ms Kaz Deacon, Mrs Karen Hughes, Mr Nigel Hughes and Mr Robert Willock were deferred to the meeting to be held on 26th July, 2016. 

 

[NOTE:  Mr Steve Hatto, Ms Nikki Lloyd and Mrs Michaela Beddows had already asked their questions and the Director of Education & Children had responded prior to the decision to defer and, in view of the above decision, those questions and responses have not been recorded in the minutes as they will be asked again at the meeting to be held on 26th July, 2016.]

 

 

 

5.1

QUESTION BY MRS RHIANEDD RHYS

“First of all, I would like to thank the Council for its vision and like to ask, are the members of the Executive Board aware of the fact that, on the whole, pupils educated through the medium of Welsh in Wales (including pupils at Llangennech Infants and Junior School) perform better in teacher assessments and external exams than pupils educated at English medium schools and that any variations usually reflect the quality of the teaching rather than the medium of the teaching?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“First of all, I would like to thank the Council for its vision and like to ask, are the members of the Executive Board aware of the fact that, on the whole, pupils educated through the medium of Welsh in Wales (including pupils at Llangennech Infants and Junior School) perform better in teacher assessments and external exams than pupils educated at English medium schools and that any variations usually reflect the quality of the teaching rather than the medium of the teaching?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“It is the experience of this County Council that children who receive their education through the medium of Welsh generally achieve at consistent levels to children receiving their education through the medium of English in all subjects, including English language.

 

Data for 2014/2015 at the Llangennech schools, the most recent complete data set available. Reinforce these findings, demonstrating that children in the Welsh and English streams achieve comparably in teacher assessments and national literacy and numeracy tests.  In 2015 all children in both schools achieved the expected levels at both key stages in the national tests in all subjects.  The children in the Welsh stream and the English stream achieved good and comparable results in English language at the end of Key Stage 2.  The children in the Welsh stream also achieved good results in Welsh first language but he children in the English stream were unable to achieve this outcome s they did not study through the medium of Welsh.

 

In November 2014 Estyn published a report on the findings of its examination of outcomes in ten bilingual secondary schools and commented that “...(some) teachers ... and pupils have the misconception that studying subjects through the medium of Welsh can hinder their academic success.  In fact, pupils who follow their GCSE courses through the medium of Welsh achieve as well as, if not better than, those who follow most of their GCSE courses through the medium of English”.

 

Furthermore, evidence gathered internationally through research demonstrates that children who are developed bilingually benefit from additional learning capacity, including enhanced cognitive ability, improved task understanding and flexibility, enhanced powers of concentration, and so on.

 

5.2

QUESTION BY MR MICHAEL REES

“As a non-Welsh speaker who chose Welsh-medium education for my children, would members of the Executive Board share with me the great delight and personal satisfaction that I’ve had over the years in seeing my children grow up to become confident bilingual adults who use both languages in their every day work and life and acknowledge the huge success of Welsh-medium education and the many benefits that bilingualism brings to individuals from all social backgrounds?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“As a non-Welsh speaker who chose Welsh-medium education for my children, would members of the Executive Board share with me the great delight and personal satisfaction that I’ve had over the years in seeing my children grow up to become confident bilingual adults who use both languages in their every day work and life and acknowledge the huge success of Welsh-medium education and the many benefits that bilingualism brings to individuals from all social backgrounds?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“The Department agrees with the views expressed by the questioner, as in the experience of this Authority children succeed well in Welsh medium education irrespective of the language of the home.

 

It is the belief of the Department that children benefit from a truly bilingual education and that as many children as possible should receive this opportunity.  It is also the Department’s view that Welsh medium education in the primary phase is the most effective means of developing bilingual young people.

 

Furthermore, being bilingual extends a young person’s cultural and social opportunities and can be a career advantage in some circumstances.”

5.3

QUESTION BY MS ELIN GRIFFITHS

“Are the Executive Board members aware of the fact that pupils from non-Welsh speaking homes who attend Welsh medium schools, including Llangennech School, on the whole perform as well as if not better in the core subjects than pupils who are educated through the medium of English?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Are the Executive Board members aware of the fact that pupils from non-Welsh speaking homes who attend Welsh medium schools, including Llangennech School, on the whole perform as well as if not better in the core subjects than pupils who are educated through the medium of English?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“It is the experience of this County Council that children who receive their education through the medium of Welsh generally achieve as well as children receiving their education through the medium of English in all subjects, including English language and other core subjects.  This includes children from homes where Welsh is not the main language.”

5.4

QUESTION BY MRS HELEN MAINWARING

“Your “Welsh in Education Strategic Plan for 2014-2017” was published in 2013 which clearly states that you are eager to move Llangennech School along the linguistic continuum.  What steps will you be taking to ensure that Carmarthenshire and Llangennech’s children develop to become bilingual citizens?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Your “Welsh in Education Strategic Plan for 2014-2017” was published in 2013 which clearly states that you are eager to move Llangennech School along thelinguistic continuum.  What steps will you be taking to ensure that Carmarthenshire and Llangennech’s children develop to become bilingual citizens?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“The proposals for the Llangennech schools have been prepared in response to Carmarthenshire County Council’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) which sets out the Council’s broad strategy to develop bilingualism within th education service, principally by means of expanding Welsh medium education.  The local authority has set out to “increase the provision of Welsh medium education in Carmarthenshire and ensure linguistic continuity from the nursery sector along the key stages to the secondary sector so that every pupil becomes fluent and confident in both Welsh and English languages.”  As an explicit part of the strategy the Council has made a commitment to “work closely with the staff and Governing Bodies of Carmarthenshire’s dual stream schools in order for them to become Welsh medium schools”.

 

In addition to proposals for Dual Stream schools the WESP expects every school, including schools that are currently designated as English medium, to progress along the language continuum, to increase the proportion of education that is delivered through the Welsh language.  Clearly the pace at which schools will be able to expand bilingualism and Welsh medium education will depend upon local circumstances but the expectation for progress applies to all schools.  The schools in Llangennech have been identified as having the potential to move quickly to become Welsh medium due to the progressive increase in numbers in the Welsh stream over recent years, as evidenced by the data.

 

The WESP sets out a comprehensive programme of language development for schools and children across Carmarthenshire.  The WESP is currently under review and a refreshed programme will shortly be presented to elected members for endorsement.

 

The WESP is founded upon the understanding that schools are a critically important component in developing children so that they are fully bilingual by the time they leave primary school.  International evidence, cited by the Welsh Government, confirms that the most effective way of developing bilingual children is to immerse them in the less common language whilst also developing their skills in the more common language.  The Welsh Government also promotes that for children who are from non-Welsh speaking families that immersion in Welsh in school is particularly important in embedding the language.

 

 

 

 

5.5

QUESTION BY MRS MANON WILLIAMS

“Are the Executive Board members aware of the fact that no international research proves that immersion education is damaging to the development of a child with additional learning needs and that Carmarthenshire has extensive experience in providing first class education and care to children who have additional learning needs through the medium of Welsh and English?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Are the Executive Board members aware of the fact that no international research proves that immersion education is damaging to the development of a child with additional learning needs and that Carmarthenshire has extensive experience in providing first class education and care to children who have additional learning needs through the medium of Welsh and English?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“The Department is not aware of any evidence to suggest that receiving a Welsh medium education is detrimental to the development of children, including children with additional learning needs.  On the contrary, international evidence demonstrates that bilingual development stimulates additional skills for learning and life within young people and that the most effective way of embedding these advantages is to immerse young children in the less common language from an early age.

 

This is the experience of Welsh medium schools across Carmarthenshire which have succeeded for many years in developing skilled bilingual young people, including those with additional learning needs.

 

Only in a very few cases will learning through two languages be a challenge for a child with specific additional learning needs.  Differentiated teaching in mainstream classroom is able to support the vast majority of learners through reinforcement of a child’s strongest language, whilst also developing the second language.  It is important to note that some children with additional learning needs will benefit from teaching principally through the medium of Welsh whilst for others it will be principally through the medium of English.  In all cases a bespoke package of support will ensure the most appropriate provision for the individual.”

5.6

QUESTION BY MRS RACHEL BENDALL

“Over the last few years, the percentage of the population who can speak Welsh in Llangennech area has decreased from 53.3% in 1991 to 39.9% yn 2011 – does the Executive Board agree that establishing a Welsh School in the village in order to provide everyone with bilingual skills is the most effective way of preventing this downturn?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Over the last few years, the percentage of the population who can speak Welsh in Llangennech area has decreased from 53.3% in 1991 to 39.9% yn 2011 – does the Executive Board agree that establishing a Welsh School in the village in order to provide everyone with bilingual skills is the most effective way of preventing this downturn?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“The census of Population conducted in 2011 confirmed a disappointing decline in the proportion of the population with language skills across Carmarthenshire.

 

Carmarthenshire County Council has established a comprehensive strategy to address this decline through a progressive programme of action across a range of services, including education.

 

The County Council’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) sets out a range of actions for the education service and schools to expand Welsh medium education with the objective of increasing the number of bilingual citizens and maximising opportunities for children to benefit from a truly bilingual education.

 

The proposal for primary schools in Llangennech emerges from the Council’s WESP as it is the policy of the County Council that Welsh medium education in the primary sector offers the most effective means of improving the language skills of children, whilst also providing them with the wider developmental benefits that a bilingual education offers.”

 

5.7

QUESTION BY MR CURTIS ROBERTS

“Are the Executive Board members aware that the vast majority of Welsh Medium schools have strategies in place to assist non-Welsh speaking families with homework, which includes sending a bilingual note home explaining the tasks that need to be completed?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Are the Executive Board members aware that the vast majority of Welsh Medium schools have strategies in place to assist non-Welsh speaking families with homework, which includes sending a bilingual note home explaining the tasks that need to be completed?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“Welsh medium schools across Carmarthenshire have a range of strategies in place to support children from non-Welsh speaking families, in school and at home, especially with regard to homework.  Examples of the support that can be given are set out in the Consultation Report.

 

The good outcomes achieved by children from all backgrounds in Welsh medium provision confirm the success of these support programmes.”

 

5.8

QUESTION BY MRS CATHRIN JONES

“Are the Executive Board members aware of the fact that immersion education in the target language has been proven to be the most successful model worldwide in terms of ensuring a child is completely bilingual?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Are the Executive Board members aware of the fact that immersion education in the target language has been proven to be the most successful model worldwide in terms of ensuring a child is completely bilingual?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“The County Council’s WESP is founded upon the principle, established through international research, that the most effective means of developing truly bilingual children is to immerse them in the less common language from an early age whilst also developing their skills in the more common language.  The County Council has accepted the guidance of the Welsh Government that for children who are from non-Welsh speaking families that immersion in Welsh in school is particularly important in embedding the language.”

5.9

QUESTION BY MR ALAN WARNER

“Do the Executive Board members realise that parents/guardians, while discussing homework in English with their children, can actually develop their trans-languaging skills which is considered by language experts to be a high level skill?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Do the Executive Board members realise that parents/guardians, while discussing homework in English with their children, can actually develop their trans-languaging skills which is considered by language experts to be a high level skill?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“It is the view of the Department that children and parents or guardians all benefit from discussing school life and homework through both languages.”

 

5.10

QUESTION BY MR MARTYN DAVID WILLIAMS

“Are the members of the Executive Board aware of the fact that teacher assessments and external exam results in English as a subject have been consistently higher amongst pupils who have received a Welsh medium education compared with pupils educated through the medium of English?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Are the members of the Executive Board aware of the fact that teacher assessments and external exam results in English as a subject have been consistently higher amongst pupils who have received a Welsh medium education compared with pupils educated through the medium of English?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“The evidence in Carmarthenshire is that children who receive their education through the medium of Welsh generally achieve as well as children receiving their education through the medium of English in all subjects, including English language and other core subjects.  This includes children from homes where Welsh is not the main language.

 

The Department holds the view that Welsh medium education is the most effective means of developing bilingual children by the time they leave primary school and that this form of education offers children additional personal development and educational benefits.

 

Estyn has confirmed from a review of outcomes in ten bilingual secondary schools that “...pupils who follow their GCSE courses through the medium of Welsh achieve as well as, if not better than, those who follow most of their GCSE courses through the medium of English”.

 

 

 

5.11

QUESTION BY MR OWAIN GLENISTER

“Considering the fact that 65% of the world’s population speak at least two languages, are the Executive Board members aware of the fact that no academic research has been published anywhere in the world that proves that immersion education has a damaging effect on a child’s educational development – on the contrary, research in Canada proves that IQ levels amongst children who have bilingual immersion education are consistently higher than children in monolingual education and research from Catalonia proves that children in bilingual immersion education are better at reasoning and more creative?”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

“Considering the fact that 65% of the world’s population speak at least two languages, are the Executive Board members aware of the fact that no academic research has been published anywhere in the world that proves that immersion education has a damaging effect on a child’s educational development – on the contrary, research in Canada proves that IQ levels amongst children who have bilingual immersion education are consistently higher than children in monolingual education and research from Catalonia proves that children in bilingual immersion education are better at reasoning and more creative?”

 

Response by Mr Robert Sully, Director of Education & Children:-

 

“The Department is not aware of any evidence to suggest that a Welsh medium education is detrimental to the development of children.  On the contrary, international evidence demonstrates that bilingual development stimulates additional skills for learning and life within young people and that the most effective way of engendering these advantages is to immerse young children in the less common language from an early age.

 

It is the belief of the County Council that all children benefit from a truly bilingual education, which provides wider skills development, such as cognitive ability, task understanding and flexibility, enhanced powers of concentration, etc, and that children should receive these opportunities.”

 

6.

QUESTIONS REFERRED TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARD BY THE EDUCATION & CHILDREN SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In view of the decision made earlier in the meeting to defer consideration of the public questions until the next meeting, it was

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that consideration of this item be deferred to the meeting of the Executive Board to be held on 26th July, 2016.

7.

MODERNISING EDUCATION PROGRAMME- PROPOSAL TO DISCONTINUE LLANGENNECH INFANT SCHOOL AND LLANGENNECH JUNIOR SCHOOL AND ESTABLISH LLANGENNECH COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL. pdf icon PDF 616 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In view of the decision made earlier in the meeting to defer consideration of the public questions until the next meeting, it was

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that consideration of this item be deferred to the meeting of the Executive Board to be held on 26th July, 2016.

 

8.

MODERNISING EDUCATION PROGRAMME - PROPOSAL TO CHANGE THE LANGUAGE CATEGORY OF YSGOL BRO MYRDDIN FROM BILINGUAL (2A) TO WELSH MEDIUM (WM). pdf icon PDF 656 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

[NOTE:  Councillor L.M. Stephens had earlier declared an interest in this item.]

 

The Executive Board considered a report detailing a proposal to change the language category of Ysgol Bro Myrddin from bilingual (2A) to Welsh medium (WM).

 

In recent years the school has moved along the language continuum naturally in accordance with Carmarthenshire’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan 2014-17.  Currently there were no pupils studying mathematics in English in years 7 to 10 and only one group of pupils had chosen to study science in English in year 7.  The change had occurred organically over a period of years and offered an opportunity therefore to proceed further by establishing the first WM category secondary school in Carmarthenshire.

 

The Department for Education and Children fully supported the school’s desire to continue along the Welsh language continuum and to change the language category to Welsh Medium. 

 

The statutory consultation process was completed in the Autumn Term 2015, following which a Statutory Notice was published on 13th April, 2016.  The Statutory Notice period ended on 10th May, 2016 and a total of 2 objections were received, details of which were appended to the report for consideration.

 

The Board was informed that the Education & Children Scrutiny Committee had considered this report at its meeting held on 17th June, 2016 and had unanimously resolved that:-

 

·       It be recommended to the Executive Board that it proceeds with the proposal to change the language category of Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin from Bilingual 2A to Welsh-medium and implement the proposal as detailed in the Statutory Notice, as from 1st September, 2016;

·       the Executive Board be asked to recommend to Council that it lobby the Welsh Government to simplify the process required for changing school language categories, thus making it easier for schools to move along the Welsh language continuum and to change their language categories to Welsh-medium.

 

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL

 

8.1     that the objections be noted but that that the Council proceed with           the proposal to change the language category of Ysgol Gyfun   Gymraeg Bro Myrddin from bilingual 2A to Welsh medium, as         detailed in the Statutory Notice, effective from 1st September,       2016;

 

8.2     that Council lobbies the Welsh Government and requests it to             simplify the process required for changing school language           categories, thus making it easier for schools to move along the           Welsh language continuum and to change their language           categories to Welsh-medium.

9.

MODERNISING EDUCATION PROGRAMME BIENNIAL REVIEW REPORT. pdf icon PDF 720 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered the Modernising Education Programme (MEP) Biennial Review report, which provided an update on the status of the MEP, in line with the decision made by Council in 2010 that the MEP be reviewed and revised in the future every two years or otherwise as required to ensure consistency with the timeframe of the national 21st Century Schools Programme.

 

Congratulations were extended to the Chief Executive, the Director of Education and Children and his officers for all their work in ensuring the success of the 21st Century Schools project.

 

RESOLVED that the updated Modernising Education Programme be approved.

10.

COUNCIL'S REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING REPORT. pdf icon PDF 557 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered the revenue budget monitoring report which provided a near actual financial position in respect of the 2015/16 financial year.

 

The near actual figure indicated an overspend for the year at departmental level of £33k.  This had been offset by an underspend of £1,399k on capital charges and the resultant outturn meant that the Authority forecast a transfer of £280k into its general reserves.  The Housing Revenue Account was forecasting an underspend of -£1.9m to the year end for 2015/16.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the budget monitoring report be received.

 

 

11.

CAPITAL PROGRAMME UPDATE. pdf icon PDF 371 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered an update report which provided the near actual spend against budget for the 2015/16 capital programme, as at the 31st March, 2016.

 

The Board was informed that officers across the Authority had been successful in securing an additional £8m of external funding during 2015/16. 

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the capital programme update report be received.

 

12.

TRANSFER OF PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS, AMENITY AREAS - COMMUNITY ASSET TRANSFER UPDATE. pdf icon PDF 481 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

[NOTE:  Councillors E. Dole, D.M. Jenkins and P.A. Palmer had earlier declared an interest in this item.]

 

Further to the decision made by the Executive Board at its meeting held on 15th December, 2014 (minute 11 refers) in relation to the asset transfer of parks, playgrounds and amenity areas, the Board considered a report providing an update on the current position.

 

Out of the 27 Town and Community Councils with relevant assets, 18 had submitted Expressions of Interest covering 81 assets, prior to the deadline of 1st april, 2016.  That left 9 Community Councils involving 35 assets where no expressions had been received or an initial interest had been lodged but subsequent correspondence indicated otherwise.  An additional 13 expressions of interest had been received from various sporting groups for a range of assets.  There were a further 30 Community Council areas where recreation assets are already managed locally rather than by the County Council.

 

The Council was in various stages of discussion with a range of Community Councils and groups that had expressed an interest in the facilities.  The majority of transfers were currently in the hands of solicitors, with others remaining at an early discussion stage.

 

RESOLVED

 

12.1    that the outcome of the Expressions of Interest process be noted;

 

12.2    that the proposed way forward, as detailed in the report, be approved;

 

12.3    that, in relation to the form and timing of formal consultation on the future management of facilities not subject to an Expression of Interest for asset transfer it was agreed that this should take place in 2017 and that, in the meantime, informal discussions should continue with the 9 Town and Community Councils which had not yet submitted an Expression of Interest;

 

12.4    that Park Howard be removed from the asset transfer process            and that ongoing discussions continue in relation to its future           maintenance.

 

13.

PLAY SUFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT AND ACTION PLAN 2016. pdf icon PDF 523 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered the Play Sufficiency Assessment and Action Plan 2016, which had been prepared in line with the requirements of Section 11 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 and placed a duty on Local Authorities across Wales to complete and submit a Play Sufficiency Assessment and accompanying Action Plan every three year.  Where the assessment identified an insufficiency in play opportunities for children in the Local Authority area, the Action Plan must set out what steps need to be taken to improve the opportunities for children.

 

Concern was expressed over the financial implications of this scheme for the Authority and the fact that the Welsh Government was imposing statutory obligations on Local Authorities without any additional funding.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Play Sufficiency Assessment and Action Plan 2016 be endorsed for submission to the Welsh Government.

 

14.

DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATUTORY DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL CARE SERVICES IN CARMARTHENSHIRE 2015/16. pdf icon PDF 336 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered the draft Annual Report of the Statutory Director of Social Services on the Effectiveness of Social Care Services in Carmarthenshire in 2015/16. 

 

There was a statutory requirement for the Director of Social Services to report annually to Council on the delivery and performance as well as plans for the improvement of the whole range of social services.

 

The report related to performance for the year 2015/16 and outlined progress made on areas identified for improvement in last year’s report and highlighted those areas to be developed in the current year.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL that the Annual Report of the Statutory Director of Social Services on the Effectiveness of Social Care Services in Carmarthenshire 2015/16 be approved.

 

15.

UNESCO LEARNING CITY CONFERENCE. pdf icon PDF 344 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board was advised that Swansea is one of the 12 cities internationally to have achieved the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Learning City Award for its work in developing lifelong learning across all age groups.

 

UNESCO holds an international Learning City conference every two years and the City and County of Swansea was preparing a bid to become the host city for the 2017 conference.  The 3 day conference would be held in the summer of 2017 and would be based largely at the Swansea University Bay Campus. 

 

The City and County of Swansea were seeking a letter of support from Carmarthenshire County Council to accompany their bid to UNESCO.  If successful, Swansea would be requesting financial support from partners for certain activities, which had not been specified yet.

 

RESOLVED to provide the City and County of Swansea with a letter of support, in principle, for their bid to host the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Learning City Conference in 2017.

16.

AMENDMENTS TO E-MAIL USAGE AND MONITORING POLICY. pdf icon PDF 545 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board was advised that the Email Usage and Monitoring Policy had been amended following a review to ensure that it met all current legislative requirements.  The amendments were proposed in order to strengthen the policy thus enabling it to meet statutory obligations.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the amended Email Usage and Monitoring Policy be approved.

17.

PORTABLE DEVICE USAGE POLICY. pdf icon PDF 404 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board was advised that there was currently no policy in place to define acceptable practices, responsibilities and procedures for using Council provided portable devices (smart phones, tablets, Ipads etc). 

 

The Portable Device Usage Policy defined those accepted practices, responsibilities and procedures for the use of portable devices that the Council authorises to connect to its network.

 

In its drive to mobilise the workforce, the Council has seen a significant increase in the number of portable devices in use, which facilitate greater flexibility for elected members and staff to access various Council systems.  With the ongoing drive towards greater mobile working, it was anticipated that there would be a continuous increase in the number of portable devices being used.

 

In light of this increase in use, a policy was required which governed the use of portable devices to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and best practices in mobile devices management.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Portable Device Usage Policy be approved.

18.

CONSULTATION ON PROCUREMENT REGULATION IN WALES. pdf icon PDF 430 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Board was advised that on 5th April, 2016 the Welsh Government published a consultation document containing 7 proposals for new Procurement Regulation in Wales.  The consultation period ended on 28th June, 2016 and the Executive Board considered a draft response which had been prepared by officers.

 

The increased regulations would take away the freedom and control within Local Government of managing their procurement responsibility and would also add an additional burden and potential cost to Local Government.

 

Concern was expressed over the implications of the regulations for Local Authorities and the resultant detrimental effect on the local economy. The Authority had been forced to move from a position of having good joint purchasing arrangements across the regions to a national system which was simply not working.

 

RESOLVED that the response to the Welsh Government consultation document on Procurement Regulation in Wales be approved.

19.

EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

Additional documents:

Minutes:

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED pursuant to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information)(Variation) (Wales) Order 2007, that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item as the report contained exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

 

 

20.

LEASE OF LAND AT PENYBONT PARK, GLANAMMAN TO CWMAMMAN UNITED A.F.C.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

[NOTE:  Councillor D.M. Jenkins, having earlier declared an interest in this item, left the meeting prior to the consideration and determination thereof.]

 

Following the application of the public interest test it was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED, pursuant to the Act referred to in Minute Number 19 above, to consider this matter in private, with the public excluded from the meeting as it would involve the disclosure of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the Authority holding that information)

 

The Executive Board considered a report detailing a proposal for the lease of land at Penybont Park in Glanamman to Cwmamman United A.F.C.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVEDthat a new lease be entered into with Cwmamman United A.F.C. on the terms recommended by the Head of Property, as detailed in the report.

 

 

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