Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors E. Dole, H.A.L. Evans, L.D. Evans and J. Tremlett. 

The Executive Board expressed their condolences to Councillor H.A.L. Evans and her family on the passing of her mother.

No declarations of personal interest were made at the meeting.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Board held on 6^th February, 2017 be signed as a correct record.

No questions on notice had been submitted by Members.  However, Councillor D.M. Cundy had sought permission to ask a question in relation to agenda item 8, in accordance with CPR 11.1.

The Chair advised that no public questions on notice had been received.

The Executive Board considered a report detailing Carmarthenshire County Council’s Well-being Objectives for 2017/18. 

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 requires all public bodies to:-

·       Set and publish Well-being Objectives

·       Take all reasonable steps to meet those Objectives

·       Publish a statement about Well-being Objectives

·       Publish an annual report on progress

·       Publish our response to a recommendation made by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

In addition, the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 requires the Council to set Key Improvement Objectives Priorities (KIOPs) each year and for 2017/18 it was proposed to integrate the Authority’s KIOPs and Well-being Objectives.

The Executive Board Member for Communities highlighted that the objectives had been developed following consultation with residents. The draft objectives had also been considered during a joint scrutiny meeting and Members comments had been incorporated into the report.

Concern was raised by the Board that there was duplication in developing well-being targets through different legislation and projects. It was noted that consideration had to be given to the time and effort required in producing the required information.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL that the draft report be approved.

The Executive Board considered Carmarthenshire’s Annual Report for the Ageing Well Plan 2015/2016. The Report (required by the Older People’s Commission) detailed the Authority’s performance against the following priorities:

·         Age Friendly Communities;

·         Dementia Supportive Communities;

·         Falls Prevention;

·         Opportunities for Employment and New Skills;

·         Loneliness and Isolation.

The Board raised concerns that some elderly people were remaining in hospital longer than needed and consideration had to be given to pooling budgets with health, where appropriate, to address such issues. Members noted that more emphasis was required on how to deliver such plans and priorities and to learn from good practice in other areas. It was suggested that further research into good practice could be undertaken by the Public Service Board.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to note the Annual Reportfor the Ageing Well Plan 2015/2016.

The Executive Board considered the Annual Report 2015/16 on the Welsh Language necessary in order to comply with the Welsh Language Commissioner’s monitoring arrangements. The report included the statutory and local indicators which measure compliance with the Scheme. It was advised that Standards would replace the current system of Welsh language schemes. The Welsh Language Commissioner had given Carmarthenshire County Council a compliance notice regarding the Welsh Language Standards Regulations on 30^th September 2015 which required the Council to comply with most of the standards by 30^th March 2016.

The Executive Board Member for Human Resources highlighted the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office had been indicated that the Council was performing well.

In accordance with CPR 11.1 Councillor D.M. Cundy asked how many Welsh Medium places are available but not taken up in the Llanelli Town and Llanelli Rural educational catchments at the present time in both the Primary Schools and the Secondary Schools and how soon will we need to expand the provision to reach our targets set by the Welsh Government? The Executive Board Member for Education and Children provided information on the current number of Welsh Medium places available and the number of surplus places in the Llanelli area. It was noted that currently changes were being made to Welsh medium education provision in Llanelli with the amalgamation of Copperworks and Lakefield schools. In relation to meeting targets set by Welsh Government, it was explained that the Council was awaiting the report from Welsh Government following consultation on their target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Executive Board considered a report which outlined a revised criteria for the assessment and prioritisation of requests for highway infrastructure and road safety improvements. The Board, at its meeting on the 14^th November, 2011, had approved the current criteria for assessment, selection and prioritisation of Road Safety Improvement and Footway Improvements funded from the Council’s capital budget. The report highlighted that the demand for improvements was high and that currently there were 355 separate requests for highway infrastructure and road safety improvements. The revised criteria were proposed to take account of current resource availability and to ensure prioritisation of projects and schemes which improved road safety in communities. In addition, in order to facilitate the delivery of minor improvements the report proposes a 10% top slicing of the available budget for minor works.  

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the criteria for assessment and prioritisation of requests for highway infrastructure and road safety improvements.

The Executive Board considered a report which provided informationregarding the statutory requirements for partnership arrangements under Part 9 of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act (SSWBWA). These included the formation of Regional Partnership Boards (RPBs) on Local Health Board footprints. RPBs had to prioritise the integration of health and social care services and promote the establishment of pooled funds where appropriate to support integration. Under Part 2 of the SSWBWA statutory partners were required to publish a Population Assessment identifying the needs for care and support in the region, the levels of care and support currently provided and areas for improvement and development. A Population Assessment must be undertaken for each electoral cycle and the first one had to be published by 31 March 2017. In this respect the statutory and other partners in the West Wales region had collaborated to produce the first Population Assessment for the region, which had been agreed by the Regional Partnership Board on 15 December 2016. The statutory Code of Practice required that each of the statutory partners endorsed the Assessment prior to publication.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL

10.1          to note the statutory requirements in place within West Wales under Part 9 of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and  the partnership arrangements to meet these requirements;

10.2          that the contents of the West Wales population assessment be endorsed.

THE REPORTS RELATING TO THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE NOT FOR PUBLICATION AS THEY CONTAIN EXEMPT INFORMATION AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH 14 OF PART 4 OF SCHEDULE 12A TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 AS AMENDED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) (VARIATION) (WALES) ORDER 2007. IF, FOLLOWING THE APPLICATION OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST TEST, THE BOARD RESOLVES PURSUANT TO THE ACT TO CONSIDER THESE ITEMS IN PRIVATE, THE PUBLIC WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THE MEETING DURING SUCH CONSIDERATION.

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 items as the reports contained exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

Following the application of the public interest test it was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED, pursuant to the Act referred to in Minute 12 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 which detailed the findings of the Local Housing Company (LHC) business case and outlined the next steps for the establishment of the company which was deemed to be the best option to significantly add to the delivery of affordable homes for sale and rent.The Affordable Housing Delivery Plan 2016-21, agreed by Council in March 2016, committed to increasing the number of affordable homes by 1,000 over the next five years.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED

13.1  to confirm that the business case for establishing the LHC is a viable option and would significantly add to the delivery of the Council’s Affordable Homes Commitment in providing more homes for sale and rent;

13.2 that officers be given delegated authority to establish the LHC, its governance structures and detailed five year business plan;

13.3 that officers be authorised to commission expert external assistance in establishing the LHC, developing the governance structures and detailed business plan in terms of the legal, financial and technical issues.

Following the application of the public interest test it was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED, pursuant to the Act referred to in Minute 12 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 proposals for the development of the Oriel Myrddin Gallery.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the recommendations as outlined in the report in order to support the development of the Oriel Myrddin Gallery.