Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor A. Davies.

There were no declarations of personal interests.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on the 9^th January 2023 be signed as a correct record.

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

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.

The Cabinet, in accordance with minute 7 of the Council meeting held on held on 12 October 2022, considered a report on a petition in respect of Road and Pavement Safety in Newcastle Emlyn.

The report detailed the ongoing partnership work within the areas of Education, Engineering and Enforcement to enable the Council to meet its statutory duties to improve road safety and prevent road traffic collisions. 

The report also set out the two-stage framework implemented by the Council in respect of prioritising highway improvements within the context of budgetary constraints to enable an evidence-based approach to such requests and ensure that funding was directed to the areas of greatest need. 

Pertinent data in respect of the existing crossing facilities, vehicle flows, composition and speeds, pedestrian flows and composition, site characteristics and road accident data were also set out for the Cabinet’s consideration, and it was reported that further data gathering was required in between the main peaks and troughs of traffic and pedestrian numbers to ensure a comprehensive site assessment.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:

Further to minute 7 of the Cabinet meeting held on 31 October 2022, consideration was given to a progress report made in respect of the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF).

It was confirmed that the UK Government had approved the South-West Regional Investment Plan in December 2022 and an allocation of funding which totalled £38.6m had been secured for Carmarthenshire to enable the Authority to deliver against some of the County’s strategic objectives. Reference was made to the legal implications set out within the report whereby it was confirmed that Swansea Council, as the lead Authority on behalf of the South-West region, maintained overall accountability for the funding and the operation of the SPF, however delivery and management of the programme in Carmarthenshire was the responsibility of the Authority.

The report detailed the anchor projects within the themes of Community, Rural, Place, Supporting Local Business and Employability & Skills. An overview of the financial implications, governance and administrative processes was also provided to the Cabinet.  In this regard, consideration was given to the decision-making arrangements for the Anchor and Standalone projects which included the development of an application form and assessment criteria, as appended to the report.

In recognition that UK Government had stipulated a completion date of 31 March 2025 for all UK SPF activity, the Cabinet’s approval was requested to proceed with the recruitment of staff for the Internal Anchor teams and the Programme Management team, together with the opening up of calls for all applications prior to entering into a formal Service Level Agreement with Swansea Council.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED:

The Cabinet was advised that based on the success of the first phase of the Programme, a further £11 million would be provided by Welsh Government until March 2025 to support communities to flourish through economic interventions and contribute to increased opportunities in the visibility and use the Welsh language on a daily basis.

The Cabinet considered the proposed governance arrangements for the Arfor 2 programme, together with the strategic objectives which would be achieved through delivery of the following work packages:

·       Llwyddo’nLleol - Targeted youth programme to support entrepreneurial skills to deter youth migration.

·       CymunedauMentrus/Enterprising Communities - Administered by Carmarthenshire County Council to create opportunities for business start-up, growth and third sector development via a third grant aligned with Arfor objectives.

·       Arfor Challenge Fund- Opportunity for organisations across the region to submit applications for resources to develop and pilot activities that will address the strategic objectives of the Programme.

·       Strengthening the Identity of Arfor Communities - Create a communication and marketing program for the Programme.

·       Monitoring and Evaluation and learning.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:

Further to minute 7 of the Cabinet meeting held on 11 October 2022, consideration was given to a report which provided an update on the progress made to date on the Council’s Waste Strategy for 2021-2025, together with the recent roll out of the interim kerbside waste changes. 

The Authority’s strategy set out a comprehensive programme of works to deliver service transformational change in line with its carbon reduction ambitions.  An overview of the interim position was provided to the Cabinet, which detailed the changes made to the kerbside waste collections which had commenced on 23 January 2023.  The Cabinet was advised that the Authority aimed to introduce a longer-term service change to achieve the Blueprint collection methodology by 2024, which would include enhancements to the current fleet provision.

Consideration was also given to the waste management policy appended to the report which provided a consolidated document outlining the Authority’s delivery of refuse and recycling collection services, its network of Household Waste Recycling Centres and Re-use facilities in accordance with the Authority’s strategic objective of improving kerbside domestic waste collections to increase recycling rates in Carmarthenshire.

Reference was made to the significant financial penalties that would be imposed should the Authority fail to meet the statutory recycling targets.  Furthermore, in considering the Authority’s moral obligations to reduce its carbon footprint, the Cabinet acknowledged the efforts made thus far to move towards a system based upon the principles of a circular economy.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:

As a result of the resignation of the Chair of Place Sustainability and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee (Cllr John James) from PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London).

The Cabinet considered nominations in relation to the appointment of the Authority’s Representative and Substitute on the PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London). The nomination was required as a result of the resignation of the current representative.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:

The Chair advised that there were no items of urgent business.