Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C.A. Campbell, A.L. Fox, P.M. Hughes and S. Matthews.

There were no declarations of personal interest.

The Chair referred to the challenges faced by the Authority during his term of office which, due to the Covid pandemic, had started and was ending with a virtual Annual Meeting. He paid tribute to all staff who had ensured that essential services had been able to continue wherever possible adding that his thoughts were with those who had lost loved ones during the year.

He stated that due to the Covid restrictions he had been unable to undertake many visits during his term of office though he had been able to attend a tree planting ceremony in Whitland in July and open the Ferryside Forum Market. He had also laid a wreath at the Remembrance Sunday Service in Llanelli.

He expressed sadness that he had been unable to visit residents in the county who had celebrated their 100^th birthday nor able to visit the Council’s care home in the run up to Christmas. His biggest disappointment, however, was that he had been unable to hold a Civic Service in Llanybydder, which is usually one of the highlights of a Chair’s year in office;

The Chair referred to the fact that whilst the Annual Walrus Dip fundraising event at Cefn Sidan, Pembrey, had been cancelled he had undertaken a sponsored walk around his village and surrounding areas in addition to arranging his own sponsored swim at Pendine over the Easter weekend. He thanked all who had donated towards his chosen charities – Prostrate Cancer and St. Peter’s Church, Llanybydder.

The Chair stated that it had been an honour to serve as the Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council and he thanked Members for their cooperation. He also thanked his consort, Councillor Sue Allen, the Rev. Wyn Maskell for serving as his Chaplain, Wendy Walters and Linda Rees Jones for their support and guidance throughout the year, staff in the Democratic Services section and Members Support Services, I.T. staff and Callum Warwick who had been particularly helpful during his period in office;

Finally he extended his congratulations and best wishes to his Vice Chairman, Councillor Eirwyn Williams and his consort, Mrs. Joyce Williams, and wished them both well in their year of office. He also congratulated Vice Chair elect, Councillor Ken Lloyd and his consort, Mrs. Katherine Lloyd.

It was moved by Councillor I.W. Davies and seconded by Councillor W.T. Evans and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that Councillor J.E. Williams be elected Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

Councillor I.W. Davies congratulated Councillor Williams on his election.

Councillor Eirwyn Williams made his declaration of acceptance of office and was invested with the Chain of Office.

Councillor Williams expressed his gratitude to all Councillors for their support in appointing him as Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council and that he was looking forward to his year in office representing the council and meeting people when the current lockdown restrictions were eased. Councillor Williams also paid tribute to the retiring Chair, Councillor I.W. Davies.

Tributes were also paid to the Retiring Chair by the Leaders of the Plaid Cymru, Independent, Labour and New Independent Groups for the excellent service he had given to the Council during his year of office.

The Chair thanked members for all their kind words and advised that in view of social distancing rules, his Consort (Mrs Joyce Williams) would not be invested with her Chain of Office that day. That would hopefully be arranged for the ceremonial function later in the year. 

The Chief Executive also paid tribute on behalf of the Authority’s staff to the retiring Chair and his consort (Councillor Ieuan Davies and Mrs Sue Allen) who had fulfilled his role with great professionalism and been very active and supportive of the work of the Council. She congratulated the newly elected Chair and Consort (Councillor Eirwyn Williams and Mrs Joyce Williams), and Vice Chair and Consort (Councillor Ken Lloyd and Mrs Katherine Lloyd on their appointments and wished them a very happy and successful year in office.

It was moved by Councillor D. Cundy, seconded by Councillor K. Madge and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that Councillor Ken Lloyd be elected Vice-Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council for the 2021/22 Municipal Year. 

The Chair congratulated the Vice Chair on his appointment and advised that due to the current social distancing rules, arrangements had been made for Councillor Lloyd’s Chain of Office to be delivered to his home.

The Vice-Chair expressed his appreciation to the Council on his appointment and made his declaration of acceptance of office.

The Chair advised that due to the social distancing rules, the Vice Chair’s Consort (Mrs Katherine Lloyd) would not be invested with her Chain of Office that Day. That would hopefully be undertaken later in the year.

Prior to introducing his Annual Report the Leader congratulated Cllr. Gareth John on his appointment as a member of the Hywel Dda University Health Board. He referred to the fact that although meetings were, a year on since the last Annual Meeting, still being held virtually it was hoped to commence hybrid meetings soon whereby members and officers could attend a meeting in person or online. On a positive note he welcomed the fact that 2 million people in Wales had now received a vaccination to protect them against Covid. In the Hywel Dda University Health Board area 60% of the population had received their first vaccine injection and 27% had received their second injection. However, with news of the Indian Covid variant he emphasised the need for continued vigilance adding that the Authority’s response would be measured and proportionate and led by scientific reasoning. He added that although restrictions had eased recently the Authority would proceed with caution as it focussed on returning to normal in regard to the reopening of local businesses and services.

Whereupon the Leader introduced his sixth Annual Report to the Council covering the period 2020/21 which this year was presented in a video format entitled ‘Reflect, Reset, Move Forward’. He commented that the video, which would also be available to view on the Council’s website, provided a summary of the challenges faced by the Council and the priority areas which would be focussed on moving forward. The video commentary included references to the following:

·       Reset - New ways of working, new ways of serving our residents, new policies and new ways of operating, the pandemic has made things happen more quickly - and in most cases this had been very positive;

·       Move Forward - Getting Carmarthenshire’s economy moving again. We will support businesses to re-establish and flourish again. We will create new jobs to get people back into work, and we will continue turning our ambitions into reality;

·       Town Centre recovery Our town centres are the places where people come together, where businesses can thrive and where friends and family can enjoy their leisure time together. Across all our town centres, we will continue working with existing and potential businesses and providing the opportunities for growth and doing things differently;

·       Ten Towns Further out of the urban centres, we are also focusing on our rural market towns - an important and exciting element of our rural regeneration strategy, Moving Rural Carmarthenshire Forward;

·       Rural (general) plus Carmarthen Mart - Creating new opportunities for the people who live and work in rural Carmarthenshire so that families born and raised in our communities are encouraged to stay, contribute and thrive;

·       Coast - Key coastal developments including the soon to be completed  £7million regeneration masterplan for Pendine with a new state of the art museum and eco-hotel alongside the new promenade, and the imminent commencement of the £200million Pentre Awel development at Llanelli which will provide world-class medical research and health care delivery whilst supporting and encouraging people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Council considered the composition of Regulatory, Scrutiny, Other Committees and Panels and the membership of those committees. The Leaders of the Political Groups confirmed that there were no additional membership changes.

It was duly moved and seconded and

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the composition and membership of Regulatory, Scrutiny, Other Committees and Panels for the 2021/22 Municipal Year, as detailed within the report, be approved.

The Council, in accordance with Corporate Procedure Rule CPR 17.6, considered nominations which had been received for the appointment of Chairs and Vice Chairs of Committees for the 2021/22 Municipal Year. 

It was duly moved and seconded and

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the following appointments to Chairs and Vice Chairs of Regulatory, Scrutiny, Other Committees and Panels be made for the 2021/22 Municipal Year:-

The Council was reminded of the requirement for it to review its Constitution on an annual basis and that as part of that process it had established a Constitutional Review Working Group [CRWG] to present any recommended changes. The following changes were recommended to Council by the Constitutional Review Working Group:-

Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021

The Local Government and Elections Wales Act 2021 had and would introduce a number of legislative changes and these changes would come into force on different dates. The constitution had been updated to reflect the changes known to date. 

Part 3.2 Scheme of Delegation to officers

The scheme of delegation was currently being updated to reflect the Council’s current organisational structure and any legislative changes.  These changes would go to CRWG separately and be the subject of a further report to Council.

Councillors’ and Co-opted Members’ Salaries and Allowances Scheme (Part 6.1)

Constitutionally, responsibility for adopting a Scheme of Members’ Allowances rested with the Council but the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW) determined  the amounts to be paid with a view to providing a consistent national framework for councillor remuneration. The report contained the IRPW determinations for 2021/22 which were payable from 1^st April 2021. Councillors appointed to new posts Senior/Civic Salaries at the AGM would be paid any revised salary from the start of the municipal year (19^th May 2021).

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED

9.1       in accordance with the determinations made by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales, to adopt the Councillors’ and Co-opted Members’ Salaries and Allowances Scheme for 2021/22, as detailed within Part 6.1 of the Constitution;

9.2       to approve the constitutional changes, which have come about as a result of the legislative changes in Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and any additional recommendations put forward by the Constitutional Review Working Group;

9.3       that the Monitoring Officer be authorised to make any minor amendments, correct typographical or drafting errors and ensure all cross-references within the Constitution are correct and that these be reported to the Constitutional Review Working Group as and when necessary;

9.4  that subject to recommendations 9.1 – 9.3 above, and also the deletion, under ‘Responsibility for Functions, of Function D.7. ‘Duty to provide assistance at European Parliamentary elections’, the Council Constitution be adopted for 2021/22.