Agenda and minutes

Venue: Chamber - County Hall, Carmarthen. SA31 1JP and remotely. View directions

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors K. Davies, N. Lewis, and D. Nicholas.

 

2.

DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL INTERESTS.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made.

 

3.

CHAIR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

·       The Chair stated that he and his Consort, Councillor Nysia Evans had recently attended the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in the lead up to the Kings Coronation.

 

·       Councillor Emyr Rees congratulated 2 teams within the ward of Glanaman for their sporting achievements.  Amman United RFC under 15’s who won the Carmarthenshire GMG Cup and Cwmaman FC under 15’s who won the West Glamorgan Junior League Cup.  Appreciation was extended to their coaching team and volunteers.

 

·       Councillor Rob James and Councillor Palfreman congratulated Councillor Rob Evans and his Consort, Councillor Nysia Evans on holding a successful Charity Carvery evening on 29th April 2023 which raised a significant amount of money in aid of two valuable charities namely; Wales Air Ambulance and Ty Bryngwyn Hospice, Llanelli.

 

·       Following the completion of a 10-month full investigation regarding an incident that took place during an informal training event, Councillor Dorian Phillips expressed his sincere apologies to Council members for the incident.

 

·       Councillor Glynog Davies expressed his congratulations to Ysgol Coed Cae, Llanelli in obtaining an excellent Estyn Inspection Report.  Appreciation was extended to the Headteacher, staff and the learners for their efforts in achieving a positive report.

 

4.

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE LEADER, CABINET MEMBERS AND THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE (IF ANY)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair advised that he had not been notified of any announcements.

 

5.

TO APPROVE AND SIGN AS A CORRECT RECORD THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 19TH APRIL 2023 pdf icon PDF 130 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was raised that Councillor. M James’ declaration of interest for item 10.1 - Empty Homes Policy - Our Approach to Bringing Empty Homes Back to Use should read:-

 Likely to inherit a house which could be empty during the period of the policy.’

 

RESOLVED that subject to the above amendment, the minutes of the meeting of Council held on the 19th April, 2023 be signed as a correct record.

 

6.

RECRUITMENT TO THE POST OF HEAD OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE (PERMANENT APPOINTMENT) pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Council received a report, presented by Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability which in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 sought Council’s endorsement on the recruitment of the permanent appointment of the post of Head of Environmental Infrastructure.  The Job Profile, Person Specification and job advert was appended to the report for consideration.

 

Council was informed that following the appointment to the post of Director of Place and Infrastructure in November 2022, the Authority now had the opportunity to review the effectiveness of the current interim arrangements that had been in place, together with the succession planning consideration following the impending retirement of the Head of Transportation and Highways in September this year. The proposed appointment was an amalgamation of the Head of Transportation and Highways together with the Head of Waste and Environmental Services.  The new post would have a greater strategic focus and would require the appropriate structure underneath to ensure that it delivered its strategic objectives.


Members noted that the full advert would be on the Council’s recruitment page and a summary version would be posted on media or advertising platforms signposting potential candidates to Carmarthenshire’s recruitment page.

RESOLVED that in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, the Job Profile, Person Specification and job advert for the permanent appointment of the post of Head of Environmental Infrastructure appended to the report be endorsed.

 

7.

TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING NOTICES OF MOTION:-

Additional documents:

7.1

NOTICE OF MOTION PROPOSED BY COUNCILLORS SEAN REES AND MICHAEL CRANHAM

“There are 9863 stroke survivors living across the Hywel Dda Health Board area, with 47% of stroke survivors in Hywel Dda living in Carmarthenshire.

 

'The Stroke Association' has delivered a 'Stroke Recovery Service' across the three areas of the Hywel Dda Health Board for more than a decade. 

 

In Carmarthenshire, funding for this to date has been via the Health Board with a further amount being topped up by the County Council who have now repurposed its financial contribution to focus more on prevention.

 

The 'Stroke Association' have been advised that for 2023/24 that they will receive the same funding allocation as the current Service Level Agreement, and therefore this will not include any additional funding to cover the funds which have historically been provided by the Local Authority. We note further that all other commissioned life after stroke services across Wales are fully funded by the Health Boards. 

 

We as Carmarthenshire County Council therefore call on the Hywel Dda Health Board to provide urgent reassurance to stroke survivors, their families, and carers that there will be no impact on the future delivery of the 'Stroke Recovery Service' here in Carmarthenshire.”

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered the following Notice of Motion submitted by Councillors Sean Rees and Michael Cranham:-

 

“There are 9863 stroke survivors living across the Hywel Dda Health Board area, with 47% of stroke survivors in Hywel Dda living in Carmarthenshire.  'The Stroke Association' has delivered a 'Stroke Recovery Service' across the three areas of the Hywel Dda Health Board for more than a decade. 

 

In Carmarthenshire, funding for this to date has been via the Health Board with a further amount being topped up by the County Council who have now repurposed its financial contribution to focus more on prevention. 

 

The 'Stroke Association' have been advised that for 2023/24 that they will receive the same funding allocation as the current Service Level Agreement, and therefore this will not include any additional funding to cover the funds which have historically been provided by the Local Authority. We note further that all other commissioned life after stroke services across Wales are fully funded by the Health Boards. 

 

We as Carmarthenshire County Council therefore call on the Hywel Dda Health Board to provide urgent reassurance to stroke survivors, their families, and carers that there will be no impact on the future delivery of the 'Stroke Recovery Service' here in Carmarthenshire.”

 

The motion was duly seconded.

 

The proposer and seconder of the Motion were afforded the opportunity of speaking in support thereof and outlined the reasons for its submission, as set out in the Motion.

 

A number of heartfelt statements were made from members who had been directly affected were made in support of the Motion.

 

RESOLVED that the Motion be supported.

 

8.

PUBLIC QUESTIONS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received. 

 

9.

PRESENTATION OF PETITION

Note: In order to be considered at a formal meeting each petition must include 50 registered elector signatures for paper copies and 300 register elector signatures for e-petitions. The total number of Carmarthenshire Electoral Signatures up to the 50 thresholds has been verified. We have not checked the signatures thereafter.

“We the undersigned, request immediate action from Carmarthen County Council to plan, finance and construct toilets at Burry Port Harbour east and Burry Port harbour west.  Petition to rectify the absence of adequate and accessible public toilets at Burry Port Harbour.”

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair informed Council Members that the following petition put before Council in relation to the toilets at Burry Port Harbour was a Cabinet function:-

 

“We the undersigned, request immediate action from Carmarthen County Council to plan, finance and construct toilets at Burry Port Harbour east and Burry Port harbour west. Petition to rectify the absence of adequate and accessible public toilets at Burry Port Harbour.”

 

In accordance with 10.16 of the Council’s Constitution, the petitioner had chosen to present the petition formally to the Cabinet and was therefore not in attendance at the meeting. 

 

In line with the Constitution, Council was afforded the opportunity to debate the matter and then refer its deliberations to the Cabinet.

 

A number of statements were made in support of the petition.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture & Tourism briefed Council on the responsibility of the Authority under the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 and advised that he was in correspondence with the petitioner directly and would provide a full response at the Cabinet meeting.

In recognising that Burry Port was one of several areas where the local community had indicated their need and wish for improved facilities which had also been signified supported by way of the petition, it was acknowledged that improving the provision of the public toilets at Burry Port would require a short-term solution together with a medium and long-term plan which would be developed by working with key partners in the area. Discussions regarding the immediate short-term solution were in hand.

RESOLVED that the petition be referred to the Cabinet for consideration. 

 

10.

QUESTIONS BY MEMBERS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair advised that no questions by Members had been received. 

 

11.

MINUTES FOR INFORMATION (AVAILABLE TO VIEW ON THE WEBSITE)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair stated that the minutes outlined on the agenda under 11.1 – 11.6 were available for information on the Council website.

 

 

Council & Democracy

The Council

Councillors, AMs and MPs

Council departments

Have your say

Committees & Meetings

Strategies and plans