Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S.M. Allen, A. Davies, H.L. Davies, S.L. Davies, A.D. Harries, J.P Hart, G.R. Jones, M.J.A. Lewis and B.D.J. Phillips.

• The Chair stated that she, and her consort, had attended a number of events since last Council including the Betws Association meeting in Garnant, the Hope event in Dafen Social Club and the opening of the Old Market Place in Llandeilo.  The Chair stated that she was also asked to attend the 75 year celebration of the National Health hosted by the League of Friends. 
• Councillor A. Davies extended congratulations to Carmarthenshire Young Farmers Club teams following their success at the National level competition in Staffordshire on the weekend. 

The Leader of the Council provided the Council with an update on the current position regarding the Home Office’s decision to use the Strade Park Hotel in Ffwrnes on the outskirts of Llanelli to accommodate asylum seekers.  He advised that the application for an interim injunction in the High Court was unsuccessful and that the Council had to consider the verdict and the next steps.  It was stated that the Council was working with partners to provide support and guidance to the staff who had lost their jobs and would be supporting them to look for work.  The Council had invited various companies to attend an employment fair last week.

Reference was made to the protest and the presence of the public and police at the entrance to the Stradey Park Hotel and the unfortunate arrests over the weekend.  The Leader emphasised that he understood why people had assembled there and the strength of feeling and anger caused by the conduct of the UK Conservative Government.  The Council had consistently argued that there was an alternative and better way of providing accommodation for asylum seekers using a more dispersed model and planning smaller groups. 

The Leader noted his disappointment with the lack of response from the Home Office and that the Council was no further forward than the previous update on the 21^st June.  The Home Office had promised the Council would be notified of the demographics of those receiving accommodation 24 hours before arrival but to date no information had been received.  It was re-iterated that the Council would do what it could to support the local community and the staff at the hotel.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on the 21st June, 2023 be signed as a correct record.

[Note: Councillor T. Davies declaration an interest in this item and remained in the meeting during the deliberation and voting thereof]

The Chair welcomed to the meeting Mrs Mary Dodd, Chair of the Standards Committee, who had been invited to present to Council the Annual Report of the Standards Committee for the 2022/23 period.

It was noted that this was the first annual report presented by the Standards Committee in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 which placed new duties upon political group leaders to promote compliance with the code by their group members. This Act also placed a requirement upon Standards Committees to report on how well group leaders have complied with those duties.

Mrs Dodd thanked the Council for the opportunity of presenting the Annual Report on behalf of the Standards Committee and proceeded to provide an overview of the issues addressed by the Committee during 2022/23. Those included Code of Conduct Complaints, Applications for Dispensation and the Code of Conduct Training for Town and Community Councils.

It was noted that the committee received 2 referrals from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for investigation and reminded members that they should not be complacent and to be mindful of their obligations under the code of conduct.

It was also noted that 52 applications for dispensations had been considered by the committee which was a significant increase compared to previous years.  She encouraged members to consider the need for dispensation and to seek advice when required.

The Chair thanked Mrs Dodd for her presentation and for the work undertaken by the Standards Committee.

RESOLVED that the Annual Report of the Standards Committee for the period 1^st April 2022 to 31^st March 2023 be received.

[Note: Councillors M. Palfreman, H.B. Shepardson, K. Madge, B.A.L. Roberts, P.T. Warlow and S. Godfrey-Coles had earlier declared an interest in this item and remained in the meeting during the deliberation and voting thereof]

In reference to Minute 6, of the Cabinet Meeting held on the 19^th June, 2023 regarding the Health & Care System For West Wales : How Far, How Fast? the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Services was asked if she could provide assurance of her confidence of the plan being delivered in Carmarthenshire, given the significant risks identified in the report including workforce availability across the system, a lack of available, robust evidence of formal integration across Wales and the need for radical rethinking of governance and management control the system to make a transformation of this kind work.

In response, the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Services stated that the workforce challenges were recognised and were at the forefront of Hywel Dda Health Board and the County Council as an ongoing priority.  The Health & Social Care Scrutiny had also received and endorsed the report. She advised that integration work in Carmarthenshire had started several years ago, and the relationship of trust has developed with partners and that work would continue at pace.

In reference to Minute 9, regarding the Burry Port Harbour petition to Full Council update position it was asked why there were no mention in the minutes of Burry Port Marina Ltd going into administration on the 7^th June. Clarification was also requested on the current position regarding the future of Burry Port Harbour. 

In response the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism confirmed that he had provided a comprehensive update at the meeting and that while the minutes were correct, they were not a verbatim record of discussions. He stated that it was on public record that it was announced that the company in question had been placed into administration. The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism further advised that the current position remains and that senior officers had met and continued to be in regular dialogue with the administrators while the formal administration process ran its course.  Due to the legal process it was advised that specific details could not be shared at this stage but that he hoped to achieve a position where the future of the harbour becomes clearer. Assurance was provided that all relevant stakeholders would be kept updated whenever possible during this process.

In response to clarification regarding Minute 5.1, Question by Mr Havard Hughes, the Leader advised that the project had been developed over a number of years and had been subject to a number of reports. He advised that the project was a massive opportunity in terms of generating tourism revenue and economic development.  He stated that the timescales attached to the funding of this project was challenging and that initiating the CPO process was a sensible approach otherwise there was a greater risk of the scheme not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received. 

“The accelerating pace of climate change, deforestation, pollution and other human activities have pushed nature to the brink, threatening the delicate balance that sustains life on Earth.

How do you think Carmarthenshire County Council can best respond to the Nature Emergency which it and the Welsh Government have declared?”

“The accelerating pace of climate change, deforestation, pollution and other human activities have pushed nature to the brink, threatening the delicate balance that sustains life on Earth.

How do you think Carmarthenshire County Council can best respond to the Nature Emergency which it and the Welsh Government have declared?”

Response by Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen – Cabinet Member For Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability:-

Thank you Chair and thank you Councillor James for the timely question.

I’m sure we've all heard last week was the warmest week on the planet which reminds us that humanity needs to increase the level of action on the climate and nature emergencies and to do so with emergency. If we don't ensure that we keep temperature levels under control then it will have a catastrophic impact on our health systems, food  systems, the economy, our  communities and also upon nature.

That's why I'm delighted that we as a  council called for a recognition of the world nature emergency  at the end of the last term of election and it is a great honour to now be the portfolio holder for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability and to have a small part in the important role in how the Council responds to these challenges.  But indeed, the challenges cannot be met with just one portfolio holder, the nature challenges the responsibility of us all, as local members, as cabinet members and as a public body.

We have to place climate and nature at the centre of policy making and day to day actions.  We are now seeing this recognised in the Corporate Plan and also in the Transformation Strategy.  We have already created a cross-party advisory panel on the climate and nature emergency and we have a group of passionate members who are there to advise, challenge and inspire so that we can make the right decisions now and also in the future.

This group has met several times in the past year and have had the opportunity to help shape the way we achieve not only what we are legally required to under the Environment Wales Act but also what is the real level of ambition that we should be aiming for. 

Members have been able to suggest deeper, faster and braver steps for us to aim for in the next Action Plan and I look forward to bringing it to the scrutiny committee where I know it will be given the appropriate challenge to ensure it meets the goals and ambitions we all here share

But whatever real action the public will see, and during the past winter Carmarthenshire County Council through Welsh Government funding has been able to provide 5 tree planting sites including 3 new woodlands in Tregyb, Kidwelly and Llandybie.  The right tree in the right place for the right reason is vital and allows us to have wider benefits for nature, restoration, habitat enhancement, climate mitigation but also vital health and wellbeing benefits for local communities.  Locating these on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.1

The Chair stated that the minutes outlined on the agenda under 10.1 – 10.8 were available for information on the Council website.