Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors P. Edwards, A. Fox, A. James, T.J. Jones, A.S.J.  McPherson S. Najmi, B.A.L. Roberts and E. Schiavone.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

·         The Chair extended his sincere condolences, on behalf of Elected Members and Senior Officers, to Councillor Louvain Roberts and her family on the passing of her husband Mel earlier this month;

·         The Chair extended his congratulations to Mr Eric & Mrs Betty Jones, Twyn, Garnant, who had celebrated their 70^th Wedding Anniversary at the end of September;

·         The Chair expressed his best wishes to   Mrs Irene Williams of Llangunnor who would  celebrate  her 100^th birthday on the 30^th October 2021.

·         The Chair extended his congratulations to Jonney Clayton, one of the Council’s employees, on winning the 2021 World Darts Grand Prix;

·         The  Vice-Chair, Cllr Ken Lloyd stated that he had recently attended the Carmarthenshire Scouts AGM and awards evening on the Chair’s behalf.

·         The Chair advised that on the 9^th September, he and his consort Mrs Joyce Williams had the pleasure of meeting Nerys Davies who had cycled from Tignes in France to Capel Bryn Iwan, Carmarthenshire a distance of over 1,000 miles to raise funds for Calon Cymru.

·         The Council was advised that the Chair and his consort had attended the Civic Service of the newly elected Mayor of Carmarthen Town Council namely Councillor Gareth John.

·         The Chair informed the Council that a  new Facebook page had been  launched to help him  share news and updates about his activities as Chairman of Carmarthenshire County Council and also to  share information about his  chosen charity, the Wales Air Ambulance. Anyone who wished to  follow his activities could search for ‘Cadeirydd Cyngor Sir Gâr | Carmarthenshire County Council Chair’.

·         Councillor Mair Stephens launched the Council’s  annual Toybox appeal which provided gifts for families in need. The Authority had provided 7,500 gifts to 1,256 children last Christmas which was a remarkable achievement  and further details for this year’s appeal would be available on the Council’s website from Monday 18^th October 2021.

·         Councillor Ann Davies reminded Council that October was  Black History Month which gave  everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture. In addition, Hate Crime Awareness Week, was taking  place from the 9th to the 16th of October and the Council  was  working  with  communities and with key partners to make it clear that hate crime was not  welcome in Carmarthenshire.

·         The Leader, with the Chair’s permission provided an update on the Covid situation in Carmarthenshire. He provided an update on the Covid figures in the County and advised that whilst figures remained high there were signs of positive cases slowing down.  He stated that whilst there were escalating pressures in the social care system the figures were manageable currently for the Health Service. The Leader expressed his sincere gratitude to social care staff and those who continued to work on the front line for their continued hard work and dedication. He advised that the Statutory Director of Social Services had provided a report to Cabinet members on the impact of national social care pressures within Carmarthenshire;  the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on the 15th September, 2021 be signed as a correct record.

The Council considered a report recommending the appointment of Mrs Carys Davies and Mr Frank Phillips as co-opted members of the Standards Committee with effect from 5^th December 2021.  It was noted that the  terms of office of 2 current co-opted members of the Committee were due to expire in December 2021. Mrs Davies was a former university administrator whilst Mr Phillips was a former barrister and the recruitment panel considered that they both had the required skills, knowledge and experience to fulfil this role.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that Mrs Carys Davies and Mr Frank Phillips be appointed as co-opted members of the Standards Committee for a 6-year term of office from 5^th December 2021.

The Council considered a report which sought approval of the job profile and Person Specification for the post of Director of Environment [Interim]. With the impending departure of the current Director of Environment on the 31^st December 2021 the Chief Executive, in discussion with the Chair of Appointments Committee l ‘A’, had indicated her preference to recruit internally to the role of interim Director of Environment to allow her sufficient time to review the wider portfolio responsibilities and structures.

The Council was advised that the  draft  timetable for the interim appointment,  as detailed within the report, would be amended and alternative date options were currently being considered.

RESOLVED that the job profile and Person Specification for the post of Director of Environment [Interim] be endorsed.

The Council was informed that the Cabinet at its meeting held on the 13^th September 2021 (minute 12 refers) had considered the Annual Treasury Management and Prudential Indicator Report 2020-2021, which had been produced in order to comply with the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management in the Public Sector.

RESOLVED that the following recommendation of the Cabinet be adopted:

“that the Annual Treasury Management and Prudential Indicator Report for 2020/21 be adopted.”

The Council was informed that the Cabinet at its meeting held on the 27^th September 2021 (minute 6 refers), had considered a report on Carmarthenshire County Council’s Annual Report for 2020/21 which was produced in accordance with the requirements of both the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

RESOLVED that the following recommendation of the Cabinet be adopted:

“that the council’s annual report for 2020/21 be approved.”

RESOLVED that the report of the meeting of the Cabinet held on the 13^th September, 2021 be received.

RESOLVED that the report of the meeting of the Cabinet held on the 27^th September, 2021 be received.

“This Council adopts the policy that all new developments, including house and street names, are delivered through the medium of the Welsh Language.

This adopted policy would align with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 Objective to have “A Wales of Vibrant Culture and Thriving Welsh Language) and will introduce more residents of Carmarthenshire to the Welsh Language and its usage.”

Council considered the following Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor John James:-

“This Council adopts the policy that all new developments, including house and street names, are delivered through the medium of the Welsh Language. This adopted policy would align with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 Objective to have “A Wales of Vibrant Culture and Thriving Welsh Language) and will introduce more residents of Carmarthenshire to the Welsh Language and its usage.”

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 statements were made in support of the Motion.

It was noted that the Authority already had a framework which promoted the use of Welsh names for new developments however legally this could not be enforced.  It was suggested that should the Notice of Motion be supported by Council, then Cllr James alongside the Cabinet Member for the Welsh Language write to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language asking the  Welsh Government to legislate and allow the Authority to enforce the use of Welsh house and street names. The mover of the motion confirmed that he would be happy to work with the Cabinet member on this matter.

RESOLVED that the Notice of Motion be supported.

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.

The Chair advised that no members questions had been received.

The Chair stated that the minutes outlined on the agenda 12.1 – 12.6 were available for information on the Council website.