Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors L.R. Bowen, P. Cooper,
A. Davies, W.R.A. Davies, Ll. M. Davies, S. Godfrey-Coles, J. D. James,
G. R. Jones, H. Jones, M. J. A. Lewis, G.B. Thomas and A. Vaughan-Owen.

There were no declarations of personal interest.

The Retiring Chair, Councillor Louvain Roberts, welcomed distinguished guests, Councillors, staff and friends to the meeting. She thereupon reflected on her year in office and the events and celebrations she had attended with her consort Mrs Vanessa Rees.

The Retiring Chair expressed her gratitude to the Chief Executive, Wendy Walters, Linda Rees-Jones, Gaynor Morgan and Eira Evans for their unwavering support, advice and professional guidance over the past year.  Gratitude was expressed to the Independent Councillors for the nomination and to Councillor Sharen Davies and Councillor Jason Hart for their unwavering support and assistance in raising £6,000 for her nominated charities - Ty Bryngwyn Hospice, Pembrey & Burry Port First Responder and St Paul's Family Centre.  In addition, recognition and thanks were extended to the Council’s Actif Sports section for their generous contributions.

She thanked her dedicated drivers Jeff Jones and Andrew Smith. She paid tribute to her consort, Mrs Vanessa Rees, thanking her formally for her support. Finally, she wished the Chair-elect Councillor Handel Davies and his consort, Mrs Margaret Davies well in his year of office.  

There were no announcements.

It was moved by the retiring Chair Councillor B.A.L Roberts and seconded by Councillor D. Price and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that Councillor H. Davies be elected Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

Councillor Roberts congratulated Councillor H. Davies on his election.

Councillor Handel Davies made his declaration of acceptance of office and was invested with the Chain of Office.

Councillor Davies expressed his gratitude to all Councillors for their support in appointing him as Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council and added that he was looking forward to his year in office representing the Council. Councillor Davies also paid tribute to the retiring Chair, Councillor B.A.L. Roberts, and presented her with a photograph album, past Chair’s Commemorative Pendant and a bouquet of flowers.  Councillor Davies took the opportunity to wish Mrs Linda Rees-Jones, Head of Administration and Law all the very best on her upcoming retirement and thanked on behalf of all Council members for her many years of service.

Tributes to the retiring Chair were paid by Councillor Darren Price, Leader of the Plaid Cymru Group, Councillor Jane Tremlett, Leader of the Independent Group, and Councillor Deryk Cundy, Leader of the Labour Group. The Chief Executive, on behalf of the Corporate Management Team, also paid tribute to the retiring Chair.

It was moved by Councillor D. Cundy, seconded by Councillor T. Higgins and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that Councillor Dot Jones be elected Vice-Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council for the 2024/25 Municipal Year. 

Councillor Dot Jones was invested by the Chair, Councillor Handel Davies, with the Chain of Office and made her declaration of acceptance of office. The Vice-Chair expressed his appreciation to the Council on her appointment.

The Vice-Chair’s consort, Dr Gary Jones, was presented with a Chain of Office by the former Vice-Chair’s consort Mrs Margeret Davies.

The Chair congratulated the Vice Chair and her Consort on their appointments.   

The Council considered a report detailing the proposed membership of Regulatory, Scrutiny, Other Committees and Panels.

It was duly moved and seconded and

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the appointment of members to Regulatory, Scrutiny and Other Committees as set out within Appendix 1 of the report. 

The Council considered nominations which had been received for the appointment of Chairs and Vice Chairs of Committees for the 2024/25 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 2024/25 Municipal Year:-

SCRUTINY COMMITTEES:

OTHER COMMITTEES

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.

It was reported that whilst there had been no legislative changes which required changes to be made to the Council’s Constitution the Council would need to confirm the constitution as it currently stood and amend Part 6.1 of the Constitution to reflect the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW) prescribed amounts to be paid to Councillors for 2024-25.

It was further reported that the Constitutional Review Working Group met on the 8th April 2024 to review elements of the Constitution and their recommendations were included in the report for consideration.

In acknowledging that the introduction of the time limits would be to maintain focus, it was respectfully suggested that in order to ensure that there was no detrimental impact to democracy, transparency and accountability that, if adopted, the timings be closely monitored over the next 12 months and reviewed at the next Council AGM.

RESOLVED that

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