Agenda item

·       The Chair extended his sincere condolences on behalf of Elected Members and Senior Officers to Councillor Ann Davies and her family on the passing of her mother-in-law at the end of October;

·       The Chair extended his sincere condolences on behalf of Elected Members and Senior Officers to the family of former Councillor Lynne Davies.  Lynne had been a member of Carmarthenshire County Council until 1999, and had served the Penygroes ward;

·       The Chair commented that he had had the pleasure of representing the Authority on Sunday at the Remembrance Day Service at Llanelli Town Hall. He added that these annual events were important for us to remember those who gave their lives in all conflicts, and although on a much smaller scale this year, it had been an honour to be there on behalf of the Council. 

·       The Chair reminded the Council of the aims of the White Ribbon Campaign, which this year would be recognised on 25th November 2020, and urged members to sign the ribbon to make the promise to “Never commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence against Women”. The Council would fly the White Ribbon flag at County Hall and Town Halls in Llanelli and Ammanford.  

·       The Chair extended his congratulations to Councillor Amanda Fox who had been awarded the Peter Rees Community Award in recognition of her efforts to help the community of Burry Port during the Covid 19 Pandemic;

·       Councillor Dot Jones thanked the Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service, Police and the local community for their assistance following a recent lightning strike on a house in Tumble which had destroyed the inside of the property. Welsh Water and Western Power had also worked quickly to restore utilities which had been affected. She added that money raised locally as a result of the incident had been donated by the residents of the property to the local Fire and Ambulance station which had subsequently agreed to purchase a defibrillator for the locality. Cllr. Jones also thanked officers from the Council’s Housing section for their assistance. 

·       Councillor Emlyn Dole, on behalf of Councillor Liam Bowen, congratulated Jonny Clayton, a Council employee and resident of Pontyberem, on his recent success in winning the Darts World Cup;

• Councillor Mair Stephens asked Members if they could kindly support the annual Toybox appeal so that less fortunate children had the joy of opening presents on Christmas morning;

• The Chair wished a happy 100^th birthday to Mrs. Nan Percival, Glan yr Ystrad, Ferryside;

·      The Chair thereupon invited the Leader to address Council with an update on the Covid-19 position in the County. Councillor Dole stated that he welcomed the news that the rates of infection were slowly decreasing and that the Government had extended the furlough scheme to March 2021. Council was informed that in Carmarthenshire business support grants continued to be provided and to date 4086 payments had been made totalling over £46m. Also over 2000 applications had been received for the NDR Lockdown grant and £1.7m had been awarded. He added that whilst the recent news of the discovery of a potential vaccine was also welcomed he still urged caution however so that all the hard work and sacrifices over the last few weeks were not in vain. He paid tribute to the work of both Members and Council staff in helping to keep the residents of Carmarthenshire as safe as possible;

·       The Chair advised that he would be calling on Council to hold a 2 minute silence at 11.00 am to remember those who had lost their lives in conflict.