Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

The Chief Legal Officer gave advice regarding the potential personal and prejudicial interests that Councillors and / Officers may have on the agenda.

The Head of Democratic Services reminded Councillors and Officers that the “Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests” sheet should only be completed if the Councillor / Officer actually had an interest to declare. Nil returns were not required. Councillors and Officers were also informed that any declarable interest must be made orally and in writing on the sheet.

In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea no interests were declared.

To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

Resolved that the following Minutes be approved and signed as a correct record:

1)        Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 2 September 2021.

The Chief Legal Officer submitted an information report setting out the written responses to questions asked at the last Ordinary Meeting of Council.

a)            Welsh Housing Awards 2021

The Presiding Member stated that the Welsh Housing Awards recognise and celebrate the creativity, passion, and innovation of housing organisations and individuals across the sector in Wales. He was delighted to announce that Swansea Council won in 2 categories in the Welsh Housing Awards 2021.

i)             Partnership Working Category. Tŷ Tom Jones.

ii)             Innovation in Housing Category. Swansea Council in partnership with Welsh School of Architecture.

Congratulations to Matt’s House Swansea having also won an award:

i)             Supporting Communities Category. Swansea Together Food Project.

b)           Community Green Flag Award – Friends of Mayhill Washing Lake & Community Garden

The Presiding Member stated that the Friends of Mayhill Washing Lake & Community Garden had been awarded the Community Green Flag Award for the third year running. He congratulated all involved.

c)            Corrections / Amendments to the Council Summons

i)             Item 10 “Amendments to the Council Constitution”

In the recommendation, Delete reference to Paragraph 1.6” and replace with “Paragraph 3”.

a)            Swansea – Human Rights City

The Leader stated that he would shortly be bringing a report declaring Swansea as a Human Rights City. This would be the first in Wales.

b)           Development Partner

The Leader of the Council stated that Urban Slash had been announced as the Authority’s Development Partner.

c)            Skin of the Arena

The Leader of the Council stated that many will have seen the recent testing of the Arena skin and the testing was progressing well. He also stated that the works were on track to be completed in next few weeks prior to the fit out by ATG.

d)           Recovery Fund

The Leader of the Council thanked all for submitted requests from the fund. He stated that they were being considered and decisions will be made in due course.

Questions must be submitted in writing, no later than noon on the working day prior to the meeting.  Questions must relate to items on the agenda. Questions will be dealt with in a 10 minute period.

Nortridge Perrott submitted 3 questions in relation to Minute 52 “Review of Revenue Reserves”.

The Section 151 Officer responded.

The Director of Social Services submitted a report which was his account of the Council’s improvement journey to 2020/21.and how well the Council was meeting its statutory requirements under the Social Services & Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014. The report looked back at last year’s areas for improvement; the challenges faced and set new priorities for 2021/22. It highlighted changes that had taken place within Social Services to achieve progress towards national well-being outcomes.

Resolved that:

1)            The Annual Report of the Director of Social Services 2020/21 be received and approved.

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report which undertook a mid-year review of the Revenue Reserves position and sought agreement for any suggested reclassification of reserves based on current requirements.

Resolved that:

1)            The recommendations made in Sections 3.10 & 3.11 of the report be approved.

The Monitoring Officer, Head of Property & Head of Democratic Services jointly submitted a report recommended to Council by the Constitution Working Group. The report recommended changes to the Land Transaction Procedure Rules and the Scheme of Delegation.

Resolved that the amendments as outlined in Paragraph 3 and Appendix A of the report be approved and adopted.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report recommended to Council by the Governance & Audit Committee. The report sought to comply with Part 6, Chapter 2 “Governance & Audit Committees: Membership & Proceedings” of the Local Government & Elections (Wales) Act 2021 by ensuring that the membership of the Governance & Audit Committee consists of one third Lay Members.

Resolved that:

1)            The Governance & Audit Committee recommendation that the Committee comprise of 15 Members (10 Councillors and 5 Lay Members) be approved.

2)            The process of recruiting the additional Lay Members commence in line with Council procedures.

Note: Councillor C A Holley requested a meeting with the Leader of the Council, Monitoring Officer & Head of Democratic Services in order to discuss the terms of reference of the Governance & Audit Committee. The Leader of the Council stated that he would set up the meeting.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted an information report recommended to Council by the Democratic Services Committee. The report provided the Annual Reports of the Democratic Services Committee 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. The reports outlined the work of the Committee during those periods.

The Chair of the Scrutiny Programme Committee submitted an information report, presenting the latest report of the Scrutiny Programme Committee on the impact of Scrutiny.

1)         Part A ‘Supplementary Questions’

Eight (8) Part A ‘Supplementary Questions’ were submitted.  The relevant Cabinet Member(s) responded by way of written answers contained in the Council Summons.

No supplementary questions required a written response.

2)        Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’

Six (6) Part B ‘Questions not requiring Supplementary Questions’ were submitted.

Proposed by Councillor L V Walton and seconded by Councillor D H Hopkins.

“Fireworks are used by people throughout the year, to mark different events. Whilst they can bring much enjoyment to some people, they can cause significant anxiety and fear for some individuals and also animals, both pets and livestock.

We therefore call on Swansea City & County Council to:

1.            Request that all organised Public Displays within the Local Authorities Boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take necessary precautions for their animals and vulnerable peoples.

2.            Actively promote a Public Awareness Campaign about the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people, detailing existing regulations, and including precautions that can be put in place to mitigate the risks.

3.            Encourage Local Suppliers of Fireworks to only Stock a “quieter version “of fireworks than used for Public Displays.

4.            Write to both UK and Welsh Governments, urging them to review and consider the existing legislation and to limit the maximum noise level of fireworks to 90 dB that can be sold to the members of the public for private use.”

Resolved that the Notice of Motion outlined above be approved.