Agenda and minutes

Councillors Gareth Davies, Meirion Davies, Wyn Evans, Keith Henson, Paul Hinge, Ceris Jones and Sian Maehrlein apologised for their inability to attend the meeting.

James Starbuck, also apologised for his inability to attend the meeting.

There were no disclosures of interest.

Councillor Keith Evans, Chair of the Council extended his condolences to Councillor Bryan Davies on his recent bereavement, and he also extended condolences to the relatives of Charles Arch and Huw Tudor, both stalwarts of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show.

Councillor Keith Evans congratulated the following:

a)              Josh Hathaway on winning his first cap for the Wales Rugby Team;

b)              Stevie Williams on taking part in his first Tour de France, and wished both Stevie Williams and Josh Tarling well in the Olympic Games, noting the excellent Sporting Awards event held at the Council Chamber recently which recognised all of the county’s sporting achievements;

c)              Hafwen Clarke, who was the first to present a speech using British Sign Language at Buckingham Palace recently;

d)              Jane Aaron, Anna ap Robert, Elgan Philip Davies and Owenna Davies on being admitted as new members to the Green robes of the Gorsedd;

e)              Mared Emyr Pugh-Evans on her appointment as harpist to the King;

f)               Dr Hannah Mary Dee, John Richard Farler Fletcher and Sally McInness on being awarded a MBE; Carys Davies, Dawn Marie Davies, Robert Davies and Katherine Ann Hughes on being awarded a BEM; Roger Simon Thomas on being awared the King’s Fire Service Medal; and Professor Elizabeth Treasure on being awarded a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list;

g)              Tregaron Young Farmers Club on a successful YFC Rally held recently, noting that Ceredigion is the host country for this year’s Royal Welsh Agricultural Show.  He also congratulated Councillor Wyn Evans on hosting a sustainable grass fundraising event;

h)              Margaret Hewitt on celebrating her 103^rd birthday;

i)                Felinfach Football Club on holding a recent tournament and winning the Dai Dynamo cup.

It was RESOLVED to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 21 March 2024 and the Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 17 May 2024.

Matters arising

There were no matters arising.

Councillor Bryan Davies, Leader and Cabinet Member for Democratic Services, Policy, Performance and People and Organisation presented the report to Council noting that it is a statutory requirement for the Democratic Services Committee to present a report to the Council at least annually, which highlights the work carried out by the Committee and demonstrate how the committee has made a difference and support continuous improvement for Councillors. He thanked Councillor Elizabeth Evans, Chair of the Committee and Councillor Gareth Lloyd, Vice-Chair for their work and commitment to this committee.

Councillor Elizabeth Evans, Chair of the Democratic Services Committee thanked the Officers, the Vice-Chair and Members of the Committee for their support, and as a result of a change to the membership, she thanked Councillor Caryl Roberts for her contribution during the year and welcomed Councillor Eryl Evans as a new Member of this committee.  She highlighted some of the work that had been carried out during the past 12 months, including the pilot for remote meetings, guidance documents, surveys and training and invited Members to contact her if they required any additional training or support. This was re-iterated by Councillor Gareth Lloyd and Councillor Bryan Davies.

The content of the report was noted by Council.

Councillor Matthew Vaux, Cabinet Member for Partnerships, Housing, Legal and Governance and Public Protection presented the report to Council noting that it is important that the Governance and Audit Committee is held to account on the extent to which it has fulfilled its purpose. This includes whether the Governance and Committee has fulfilled its agreed terms of reference, adopted recommended practice, assessed its own effectiveness, assessed training needs, and assessed the impact of the Governance and Committee on governance, risk and control within the Authority. He noted that the report highlights the work carried out during the year, demonstrating how it has made a difference, setting out the forward work programme and providing assessment and assurance. 

Mr Alan Davies, Chair of the Governance and Audit Committee also noted that the forward work programme was clear and valuable, and that particular attention was given to the format, and encouraging greater focus on reports which promote action and a better understanding of results.  He noted that the Finance department had performed exceptionally well in very difficult circumstances, and that the governance and risk management had also been developed successfully. He thanked the Monitoring Officer and her team for all their work and support during the year.

This was reiterated by the Leader who thanked Mr Alan Davies, Lay Members and the Councillors who review the work of the Council annually.

The content of the report was noted by Council.

Councillor Bryan Davies, Leader of the Council presented the report on behalf of Councillor Keith Henson, noting that Council is required to establish a Local Places for Nature grant panel to perform the function of assessing grant applications to the LP4N scheme, a Welsh Government funded scheme aimed at addressing the Nature Emergency. He provided an outline of the terms of reference, noting that the panel should comprise of between 5 and 9 members, including the Chair and Vice-Chair, ensuring a reasonable balance between the public, private and voluntary sectors; environmental, social, cultural and economic interests; and the interests of recipients. He also noted that The appointments process was widely publicised throughout the Local Nature Partnership networks.

          Following discussion, it was RESOLVED to:

a)    To confirm the appointment of the Member with responsibility for the Ceredigion Nature Partnership and Biodiversity Champion, currently Councillor Keith Henson, as Chair of the Local Places for Nature grant panel;

b)    To confirm the appointment of the following Members to the Local Places for Nature grant panel.

Public Sector

CCC - Cllr Keith Henson – Biodiversity Champion (Chair)

CCC – Lindsay Hackett, Community Facilitator – Social / cultural interests

NRW – Becky Wright or Proxy – Environmental interests

Private Sector

Merched y Berllan - Joey Hughes – Environmental and economic interests

Voluntary Sector

Keep Wales Tidy - Mair Davies – Environmental and social / cultural interests

Parents for a Future – Alastair Lovell – Environmental and economic interests

Councillor Wyn Thomas, Cabinet Member for Schools, Lifelong Learning and Skills presented the report to Council noting that the Ceredigion County Council Education Transport Appeals Panel is a non-statutory panel, established to enable parents to appeal against a decision regarding their child’s eligibility for transport to a particular school, and any subsequent decision to refuse to provide transport for their children from home to school.

He noted that the Ceredigion County Council’s Constitution currently stipulates Council representation on the School Transport Appeals Panel

as 4 Councillors politically balanced and non-executive, and that the Ceredigion County Council Home to School Transport Policy which was approved by Cabinet at its meeting held 18 May 2021 also stipulates an appeal panel made up of four Councillors.  It was proposed that the Constitution is revised, to stipulate 9 Members, politically balanced on a rota basis, with 5 Members attending per Panel meeting, as a fixed reduced number of Members does not allow for consideration of a potential conflict of interest, or declaration of interest by said Members, and that a Chairman is nominated and appointed from within the Panel of 5 members on a meeting by meeting basis.

Following discussion it was RESOLVED to

a)    Confirm the amendment to the Council’s Constitution from 4 Members to 9 Members on a rota basis (5 per Panel meeting with political balance)

b)    Appoint the following members as Members of the School Transport Appeals Panel:

·       Shelley Childs;

·       Caryl Roberts;

·       Eryl Evans;

·       Maldwyn Lewis;

·       Amanda Edwards;

·       Gareth Lloyd;

·       Wyn Evans;

·       Paul Hinge;

·       Raymond Evans.

Councillor Matthew Vaux, Cabinet Member for Partnerships, Housing, Legal and Governance and Public Protection presented the report to Council noting that meetings of the Cross-Party Constitution Working Group took place on the 14^th of November 2023 and 9^th of April 2024 during which the amendments presented in this report were considered and approved. Part 4 Document D – Cabinet Procedure Rules – (Appendix 5).  It was also considered by the Democratic Services Committee on 31^st of May 2024.

Members requested clarification upon Part 2 Article 7, which related to emergency powers – urgent decisions. Councillor Elizabeth Evans noted that members of the Cross Party Working Group and the Democratic Services Committee had considered the draft revisions, and made recommendations in order to provide greater clarity.  Councillor Bryan Davies noted that Group Leaders had also been invited to provide their input.  The Monitoring Officer noted that a number of members had already given their views and that these had been reflected within the document, which included a reference to Gold Command in order to clarify that the Cabinet’s strategic decision making process is separate and distinct from Act that includes the instigation of Gold Command.  The Chair of the Council noted that if implemented, it would be a temporary arrangement and that it was hoped that such circumstances would not arise

Following discussion, it was RESOLVED to:

a)    Approve the changes to the Constitution (Appendix 1-9), subject to an correction to the Welsh version of Part 6 – Organisational Chart, removing the reference to ‘interim’;

b)    Authorise the Monitoring Officer to update the Council’s Constitution to reflect the above changes.