Agenda item

Draft Corporate Strategy 2022-27

Minutes:

Draft Corporate Strategy 2022-27

The Committee reconvened as agreed to consider the matters raised at the

14th October 2022 Committee meeting – amendments/queries shown in the table 

 below:

 

 

Page reference

Query/amendment

Page 7

Amended the diagram and details of the political administration of Ceredigion County Council including the results of the Lampeter by election.

Page 12

Column 2

Included the updated broadband figures for Ceredigion: “Significant lobbying by Ceredigion County Council and others has resulted in 31.8% coverage of full Fibre broadband giving over 100 Mbps capability. The county wide current average download of 79mbps is one of the highest levels for a rural local authority”.

Page 13*

Column 1

Row 1

Removed duplication of actions relating to coastal defence works.

Agreed terminology is to “complete” the works rather than “deliver” the works.

Page 17

Bullet 1

Amended terminology. The ambition now reads: “Provide for the care needs of our population”

Page 17

Bullet 7

Clarified wording to “Welcome and support the resettlement of refugees”.

Page 17*

Footnote

Added footnote to explain the role of Community Connectors

Page 18 Column 3

Paragraph 3

Amended terminology. The sentence now reads “provide for the care needs of our population”

Page 19 Column 2

Row 9

Clarified wording to: “We will continue to play a leading role in helping refugees and resettling them into our communities”.

Page 19

Column 2

Row 10

Upon reflection of the steps to deliver the Creating Caring and Healthy Communities Objective, an additional step was identified and added:

“Support community cohesion in Ceredigion”

Page 20

Column 2

Row 6

Upon reflection of the steps to deliver the Creating Caring and Healthy Communities Objective, an additional step was identified and added:

“Proactive and robust response to civil contingencies:

·       Combat the spread of communicable disease 

·       Prepare for, and respond to, civil contingency emergencies”

Page 20*

Final row

Explanation of role of Community Connectors added for clarity

Page 29*

Bullet 5

The reference to “Discourage the ownership of second homes in the county” is referenced in the Plaid Cymru manifesto:

 

“We will prioritise action to discourage the ownership of second homes in the county. Specifically we will campaign for a change in the Planning Act to ensure that planning permission will need to be obtained before converting a residential home into a holiday home or holiday let. In accordance with the Co-operation Agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government we will support the use of the planning, property and taxation systems to tackle the problem.”

 

Members may wish to make a recommendation to Cabinet to amend this step if required

Page 29

Bullet 7

Corrected wording – “Encourage the retention of Welsh place names”.

Page 29

Bullet 8

Amended the ambition on page 29 relating to the phosphates issue:

“We have recognised the seriousness of the issue associated with phosphate levels along the Teifi Valley within the Corporate Risk Register. Every effort will be made through the Nutrient Management Board to find early solutions to the problem”

Page 31*

Column 1

Row 9

Amended the step relating to flooding to include Llanybydder, Llandysul and other settlements along the Teifi Valley:

“Work with all relevant agencies to find solutions to flooding at Llanybydder, Llandysul and other settlements along the Teifi Valley, with Natural Resources Wales taking the lead on intervention in their role as the flood risk managers for main rivers”.

Page 31

Column 1

Row 10

Corrected wording – “Encourage the retention of Welsh-language house and place names”.

Page 33

Column 1

Row 6

Upon reflection of the steps to deliver the Creating Sustainable, Greener and Well-Connected Communities, an additional step was identified and added:

“Monitor air quality in Ceredigion and continue to compare with national standards and objectives”

Page 34*

Final row

Explanation of the role of Community Connectors included for clarity

Consultation Feedback Report

Page reference

Query/amendment

Page 11*

A Members asked how many responses to the consultation were in Welsh?

There were 51 responses in total, 3 were in Welsh and 48 in English.

Page 11*

A Member referred to the Consultation feedback report, page 11, Equalities Monitoring Questions in that the total responses is 35 (as of 23 September) but the figures do not total 35.

 

All charts in the Equalities Monitoring Section now show the number of questions that were not answered and sum to 51 responses. This is on pages 12-15 Welsh version of the report and pages 11-14 in the English version.

There is one exception, which is Q24 relating to Language - Can you understand, speak, read or write Welsh? This is because respondents could select multiple answers.

 

*Denotes specific issues raised at the Overview and Scrutiny Coordinating Committee 14/10/2022

 

Following discussion, Committee Members were asked to consider the following recommendation:

 

  • That Members consider and agree the draft Corporate Strategy 2022-2027 including the Corporate Well-being Objectives prior to consideration by Cabinet and Council.

 

Following discussion and consideration of the above queries and amendments,   

Committee Members agreed to recommend that Cabinet endorse the draft Corporate Strategy 2022-2027, including the Corporate Well-being Objectives, subject to consideration of the following recommendation:

 

To replace bullet point 5 on page 29 (shown in the table above) with the following:

“We will continue to address the issues of second homes, holiday homes ownership or the conversion of residential properties to holiday let by seeking the support of the Welsh Government to bring forward legislation under the Planning Act and Taxation Service”

The Chair thanked Rob Starr in-particular and his Team for their responses along with clarification of issues raised.

 

Supporting documents: