Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To receive disclosures of personal interests from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest;and

2.     Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when theyleave.

Elected Members Personal Interests in respect of the following agenda Items:

Agenda Item 5– Members’ Questionsand Agenda Item 6-Statement Of Accounts and Audit Reports for Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC and the Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund 2023/24

Councillor K Johnson- “I am an employee of Transport for Wales”

Councillor J Brencher – “My son works for Transport for Wales”

Elected Members Personal Interests in respect of Agenda Item 8 –Review of Community Arrangements for RCT

The Director of Legal & Democratic Services explained that a blanket personal declaration for those present who are members of a Town or Community Council would be declared in respect of Agenda Item 8– Review of Community Arrangements for RCT :

Pontypridd Town Council

Councillor J Brencher

Councillor C Lisles

Councillor M Powell

Councillor H Gronow

Councillor L Tomkinson

Ynysybwl & Coed Y Cwm Community Council

Councillor P Evans

Llantrisant Community Council

Councillor J Barton

Councillor G Holmes

Llanharan Community Council

Councillor D Evans

Councillor J Turner

Llantwit Fardre Community Council

Councillor G Stacey

Councillor K Johnson

Councillor S Trask

Councillor G Warren

Pontyclun Community Council

Councillor P Binning

Councillor W Owen

Taffs Well & Nantgarw Community Council

Councillor J Bonetto

Hirwaun & Penderyn Community Council

Councillor A Rogers

Llanharry Community Council

Councillor W Owen

Councillor B Stephens

The following announcements were made:

Ø  The Presiding Member led the Council in a Minute’s silence in memory of all the Israeli’s and Palestinians who had lost their lives in the tragic events in the Middle East and in memory of the 116 children and 28 adults who died in the Aberfan disaster on the 21st October 1966.

Ø  The Deputy Leader, Councillor M Webber congratulated those that represented the Pontypridd Branch of the  Royal Welsh Regimental Association and cycled from Pontypridd to 's-Hertogenbosch, a distance of over 350 miles over 4 days. Councillor Webber paid special thanks to Marc Jones from Democratic Services for his commitment and strength of character for completing the journey. She added that this year sees the 80th anniversary of the liberation of 's-Hertogenbosch by the 53rd (Welsh) Division and it was important to acknowledge those who sadly lost their lives during the liberation. Councillor Webber thanked those who donated to the cause and helped raise £730.

To approve as an accurate record, the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 25^th September 2024.

The Council RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the hybrid meeting held on the 25^th September 2024 at 5pm as an accurate reflection of the meeting.

To receive Members questions in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.2.

(N.B a maximum of 20 minutes shall be allowed for questions on notice.)

1.     Question from County Borough Councillor S. Rees to the Leader of the Council, County Borough Councillor A. Morgan OBE:

“Can the Leader provide an update on the progress on the delivery of the Labour Group’s manifesto commitments?”

Response of the Leader of the Council, Councillor A. Morgan OBE:

The Leader responded that as Members are aware, the Labour Group made twenty core commitments to the residents of RCT in advance of the last set of local elections in 2022. He added that at the halfway point of this Council term and, overall, good progress has been made with a number of these commitments having already been delivered and those that have not yet been delivered remain very much in progress.

The Leader outlined the following:

To Fund 10 PCSOs and 10 Community Wardens - The pledge has been delivered with fourteen Wardens and ten PCSOs in place and working well.

Double the number of Community Youth Hub vehicles -The Council now has 4 vehicles in operation so it has doubled its number as promised.

Delivering more brand-new English & Welsh schools -  The Council has a huge

ongoing programme of school improvement and modernisation with a number of new schools delivered such as Ysgol Bro Taf, Ysgol Afon Wen and YGG Awel Taf; Penygawsi received its brand-new building under the MIM, as has Llanilltud Faerdref.

Pontyclun Primary and YGG Llyn-Y-Forwyn are continuing to progress, whilst work is also ongoing at our former Clydach Vale site.

Investing in new or continuing and completing ongoing transport infrastructure schemes - Good progress continues on the dualling of the A4119.  The Sustainable Transport Corridor in Llanharan is now progressing and the Council remains in discussion with Welsh Government over the scheme in Llwydcoed.

Investing in and regenerating town centres and supporting businesses- An ambitious programme of investment in town centre regeneration and continuing a range of support measures such as the Maintenance Grant whilst taking forward a number of regeneration schemes in our towns such as Aberdare (having also recently announced Rock Grounds). 

Working towards Net Zero, improving recycling rates and developing solar farm (etc.)

Future proofing the County’s infrastructure (highways, parks, and leisure) – The Council has a £27.6m capital programme for Highways, Transport & Strategic Projects ongoing which is delivering improvements to highways, footways, structures and streets right across the county borough. The Council also continues to invest in parks and leisure facilities.

150+ Graduate and Apprentice opportunities over this 5 year term -  The Council has made very good progress on its commitment with 121 positions already created since the start of the current Council term.

Maintain and enhance the Enforcement Team to take action against dog fouling/fly tipping - RCT has ranked as the top Local Authority for fly tipping prosecutions for the last 3 years in a row, showing its zero-tolerance approach.  The Council has also recently extended the dog fouling PSPO.

Build further extra care & develop refurb programme for existing residential homes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

The Service Director Democratic Services & Communication advised of two specific updates to the Council Work Programme for the 2024/25 Municipal Year. The Community Council Charter would be an additional item of business scheduled for the Council meeting in March 2025 with engagement commencing shortly with Community Council colleagues.

The Service Director also reminded Members that as previously advised, the Chief Executive of the WLGA would attend the special Council meeting at 4pm on the 27th November in order to outline the role of the WLG,  their key priorities and how they represent the collective interests of local government in Wales and support individual authorities and answer Members’ questions. He added that there will also be a 5pm Council meeting on the 27^th November to consider the normal Council business.

To receive the report of the Deputy Chief Executive & Group Director – Finance, Digital & Frontline Services and to receive the report of Audit Wales.

To receive the report of the Chief Executive.

The Chief Executive presented his report which sought Members’ consideration and approval of the Council’s draft Annual Corporate Performance Report and Annual Self-Assessment for 2023/24 in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.

The Chief Executive explained that all Local Authorities in Wales have a legal duty as part of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 to assess, on an annual basis, the extent to which they are meeting the performance requirements defined in that Act. Those being defined as whether the Council functions are being exercised effectively, whether resources are being used economically, efficiently and effectively and whether governance arrangements are effective for securing these requirements.

The Chief Executive advised that the 2023/24 Annual Corporate Performance Report and Annual Self-Assessment before Members aims to satisfy the legal duty for RCTCBC. He added that by preparing the self-assessment, a council wide approached has been undertaken that engages with designated responsible officers, utilises existing arrangements and information to inform the self-assessment, is evidence based and subject to objective review and challenge. The fundamental objective of the approach is to produce an accurate and balanced position of the Council’s arrangements and identify areas for improvement to further strengthen the arrangements that are in place.

The Chief Executive referred to section 4.7 which notes the difference between the self-assessment and the way in which the strategic direction of the Council is set, this assessment focusses on the strength of the corporate arrangements to support the effective delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan priorities rather than setting the Council’s directional priorities, which the Corporate Plan does itself.

The Chief Executive also referred to section 4.8 of the report which highlights a core set of five activities which should be used as part of the self-assessment process as set out within the Well-being & Future Generations Act, these being Strategic Planning and Approach, Finance, Performance and Risk Management, Human Resources and Workforce Planning, Asset Management and Procurement and Commissioning. The Chief Executive confirmed that the draft report has incorporated these core activities into the self-assessment and has also added a further nine areas considered integral to the governance and ensuring the Council meets its performance requirements, such as Governance & Scrutiny, ICT and Digital, Regulator Feedback, Welsh Language & Equalities and the Sustainable Development responsibilities.

The Chief Executive advised that the assessment covers a full and diverse range of the Council’s functions and the scale and scope of the services that are delivered across the Council and the progress that has been made in delivering many commitments in the Corporate Plan throughout the previous year. To assist Members, the Chief Executive referred them to a few specific key areas within the report; section one sets out the priorities delivered in 2023/24 against the previous Corporate Plan priorities of People, Place and Prosperity. This summary sets out what the Council said it would do, what it delivered and identifies those areas where more progress needs to be made.

The Chief Executive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To receive the report of the Director of Legal & Democratic Services.

The Director of Legal & Democratic Services outlined the purpose of the report which is to inform Members of the outcome of the initial phase of consultation conducted as part of the Community Review process and to present draft proposals for Council to consider, and if agreed, seek authority to initiate a further period of consultation on those proposals as part of undertaking the next stage of the review.

The Director of Legal & Democratic Services advised that the first stage of the review, completed over the Summer period, was to ask all interested parties to consider the current community boundaries and submit their views on any changes required to create communities that provide for effective and convenient local government. That involved a six-week period of consultation conducted between 15^th July 2024 – 30^th August 2024.

The Director further explained that all submissions were then considered at a meeting of the cross-party working group set up by Council to oversee the review. At its meeting on 7th October, the working group agreed to commend to Council a series of proposals for adoption as draft proposals which would form the next stage of the review (attached at appendix 2). He concluded that any changes that occur as a result of the review process would then come into effect for the next Local Government Elections in 2027.

Following discussion and confirmation that the Community Council Charter would be presented to Council for review at its meeting in March 2025 and that engagement with the Town and Community Councils would be ongoing in the meantime,  it was RESOLVED:

2.1 To note the outcome of, and responses to, the initial phase of consultation conducted in respect of the review of community arrangements for Rhondda Cynon Taf;

2.2 To formally adopt the proposals emerging from the initial consultation phase, detailed in Appendix 2 to the report, as draft proposals noting these proposals have been commended to Council for adoption by the cross-party working group set up to oversee the Community Review; and

2.3 To initiate a further six-week period of consultation with stakeholders on the draft proposals.  

To receive the annual reports of the Standards Committee and the Democratic Services Committee for the 2023/2024 Municipal Year. 

The Service Director, Democratic Services & Communication presented his report which provided Council with the Annual Reports of the Standards Committee and Democratic Services Committee for the 2023/24 Municipal Year for information with the opportunity for the Chair of the Standards Committee, Mr D Bowen and the Chair of the Democratic Services Committee to contribute to the business of the two committees for the Municipal Year.

Members received Mr Dave Bowen, Chair of the Standards Committee and County Borough Councillor W Jones, Chair of the Democratic Services Committee, who presented their respective reports for the 2023/2024 Municipal Year.

Mr Bowen outlined specific areas of work for the Municipal Year such as receipt of the quarterly updates from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales in relation to summaries of complaints and recent investigations and findings completed across Wales and reviewing the Council’s Member-Officer Protocol which sets out a framework for good working relationships between Members and Officers as the best means of supporting the work of the Council. In conclusion, he thanked his fellow Committee Members for their, time, dedication and continued support and enthusiasm to the work of the Committee.

The Chair of the Democratic Services Committee, Councillor W Jones referred to specific areas of work for the Municipal Year such as the policy review and the development of the Committee Member’s Portal Champions role. Councillor Jones also commented on the work undertaken in respect of Diversity in Democracy ensuring that the Council continues this important work, promoting the role of a Councillor to attract a diverse range of candidates for the next Election and engagement with various groups across the County Borough whilst engaging in the public through Council meetings and webcasting.

The Deputy Leader paid thanks to both Chairs, Vice Chairs and all committee members for their commitment over the Municipal Year.

The Service Director, Democratic Services & Communication responded to a number of queries regarding development of the Members’ Portal which he confirmed was ongoing with a commitment to progress improvements to its functionality. He also explained that with regards to the energy efficiency of the Council chamber, the webcasting kit does require testing and refining and therefore the chamber is often in use outside of the formal Council Committees. In conclusion, the Service Director commented that Welsh Language Services offer a comprehensive service and it is effective for the majority of the many meetings they support.

Resolved:

1. To note the Annual Reports of both the Standards Committee and Democratic Services Committee for the Municipal Year 2023/2024.