Cyngor llawn

The Annual Council received a nomination, proposed by Cllr John Lancaster and seconded by Cllr Andrea Gibson, to the role of the Deputy Lord Mayor of the City and County of Cardiff and Deputy Chair of Cardiff Council. The nomination was that Cllr Michael Michael be appointed Deputy Lord Mayor of the City and County of Cardiff and Deputy Chair of Cardiff Council for the Municipal Year 2025 – 2026. There were no other nominations. RESOLVED – That Cllr Michael Michael be appointed Deputy Lord Mayor of the City and County of Cardiff and Deputy Chair of Cardiff Council for the Municipal Year 2025 – 2026. The Deputy Lord Mayor was invested with his chains of office. Members showed their appreciation with applause. The Chief Executive invited the Deputy Lord Mayor to sign the Declaration of Acceptance. The Deputy Lord Mayor confirmed that the Consort for the 2025 – 2026 Municipal Year was Joyce Michael.

In accordance with the Members Code of Conduct, all Councillors declared a personal interest in Item 15 – Members Remuneration and Allowances 2025 – 2026. Item 15 – Members’ Schedule of Remuneration 2025 – 2026 Councillor Abdul-Sattar Councillor Lay Councillor Ali Ahmed Councillor Lent Councillor Saleh Ahmed Councillor Lewis Councillor Ali Councillor Lister Councillor Anderson Councillor Littlechild Councillor Ash-Edwards Councillor Livesy Councillor Berman Councillor Lloyd Jones Councillor Boes Councillor Mackie Councillor Bowen-Thomson Councillor McEvoy Councillor Bradbury Councillor McGarry Councillor Bridgeman Councillor Melbourne Councillor Brown-Reckless Councillor Merry Councillor Burke Councillor Michael Councillor Carr Councillor Molik Councillor Carter Councillor Moultrie Councillor Chowdhury Councillor Naughton Councillor Cowan Councillor Owen Councillor Cunnah Councillor Palmer Councillor Davies Councillor Parry Councillor De’Ath Councillor Proctor Councillor Derbyshire Councillor Reid-Jones Councillor Driscoll Councillor Robinson Councillor Ebrahim Councillor Robson Councillor Elsmore Councillor Sangani Councillor Ferguson-Thorne Councillor Shimmin Councillor Gibson Councillor Simmons Councillor Goodway Councillor Singh Councillor Green Councillor Stubbs Councillor Gunter Councillor Taylor Councillor Hinchey Councillor Thomas Councillor Hopkins Councillor Thomson Councillor Humphreys Councillor Thorne Councillor Hunt Councillor Waldron Councillor Jenkins Councillor Weaver Councillor Jackie Jones Councillor Wild Councillor Keith Jones Councillor Williams Councillor Owen Jones Councillor Wong Councillor Joyce Councillor Wood Councillor Kaaba Councillor Lancaster Councillor Latif There were no other declarations of interest.

The minutes of the 27th March 2025 meeting were approved and signed as a correct record.

Council was asked to consider the recommendation made by the Standards & Ethics Committee in relation to the withdrawal of the Cardiff Undertaking. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: - Approve the recommendation of the Standards & Ethics Committee to withdraw the Cardiff Undertaking with effect from the date of this Annual Council meeting; - Authorise the Monitoring Officer to make corresponding amendments to the Constitution to remove all references to the Cardiff Undertaking.

The newly elected Lord Mayor, Cllr Robson, was pleased to advertise the first fundraising event for his chosen charities, which was a coffee morning at the Pantmawr Inn on Friday 6th June.

Cllr Thomas congratulated the Lord Mayor on his appointment and thanked his group colleagues for putting their faith in him to continue as Leader. He emphasised his administration’s commitment to realising their Stronger, Fairer, Greener policy agenda, and thanked colleagues within the Cabinet and Labour group for their commitment to this, as well as across party lines, where all Members shared a common cause to create prosperity, provide opportunities and support those in need. On the topic of economic development, he highlighted the new indoor arena as a major piece of cultural infrastructure for Cardiff and Wales as a whole, and an anchor for the regeneration of Atlantic Wharf. The council played a key enabling role in bringing public and private partners together to unlock investment, and sought to position the city centre as a regional hub for commerce and employment. Last week, Cardiff was chosen as one of 13 regional hubs for relocating civil service jobs outside of London. Regarding fairness, he emphasised that the opportunities created had to be available to everybody. The quality of education in Cardiff was giving children the chance to succeed, with GCSE and A level results above the Welsh average. The council had invested millions in school buildings, with nine new buildings completed, six under construction and two more in development through the Local Development Plan. The Money Advice teams was helping residents to access more than £70m in additional benefits, and the council’s commitment to paying a real living wage had put more than £100m in people’s pockets. 93% of clients using Housing First had broken the cycle of homelessness, but they would not stop until nobody slept rough on their streets. He also highlighted the need for growth to be sustainable and in keeping with the council’s green aspirations, which revolved around improving connections, jobs, education and essential services in partnership with the Welsh government and UK government. They sought to deliver the public transport strategy Cardiff needed and deserved, delivering the bus interchange after helping the industry weather the storm of Covid. Across the city, bus corridors were being improved and bus stops upgraded, while the new tram link between Cardiff Central and Cardiff Bay was part of the wider Crossrail scheme and of a modern integrated rail system. He noted that a recent public health survey had showed that 72% of children now walked or cycled to school in Cardiff, the highest rate anywhere in Wales. This was a result of their Active Travel strategy and the delivery of safe walking and cycling routes. Their recycling rate was now 64%, and though this was higher than every major city in England, there was more to do. They would present a green growth proposition later this year, which would focus on making homes more energy efficient and increasing the generation of clean, local energy. He acknowledged the difficult financial circumstances, with a £122m budget gap forecast in the medium term financial plan, driven by rising costs and demand pressures. He would watch the spending review with interest and make the strongest possible case to the UK government for continued investment in public services, so that they could close the budget gap while maintaining vital services and delivering the council’s ambitious agenda. He noted that it had been eight years since his first speech to Council as Leader, and while there was always improvement needed to council services, progress had been made in many aspects of council performance and across the city. In the coming year, more homes would be built, new schools would be opened, public transport would be further improved, and they would continue to support those who needed it and advocate on their behalf. He looked forward to working with councillors, officers and staff, trade union colleagues and partners across the public, private and voluntary sectors in the year ahead.

The Leader confirmed the appointment of his Cabinet Members and their portfolios. Cabinet Member Portfolio Cllr Sarah Merry Deputy Leader and Education Cllr Russell Goodway Investment and Development Cllr Chris Weaver Finance, Modernisation and Performance Cllr Jennifer Burke Culture, Sport & Parks Cllr Dan De’Ath Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Cllr Norma Mackie Waste, Street Scene and Environmental Services Cllrs Julie Sangani and Leonora Thomson Adult Services and Public Health & Equality (Job Share) Cllrs Ash Lister and Peter Bradbury Children’s Social Services, Tackling Poverty and Supporting Young People (Job Share) Cllrs Lynda Thorne and Lee Bridgeman Housing and Communities (Job Share)

The Constitution provides that the Council will, at its Annual meeting, decide any amendments to its standing committees for the municipal year, including amendments to the size and terms of reference of those committees. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: Approve, for the 2025-2026 Municipal Year: a. the establishment and size of the Council Committees (and other Groups and Panels) set out in paragraph 3 (Table A); b. the terms of reference of each Committee (and Group and Panel), as set out in Appendix A of this report.

The Council was requested to determine the allocation of seats on Committees to political groups in accordance with the Political Balance Rules; and to receive nominations and make appointments of Members to serve on each of the standing Committees in accordance with Party Group wishes. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: a. Approve the allocation of seats on Committees for the municipal year 2025/26 as set out in Appendix A; b. Receive nominations from Party Groups in respect of the seats allocated to each Group; c. Appoint Members to each Committee in accordance with the nominations received from Party Groups as detailed on the amendment sheet; d. Request the Monitoring Officer to make appointments in respect of any remaining vacancies in accordance with any further nominations or changes received from the relevant political groups following this meeting (under her delegated authority reference LD17 within the Scheme of Delegations) and to report to the next Council meeting the details of all appointments to committees for information.

The Constitution provides that the Annual Council meeting will elect a Chair and a Deputy Chair for each of the Committees. The political group nominations appeared on the amendment sheet. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: (1) Receive nominations and elect the Chairs and Deputy Chairs (as appropriate) to the Regulatory and Other Committees and Groups shown in paragraph 6 – Table B, and or any other such Committees that may be established; (2) Approve the proportional allocation of Scrutiny Chairs as set out in paragraph 4, Table A of the report; (3) Subject to approval of recommendation (2), note the proposed appointments of the Scrutiny Chairs to be made by Party Groups pursuant to Part 6 of The Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011.

Council received nominations to those outside bodies for which nominations are required on an annual basis or are required at this time in order to meet particular deadlines. Nominations received from Party Groups were included as Appendix A in the report. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: - Receive nominations and approve appointments and nominations, as required, to the outside bodies listed in Appendix A and any further nominations as listed on the Amendment Sheet.

Council was required, at its Annual meeting, to approve a Schedule of Members Remuneration to meet the requirements of the Council Meeting Procedure Rules, Rule 2(b) (xvi). The report set out the determinations of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW) with regard to the levels of Members’ remuneration and allowances that were payable for the year 2025/2026 and other associated matters, and asked Council to agree those matters which were reserved for local determination by the council. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: a. Note the determinations of the IRPW in its Annual Report published in February 2025 attached as Appendix A; b. Note the Guidance for Principal Councils, Community and Town Councils, National Park Authorities, Fire and Rescue Authorities and Corporate Joint Committees in Wales – remuneration of members shown at Appendix B; c.. Approve the draft Members’ Schedule of Remuneration 2025-26 (Appendix C) and delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to finalise the draft Members’ Schedule of Remuneration to reflect the appointments made at the Annual Council; d. Delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to update the Members’ Schedule of Remuneration in the Constitution and to make any necessary amendments to the 2025-2026 Schedule from time to time during the municipal year in order to reflect any changes in membership of the Council, Cabinet or Committees or as a result of any Supplementary Reports issued by the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru (DBCC).

Council was asked to approve the programme of ordinary meetings for the year, and a provisional programme of meetings of Council Committees (Council Meeting Procedure Rules, Rule 2(b)(xvii) and (xviii). It was also asked to approve the programme of Full Council meetings for the 2025-26 municipal year and to note the proposed Council meeting dates between June and September 2026, and Cabinet meeting dates for the 2025-26 municipal year. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: (1) Approve the programme of Council meeting dates for the 2025-26 municipal year as set out in paragraph 5 of this report; (2) Note the provisional dates of Council meetings for the early part of the 2026-27 municipal year and Cabinet meetings for the 2025-26 municipal year as set out in paragraph 7 of this report; (3) Approve the provisional programme of meetings for the 2025-26 municipal year as in Appendix A (to be published on the Amendment Sheet); (4) Delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the respective Chairpersons, to make any necessary alterations to the provisional programme of Committee meetings which may be required.

There was no urgent business.