Full Council

At its meeting on 14 June 2023 the Council approved two plans, agreed that nursery education provision is sufficient, and received two reports for information. The plans are the Corporate Asset Management Plan 2023-2038 and the Decarbonisation Plan 2023-2030, which aims for the Council to be carbon neutral by 2030. The two reports received for information cover surveillance powers and the Welsh Language Annual Monitoring Report for 2022-2023.

1. Corporate Asset Management Plan 2023-2038

   Decided

   The Council approved the Corporate Asset Management Plan 2023-2038.

   Why

   The plan sets a strategic framework for managing the Council's property, which the report says is critical to delivering the Corporate Wellbeing Plan. The previous plan expired in 2019, and a working draft has been in use since 2021. Councillors asked how many buildings contain asbestos, what the miscellaneous heading in the capital programme covers, and what the impact is of having no pest control officer; the minute records no answers.

   Based on the minutes, Committee Report, Appendix 2, IIA

2. Sufficiency of nursery education in Merthyr Tydfil

   Decided

   The Council determined that nursery education provision for the county borough is sufficient.

   Why

   The Council has a legal duty to secure enough nursery education from the term after a child's third birthday. The report finds enough English-medium and, now, Welsh-medium places, and the average number of children delayed from their first-choice school fell from 80 a year in 2017/18 to 2019/20 to 3 in 2022/23. A councillor asked whether nursery applications had fallen across the county borough, and questioned whether 35 applications for 48 spaces at one school were correct; the minute records no answer.

   Based on the minutes, Committee Report, IIA

3. MTCBC Decarbonisation Plan 2023-2030

   Decided

   The Council approved the Decarbonisation Plan 2023-2030.

   Why

   The Welsh Government wants the public sector to be carbon neutral by 2030, and the plan sets out six themes, such as buildings, travel and procurement, with action plans. The report notes work already done, including a 36% cut in carbon emissions against 2015-16 levels and about £1.2 million in energy cost savings in Council buildings. Councillors asked about green space, funding, electric vehicle charging points and the cost of cutting carbon; the minute records no answers.

   Based on the minutes, Committee Report, Appendix 1

4. Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 report

   Decided

   The Council received the report for information.

   Why

   The Act sets the rules for covert surveillance and similar investigation powers used by public bodies. No report was provided with the minutes, so the reasons are not recorded.

   Based on the minutes

5. Welsh Language Annual Monitoring Report 2022-2023

   Decided

   The Council received the report for information.

   Why

   The report monitors the Council's work under its Welsh Language Standards. No report was provided with the minutes, so its findings are not recorded.

   Based on the minutes

Written by AI from the council's minutes and reports. Sentences with a number or name that can't be found in those papers are removed automatically, but mistakes are still possible. Councils publish no word-for-word record of meetings, so this says what was decided and why. Read the official papers to be sure.

1. 1

   Apologies for Absence

   Minute

   Apologies received from Councillors G Richards, K Gibbs & J Scriven

2. 2

   Declarations of Interest

   Minute

   No declarations of interest were received

3. 3

   Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

   Minute

   The Council approves as accurate (subject to any amendments) the Minutes of the following Meetings:

4. 3.a

   Annual General Meeting and Mayor's Installation: 17/05/2023

   Decision as recorded

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the AGM Meeting held 17 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Minute

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the AGM Meeting held 17 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Papers: Minutes
5. 3.b

   Full Council: 19/04/2023

   Decision as recorded

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held 19 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Minute

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held 19 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Papers: Minutes
6. 3.c

   Full Council: 25/04/2023

   Decision as recorded

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held 25 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Minute

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held 25 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Papers: Minutes
7. 3.d

   Cabinet: 19/04/2023

   Decision as recorded

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held 19 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Minute

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held 19 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Papers: Minutes
8. 3.e

   Cabinet: 25/04/2023

   Decision as recorded

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held 25 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Minute

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held 25 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Papers: Minutes
9. 3.f

   Cabinet: 17/05/2023

   Decision as recorded

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held 25 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Minute

   Resolved that: The Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held 25 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

   Papers: Minutes
10. 3.g

    Combined Governance & Audit Committee / Joint Scrutiny Committee: 17/04/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Combined Governance & Audit / Joint Scrutiny Committee Meeting held 17 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Combined Governance & Audit / Joint Scrutiny Committee Meeting held 17 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings

    Papers: Minutes
11. 3.h

    Combined Governance & Audit Committee / Joint Scrutiny Committee: 06/06/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Combined Governance & Audit / Joint Scrutiny Committee Meeting held 6 June 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Combined Governance & Audit / Joint Scrutiny Committee Meeting held 6 June 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Papers: Minutes
12. 3.i

    Governance and Audit Committee: 24/04/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Governance & Audit Committee Meeting held 24 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Governance & Audit Committee Meeting held 24 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings

    Papers: Minutes
13. 3.j

    Planning, Regulatory and Licensing: 26/04/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Planning, Regulatory and Licensing Committee Meeting held 26 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Planning, Regulatory and Licensing Committee Meeting held 26 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Part of an issue followed across 3 meetings

    Papers: Minutes
14. 3.k

    Planning, Regulatory and Licensing: 24/05/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Planning, Regulatory and Licensing Committee Meeting held 25 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Planning, Regulatory and Licensing Committee Meeting held 25 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings

    Papers: Minutes
15. 3.l

    Licensing Committee: 06/04/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Licensing Committee Meeting held 06 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Licensing Committee Meeting held 06 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings

    Papers: Minutes
16. 3.m

    Licensing Committee: 13/04/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Licensing Committee Meeting held 13 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Licensing Committee Meeting held 13 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Papers: Minutes
17. 3.n

    Licensing Committee: 24/05/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Licensing Committee Meeting held 25 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Licensing Committee Meeting held 25 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Papers: Minutes
18. 3.o

    Scrutiny : Corporate Support and Resources: 25/04/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Corporate Support and Resources Committee Meeting held 25 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Corporate Support and Resources Committee Meeting held 25 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings

    Papers: Minutes
19. 3.p

    Scrutiny : Regeneration and Public Protection: 02/05/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Regeneration and Public Protection Committee Meeting held 2 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Regeneration and Public Protection Committee Meeting held 2 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Papers: Minutes
20. 3.r

    Scrutiny : Neighbourhood Services, Countryside and Planning: 15/05/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Neighbourhood Services, Countryside and Planning Committee Meeting held 15 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Neighbourhood Services, Countryside and Planning Committee Meeting held 15 May 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings

    Papers: Minutes
21. 3.q

    Scrutiny : Social Services: 18/04/2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Social Services Committee Meeting held 18 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The Minutes of the Social Services Committee Meeting held 18 April 2023 be accepted as a correct record.

    Part of an issue followed across 3 meetings

    Papers: Minutes
22. 4

    Corporate Asset Management Plan 2023-2038

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The Corporate Asset Management Plan 2023-2038 be approved.

    Minute

    Presented by Cllr M Symonds The following questions were raised; How many of these buildings contain asbestos and how do we resolve this? Regarding the Capital Programme, what specifically is contained under the heading miscellaneous? Regarding Appendix 1 on page 93, what is the impact of not currently having a pest control officer? Resolved that: The Corporate Asset Management Plan 2023-2038 be approved.

    Papers: Committee Report, Appendix 2, IIA
23. 5

    Sufficiency of Nursery Education for the County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The nursery education provision for the County Borough as set out in 5.2 be determined as sufficient, be approved.

    Minute

    Presented by Cllr M Jones The following questions were raised; Regarding 4.7 cyfarthfa primary school has increased the number of nursery places available on the Brecon road site with full day nursery. But of the 48 spaces we only have 35 applications for September. The number of parents applying for nursery has declined across the county borough potentially due to covid. Can this be confirmed? Resolved that: The nursery education provision for the County Borough as set out in 5.2 be determined as sufficient, be approved.

    Papers: Committee Report, IIA
24. 6

    MTCBC Decarbonisation Plan 2023-2030

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Decarbonisation Plan 2023 - 2030 (Appendix 1) be approved.

    Minute

    The following questions were raised: 4.12 Will any green space be affected? 4.1 How long will this project last? Who will benefit from the savings/income generation? 4.22 Are there any schemes of funding available? Could charging be provided for non-council vehicles at a cost to generate income? i.e commercial vehicles. With regards to decreasing our CO2 do we need a contact with all local businesses? What if the local products or services are more expensive? How do we calculate CO2 reduction vs cost? Has the accessibility of the charging points been addressed? i.e app on phone, QR code only. Are all the charging points in place operational? Resolved that: Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Decarbonisation Plan 2023 - 2030 (Appendix 1) be approved.

    Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings

    Papers: Committee Report, Appendix 1, IIA
25. 8

    Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The report for Information be received.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The report for Information be received.

    Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings

    Papers: Committee Report, IIA
26. 7

    Welsh Language Annual Monitoring Report For 2022-2023

    Decision as recorded

    Resolved that: The report for Information be received.

    Minute

    Resolved that: The report for Information be received.

    Part of an issue followed across 3 meetings

    Papers: Committee Report, Appendix 1, IIA
27. 9

    To deal with any other urgent business or correspondence

    Minute

    No other business was received by the Chair

28. 10

    To receive communications from Their Worship the Mayor

    Minute

    No communications were received

29. 11

    Exempt

Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.

The minutes record no declarations of interest.

• John Thomas, Vice-ChairIndependentPresent
• Andrew Barry, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Anna Williams- Price, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Bill Smith, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Brent Carter, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Claire Jones, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Clive Jones, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Clive Tovey, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Darren Roberts, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• David Isaac, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• David Jones, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Declan Sammon, Committee MemberDowlais and Pant Community IndependentsPresent
• Ernie Galsworthy, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Gareth Lewis, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Gareth Richards, Committee MemberLabourSent apologies
• Geraint Thomas, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Ian Thomas, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Jamie Scriven, Committee MemberIndependentSent apologies
• Jeremy Davies, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Julia Jenkins, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Kevin Gibbs, Committee MemberIndependentSent apologies
• Lee Davies, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Lisa Mytton, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Louise Minett-Vokes, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Michelle Jones, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Michelle Symonds, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Paula Layton, Committee MemberDowlais and Pant Community IndependentsPresent
• Scott Thomas, Committee MemberLabourPresent

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