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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
Resolved – that (i) the Mayor and Councillors of Wrexham County Borough Council, in recognition of the long history of the football club in this area, and in pursuance of section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 confer the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham upon Wrexham Association Football Club and thereby bestow upon them the rights, privileges, honours and distinctions which are enjoyed by Freemen of the County Borough; and The Mayor proposed the second motion and subsequently it was resolved that: (ii) the Mayor and Councillors of Wrexham County Borough Council, in recognition of the global promotion and awareness of the Wrexham Association Football Club and the Wrexham area, and in pursuance of section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 confer the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham upon Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds and thereby bestow upon them the rights, privileges, honours and distinctions which are enjoyed by Freemen of the County Borough. The Mayor invited Mr Ryan Reynolds, Mr Rob McElhenney and Mr Shaun Harvey to address the Council. My Ryan Reynolds presented apologies on behalf of Mr Rob McElhenney who had been unable to join the meeting due to technical difficulties. Mr Ryan Reynolds spoke passionately on behalf of both he and Mr McElhenney, referring in particular to their profound honour in accepting the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham and of their belief in the beauty of Wrexham and in both the history and the future of the football club. He thanked Council for bestowing upon them this honour. Mr Shaun Harvey thanked the Council for this honour and spoke in particular of his hopes and plans for the future of the club.
RESOLVED – That the Treasury Management Semi-Annual Review 2022-23 report be noted. REASON FOR DECISION To comply with the CIPFA Prudential Code and Code of Practice on Treasury Management.
RESOLVED (i) The making of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Prescribed Requirements (Wales) Regulations ("the Prescribed Requirements Regulations") by the Welsh Assembly on 27 November 2013 be noted; (ii) The outcome of the consultation exercise undertaken by the Council on its local discretions in its Council Tax Reduction Scheme (section 5) be noted; (iii) The Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Prescribed Requirements (Wales) Regulations 2013, as the Council’s Scheme for the Financial Year 2023/24, subject to the local discretions that the Council is able to exercise as set out in paragraph 6.1 of the report be adopted. (iv) The Chief Officer Finance & ICT (in consultation with the Leader) be given delegated authority to consider, approve and/or deal with as necessary any amendments which may be made to the “Amendment regulations” following consideration by the National Assembly for Wales when these regulations are laid & approved by Welsh Government. REASONS FOR DECISION (i) The Council is obliged to approve a Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2023/24 under the Prescribed Requirements Regulations by 31 January 2023. (ii) It is likely that the uprating regulations for Benefits, will not be debated by the National Assembly for Wales until January 2023. As a result it will mean that the amendment regulations will not be approved by the Assembly until late January 2023.
RESOLVED – That the Self-Assessment Report for publication on the Council’s website, in accordance with the Local Government & Elections (Wales) Act 2021 be approved REASON FOR DECISION To enable the council to comply with its statutory reporting requirements and to provide a public self-assessment to identify improvements and actions the council will undertake to secure improved outcomes for Wrexham County Borough.
RESOLVED (i) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s Annual Report 2021-22 be noted. (ii) That Members continue to recognise the Governance and Audit Committee’s important role in providing assurance as to the effectiveness of governance across the Council. REASON DECISION To ensure the Governance and Audit Committee meets the requirements of its Terms of Reference in that it can be held accountable by Council for its performance in relation to the Terms of Reference and the effectiveness of the Committee in meeting its purpose.
RESOLVED – (i) That the sizes and political balance of the standing Committees and Scrutiny Committees, as specified in Appendix 1 to the report, be agreed; (ii) That Group Leaders and Non-aligned Members notify the Chief Officer Governance & Customer of their nominations in the New Year. REASON FOR DECISIONS To agree the revised political allocation of seats to Committees and Scrutiny Committees in accordance with the legislative requirements.
Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Beryl Blackmore, Emma Holland, Hugh Jones, Paul Roberts, Andy Williams and Paul Williams.
Members were reminded of their responsibility, under Paragraph 11 of the Members’ Code of Conduct, to declare any interests in relation to any of the business to be transacted at this Meeting. The following declarations were made: Agenda Item 3 - Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham: Councillor I David Bithell MBE – Personal and non prejudicial – Fire supervisor at Wrexham AFC on match days. The Councillor remained in the Meeting taking part in the discussion thereon.
Decision as recorded
Resolved – that (i) the Mayor and Councillors of Wrexham County Borough Council, in recognition of the long history of the football club in this area, and in pursuance of section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 confer the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham upon Wrexham Association Football Club and thereby bestow upon them the rights, privileges, honours and distinctions which are enjoyed by Freemen of the County Borough; and The Mayor proposed the second motion and subsequently it was resolved that: (ii) the Mayor and Councillors of Wrexham County Borough Council, in recognition of the global promotion and awareness of the Wrexham Association Football Club and the Wrexham area, and in pursuance of section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 confer the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham upon Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds and thereby bestow upon them the rights, privileges, honours and distinctions which are enjoyed by Freemen of the County Borough. The Mayor invited Mr Ryan Reynolds, Mr Rob McElhenney and Mr Shaun Harvey to address the Council. My Ryan Reynolds presented apologies on behalf of Mr Rob McElhenney who had been unable to join the meeting due to technical difficulties. Mr Ryan Reynolds spoke passionately on behalf of both he and Mr McElhenney, referring in particular to their profound honour in accepting the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham and of their belief in the beauty of Wrexham and in both the history and the future of the football club. He thanked Council for bestowing upon them this honour. Mr Shaun Harvey thanked the Council for this honour and spoke in particular of his hopes and plans for the future of the club.
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.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
The council hasn't recorded attendance for this meeting.
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The Mayor called upon the Leader to introduce this agenda item and he spoke in particular of the long and proud football tradition associated with Wrexham. He referred to the honour Wrexham felt in having Mr Ryan Reynolds and Mr Rob McElhenney as owners of Wrexham AFC and recognised how they had raised the profile of Wrexham and had had and were continuing to have a positive impact on the community. They had also helped to shine a light on welsh football history. The Chief Executive provided some additional background information relating to the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham. The Mayor invited Group Leaders to address Council and further tribute was made to the historic association between Wrexham and football. Reference was also made to the current times of austerity and suffering. It was stated that anchor institutions such as Wrexham AFC were central to the success of Wrexham’s local economy. The Conservative Group Leader acknowledged the positive impact the owners of Wrexham AFC were having and wished the club every success. A request was made for consideration to be given to offering Freedom of the County Borough to other individuals and associations who had positively impacted upon the County Borough. In accordance with standing order 18(2), a recorded vote was called for and supported, the voting being as follows: For – Councillors Bryan Apsley, William Baldwin, Trevor Bates, David A Bithell, I David Bithell MBE, Paul Blackwell, Gary Brown, Brian Cameron, Krista Childs, Dana Davies, Mike Davies, Terry Evans, Andy Gallanders, Carrie Harper, Frank Hemmings, Peter Howell, Corin Jarvis, Marc Jones, Steve Joe Jones, Jeremy Kent, Malcolm King OBE, Claire Lovett, Tina Mannering, Becca Martin, Stella Matthews, John McCusker, Michael Morris, Paul Pembertion, John C Phillips, Ronnie Prince, John Pritchard, Mark Pritchard, Fred Roberts, Rondo Roberts, Graham Rogers, Paul Rogers, Ross Shepherd, Alison Tynan, Rob Walsh, Anthony Wedlake, Jerry Wellens, Kate Wilkinson, Nigel Williams, Robert Ian Williams, Derek Wright and Phil Wynn (46) Abstained – Councillors Jeremy Newton and Beverley Parry-Jones (2) Resolved – that (i) the Mayor and Councillors of Wrexham County Borough Council, in recognition of the long history of the football club in this area, and in pursuance of section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 confer the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham upon Wrexham Association Football Club and thereby bestow upon them the rights, privileges, honours and distinctions which are enjoyed by Freemen of the County Borough; and The Mayor proposed the second motion and subsequently it was resolved that: (ii) the Mayor and Councillors of Wrexham County Borough Council, in recognition of the global promotion and awareness of the Wrexham Association Football Club and the Wrexham area, and in pursuance of section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 confer the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham upon Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds and thereby bestow upon them the rights, privileges, honours and distinctions which are enjoyed by Freemen of the County Borough. The Mayor invited Mr Ryan Reynolds, Mr Rob McElhenney and Mr Shaun Harvey to address the Council. My Ryan Reynolds presented apologies on behalf of Mr Rob McElhenney who had been unable to join the meeting due to technical difficulties. Mr Ryan Reynolds spoke passionately on behalf of both he and Mr McElhenney, referring in particular to their profound honour in accepting the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham and of their belief in the beauty of Wrexham and in both the history and the future of the football club. He thanked Council for bestowing upon them this honour. Mr Shaun Harvey thanked the Council for this honour and spoke in particular of his hopes and plans for the future of the club.
In accordance with Section 5.8.16 of the Council’s Constitution, a member of the public submitted a question relating to the freedom of the people of Wrexham to choose to use the Welsh language in their everyday lives. The Lead Member for Corporate Services responded to the question accordingly.
RESOLVED - That the Minutes of the meeting of the County Borough Council held on 28 September 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.
The Mayor referred to Crown Buildings which recently won the LABC Wales Building Excellence Awards in the category of best public or community building. He congratulated all the staff who have been involved with the redevelopment of Crown Buildings and its transformation into the well-being hub. He invited Nick Adamson, Head of Service, Assets, Digital and Performance on to the dias to accept the award on behalf of all those involved. The Mayor advised that Crown Buildings had won a further award, for demonstrating environmental sustainability. The award had been received from Ystadau Cymru. The Mayor advised that a gold award in the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme had also been received. Wrexham County Borough Council had been recognised for the support we give to its Armed Forces community. The Mayor congratulated all the staff were responsible for gaining the prestigious award on behalf of the Council. On behalf of those staff, Kate Adamson, Head of Service Performance, Improvement, Partnerships and Scrutiny was invited onto the dias to accept the award. Wrexham had had an exciting year having gained city status, becoming a runner-up in the 2025 city of culture bid and Wrexham AFC football team putting the city on the map globally following a successful documentary. King Charles and the Queen Consort had also visited the city earlier this month. Last month the Annual Remembrance Service and the Armistice Day two minutes’ silence had taken place and both events were extremely well attended. The Mayor thanked his fellow Councillors for supporting his charity dinner dance in October. The Mayor had attended the Christmas lights switch-on and Victorian Christmas market. He thanked the events team who had put such a lot of work into these popular festive events. The Mayor thanked staff in the Environment Department, who had worked tirelessly over the last few weeks, to prepare for and deal with the recent cold weather It was recognised that 2022 was also a far more ‘normal’ year than the previous two years. Thankfully, considerable steps into the recovery stage of the Covid-19 pandemic had been taken and we could look forward to spending the festive period with friends and family, something that was not possible a short while ago. Finally, the Mayor took this opportunity to urge Members and staff to stay safe over the festive period and wish all present a happy and healthy 2023.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That the Treasury Management Semi-Annual Review 2022-23 report be noted. REASON FOR DECISION To comply with the CIPFA Prudential Code and Code of Practice on Treasury Management.
The Lead Member for Finance and Performance submitted a report COFI/35/22 which allowed Members to review the Semi-Annual Treasury Management activity for 2022-23. RESOLVED – That the Treasury Management Semi-Annual Review 2022-23 report be noted. REASON FOR DECISION To comply with the CIPFA Prudential Code and Code of Practice on Treasury Management.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (i) The making of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Prescribed Requirements (Wales) Regulations ("the Prescribed Requirements Regulations") by the Welsh Assembly on 27 November 2013 be noted; (ii) The outcome of the consultation exercise undertaken by the Council on its local discretions in its Council Tax Reduction Scheme (section 5) be noted; (iii) The Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Prescribed Requirements (Wales) Regulations 2013, as the Council’s Scheme for the Financial Year 2023/24, subject to the local discretions that the Council is able to exercise as set out in paragraph 6.1 of the report be adopted. (iv) The Chief Officer Finance & ICT (in consultation with the Leader) be given delegated authority to consider, approve and/or deal with as necessary any amendments which may be made to the “Amendment regulations” following consideration by the National Assembly for Wales when these regulations are laid & approved by Welsh Government. REASONS FOR DECISION (i) The Council is obliged to approve a Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2023/24 under the Prescribed Requirements Regulations by 31 January 2023. (ii) It is likely that the uprating regulations for Benefits, will not be debated by the National Assembly for Wales until January 2023. As a result it will mean that the amendment regulations will not be approved by the Assembly until late January 2023.
The Lead Member for Finance and Performance submitted a report COFI/36/22 allowing Members to approve a Council Tax Reduction Scheme to commence in April 2024, for the 2023/24 Financial Year. RESOLVED (i) The making of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Prescribed Requirements (Wales) Regulations ("the Prescribed Requirements Regulations") by the Welsh Assembly on 27 November 2013 be noted; (ii) The outcome of the consultation exercise undertaken by the Council on its local discretions in its Council Tax Reduction Scheme (section 5) be noted; (iii) The Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Prescribed Requirements (Wales) Regulations 2013, as the Council’s Scheme for the Financial Year 2023/24, subject to the local discretions that the Council is able to exercise as set out in paragraph 6.1 of the report be adopted. (iv) The Chief Officer Finance & ICT (in consultation with the Leader) be given delegated authority to consider, approve and/or deal with as necessary any amendments which may be made to the “Amendment regulations” following consideration by the National Assembly for Wales when these regulations are laid & approved by Welsh Government. REASONS FOR DECISION (i) The Council is obliged to approve a Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2023/24 under the Prescribed Requirements Regulations by 31 January 2023. (ii) It is likely that the uprating regulations for Benefits, will not be debated by the National Assembly for Wales until January 2023. As a result it will mean that the amendment regulations will not be approved by the Assembly until late January 2023.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That the Self-Assessment Report for publication on the Council’s website, in accordance with the Local Government & Elections (Wales) Act 2021 be approved REASON FOR DECISION To enable the council to comply with its statutory reporting requirements and to provide a public self-assessment to identify improvements and actions the council will undertake to secure improved outcomes for Wrexham County Borough.
The Lead Member for Finance and Performance submitted a report CE/61/22 allowing Members to approve Wrexham Council’s first draft Self-Assessment Report, as required by the Local Government & Elections (Wales) Act 2021. The final report must be published on the council’s website within 4 weeks of approval. RESOLVED – That the Self-Assessment Report for publication on the Council’s website, in accordance with the Local Government & Elections (Wales) Act 2021 be approved REASON FOR DECISION To enable the council to comply with its statutory reporting requirements and to provide a public self-assessment to identify improvements and actions the council will undertake to secure improved outcomes for Wrexham County Borough.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (i) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s Annual Report 2021-22 be noted. (ii) That Members continue to recognise the Governance and Audit Committee’s important role in providing assurance as to the effectiveness of governance across the Council. REASON DECISION To ensure the Governance and Audit Committee meets the requirements of its Terms of Reference in that it can be held accountable by Council for its performance in relation to the Terms of Reference and the effectiveness of the Committee in meeting its purpose.
The Chair of Governance and Audit Committee submitted a report COFI/26/22 allowing Members to consider the Committee’s Annual Report 2021/22. RESOLVED (i) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s Annual Report 2021-22 be noted. (ii) That Members continue to recognise the Governance and Audit Committee’s important role in providing assurance as to the effectiveness of governance across the Council. REASON DECISION To ensure the Governance and Audit Committee meets the requirements of its Terms of Reference in that it can be held accountable by Council for its performance in relation to the Terms of Reference and the effectiveness of the Committee in meeting its purpose.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – (i) That the sizes and political balance of the standing Committees and Scrutiny Committees, as specified in Appendix 1 to the report, be agreed; (ii) That Group Leaders and Non-aligned Members notify the Chief Officer Governance & Customer of their nominations in the New Year. REASON FOR DECISIONS To agree the revised political allocation of seats to Committees and Scrutiny Committees in accordance with the legislative requirements.
The Chief Officer Governance and Customer submitted a report COGC/117/22 allowing Members to carry out a review of the representation of political groups on the Executive Board, Committees, Scrutiny Committees and various Panels set up by the Council as part of its Constitution. RESOLVED – (i) That the sizes and political balance of the standing Committees and Scrutiny Committees, as specified in Appendix 1 to the report, be agreed; (ii) That Group Leaders and Non-aligned Members notify the Chief Officer Governance & Customer of their nominations in the New Year. REASON FOR DECISIONS To agree the revised political allocation of seats to Committees and Scrutiny Committees in accordance with the legislative requirements.