7 March 2018

Dear Councillor,

You are summoned to attend the Monthly Meeting of LLANTRISANT COMMUNITY COUNCIL to be held at Caerlan Hall, Newbridge Road, Llantrisant on TUESDAY the 13 March 2018 at 6.30pm, for the purpose of transacting the following business.

Yours sincerely,

Miss C Craven CLERK

AGENDA 1 To receive apologies for absence 2 To receive Disclosures for Personal Interest from Members in accordance with

the Code of Conduct. Members are requested to declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests that they may have in matters to be considered at this meeting in accordance with the Local Authorities Code of Conduct Order (Wales) Order 2008.

3 To receive Councillor Louisa Mills-Phillips’ letter of resignation. Appendix 1 4 Minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on the 13 February 2018. Appendix 2

5 Action Table To note the Clerks report on actions from the meeting on the 13 February 2018. Appendix 3

6 Finance i) To confirm the income and expenditure accounts for February 2018. Appendix 4

ii) To receive and adopt the accounts for payment for March 2018. Appendix 4a

iii) A copy of the recently published Wales Audit Office Financial Managementand Governance in Local Councils 2016-17 can be found by following this linkhttp://www.audit.wales/publication/financial-management-and-governance-local-councils-201617

7 Planning To consider planning applications received since the last meeting. Appendix 5

8 Members Reports i) To note the Youth Consultation Meeting Report. Appendix 6

ii) To receive feedback of the Community Litter Pick held on the 10 March inBeddau.

CYNGOR CYMUNED LLANTRISANT

COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Parish Office Newbridge Road Llantrisant RCT CF72 8EX Tel: 01443 223796 Fax: 01443 227261 Email: office@llantrisant-cc.gov.wales

Ffôn: 01443 223796 Ffacs: 01443 227261

Ebost: office@llantrisant-cc.gov.wales

Swyddfa’r Plwyf Heol Pontnewydd

Llantrisant RCT

CF72 8EX

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iii) To receive the Community Fridges Report. Appendix 6a

9 Clerks and Responsible Finance Officers Reports i) To note the Footbridge and step repairs on Path 198 Report. Appendix 7

ii) To note the Refurbished Play Park Area in Southgate Report. Appendix 7a

iii) To note the date of the annual site inspection Tuesday 20 March from 2pm. forall four Allotments.iv) To consider the information gathered from Consultations and make aninformed decision on the renewal of the contract of Community Bus ServiceRoute 47. Appendix 7b

v) To consider the current provision of daffodil displays and decide if any furtherplanting is required for 2018 and beyondvi) To receive the Petty Cash Account for the Office Report Appendix 7c

vii) To receive the Valuation of the Councils Assets Report. Appendix 7d

viii) To receive the General Data Protection Regulation Report. Appendix 7e

ix) To receive the CCTV and Alarms Systems at Council Premises. Appendix 7f

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Correspondence

i) To note the Welsh Governments Memorandum on the commitment to endburial and cremation fees for children. Appendix 8

ii) To nominate a representative to attend the My Community My CouncilEngagement event on the 15 March 2018. Appendix 8a

iii) To receive the Guidance on Clustering Report written by the Vale ofGlamorgan Council and One Voice Wales. Appendix 8b

iv) To receive the letter from Welsh Government on Cluster Funding Available in2018/19. Appendix 8c

v) To consider the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales’Guidance for Principal Councils on the Review of Communities. Appendix 8d

vi) To note the One Voice Wales Innovative Awards Ceremony 2018. Appendix 8e

vii) To note the RCTCBC letter (21/2/18) referring to the application under theSafe Routes in Communities initiative. Appendix 8f

viii) To consider Kidney Wales request to organise a Walk for Life event. Appendix 8g

ix) To consider the request from a member of Pontyclun Guides for financialassistance to attend an event in Malta. Appendix 8h

x) In response to the Independent Review Panel’s 2018 Annual ReportTo agree(a) The process by which remuneration payments to Members are made for

Determination 44, 48,49,50,51,52 and 53;(b) Nominated up to five Members for Determinations 46. Appendix 8i

xi) To receive the RCTCBC notice of its Proposal to Create a New 3 – 19 ‘AllThrough’ School at the Garth Olwg Campus. Appendix 8j

xii) To nominate a representative to attend the Planning Aid Wales trainingsession on the 14th March from 6.00-9.15 pm at Pontyclun. Appendix 8k

xiii) To consider a response to the Older People’s Commissioner for WalesAgeing Well in Wales Questionnaire. Closing date 16 March. Appendix 8l

xiv) To consider a response to the Nation Assembly of Wales draft Autism(Wales) Bill. Closing date 17 April 2018 Appendix 8m

xv) To consider nominating Y Bwthyn, Macmillan Specialist Care Unit, as one ofthe Councils charities for 2018/19. Appendix 8n

xvi) To consider a request for a dog mess bin made at DanyGraig Heights. App 8o

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xvii) To consider a response to RCTCBC’s Public Consultation on its DraftSupplementary Planning Guidance - Houses in Multiple Occupation. Closing date23 March 2018. Appendix 8p

Follow link to relevant documentshttps://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Resident/PlanningandBuildingControl/LocalDevelopmentPlans/RelatedDocuments/HMOConsultation/DraftSupplementaryPlanningGuidanceHousesinMultipleOccupation.pdf https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Resident/PlanningandBuildingControl/LocalDevelopmentPlans/RelatedDocuments/HMOConsultation/RepresentationForm.PDF

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Staffing

To receive an update for the Staffing Committee and confirm any recommendations

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Health & Safety

To receive an update on any Health and Safety issues since the last meeting.

The next meeting of Llantrisant Community Council will be held on Tuesday 10 April 2017 at 6.30pm, Caerlan Hall.

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(2018)69 Appendix 2

Signature:……………………….. Date:……………….

Minutes for the Monthly Meeting of Llantrisant Community Council held at Llys y Cwm, Beddau on 13 February at 6.30pm

Present:

D Nicholas (Chair) J Barton A Crutcher B Farr R Hunt A Matheson S Trask K Williams

Also present: Clerk - Catherine Craven. PC Ryan Carter, PCSO Claire Griffiths, Scott Badman and Gareth Bishop. 1. Apologies Apologies were received from Cllrs. A Moss, S Powell and V Nicholas. Members noted the apologies. Absent: Cllrs. L Mills-Phillips and J Woodington The Council welcomed its new Tynant Ward Member; Mal Davies. The matter of the method in which Members give their apologies was raised.

Clerk advised its Standing Orders do not make any reference to this matter. The 2017 Good Councillors Guide advises ‘ You should contact the clerk with an apology and explanation’ This helps the scheduled meeting is in quorum. However, as the office closes at 1.30pm Members can also sent apologies via another Member. There is no statutory guidance on how Members can give their apologies.

Resolved: that Members should contact (i) the Clerk with an apology and explanation in the first instance; (ii) can also ask another Member to give an apology and explanation on their behalf. 2. Declarations of Interest No declarations of interest were received in line with the code of conduct. With the agreement of Council the Chair brought forward item 8c Codgers Corner The Clerk reported on a visit made to the office by PC Mike Perry and Emma Jayne

Davies, the divisions Crime Reduction Tactical Officer. Local Ward Members would welcome the opportunity to discuss the matters raised in the report. The Chair welcomed the local Police Officer and PCSO’s to the meeting. Anti-social behaviour continues to be a problem in the area. Local Police Officer and Beat Officer, Ryan Carter, told the Council that the perception of crimes does not tally with the reported and actual incidents. There are many ways in which reports can be made; dial 101, Facebook and e-mail or using the PCSO direct contact numbers. Local Ward Members have been attending PACT meetings to discuss matters arising.

Resolved: to continue all efforts in (i) monitor the area and (ii) local Ward Members attend PACT meetings.

3. Minutes . To confirm the January Monthly Meeting on the 9 January 2018 as a true record. Resolved: that the minutes of the Monthly Meeting on the 9 January 2018 were confirmed and signed by the Chair as a true record. 4 Action Table a) To note the Clerks report on actions from previous meetings. ACTION mm63 Community Consultation on Bus Service 47

Two dates booked in February - Thursday 22 at Gwaun Ruppera Care Home Llantrisant

(2018)70 Appendix 2

Signature:……………………….. Date:……………….

and Friday 23 at Fanheulog, Talbot Green.

Resolved: that all Members are invited and encouraged to attend the Community Consultation Events. ACTION mm61 One Voice Wales Meetings

Councillor Allan Matheson gave verbal feedback from the meetings he and the Chair attended. The Clerk will circulate the draft One Voice Wales minutes once received for Members to peruse.

Resolved: the verbal report was noted. b) To receive the reply from RCTCBC relating to the Consultation of Gartholwg School.

Resolved: that the Council will await the outcome of the Cabinet meeting following the consultation. Chair left the meeting (7.30pm) due to family illness, and the Vice Chair took over. 5 Finance a. To confirm the income & expenditure accounts for January 2018.

Resolved: that the income and expenditure accounts for January 2018 were accepted and approved. b. To receive and adopt the accounts for payment for February 2018

Resolved: that the accounts for payment for September as listed were adopted and cheques were signed by Cllr A Matheson and R Hunt. Cllr A Matheson and B Farr agreed to authorise the online payments Talk Talk Broadband/Landline £29.70 Xinn Ltd Web Provision £10.00 Barclaycard hall provisions keys phones, bulbs £588.92 Petty Cash keys, cleaning prods, post, refreshments £57.97 RCTCBC Councillors ID cards and photos £57.60 Rialtas Finance Software £432.00 Trustmark Diary £4.79 Elite Paper Solutions Confidential Waste £3.82 HMRC NI and Tax (Jan ) £875.48 Wages Pay (Jan ) £5,921.72 Pensions Pensions (Jan ) £1,703.78 CMS & Sons Staff uniform £117.11 Plusnet Broadband - Llys y Cwm £13.49 SSE Caerlan - Gas £682.80 SSE Caerlan - Electric £65.40 G&C Electrical Electrics for Defibrillator £138.00 SSE Electric - Works Depot £58.56 RCT CBC Community Bus (Dec ) £330.00 Centregreat Christmas lights and trees £5,388.00

(2018)71 Appendix 2

Signature:……………………….. Date:……………….

Ty Cerrig Christmas Trees £1,104.00 Trivalis Garage Rent £29.28 UK Fuels Diesel £80.60 Maynards Motor Service

Service, MOT £678.23

TOTAL

17,693.02 Jason Akers Mileage Claim £39.24 Copyprint Headed Paper, Compliments Slips, Cards £175.20 West Mercia Supplies Smoke Alarms £40.74 West Mercia Supplies Floor Cleaner, Antibac, Paper, bin bags £58.57 Catherine Craven Mileage Claim £33.45

Total £18,040.22

c. To note One Voice Wales’ advice on Budget Preparation 2018/19

Resolved: that the advice was noted. d. To note the Section 137 Expenditure Limit for 2018/19

Resolved: that the advice was noted. Scrutiny Committee a) to agree the virement – Item 4

b) to continue to monitor rental income at Llys y Cwm and Caerlan Hall – Item 5 c) to adopt a traffic light system for recording the condition of Council assets – Item 6 d) to agree the 208/19 budget – Item 7 e) to agree the 2108/19 precept for Council Tax Band D Property to be set at £40 per

annum to generate an income of £212,359 – Item 8. Resolved: that

a) the virement was agreed; b) the rental income for both halls continues to be monitor; c) a traffic light system for recording the condition of Council assets is adopted; d) the 208/19 budget was agreed e) the 2108/19 precept for Council Tax Band D Property to be set at £40 per annum to

generate an income of £212,359 was agreed; f) the Clerk informs RCTCBC of the agreed precept. mm67

6 Planning To consider planning applications received since the last meeting.

APPLICATION REF: BEDDAU Ref: 17/1192/10 Proposal: Raised hardstanding to front of property and dropped kerb. Location: 1 FOREST ROAD, BEDDAU, PONTYPRIDD, CF38 2DP Ref: 18/0047/10 Proposal: Conversion of existing bungalow into 2 storey dwelling. Location: GLENGALI, BRYNTEG LANE, BRYNTEG, BEDDAU, CF72 8LS Ref: 18/0013/10 Proposal: Proposed Ground Floor, Front and Rear Extensions Location : 41 LLWYNCRWN ROAD, BEDDAU, PONTYPRIDD, CF38 2BE

(2018)72 Appendix 2

Signature:……………………….. Date:……………….

Ref: 18/0075/09 Proposal: Retention of single storey pool house within garden curtilage. Location: MARTON, LLANTRISANT ROAD TO NEWBRIDGE ROAD, BRYNTEG, BEDDAU, PONTYCLUN, CF72 8LR LLANTRISANT Ref: 18/0006/10 Proposal: Proposed additional bays to previously approved vehicle repair and maintenance workshop. Location: UNIT 16 EARTHMOVERS HOUSE, LLANTRISANT BUSINESS PARK, LLANTRISANT, PONTYCLUN, CF72 8LF Ref: 18/0004/15 Proposal: Variation of condition 2 (approved plans and ARFAETHEDIG/PROPOSAL: documents) of previously approved planning application 16/1251/10 to vary the position and details of the proposed workshop and fuelling station Location: UNIT 16 EARTHMOVERS HOUSE, LLANTRISANT, BUSINESS PARK, LLANTRISANT, PONTYCLUN, CF72 8LF TALBOT GREEN Ref: 18/0064/10 Proposal: Proposed side and rear extensions, front porch and roof conversion works with rear dormer. Location: 12 OAK CLOSE, TALBOT GREEN, PONTYCLUN, CF72 8RF Ref: 18/0033/10 Proposal: Installation of mezzanine floor for ancillary retail ARFAETHEDIG/PROPOSAL: area to ground floor (of 214.29 sqm gross floor area). Location: : POUNDLAND, UNIT 2A GLAMORGAN VALE RETAIL PARK, TALBOT GREEN, PONTYCLUN, CF72 8RP

Resolved: that no comment was made. 7 Clerks Report a a) To receive the report on the New Community Defibrillator.

Local Ward Members for TyNant are in discussions with the COOP and it is hoped the retailer will provide a public access defibrillator on the outside of its shop.

Resolved: that a heated cabinet would be provided to store any new defibrillator, provided by the COOP at TyNant, using ward project money.

b b) To receive a report on the Talbot Green to Llantrisant Community Route

Resolved: that

(i) RCTCBC is thanked for providing such a beneficial and well used community asset; (ii) A request to RCTCBC is made to narrow access points to prevent motor cycles

using the path. (iii) RCTCBC continues to work at gaining landowners permission to open the planned

access points along the path. mm68

c c) To receive the report on Police update on Codgers Corner.

This item was moved to the beginning of the meeting as police officers were attending.

(2018)73 Appendix 2

Signature:……………………….. Date:……………….

d d) To receive the report on creating a school Crecy en Ponthieu.

Resolved: that

(i) the project was agreed; (ii) the Clerk write to the local schools asking for written applications and setting out the

criterion from which two teachers will be chosen. (iii) The Chair, Vice Chair and Clerk are given delegated powers to manage the project.

mm69

8 Correspondence

a) To note date of the next Penrhys Pilgrimage meeting on 29 March 2018 at 1.30 Caerlan Hall.

Councillor Julie Barton is meeting with the Chair, Helen Lloyd, next week to discuss progress and matters arising.

Resolved: that the meeting was noted. mm70

b) To receive the correspondence from Bryncelynnog School concerning Wales Autism Awareness Week. 26 March – 2 April 2018.

Due to the holiday period no Member was available to attend the planned event on Good Friday.

Resolved: that the planned activities at Bryncelynnog School during the Wales Autism Awareness Week were noted.

c) To consider RCTCBC proposed consultation on amendment to Regulation 123 List.

Resolved: that the correspondence was noted.

d) To consider the letter from Teenage Cancer Trust asking the Council to make them its nominated charity or make a one-off donations.

Resolved: that on this occasion no donations would be made.

e) To consider a response to the questions posed by the Panel established to undertake a root and branch review of the sector

Resolved: that it had no response.

f) To consider the new Framework and how this Council could implement the tool when considering future projects.

Resolved: that the new framework was considered far too large to would need to be simplified before it could be a potentially useful tool at community council level.

g) To consider a response to Natural Resources Wales Area Statement

Resolved: that it had no response

(2018)74 Appendix 2

Signature:……………………….. Date:……………….

h) To consider the complaint raised by a local resident of speeding traffic along Newbridge

Road. Concerns of speeding traffic along Newbridge Road have been raised on previous occasions at Meetings resulting in several applications being made by this Council to RCTCBC Safe Routes Schemes for improvements to be made.

Resolved: that the matter be raise with local RCT Member.

i) No receive notice from RCTCBC of changes to the highway at Beddau Halt.

Resolved: that RCTCBC are thanked for now addressing traffic concerns that have been raised by this Council for many years. . mm71

j) To consider a response to the Welsh Governments and Defra’s consultation on proposals

to tackle crime and poor performance in the waste sector and introduce a new fixed penalty for the waste duty of care.

Resolved: that it had no response

k) To note the Welsh Governments announcement on Welsh Taxes.

Resolved: that it was noted.

l) To receive the Welsh Language Promotion Newsletter

Resolved: that it was noted.

m) To consider Y Pants schools request to sponsor one or more of its Pupil Achievements Awards.

Resolved: that two awards of £25.00 each are sponsored from the Chairs Allowance. mm72

n) To consider comments on draft statutory guidance which sets out how Local Authorities in Wales should meet the requirements of Section 8 of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017.

Resolved: that it was noted.

9 Health & Safety None reported.

10 Staffing Resolved: that it was noted the new Caretaker, Jason Acers was proving to be a valuable team member working hard to raise the standards at both halls.

The meeting ended at 8.30 pm

13th February 2018

Parish Office Newbridge Road Llantrisant Pontyclun CF72 8EX

Dear Council Members,

Re. Letter of Resignation

It is with disappointment that I am hereby resigning from my position as a Llantrisant Community Councillor.

I am immensely grateful to those who voted me in and want to make it clear that this decision has not been made easily.

While I have a lot of respect for each member of the Llantrisant Community Council, I have never managed, despite my efforts, to fit in to the group and I am sure I never will. There are far more politics involved than I ever could have anticipated, being at community level – because of this, there isn’t the same level of inclusion, team work and mutual encouragement that I have experienced in my time working with other voluntary organisations. I want to make clear that this is neither the fault nor, I doubt, the intention of any of you as individuals and I recognise that each of you are there because you genuinely care about the community. I share that same care for the community but am not in an environment that is conducive to me giving all I can (and all I want to do) to benefit those who voted for me. Therefore, I would like to give someone else the chance to fulfil the role.

As for me, I will now be better able to streamline my focus on the other community work I do locally and make a greater difference that way. I leave with gratitude for all the Community Council does (including all the hard work and dedication from Cath and Alison in the office) and looking forward to working with you from the other side.

Yours sincerely,

Louisa Mills-Phillips

Item 3 Appendix 1

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APPENDIX

4 Action Table

Agenda Item

Action required By Whom Comments

Monthly Meeting Feb 2018 mm72 8m Write to Y Pant re awards Clerk 15 Feb, 2018 Thank you very

much for the kind sponsorship award. As planning for the evening progresses I will contact you regarding the presentation of the awards by the Chair of the Council, which we very much welcome. I will endeavour to direct the sponsorship to the French (or at least Languages) awards.

mm71 8i Write to RCT re Beddau Halt Clerk Wed, 14 Feb, 2018 at 10:39 mm70 8a Feedback Penrhys Pilgrims JB Mm69 7d Crecy School project Clerk/C/VC Thu, 22 Feb, 2018 at 12:04 e-

mail to Franck mm68 7b Community path – letter to RCT Clerk mm67 Virement actioned/RCTCBC notified of precept Clerk/RFO completed

Scrutiny Committee Meeting Jan 2018 mm66 6 Traffic Light system for recording the condition of

assets RFO

Monthly Meeting December 2017 mm58 Consider funding a grit bin from project funds and

formally present matter to full Council for approval at a future meeting. Approximate prices quoted are £220 for a grit bid with logo and filled with salt. £130 each refill thereafter.

Beddau Ward Members

Monthly Meeting November 2017 mm54 12

a Monitor approved repayment plan for the Llys y Cwm regular hall user

RFO/All

mm49 11g

Chair and Vice chair being given delegated responsibilities to work on these small projects Cardiff Conservation Volunteers

Cllr DN AM and Clerk

Clerk met with CCV 31 Jan

mm48 11c

Respond to Welsh Governments Outline Draft Budget 2018/19

Cllr JB/Clerk

mm42 6a Code of Conduct course – still to attend JB/MD mm40 Take forward training opportunities run by the

Listening Project Events committee

Monthly Meeting October 2017 mm32 4 Communications committee to meet with the

Clerk to take the annual report forward Comm Comm Clerk

Monthly Meeting September 2017 mm30 Create a four page offline hard copy newsletter Comm

Committee mm29 Work in partnership with Llantrisant War Memorial

Committee to purchase six benches, three Great Clerk/RFO

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3

PENDING ITEMS from previous meetings

• Footpath, The Acre, Llantrisant• Grass Verges Dan Caerlan• Urinals, Llantrisant• Investigate the cost of improving the length of time data is stored on the CCTV at Llys y

Cwm. (one quote been received)• Reproduction of the Bunny Walk leaflets – In process of being designed• Additional planting Heol Johnson

War Benches and three Second War Benches, to enhance the seating area on the Bull Ring and one lectern. A contribution towards the cost of these items will be made by the committee

Monthly Meeting May 2017 8b Request dog and litter bins for Llantrisant

Common Clerk Letter sent

31 May 17 12 Request a lid for the bin at the start of PROW 292 Clerk Requested

SG Thu 08/06/2017 09:26

12 Chase up dog bin for Chartist Road Clerk Letter sent 31st May 12 May 17

Write to RCT Car Parks to request a disabled bay Clerk Email sent 30th May 2017

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Appendix 4

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Accounts for the meeting of the 13th March 2018

OFFICETalk Talk 02/03/2018 Broadband/Faxline 30.99£ Xinn Ltd 10/03/2018 Web Provision 10.00£ Barclaycard 13/03/2018 Fridges, camera, refreshments 423.61£ Petty Cash 13/03/2018 toilet seat, toaster, card, saws, bolts 49.94£ Elite Paper Solutions 13/03/2018 Confidential Waste 6.83£ Land Registry 13/03/2018 Property Portfolio Consolidatior 100.80£ Trustmark 13/03/2018 Stationery 37.38£ Plusnet 22/03/2018 Fibre/Landline 49.23£ CHAIRS ALLOWANCEY Pant 13/03/2018 Pupil achievement awards 50.00£

COUNCILLORSOne Voice Wales 13/03/2018 Membership 2018/19 2,060.00£

STAFFINGHMRC 13/03/2018 NI and Tax (February ) 1,304.08£ Wages 15/02/2018 Pay (February ) 5,564.24£ Pensions 13/03/2018 Pensions (February ) 1,703.78£

HALLSPlusnet 22/03/2018 Broadband - Llys y Cwm 17.49£ SSE 04/03/2018 Electric - Caerlan 103.48£ Welsh Water 05/03/2018 Water - Caerlan 247.33£ Chubb Fire & Security 13/03/2018 Annual fire service - Llys y Cwm 62.76£ Chubb Fire & Security 13/03/2018 Annual fire service - Caerlan + new extinguisher 166.47£ ALLOTMENTSWelsh Water 09/03/2018 Water - Southgate 14.37£ OUTSIDE WORK

PROJECTSRCT CBC 13/03/2018 Community Bus (January ) 550.00£

TRANSPORTTrivalis 22/03/2018 Garage Rent 29.28£ UK Fuels 07/03/2018 Diesel 85.60£

TOTAL 12,667.66£

ADDITIONAL PAYMENTSTOTAL

Appenidix 4a

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Planning applications for the meeting on the 13th March 2018

LLANTRISANT Ref: 18/0097/10 PROPOSAL: Proposed change of use of domestic garage to small retail business. LOCATION : 2 RUPERRA STREET, LLANTRISANT, PONTYCLUN, CF72 8EZ

Ref: 18/0169/10 PROPOSAL: Proposed demolition of existing lean to extension with new two storey extension to the rear of the property. LOCATION : 14 PARK VIEW, LLANTRISANT, PONTYCLUN, CF72 8DL

BEDDAU Ref: 18/0101/10 PROPOSAL: Single storey side extensions and alterations to existing outbuilding to provide swimming pool and associated facilities in addition to existing leisure facilities incidental to the dwellinghouse. LOCATION : GELYNOG FAWR COTTAGE, PENYCOEDCAE ROAD, BEDDAU, PONTYPRIDD, CF38 2RD

Ref: 18/0122/10 PROPOSAL: Demolition of garage, construction of single storey extension to front and two storey extension to side. LOCATION : 25 HEOL-AP-PRYCE, BEDDAU, PONTYPRIDD,CF38 2SH

TYNANT

TALBOT GREEN

Item 7 Appendix 5

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Appendix 6

Members Report

AGENDA ITEM 8(i) – Youth Consultation Meeting 13th Feb. LLys y Cwm

Action required: To note the report. Update: There is an old adage in acting which says that you should avoid working with children and animals. This couldn’t be more wrong, particularly following my first Llantrisant Community Council meeting as a newly elected Councillor. My first official engagement, prior to the agenda meeting, along with other councillors, was to meet with a delightful group of children who regularly attend the weekly evening Youth Club at LLys y Cwm in Beddau.

This is part of an ongoing Council initiative to develop greater links between the young people of our wards and the council.

Over some welcome refreshments our forty five minute discussion flew by. You would have thought that these children, all under ten years old, would have daunted by the prospect of meeting with a group of adult councillors they had never met before. Not a bit of it. They confidently discussed their hopes and dreams for the future and their likes and issues about living in the local area.

They actively engaged us on what they believe could be done to improve their futures and how they enjoyed the opportunity to attend the Youth club and get involved with all the regular activities which take place there.

It was clear that they enjoy taking part in as many outdoor activities and clubs they can when the weather is kind. It was also clear that they have a very definite idea of

what is right and wrong behaviour and how they are disappointed and wary of when they see their older peers doing otherwise. Long may this continue.

When we finished we thanked them for their time and their well-presented viewpoints and wished them well for the future. What a credit these children are to their community.

We look forward to further discussions with the youth of the local Community so the Council can gain further insights into their points of view and how best we can support their futures.

Councillor Mal Davies. 20

Members Report Item 8 (iii) appendix 6a

Community Fridges.

Backround.

Community Fridges are put in places so that food can be shared in the community. Anyone can put food in and take it out. Their main aims are to reduce food waste (an average family wastes £470 a year and £3 billion is wasted by food sectors). They also enable people facing hardship to get access to fresh, nutritious food. They also provide a focus for local community interaction and activity. They were first set up in Germany and Spain in 2012.

A national UK network was set up in July 2017 by the charity Hubbub UK, which offers a free support service to new projects. They provide a ‘How To’ guide and resource pack. They have secured £160,000 of Big Lottery funding to help extend the idea over the next 3 years. 20 have been launched throughout England to date. There is one in Wales, in Fishguard, which is open 6 days a week at various times. See link below.

Issues for consideration and discussion.

• There could be an initial cost to buy the fridge/fridge/freezers. Hubbub suggests two fridge/freezers. One to take food from retailers to give to people struggling to cope to pay food bills. The other as an Honesty fridge, open to all members of the public?

• If donated and used then the appliances need to be PAT tested. • Like all fridges they have to be kept regularly clean to ensure food safety. • They require rotas of volunteers to clean and check the food daily. • They require public liability insurance in case someone becomes ill as a result of eating

donated food. • They require support from the local authority environmental health officers as they need to

be checked and pass health regulations regarding frozen/fresh food. • Volunteers would require training regarding regulations. • They could be integrated into existing local Food bank locations. Community

services/buildings could be places where particular types of fresh food like vegetables could be dropped off by local donors and then taken to food banks or collected by food bank volunteers?

• Some schemes have a direct link to local supermarkets for regular supplies. • Some people have abused the service through profiteering.

Useful Links.

1. Hubbub website - www.hubbub.org.uk Facebook page. @HubbubUK. They also have a Facebook group.

2. The Fishguard and Goodwick Communtiy Fridge is in the Abergwaun Gateway Club, in Fishguard town centre. They have a Face book page. @fandgcommunityfridge

3. Community Fridge Frome, Somerset. Facebook page. @communityfridgefrome

Mal Davies.

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Clerks Report

Appendix 7 AGENDA ITEM 9(i) – Footbridge and step repairs on Path 198 Action required: To note the work scheduled for the 25 March and 8 April 2018. Background: At its November 2017 meeting the Council agreed.

In the Annual Footpath Report 2017, complied by the Taff Ely Ramblers Group a footbridge on Path 197/198 was reported as ‘dangerous with rotten planks and collapsed handrails’. The area along this path is set in beautiful glade and well worth a visit. In February Cardiff Conservation Volunteers (CCV) met with the Clerk on site and have agreed to carry out repairs and maintenance to the footbridge and steps leading up/down to the stream.

g To consider the letter from Cardiff Conservation Volunteers offering assistance, for a fee. The Clerk reported at least four small projects arising from the 2017 Summer Footpaths Report would benefit from assistance.

Resolved: that the Chair and Vice chair being given delegated responsibilities to work on these small projects with the Clerk. mm49

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The work of repairing the footbridge and steps will be carried out over two Sundays -

25th March and the 8th April 2018

Estimated Costs

Materials to repair the bridge have been estimated at around £300 and £200 for the steps. In addition a nominal fee is charged by the CCV charity at £150 per task x 2 = £300. Delivery costs have yet to be agreed.

In all the estimated project cost is 850.00

The Clerk is in discussion with the landowner to arrange the transport of the materials to the site as the remote location is certainly challenging to carrying heavy loads.

Please find link to a video of CCV building a raised boardwalk in Radyr last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5oWx6-vMj8

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Clerks Report

Appendix 7a

AGENDA ITEM 9(ii) – Refurbished Play Park Area in Southgate

Action required:

To note the report.

Background:

The newly refurbished play park area at Southgate is now open for business.

The new equipment is designed for a broad age range starting from 2 years up with parental support. There’s opportunities for climbing and sliding on the multi play units. There’s different types of rotary play - both considered to be Inclusive (one can accommodate a wheel chair). There’s different types of swings to accommodate different needs/ages - including toddlers (in the cradle style seat), flat seats and basket seat for multiple users, again considered to inclusive. Rocking in the form of a 3 seat see-saw and space in the centre for more children to stand and sit as well as the spring animals.

There’s a picnic table and lots of space for children to generally run around and let off some steam!

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Clerks Report

Appendix 7b

AGENDA ITEM 9(iv) – Community Consultation Bus Service

Action required:

To consider the information gathered from Consultations and make an informed decision on the renewal of the contract of Community Bus Service Route 47.

Background:

In November 2014 RCT withdrew funding for the no 47 Community Bus which serves parts of Llantrisant and Talbot Green not accessed by the service buses. e.g. Gwaunruperra, Forest Hills, Fan Heulog. Providing a route to the Retail Parks and Talbot Green Bus Station.

In March 2015 Llantrisant Community Council worked with RCT to re-establish the service on a Tuesday. Creigau Travel fulfilled the contract at a cost of £99.50 per day until April 2016. There were problems with them meeting the Disability Act Requirements for the bus and they did not retender for the next year. The original contract was only accepted for one year to confirm that usage figures supported Council funding it. Thomas of Rhondda took on the service in April 2016 at a cost of £110.00 per day until 31st March 2018.

Tabled on the January 2018 agenda was the renewal of a contract to operate the number 47 Community Bus Service. £7020 per annum for five years.

Members considered the increase in costs and the decreasing numbers of service users.

Projected figures are approximately £6.45 per journey. Service users will be counted for each journey made on the bus for example a person get on to shop in Tesco that’s one journey, if they then catch the bus to the retail park that’s a second journey and finally a third journey to home.

It was agreed that a temporary contract be negotiated and public consultations over the coming weeks gather evidence to inform this Councils decision on this matter.

Councillor A Matheson travelled on the bus over a two week period in February. His findings were the service users depended on the bus to get their shopping. However of the three circular journeys the last was not used. It was suggested by service users that the bus could be run on a Friday, rather that a Tuesday, so that a weekend shop could be done.

Working in partnership with Trivallis Housing two open public consultations were arranged in February.

The first was held at 3.00 pm on Thursday 22 February at Fanheulog in Talbot Green. Councillors A Matheson and S Powell attended and 19 members of the public.

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The following was raised by those attending – • Tuesday was the preferred day as Friday was too busy at the shops;• The last cycle was not used;• The hour between cycles was not sufficient. An hour and a half was preferred;• Promote bus service in the locality to increase the number of service users;

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Councillors also provided the opportunity for the public to raise any other concerns.

Two matters were raise

1. Footpath ANT 320 very muddy under Lanelay Road bridge, adjacent to LanelayPark. Clerk informed local resident that she had been on a site visit there theprevious week and had raised the concern with the local RCTCBC Member. CllrPowell has been in touch with RCT and is awaiting a reply.

2. Lighting. Councillors went out with a local resident to see where a light was notworking. Councillor Powell will endeavour to establish ownership, RCT or Trivallis,and report to the relevant department.

The second Open Public Consultation Event was held at 1.30 pm on Friday 23 at Gwaun Ruppa in Llantrisant.

Councillors A Matheson, T Crutcher and B Farr attended and 23 members of the public.

The following was raised by those attending –

• Change day to a Wednesday• Start time from 10.00 am to 10.30 am• Allow a gap between 1st and 2nd cycle.

There were residents from Trem y Cwm, Beddau , also present. They asked if the bus service could also operate there as many find the taxi fare expensive.

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Gwaun Ruppa

Trem Y Cwm

On the request of residents at Trem y Cwm Members were invited to a further meeting on Wednesday 28th February at 2.15pm.

Councillors A Matheson and R Hunt attended and 30 members of the public.

The following was raised by those attending – • The bus service including Trem y Cwm would be welcomed and used.• Wednesday was a preferred date for the service to operate.

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Appendix 7c

Responsible Finance Officers Report

AGENDA ITEM 9(vi) – Petty Cash Account for Office

Action required:

To agree to a six month trial of removing Petty Cash Account for office use and review to assess whether it can be closed after this period.

Background:

In June 2018 Nat West in Talbot Green will be closing.

The nearest branch thereafter is Pontypridd for withdrawing money to replenish the Petty Cash Account.

Both the Responsible Finance Officer and the Clerk have credit cards and the Council has trade accounts with our most regular suppliers.

It is proposed to trial not having a petty cash account for six months and review to assess whether it can be closed.

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Responsible Finance Officers Report Appendix 7d

AGENDA ITEM 9(vii) – Valuation of the Councils Assets

Action required: To note the expenditure involved and the potential changes to the value of the Council Asset Register for the end of the financial year.

Background:

Council may be aware that the Deputy Clerk/RFO is working on ensuring the Council Asset Register is complete and accurate and compliant with all insurance requirements.

The internal auditor highlighted the need for regular valuations of the Council properties. Neither Community Hall has been valued for over 10 years. A local Chartered Surveyor & Valuer has been appointed to ensure that both halls are adequately valued for insurance purposes, this will be completed before the end of the financial year at a cost of £500. Which my sound a lot, but when the annual insurance premium is currently just over £4,000 it is important that the insurance cover is what is required.

Some questions as to what land the Community Council actually own and what is on long term lease/agreement with the Borough Council came to light several years ago when the Community Council asked permission from RCT to plant some trees, only to be told that the Community Council owned the land in question! Ever since the RFO has had it on the to do list to confirm what Council are legally responsible for. A Property Portfolio Consolidator request has been put to the Land Registry. 8 properties have been highlighted as being under the ownership of Llantrisant Community Council. To receive this list which includes a copy of the register for each property will cost £84. Although pleased that there appears to be no new land that the Council are responsible for the RFO is now extremely curious as to which assets are not on the list. The Land Registry will check further properties we believe to be owned by Council at no additional charge once the initial list has been purchased.

LOCATION CERTIFICATE HELD

COMMENTS

1 Caerlan yes 2 Llys y Cwm yes 3 Brynteg Allotments no Various conveyances, conditions of sale have

been found 4 Tynant Allotments yes 5 Hunters Gate yes 6 Mount Pleasant Gdns yes Record of transfer 7 Cherry Cottage yes Record of transfer 8 Urinals - Llantrisant yes Check in filing cabinet 9 Land at Forest Hills no This is the one that apparently belongs to

Council. 10 Bus stop at Heol

Hensol yes

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Clerks Report

Appendix 7e AGENDA ITEM 9(viii) – General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Action required: To note the report. Background: At the November meeting the Clerk reported a big change in data protection law with the new legislation, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), that will come into effect on the 25 May 2018 in the UK and will sit alongside the Government's new Data Protection Bill, bringing a more 21st century approach to the processing of personal data. GDPR confirms that the council will be the ‘data controller’ and is responsible for compliance with data protection law. The Information Commissioners Office guide ‘12 Steps to Take Now’ was included with the agenda papers. Follow this link for the guidance https://ico.org.uk/media/1624219/preparing-for-the-gdpr-12-steps.pdf The Clerk also reported the successful application to Welsh Government for funding to support a new cluster project to assist the RCT Clerks in understanding and preparing to meet the statutory obligations under the new GDPR regulations. New Developments:

1. One Voice Wales advises ‘You should be aware that representations are being made to MPs about ensuring that the requirements of the new legislation are proportionate to the size of public bodies but until the Data Protection Act is passed by the UK Parliament we are unable to state at this stage whether any changes will be made to reduce the burden on smaller councils. We will of course keep you informed when we know more’.

2. Gethin Williams, former Chief Executive of Pontypridd Town Council and Data Protection Appeal Officer at RCTCBC, was appointed by the RCT Clerks as our specialist consultant. He was tasked to prepare a ‘GDPR Package’ that could be disseminated out to all Community Councils in Wales. Following regular meetings, we have now identified the actions that needed to be taken and have been pooling resources which has saved the Clerks a lot of time and effort. Our Consultant has now drafted most of the procedures, policies and notices required by the new legislation and we have reached our final steps of arranging training sessions. There will be three rounds of training delivered by Gethin. The first is scheduled for the 15 March, for the RCT Clerks, followed by further sessions for two groups; Community Council Staff and Members. Once these dates have been arranged I will notify the Council.

Sent: Mon, 26 Feb, 2018 at 14:27

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The Clerk/RFO can claim for some of the related hours worked on GDPR from the project funds. At his stage the Clerk estimates a claim of 25 accrued hours will be submitted and paid in additional to the monthly salary.

3. Attached is the Legal Briefing publications from NALC.

L05-17 GDPR - Summary of the main provision. L10-17 Data Protection Officer (DPO). Under the new DGPR legislation the Council must appoint a Data Protection Officer. Based on the drafting of GDPR and the guidance from the Article 29 Working Party, it is NALC’s view that most clerks and RFOs cannot be designated as a council’s DPO. I have asked for GDPR to be tabled on the RCTCBC Community Liaison Committee for us to explore the possibility of commissioning the services of an RCTCBC officer to service the RCTCBC Town and Community Councils. Unfortunately, RCTCBC cancelled both the December 2017 and February 2018 meetings. As yet a new date has not been scheduled.

4. The Information Commissioners Office has now announced its new Data

Protection Fee model. This Council will fall under Tier 1 as we have no more than 10 members of staff. Registration for this Council in 2018 will increase to £40.00 per annum. Members should read the ICO guidelines to assess whether they need to be registered as individuals. All personal data held on the Council’s e-mail address @llantrisant-cc.gov.wales is covered by the Council’s registration. Please ensure you are using your Council’s e-mail address when corresponding all Council business to ensure you comply with this regulation.

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General Data Protection Regulation - summary of main provisions

Introduction

The EU regulation known as General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) will come into

force on 25 May 2018. The Government has also confirmed that it will introduce new

legislation to repeal the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the 1998 Act”) and to ensure that new

UK legislation does not create inconsistencies with the GDPR. It therefore seems likely that

new UK legislation would be introduced before or on 25 May 2018.

Purpose of GDPR

GDPR contains terminology that councils will already be familiar with because they are

included in the 1998 Act (see Legal Topic Note 38) e.g. personal data, data controller, data

processor, data subject, subject access request, processing, and data protection principles.

GDPR builds on the legal framework established by the 1998 Act to balance the needs of

organisations (businesses, not for profit and public bodies e.g. local authorities) in their

capacities as data controllers and data processors to collect and use personal data against

the rights of an individual to have his information (personal data) kept secure and private.

GDPR has been introduced to address the privacy issues arising from a digital age in

which personal data may be collected, transmitted, stored, manipulated and shared with

relative ease e.g. using emails, websites, the internet and the cloud.

The purpose of the GDPR is to increase (i) the obligations on organisations when acting as

data controllers and (ii) the rights of individuals to ensure that their personal data is

respected and used only for legitimate purposes. It also imposes new obligations on data

processors.

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Put simply, personal data is data that relates to a living individual who can be recognised

from that data. The categories of personal data processed by a council may include:

• communications with individual local residents including letters, complaints and

council surveys;

• the council’s employment and recruitment records (e.g. employment contracts, and

job applications);

• contracts with individuals and contracts which require processing of personal data;

• arrangements with volunteers;

• communications with third parties e.g. principal authorities, CALCs, local charities,

sports clubs, Disclosure and Barring Service (“DBS”), HMRC and staff pensions

provider;

• the electoral roll and

• legal proceedings or transactions with individuals.

Summary of changes being introduced by GDPR

The annex to the Briefing provides a summary of the main provisions in the 1998 Act and

the changes to be introduced by GDPR which are relevant to councils.

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ANNEX

Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Data protection principles

8 principles set out in Schedule 1. Same principles in 1998 Act but condensed to 6 principles listed below. Personal data must be: • Processed fairly, lawfully and in a transparent manner in relation to the

data subject. • Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further

processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes. • Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the

purposes for which they are processed. • Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. • Kept in a form that permits identification of data subjects for no longer

than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed.

• Processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (Article 5).

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Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Consent Data Controllers are required to have valid purpose(s) for processing personal data and where the data controller is relying on an individual’s consent, this is referenced in para 1 of schedule 2 (in respect of personal data) and in para 1 of schedule 3 (in respect of sensitive personal data- consent must be explicit).

Data controllers are required to have legitimate reason(s) for processing personal data and where the data controller is relying on an individual’s consent, the data controller must be able to demonstrate that consent, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, was freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous for each purpose that it being processed. Prior to giving consent, the individual shall be informed of his right to withdraw his consent at any time. In other words, it should be as easy to withdraw consent as to give it (Articles 4 and 7).

Consent for children

The 1998 Act does not specify an age at which a child will be considered able to give consent, and it is left to a data controller to decide, on a case by case basis, whether a child has the ability to understand the concept of their personal data and whether the consent given by the child is informed consent (i.e. is understood).

Limits the ability of a child under 16 to consent to their personal data being processed in respect of “information society services” e.g. online businesses or social networking sites. This means where personal data is being processed for a child under 16, consent must be obtained from the child’s parent or custodian. An EU member state may lower the age that a child can give consent to processing of their data from 16 to 13. (Article 8). On 7 August 2017, the Government announced that it would use the Data Protection Bill to legislate that children aged 13 years or older can consent to their personal data being processed for information society services (see Legal Briefing L04-17 for more information about the Bill).

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Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Privacy notices (also known as fair processing notices)

Specifies basic information to be given by a data controller in a privacy notice (paras 1 – 5 of Part II of Schedule 1).

More information to be given by data controllers in privacy notices. This includes the following. • the identity and the contact details of the data controller and, if any, of

the • controller's representative and of the data protection officer; • the purpose(s) of the processing; • the categories of personal data concerned; • the recipients or categories of recipient to whom the personal data has

been or will be disclosed, in particular recipients in third countries or international organisations;

• where possible, the envisaged period for which the personal data will be stored or, if not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;

• the right to request from the controller rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing of personal data concerning the data subject or to object to such processing;

• the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO and • where the personal data is not collected from the data subject, any

available information as to its source (Articles 13 and 14).

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Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Communications by data controllers

There are new requirements on the data controller regarding the communications in a privacy notice and to the data subject relating to the rights of the data subject. Information provided must be a concise and intelligible form using clear and plain language, in particular for any information addressed specifically to a child. The information shall be provided in writing, or by other means, including, where appropriate, by electronic means. When requested by the data subject, the information may be provided orally, provided that the identity of the data subject is proven by other means (Article 12).

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Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Data controllers working with Data processors

Where personal data is processed by a data processor on behalf of a data controller, the data controller must (a) choose a data processor providing sufficient guarantees in respect of the technical and organisational security measures governing the processing to be carried out, and (b) take reasonable steps to ensure compliance with those measures. Where processing of personal data is carried out by a data processor on behalf of a data controller, the processing shall be carried out under a written contract under which (a) the data processor is to act only on instructions from the data controller, and (b) the data processor must comply with obligations equivalent to those imposed on a data controller by the seventh principle. (Paras 11 and 12 of Part II of Schedule 1)

The data controller is required to enter into a contract with the data processor which imposes the following obligations on the processor: • Process the personal data only on the documented instructions of the

controller. This is likely to mean that data processors cannot use cloud computing technology or services without the data controller’s approval.

• Comply with security obligations equivalent to those imposed on the controller under Article 32 of the GDPR.

• Only employ staff who have committed themselves to confidentiality or are under a statutory obligation of confidentiality.

• Enlist a sub-processor only with the prior permission of the controller. • Assist the controller in carrying out its obligations with regard to requests

by data subjects to exercise their rights under Chapter III of the GDPR (including the right to transparency and information, the data subject access right, the right to rectification and erasure, the right to the restriction of processing, the right to data portability and the right to object to processing).

• Assist the data controller in carrying out its data security obligations under Articles 32 to 36 of the GDPR (Article 28).

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Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Privacy Impacts assessment (PIA)

A PIA is a process which helps an organisation to identify and reduce the privacy risks of new projects (e.g. use of CCTV or an IT system/ database for storing and accessing personal data) or policies. Conducting a PIA is not a requirement of the 1998 Act but it is regarded as good practice by the ICO. The ICO has issued a code of practice in respect of PIAs (s .51).

Where a type of processing in particular uses new technologies and the purpose(s) that the data controller wishes to process personal data poses high risks, it will have to carry out a data protection privacy impact assessment before such processing (Article 35). The ICO is expected to provide guidance about the type of processing that would demand a data protection privacy impact assessment.

Notification by data controllers

Notification to ICO to be included in register of data controllers (s.18).

The requirement to provide notification to ICO is replaced by a new requirement for data controllers to maintain a written record of processing activities under their responsibility. The written record shall include a description of the categories of data subjects and the categories of personal data, purpose(s) of processing, categories of recipients of personal data, time limits for erasure and description of technical and organisational measures to protect data. Data processors also have a new duty to maintain a written record of similar information. However, the obligation to maintain a written record does not apply to an organisation employing less than 250 persons unless the processing it carries out is likely to result in risks to the rights of data subjects, the processing is not occasional, or the processing includes special categories of data e.g. revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade-union membership, or processing criminal convictions and offences. (Article 30).

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Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Appointment of Data Protection Officer (DPO)

No requirement. Data controllers and data processors must designate a DPO in 3 situations which include where the processing is carried out by a public authority or body (e.g. local authorities including a parish council or, in Wales, a community council) (Article 37). More information about the DPO is in Legal Briefing L04-17.

Notification to report personal data breaches

No requirement. Data controllers are required to report to the ICO personal data breaches without delay and within 72 hours. A data processor must also notify a data controller without undue delay after becoming aware of a personal data breach (Article 33).

Fines ICO may fine a data controller up to £500,000 for serious breaches (s.55A).

There are heavy fines for data controllers and data processors for a wide range of breaches. Some breaches (e.g. failing to comply with data subjects’ rights or the principles for processing including conditions for consent) attract fines of up to 4% of annual turnover for the preceding year or 20 million Euros whichever is higher. For other breaches (e.g. failing to keep records of processing activities, to appoint a DPO or to comply with security obligations) the fine can be up to 2% of annual turnover or 10 million Euros, whichever is higher (Article 83).

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Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Individuals’ rights

Individuals have certain rights against data controllers

Existing rights are strengthened and new rights are given. Individuals also have (limited) new rights against data processors.

• The right of access to personal data held by a data controller within 40 days of request upon payment of £10 fee (s.7).

The right of access to personal data held by a data controller must be dealt with within one month of request and free of charge. Where requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because they are repetitive, the data controller may charge a fee for providing the information or refuse to respond (Articles 12 & 15).

• The right to prevent processing likely to cause damage or distress (s.10).

The right to restriction of processing (Article 18).

• The right to prevent processing for purpose of direct marketing (s.11).

The right to object to the processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes (including profiling to the extent that it is related to direct marketing) (Article 21).

• The right to object to decisions being taken by automated means (i.e. by a computer, by online profiling) (s.12).

The right not to be subject to automated decision-making (Article 22).

• The right to claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the 1998 Act (s.13).

The right to receive compensation from the data controller is retained and there is a new right to receive compensation from the data processor for the damage suffered as a result of an infringement of GDPR (Article 82).

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Subject 1998 Act requirements GDPR requirements

Individuals’ rights

• The right in certain circumstances to have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed (s.14).

The right to obtain from a data controller without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data (Article 16). There is a new right to erase personal data (also known as the “right to be forgotten”) which means that data subjects will be able to request that their personal data be erased by the data controller and no longer processed. This will be where the data is no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is processed, where data subjects have withdrawn their consent, where they object to the processing of their data or where the processing does not comply with GDPR. However, the further retention of such data will be lawful in some cases e.g. amongst others, where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation or for reasons of public interest in the area of public health or for the exercise or defence of legal claims. Where the data controller has made the personal data public and is obliged to erase the personal data it shall take reasonable steps to inform data controllers which are processing the personal data that the data subject has requested them to erase any links to, or copy or replication of that personal data (Article 17).

• None A new right to be notified by a data controller when a personal data breach is likely to result in a high risk to a data subject’s rights (Article 34).

• None A new right to data portability - to receive a copy of personal data or to transfer personal data to another data controller (Article 20).

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Further reading The ICO’s website has detailed guidance about:

• the new obligations for data controllers and data processors which can be accessed via https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/accountability-and-governance/

and

• the new rights for individuals which can be accessed via https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-

gdpr/individuals-rights/

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21 DECEMBER 2017

L10-17 | DATA PROTECTION OFFICER

Introduction

Legal briefings L04-17 and L06-17 confirmed that parish councils and parish meetings in England and community councils in Wales are required, under the General Data Protection Regulation (effective on 25 May 2018) and new UK legislation expected next year, to appoint a Data Protection Officer (“DPO”).

The purpose of this briefing is to provide more information about (i) a DPO’s responsibilities and (ii) the person appointed as DPO.

i) The DPO’s responsibilities:

The DPO’s responsibilities are as follows.

• to understand the nature, scope, context and purposes of the council’s or parish meeting’s processing activities and associated risks;

• to be involved in the council’s or parish meeting’s decisions/activities which have data protection law implications;

• to inform, advise and make recommendations to the council or parish meeting in respect of data protection law compliance;

• to monitor and audit the council’s or parish meeting’s compliance with data protection law;

• to raise awareness of data protection law with councillors and staff in a council or with the chairman and staff, if any, of a parish meeting.

• to directly report to the “highest management level” (for a council, this would be full council and for a parish meeting, this would mean its chairman);

• to assist the council or parish meeting in carrying out privacy impact assessments when these are necessary;

• to be the contact point for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and for data subjects and

• to be consulted by council or parish meeting if a data breach has occurred.

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Notwithstanding the remit of the DPO’s responsibilities, GDPR confirms that the council or parish meeting is responsible for compliance with data protection law, not the DPO.

ii) The person appointed as the DPO

L04-17 confirms that the DPO may be an internal or external appointment. In other words, the DPO may be a member of staff or appointed under a service contract. A single DPO may be designated for more than one public authority, taking account of their organisational structure and size. This means a group of councils and parish meetings (or other public authorities such as principal authorities) would be permitted to commission the services of the same DPO or DPO business, provided that a DPO is assigned to each organisation. Leaving the issue of costs aside, a DPO who is a member of staff may be more beneficial than an external appointment, not least because he will be more accessible to the organisation and able to respond to issues as they arise.

The DPO must be appointed on the basis of professional qualities and, in particular, expert knowledge of data protection law and practices and the ability to perform the responsibilities described in (i) above .

Although a DPO is allowed to have functions or responsibilities additional to those arising from his DPO role, those other tasks and duties must not conflict with the performance of his DPO responsibilities. This means, in particular, that the DPO cannot hold a position which determines the purposes and the means of the processing of personal data. The need to ensure that a DPO can work without conflict of interests is closely linked to the requirement for the DPO to act in an independent manner.

The Article 29 Working Party, which is made up of the regulatory bodies for data protection law which operate in EU member states (and includes the ICO), has produced useful guidance about the DPO. The guidance states:

“As a rule of thumb, conflicting positions may include senior management positions (such as chief executive, chief operating, chief financial, chief medical officer, head of marketing department, head of Human Resources or head of IT departments) but also other roles lower down in the organisational structure if such positions or roles lead to the determination of purposes and means of processing.”

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Can clerks or RFOs be DPOs?

Based on the drafting of GDPR and the guidance from the Article 29 Working Party, it is NALC’s view that most clerks and RFOs cannot be designated as a council’s DPO. This is because although they may satisfy some requirements of the job, they will not satisfy all of them which are summarised below.

• an absence of conflicts of interests (which may arise from responsibilities asa clerk/ RFO and may include processing activities);

• independence;• expert knowledge of data protection law and practices and related

professional ethics to effectively advise and influence full council and• adequate time to perform DPO role (many clerks/ RFOs work part-time).

© NALC 2017

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Responsible Finance Report

Appendix 7f AGENDA ITEM 9(ix) – CCTV and Alarms Systems at Council Premises Action required: To confirm the way forward with updating the CCTV and alarm systems at Council Premises. Background: Council have previously discussed the need to:

1. Update the CCTV at Llys y Cwm hall as the storage is only 7 days which does not give time for the police to view and incident before the footage is written over.

2. Change the alarm system at Caerlan Hall so that the alarms can be switched off by someone in the hall without having to have access to the main control panel in the office.

The Annual Risk Assessment has picked up the inefficiency of the current alarm system at the work depot, which will only be set off if anyone opens the door, should they gain entry by any other means, the alarm would not get set off. Also as in the hall there is only one control panel so both containers must be opened on each occasion access is required to the storage container. Unfortunately there is currently a problem with the screen/recorder for the CCTV at Caerlan and it now needs replaced. New wireless systems mean that the telephone line used for the alarms will now be redundant. Techonology is currently changing at a very fast pace and neither the CCTV or the alarms have been kept up to date with OWL.

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Emex – local company Chubb – national company Llys y Cwm CCTV

£257.29 – just new hard drive, did not see the need to change the camera yet.

£878.00 – new camera (MP) to give wider angle and clearer picture & hard drive

Llys y Cwm Alarm

No change needed all working OK. £221.00 – new wireless signalling device needed if changing contracted firm.

Works Containers

£455.65 – separate system in both containers, monitoring and additional sensors.

£861.00 2 new wireless systems capable of wireless monitoring

Caerlan Alarm £865.55 – total new system including separating hall and office and wireless monitoring

£639.00 install totally new wireless system separating hall and office.

Caerlan CCTV £1196.15 total new system and additional camera for front of office to cover defib.

£886.00 total new system no additional camera

TOTAL £2774.64 £3485 Annual Costs & Monitoring

Bronze - £240 each monitoring and service Silver- £300 each as above plus unlimited callouts Gold -£360 as above plus all parts and labour.

£209 Llys/depot – monitoring only £275 Caerlan – monitoring only

Emex are based in Pontyclun and hoping to move offices shortly to Coedcae Lane as they have expanded the business since taking over OWL alarms. Although the service provided by Chubb was much more efficient, Emex are coming in cheaper and are local, the quote also includes a new camera to cover the front of the Parish Office where the defib has been located. The RFO would recommend renewing the contract with EMEX and proceeding with the work as listed. In terms of monitoring the RFO would recommend the Bronze package as the majority of the systems will now be new.

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Memorandum of Understanding

1. The Parties

1.1 This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is between the Welsh Ministers, the Welsh Local Government Association (the WLGA) and One Voice Wales (OVW) (together, “the Parties”).

1.2 In entering into the arrangements which this MOU describes the WLGA and OVW are respectively representing principal councils and community and town councils in Wales.

2. Purpose

2.1 The MOU sets out a fair and consistent approach across Wales to the fees charged by local government for the burial and cremation of children.

2.2 This MOU has been prepared in partnership between the Welsh Government, which oversees the strategic policy and funding framework in respect of local government in Wales; and local government burial authorities1, who provide and maintain cemeteries and crematoria in Wales.

3. A shared commitment

3.1 Burial authorities in Wales will not charge any fees in relation to the standard burial or cremation of a child, defined for these purposes as a person under the age of 18.

3.2 This commitment applies to standard fees that burial authorities charge relating to:

1 Under the Local Government Act 1972 a ‘burial authority’ within Wales is a County or Country Borough Council or a Community or Town Council. In this MOU, “burial authorities” refers to county councils, county borough councils and community and town councils in Wales.

Action for Council: To note letter the commitment to end burial and cremation fees for children

Appendix 8

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i. The cremation of a person under the age of 18 years (includingstillborn and foetal remains);

ii. The interment of a person under the age of 18 years (includingstillborn and foetal remains);

iii. The exclusive right of burial 2, where required;

iv. Any other fees directly relating to the burial or cremation of aperson, or the cremated remains of a person, under the age of18 years (for example, the fees charged for permission to erecta memorial).

3.3 Burial authorities will waive the fees described in section 3.1 and 3.2 in all circumstances.

3.4 The commitment in this section does not relate to wider funeral costs such as (non exhaustively) the cost of a memorial, funeral director fees, flowers or coffins.

4. Funding

4.1 In recognition of the financial implications of waiving the fees described in section 3, the Welsh Government will, while this MOU remains in force, annually make available the sum of £600,000 for allocation among principal councils in Wales that have agreed to comply with the commitment in section 3.

4.2 Provision by the Welsh Government of that funding to principal councils is subject to satisfactory grant conditions having first been put in place.

4.3 Principal councils will distribute appropriate sums to other burial authorities, and other providers of the relevant services, in their area which have agreed to adopt the commitment set out in section 3.

4.4 Principal councils may place such conditions on the provision of that funding to other burial authorities and other providers of the relevant services as they consider appropriate.

2 Exclusive Right of Burial (‘EROB’) means exclusive right, granted by deed, of the registered owner to determine who may be interred in or commemorated on the grave in question; such exclusive rights to be for a limited period which has been determined by the Council

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5. Duration / Review

5.1 This MOU may be modified by mutual consent of the Parties, acting via authorised officials.

5.2 This MOU shall become effective upon signature on behalf of the Parties and will remain in effect until terminated by any one of the Parties.

5.3 Any Party may terminate this MOU by giving at least 3 months notice in writing to each other Party.

5.4 The operation of the MOU will be reviewed in advance of the financial year 2020/21.

6. Status of this MOU

6.1 This MOU is not intended to be legally binding, and no legal obligations or legal rights shall arise between the Parties from this MOU.

____________________ Date: 23/11/2017. (Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services, on behalf of the Welsh Government)

____________________ Date: 23/11/2017. (WGLA, representing principal councils in Wales)

____________________ Date: 23/11/2017. (OVW, representing community and town councils in Wales)

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Clerks Report

Appendix 8a

AGENDA ITEM 10ii – My Community My Council Engagement Event

Action required:

To nominate a Member to attend

Correspondence Received:

Sent: Friday, 26 January, 2018 11:24:07 Subject: Engagement Event Invitation from the Review Panel

MESSAGE SENT ON BEHALF OF THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW PANEL

Get Involved!

The Independent Review Panel are hosting a series of engagement events and would like to invite council members, clerks and key stakeholders.

Come and share your views with the panel, to help Community and Town Councils play the best role they can in their communities.

To ensure we hear as many views as possible, spaces are limited to two places per invitation.

To reserve your space please register by clicking on an event near you:

South East Wales - Cardiff <https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.co.uk%2Fe%2Fmy-community-my-council-ein-cymuned-ein-cyngor-engagement-event-sew-tickets-42497293549&data=02%7C01%7CLisa.Aspinall%40gov.wales%7Ce43316cbfa7b408fc8e608d5808a3f28%7Ca2cc36c592804ae78887d06dab89216b%7C0%7C0%7C636556253633439450&sdata=nElgV9oBcfc0VPytkj3DCCpAGK7SCM3VkQCLlMSyQWU%3D&reserved=0>

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The South East Wales event is being held on Thursday 15th March at 9.30am to 12.30am at Old St Mellon's Village Hall, Newport Road, Old St Mellons, CF35 5UN

1 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

GUIDANCE ON CLUSTERING

1. What is Clustering?

Clustering is a term widely used to describe the ways that TCCs can increase their effectiveness and meet their objectives through collaborative, joint working and partnership arrangements with other TCCs and / or other groups. To achieve desired benefits such as economies of scale, TCCs may consider it beneficial to undertake delivery of services or functions at a local level in a group (cluster).

2. Why Cluster?

The clustering of TCCs enables a more cost effective approach for a number of reasons:

It may be the best way forward to effectively co-ordinate arrangements wherethese cross TCC boundary areas.

Clustering by TCCs allows for the sharing of resources. Benefits from economies of scale can be derived from the sharing of key

functions. Reduction in costs (for example, insurance or joint commissioning). Increases the capacity to undertake projects. Clusters can enable larger TCCs to delivery services to smaller areas which

do not have the resources to manage service delivery. Clusters can empower Community Councils to identify the most suitable form

of service delivery for their local area. They can enable the sharing of effort to increase the availability of services

and / or skills, for example with one Community Council leading on someservices while another may lead on others.

Clusters can also work with other community groups to further enhanceservices at a local level.

Creates a network of shared knowledge and experience. Can open up new funding opportunities due to increased ability to undertake

large projects or gain funding from sources that may not fund governmentprojects.

Appendix 8b

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2 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

3. Examples of Services and Assets

Across Wales, Community groups are managing services and assets in a variety of ways. The following services have been identified that lend themselves to being delivered on a “cluster” basis:

Youth Projects Multi-purpose community buildings – e.g. large main halls, meeting facilities,

training facilities Libraries Public toilets Grass Cutting Maintaining parks and playing fields Day Care Child Care Cultural and Heritage centres e.g. Penarth Pavilion.

As indicated previously, the VoG Council is keen to discuss expressions of interest in services or assets from TCCs in the form of clusters or individually. Further information is available on the VoG Council’s website relating to Community Asset Transfers, including a description of the process.

4. Who to Cluster With?

The membership of a Cluster Group depends on the purpose. It could include TCCs as well as other groups in the community.

Options that clusters could choose from include: a larger Town Council delivering services within the town and in neighbouring community areas using their own employees; TCCs running community assets or delivering services through a community interest company and a Cluster Group commissioning commercial subcontractors.

Clustering arrangements display a wide variety of characteristics. These include:

Size and form – where broadly similar sized arrangements exist and wherecapacity and economies of scale can be gained from sharing functions, suchas administration.

Commonality – when common links between Community and / or TownCouncils exist, usually because of geographic proximity or common interests.

Purpose – when objectives cover specific arrangements around the deliveryof a service such as grass cutting and where costs and liabilities can beshared.

Organisation – these can vary from small simple informal arrangements, suchas sharing administration costs through to larger formal structures that includejoint governance.

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3 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

Volunteers

Although clusters can be formed by TCCs, some services can also be provided by volunteers. This can be done on an individual basis if one person has a key interest in providing a particular service or it could be undertaken by a group of volunteers overseen by a central co-ordinator. TCCs will need to consider issues such as whether volunteer groups are sustainable and whether any specific training is required. The GVS can provide information relating to how volunteer groups can be set up and supported.

5. Key Principles in Relation to Clustering

There are a number of key principles to bear in mind when considering clustering:

Service should be undertaken at the most appropriate level which will varywith the nature of the service and the capacity and capability of the serviceprovider.

Flexibility should be clearly defined within agreements to allow servicedeliverers to respond to local needs and any changes that may arise.

Clustering arrangements should be clear and ensure that any liabilities areproperly understood and addressed through insurance or other arrangements.

Individual TCCs will still continue to fulfil their individual existing statutoryobligations.

Clusters should provide added value to working individually. All clustering arrangements should include exit strategies to take account of

significant changes in any circumstances.

6. Setting Up and Managing a Cluster – Things to Consider

The following are some aspects that you will need to consider when setting up and managing a clustering arrangement.

(i) Set out Clear Objectives and Governance Arrangements

It is important that the Cluster Group agrees clear objectives and that it also has in place proper governance and leadership arrangements. The Cluster Group should:

Be clear, at the outset, about the reasons for clustering Establish clear priorities for the Cluster Group Establish an appropriate leadership model for the cluster e.g. individual chair

and secretary, or rotating chair Consider the level of governance required, which will depend on the model

adopted. This may require a formal Constitution or a Memorandum ofUnderstanding as well as Codes of Conduct or Protocols.

Build a strong relationship with the Manager / staff of the service or asset thatyou are interested in.

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4 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

Look at the existing service delivery / building and take a look at the potentialto develop the service or use of the asset. Identify unmet need or servicegaps in local provision.

Understand and identify local competition. Look at the range of activities thatthey undertake and see opportunities to work together and share resources.

Engage with key stakeholders and consult with the local residents. Do theyhave any concerns and talk to them to find out what they want and need.

(ii) Are the Cluster Group’s Proposals Feasible?

The Group should properly establish if its key proposals which have been set out to meet its objectives are realistic and achievable. To do this the Group should:

Undertake a brief and simple “feasibility study”. Some groups may considerasking independent consultants to complete this task for the cluster,particularly when proposals involve significant reconfiguration of a service orbuilding. In other instances, consideration of the costs, benefits and how thearrangement would work in practice could be undertaken by the Group.

After undertaking the feasibility study, evaluate the results and identify anystrengths and weaknesses in the proposals and update plans as necessary.

Assess whether the necessary levels of resources are in place. Draw up a list of potential funding sources and formulate an action plan

around further ways of income generation. Formulate a risk register to monitor areas and aspects of concern and to

highlight what actions are required to mitigate any impacts.

(iii) Model

Decide on the right model that the Cluster Group will adopt. This will largely depend on the type of service or asset that is being considered. In all circumstances though, you will need to carefully consider the level of resources required to meet your objectives and the amount of funding that will be available.

It is also a good idea to evaluate similar projects in other areas, go out and see these in operation and talk to Managers / Elected Members about their own experiences of what worked and what did not work.

Once the governance arrangements of the Cluster Group have been decided, an organisational chart is a common way to map out the Group’s structure and to clearly document roles and responsibilities.

(iv) Set up a Project Steering Group and Decide its “Terms of Reference”

If you are working as a cluster, you are advised to establish a Project Steering Group and set out the Terms of Reference that each partner will work to and to define how each TCC will seek approval from their own TCC for any decisions that are made / to be made.

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5 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

The relationship between any Cluster Group and the formal functions of the TCC should be transparent to the wider public.

It should be clear whether any bodies established (i.e. a Steering Group) is a sub-committee of the TCC. The structure of a sub-group or Steering Group should be formally agreed and Membership will likely be made up of delegates from all of the partnership bodies, unless other joint representative arrangements are agreed.

(a) Terms of Reference of a Steering Group:

At an early stage it will be important to agree the Steering Group’s “Terms of Reference”. This will provide direction for the Steering Group by describing its purpose and structure.

The Terms of Reference of the Steering Group should be approved by a meeting of each of the TCCs in the cluster and should ensure that the TCCs receive regular documented reports from the Steering Group.

(b) Purpose

The Steering Group’s purpose should be to design, implement and oversee the creation of the Cluster Group.

(c) Principles of the Steering Group

Usually the Steering Group will have a number of principles that will need to be adhered to, such as:

The Steering Group should undertake the process in a democratic,transparent and fair fashion, allowing opinions and ideas to be put forward byall.

The Steering Group will encourage and allow those who live in areas of theCluster Group the opportunity to inform and shape the process e.g. throughtaking part in the consultation process.

The Steering Group will make this a positive and constructive process. Ultimately it should be the intention to take an inclusive approach that will

improve quality of life and strengthen the community.

(d) Membership of a Steering Group

Each TCC should be represented on the Steering Group. In other examples of such arrangements membership has usually been around 10 members on the Steering Group. Groups may consider membership from outside of the TCC partners also, for example, the voluntary sector, members of the community or a local business. Potential or perceived conflicts of interest should always be considered when establishing the membership of a Steering Group.

It will be crucial to formally decide and record the minimum number of members in which a meeting of the Steering Group becomes inquorate.

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6 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

(e) Roles within a Steering Group

The Steering Group will be required to elect a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. If the Chair and Vice Chair are unable to attend a meeting then a temporary Chair (selected from the Steering Group members) should be elected for that meeting. The Secretary will take notes / minutes from the meeting, record main decisions and action points and make available to the public these and any relevant information as appropriate.

(f) Steering Group’s Tasks and Activities

A Steering Group will normally undertake a number of tasks and activities, these will include:

Working with the partnership bodies to ensure that they are fully informedthroughout the process, and appropriate decisions referred to them whenapplicable;

Ensuring that there is effective communication which allows for all keydecisions to be mutually agreed by the Steering Group and the TCCs;

To liaise with residents, partners and stakeholders throughout thedevelopment of the Cluster Group;

The preparation of a project plan which sets out how the Cluster Group will becreated and its activities delivered;

To consult as widely and thoroughly as possible to ensure that the draft andfinal project plan is representative of the views of residents;

To effectively publicise the intentions of the Cluster Group and to inform andengage the community,

To publicise all subsequent activities and progress; The holding of regular meetings in order to agree actions and discuss issues

that arise and to ensure that these are dealt with in an efficient and timelymanner;

The gathering of baseline information and analysing the availableinformation;

Establishing and understanding the needs of residents and what the long termvisions or aspirations of the Group are;

To decide upon and, if required, set up sub-groups to gather statistics,information and views, which will be subject to these being agreed anddelegated by the full Steering Group;

Produce notes / minutes from Steering Group meetings and circulate to allmembers of the Cluster Group (and others as agreed to be appropriate e.g.support staff);

Set up a mechanism to inform interested residents of progress e.g. monthlyupdates by email. Encourage residents to sign up to this;

Agree financial arrangements and budget with member Councils.

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7 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

7. Does your Business Case Stack Up?

Put together a business case to carefully record the financial viability and sustainability of the proposals. This is not necessarily as complicated or as detailed as it may sound and many simple and easy to use business planning tools are available. Advice on developing business cases can be found in the VoG Council’s Community Asset Transfer Guidance and also from the GVS.

8. Funding and Finances

Consideration of the financial arrangements of a cluster will be of paramount importance. Some of the main elements around finances are as follows:

Agreement on how the clustering arrangement will be financed e.g. fundinggrant or contributions by the Group members.

A Cluster Group should set some financial targets to help assess the financialstability of service, project or asset.

Clusters will be expected to arrange public liability insurance if deliveringdevolved services.

In particular there will be three important funding considerations:

Overheads – when planning or applying to run a service, TCCs will need to take proper account of the likely management overhead costs, as well as the running costs. This will include such things as extra administration, office costs and insurance cover.

One-off costs – TCCs should carefully consider what one-off costs may exist and how they will be funded e.g. replacing equipment, building maintenance.

Double Taxation – sometimes local service funding through the precept can lead to concerns about “double taxation”. This happens if households are paying for both the service in their local area (through the precept) and paying towards that same service elsewhere through their Council Tax bill.

9. Will the Cluster Deliver Real Benefits to the Community?

Assessing the benefits to the community may not necessarily be complicated, but it will require careful thought and planning. The key here is not to get caught up with the Group’s activities but to focus on the outcomes. For example, by running a Community Café, an outcome may be that local people have somewhere to socialise. It is these sorts of outcomes that need to be measured, and ways to do this include:

Write a list of the cluster’s intended outcomes for the community. Identify ways that you can monitor this (for example, through surveys of

service users).

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8 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

Regularly monitor and evaluate progress – assess how far the clusteractivities have delivered against the list of community benefits.

Revisit or revise your list of outcomes each year. Produce a position statement to allow local people to see and understand the

benefits that the Group has brought. Carefully maintain and scrutinise the financial position of the Cluster Group

and consider whether its money is being spent in the correct areas.

10. Capacity to Meet Objectives

When setting up a cluster, it may be a good idea to create a “project team” to see through the Group’s proposals to meet its objectives. Attracting the right people with a shared passion and a large amount of commitment will be crucial. The Group should ensure that there is opportunity for all to participate in the planning and the development of the project team. It is good practice to have a wide range of representation of different interests and expertise and it is better to have too many than too few people. 6 -10 people is usually a good starting point.

Other elements will be to:

Elect a leader, someone who has the drive and the commitment and who isalso a good communicator, well connected and respected.

Ensure that the Cluster Group up-skills its project team, consider the level ofgeneric skills available and the number of people with specialist knowledge.

Identify strengths and weakness and set out clear roles and responsibilities Always be on the lookout for potential partner groups / organisations to help

guide you through this process and to act as a “mentor”.

11. Staffing and Human Resources

One important aspect will be for your Cluster Group to be able to cater for the needs of existing and / or new staff and volunteers.

The way that the Cluster Group decides how to staff the community asset or service will be of critical importance. The Group may need both paid employees and volunteers. If there are existing VoG Council staff employed in the building or service, then in some particular circumstances they can be required to automatically transfer to the new employer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE).

Other things to consider around staffing include:

Be realistic of your staffing plans. Consider what is currently available and thelevel of financial resources. Ensure that plans do not put undue pressure onstaff.

Create “Job descriptions” and look at these being reviewed on a regular basis.

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9 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

Develop sound Human Resources policies and procedures, especially aroundthe need to look after the welfare of any volunteers.

Seek specialist legal advice when required and when you are unsure aboutsomething.

12. Legal Implications

There may be legal implications associated with what your cluster is intending to do.

The best course of action is to take legal advice from a suitably qualified person at the earliest stage in the development of the Cluster Group. A good starting point is LawWorks Cymru, which is a project to enable voluntary organisations in Wales to benefit from free legal advice.

Go to: https://www.lawworks.org.uk/solicitors-and-volunteers/get-involved/lawworks-cymru

13. Where Can TCCs Turn for Support?

One Voice Wales (OVW) – TCCs who are members of OVW may wish to discuss any potential ideas and seek further guidance on the issue from OVW, who can be contacted at www.onevoicewales.org.uk.

The VoG Council recognises that support may be required to ensure that Cluster Groups have been set up in the correct way and to ensure that they continue to operate in an effective manner. The VoG Council is willing to discuss providing support to assist with:

Promoting and raising awareness The dissemination of good practice Promoting training and quality standards Developing business cases.

Glamorgan Voluntary Services may be contacted at https://www.gvs.wales.

14. Conclusion

This guidance note attempts to list some of the common issues, challenges and opportunities that exist around clustering, which can produce positive benefits for local communities by tackling common issues.

There is not one model of clustering which has been found and local arrangements generally depend on the main objectives for which a cluster was established. The common element is for TCCs to work more closely together sometimes in partnership with other stakeholders to get things done effectively.

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10 TRIM – K Bowen – TCCs Reshaping Services 16-01-27 Approved by CLC Guidance on Clustering

For further advice or guidance regarding the contents of this document, please do not hesitate to contact –

Mrs. K. Bowen Democratic and Scrutiny Services Officer Telephone number: (01446) 709856 E-mail: kbowen@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

NB This Guidance has been prepared following discussions with Vale Town and Community Councils, One Voice Wales and Glamorgan Voluntary Services at a Reshaping Services Seminar in 2015 and based on best practice.

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1 March 2018

Dear Clerk to the Council,

2018-19: FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE INITIAL SETTING UP OF JOINT ARRANGEMENTS.

The Welsh Government recognises the potential benefits of the sector’s existing interest in being able to address area wide issues, collaborate on specific areas, and achieve economies of scale. The Welsh Government’s commitment to supporting the sector through the “agenda for action” was announced at the One Voice Wales conference in October 2016, and includes facilitating sector interest around joint working on particular common issues.

In 2017-18, in support of the “agenda for action” Welsh Government made 20k of funding available to support the sector’s interest in setting up joint arrangements for clustering. The sector’s response provided a sufficient number of eligible bids to allocate the budget in full. Further funding has been agreed for 2018-19 to help councils who are already considering options around a set of core themes to take their thinking forward into practical application.

Based on experience from last year’s bidding round the funding in 2018-19 will continue to support setting up joint arrangements to address the core themes of community engagement, increasing citizen participation and engagement in local democracy, as well as continued support for clustering. The budget available has increased to 35k for 2018-19 only. Some of the potential benefits for councils in considering joint activity around these core themes are listed at ANNEX A.

The Welsh Government contribution of support for joint proposals will be capped at £5k as a one-off grant. Proposals will need to demonstrate joint working between councils and commit to delivery of all activity and outputs before the end of 2018-19.

The support is not intended to “pilot” work for any of the three core themes for wider roll-out; it is simply recognition of sector appetite for developing their existing ideas – enabling development, not driving it. It provides an opportunity to encourage those

Item 10(iv) appendix 8c

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councils who have an interest in these areas but previously faced barriers in developing their ideas further.

All councils, except those who received support for clustering arrangements in 2017-18, are eligible to submit proposals relating to delivery in 2018-19, using the guidance note and application form enclosed with this letter, ANNEXES B and C. The closing date for applications is 20 April 2018.

Please send your completed application form to LGPartnerships@gov.wales using “CTC Bids 2018-19”in the subject heading. Applications received after the closing date of 20 April will not be considered. We are happy to answer any queries you may have about the process or the application form, please get in touch using the email address above.

Yours sincerely

Joan Lockett Local Government Partnerships

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SUPPORT FOR INITIAL SETTING UP OF JOINT ARRANGEMENTS – CORE THEMES The funding to support the initial setting of joint arrangements can be used for the following purposes:

• Undertaking community engagement, • Increasing citizen participation and engagement in local democracy, • Enabling clustering/ working together on a shared service.

Core themes eligible for support - what do we mean?

Undertaking community engagement

Community and town councils (CTCs) are the tier of local government closest to local people, part of the local community, and directly accountable to its community. The work of a CTC directly affects its local surroundings and services. Whilst there is no widely accepted definition of community engagement, and the meaning can vary in different contexts, one description is local people are ‘engaged’ when they play a meaningful role in the deliberations, discussions, decision-making and/or implementation of projects or services affecting them. Through engaging people in local communities CTCs can look at ways of ensuring local people have a greater degree of control over the way local services and assets are managed and provided, and the way resources are utilised. This theme could address, for example, finding innovative ways of consulting and engaging with local people about the work of the councils involved; making it easier and more convenient for local people to engage on a particular service or issue.

Increasing citizen participation and engagement in local democracy This theme is concerned with raising awareness of local people about the council’s work with the aim of encouraging them to participate in the local democratic process by standing for election as councillors, or to consider putting themselves forward for co-option, where appropriate to do so. Raising awareness and increasing participation in standing in local elections will increase the diversity of opinions, and contribute to a higher degree of legitimacy of decisions. Support for proposals in this area recognises that raising awareness of the council’s work and encouraging participation is not only about campaigns in an election year, rather, the need to build awareness and participation throughout the election cycle.

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Activity under this theme could address, for example, be developing and implementing plans to increase representations on the councils involved from all sections of the community including younger people, or groups who have traditionally been viewed as seldom heard or hard to reach.

Enabling clustering/working together on a shared service(s) In the context of CTCs clustering seems to be widely used to describe partnership, joint working, and co-operation. There are at least two different types of clustering, including general clustering for a broad set of purposes and specific clustering for particular function/service. The key determinant of a cluster approach is often a result of being better able to meet defined objectives. How the objectives are to be achieved dictates what the cluster will look and feel like.

Potential benefits of the core themes:

Engaging communities effectively could:

• Increase the likelihood that new proposals will be widely accepted.

• Offer more effective solutions.

• Empower and integrate people within the community

• Increase networking across the community.

• Provide a sense of working together to address issues.

• Address concerns before problems become too big.

• Increase trust in community and governance.

Well-designed engagement could allow local councils to identify and understand:

• Differing values and priorities

• Differing ways local people view the community or a particular issue

• Different ideas and potential solutions and actions

Increasing citizen participation and engagement in local democracy could:

• Improve how local decisions respond to local needs

• Citizens can make creative and innovative proposals to solve challenges.

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• Citizen participation is recognised as one of the main components of good

governance

• Increased diversity of citizen background potentially offers wider scope for

identify solutions

A range of activities could be enhanced through clustering, for example:

• collaboration in service delivery;

• addressing area wide issues;

• resource sharing: experience, skills and expertise, training opportunities,

networking and exchanging ideas;

• sharing good practice;

Where CTCs are increasingly being asked to take on responsibility for local assets and service delivery; clustering may help build capacity and capability; help achieve economies of scale; and more successfully lever in funding and resources.

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LOCAL DEMOCRACY AND BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR WALES

GUIDANCE FOR PRINCIPAL COUNCILS ON THE REVIEW OF COMMUNITIES

FEBRUARY 2018

Appendix 8d

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© LDBCW copyright 2018 You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to the Commission at ldbc.wales@gov.wales This document is also available from our website at www.ldbc.gov.wales

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FOREWORD This updated guidance has been produced by the Commission at the request of the former Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government to support greater consistency in the manner in which community reviews are conducted. There are two audiences in mind in the drafting of this document. Primarily this is a guide for principal council officers in the conduct of a review of their communities. It has also been drafted to inform interested parties, in particular the town and community councils of Wales, as to how the process should operate. It will demonstrate how, through their engagement in a review, they can influence the review to ensure that the boundaries of their community council reflect how their community operates on the ground and that the representation of their constituents is appropriate. In the Reforming Local Government: Resilient and Renewed White Paper the former Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government confirmed the commissioning of a comprehensive review of the community and town council sector. While there may be implications for community council arrangements, the Commission understands the review will take around a year, reporting in the summer of 2018 and any changes following the review will be implemented following this after due consideration. This guidance is therefore an important document for officers of principal councils and interested parties in the intervening period.

The Commission welcomes correspondence in Welsh and English. Mae’r ddogfen hon ar gael yn y Gymraeg.

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LOCAL DEMOCRACY AND BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR WALES

GUIDANCE FOR PRINCIPAL COUNCILS ON THE REVIEW OF COMMUNITIES

Chapter Title Paragraph Page 1. Introduction 1.1 1

Communities 1.2 1 Community Reviews 1.4 1

2. Community Review Best PracticeGuide

2.1 2

Review Planning and Commencement 2.4 2 Not Conducting a Review 2.8 3 Conducting a Review - Preparation 2.11 3 Terms of Reference 2.12 4 Council Size Policy 2.18 5 Amalgamation and Grouping of Communities 2.22 5 The Initial Consultation 2.28 6 Identifying Potential Changes 2.31 7 Changes to Community Boundaries 2.33 7 Changes to Community Electoral Arrangements 2.34 7 Consequential Changes of any Proposal 2.37 8 Complex or Challenging Areas 2.38 8 Draft Proposals 2.39 8 Final Proposals 2.46 9

3. The Commission’s Role 3.1 10 Community Electoral Arrangements 3.5 11

APPENDIX 1 Community Review Process – Best Practice APPENDIX 2 Glossary of Terms

The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales Hastings House Fitzalan Court

CARDIFF CF24 0BL

Tel Number: (029) 2046 4819 Fax Number: (029) 2046 4823

E-mail: ldbc.wales@gov.waleswww.ldbc.gov.wales

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1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This Community Review Guidance document has been produced to assist and

help to ensure consistency in the conduct of Community Reviews by principal councils. It has been produced to explain the statutory processes that should be followed and reflects the best practice developed by councils over time.

Communities 1.2 There can be some confusion over what is meant by the word community. It

means different things to different people. Some may consider it to be the street in which they live, others a more broad village area, others much larger areas. All of these are entirely accurate and reflect the lives of people and the differences and similarities of places where we live, work and interact. However, in Wales there is an additional and more technical meaning.

1.3 For the purposes of this guidance, a community is the unit of local government

that lies below the level of the principal council (a county or county borough). Community areas cover the whole of Wales, so wherever you live you will be in a community. Many, but not all, of the community areas have an elected council that provides services to their particular community area. Most councils of community areas are known as community councils but some communities have the status of a town and are known as town councils. Where a community has a community or town council it may be divided for community electoral purposes into community wards.

Community Reviews 1.4 From time to time, because of developments or shifts of population, there may

be a need to make changes to the community areas. Such changes may involve changes to the boundary of the community and, where a community council exists, changes to the community council electoral arrangements. The legislation that covers community reviews is the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013 (the Act).

1.5 Under the Act the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales (the

Commission) has a general duty to monitor arrangements for local government across Wales. Each principal council however has a duty to monitor the communities in its area and, where appropriate, the electoral arrangements of such communities for the purposes of considering whether to make or recommend changes. These changes are brought about by means of a community review. Both the Commission and the principal councils, when carrying out their duties, are required by the Act to seek to ensure effective and convenient local government. A community review conducted by the council is brought into effect by an Order by the Commission.

1.6 The Statutory process for conducting a community review is set out in Sections

23, 25, 31 and 33 – 36 of the Act. These set out the basic criteria for conducting a review, the appropriate considerations and the procedure.

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1.7 When conducting a community review the Commission’s guidance proposes for principal councils to conduct a community review in accordance with both Section 25 – Review of community boundaries by principal council and Section 31 – Review of electoral arrangements for community by principal council – together. Whilst two separate processes in the Act, we do not believe it is appropriate to consider the boundaries of communities without, simultaneously, considering their internal electoral arrangements, where appropriate. All references to community reviews in this guidance document should be viewed in this light.

2. COMMUNITY REVIEW BEST PRACTICE GUIDE2.1 Over the course of conducting community reviews since the Local Government

Act 1972, a process of best practice has evolved over time. This is not to say that every council across Wales has utilised this best practice but many do, and this has been published in handbooks published by the Association of Electoral Administrators.

2.2 When conducting a community review a principal council should also consider its other statutory obligations related to the review. For example obligations under the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015, Welsh Language Standards and the Equality Act 2010, will all influence and inform the conduct and decisions made during the course of a community review.

2.3 In this guidance document the Commission will set out both the statutory and best practices of councils who have conducted community reviews in Wales. As an aid the Commission has produced a flow chart at Appendix 1 that sets out the best practice process.

Review Planning and Commencement

2.4 There are four key ways in which a community review is precipitated:

1. In preparation for the programme of Commission electoral reviews;2. A request for a review from a Community or Town council or a Community

Meeting (where no council exists);3. At a principal council’s own initiative; and,4. A Ministerial Direction.

2.5 Principal councils have a duty to report to the Commission on their community arrangements every ten years. The Commission is also required to conduct electoral reviews of principal councils every ten years. In the publication of the Commission’s programme, we provide an indicative timetable of when a principal council may wish to consider conducting a community review. Ideally a community review should precede an electoral review, as the community and community wards are utilised as the primary building blocks for the electoral wards. Whilst there is now power for the Commission to make changes to community and community wards as a consequence of proposing electoral wards, the Commission is of the view that, in general, such changes would best

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be made during a community review. A principal council may commence a review at their own initiative at any time.

2.6 If a principal council receives a request from a town or community council, or receives a request from 30 or more members of the public who organise a community meeting in an area, it may also consider whether it is appropriate to conduct a review in a specific area or for the whole county. If the Council considers that it does wish to conduct a review, it should consult with the Commission to ensure that they have sufficient time to make an Order and that it would not have an adverse impact on the work the Commission has programmed.

2.7 If a principal council is Directed to conduct a review by Welsh Ministers it should do so in accordance with that Direction, utilising this guidance where applicable. A Ministerial Direction will have been consulted on and the representations of the principal council and the Commission will have been considered in the creation of the final Direction.

Not conducting a Review

2.8 It is the expectation of the legislation that a council conducts a community review every ten years. If a principal council has decided it will not conduct a community review it needs to communicate the reasons for not conducting a review clearly to the Commission, mandatory stakeholders and any interested parties. A report should be submitted to the Commission setting out the process it has gone through, the considerations and reasoning behind not conducting a review.

2.9 The Commission may, after reviewing the evidence and existing arrangements, not concur with the council’s conclusions and challenge them on their decision. It is possible that the Commission could conduct its own review and charge the council for conducting the review. If the Commission does conduct a review, recommendations will be submitted to Welsh Ministers who would then make an Order.

2.10 It is for this reason that it is essential that the council engages and communicates with the Commission at the earliest opportunity to discuss a potential review.

Conducting a Review – Preparation

2.11 Once a council has decided it will conduct a community review there are three streams of activity: Preparation of Terms of Reference (ToR), research into the existing arrangements and the activities for the Council / Scrutiny committee overseeing the review for the council.

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Terms of Reference

2.12 Whilst not a requirement of the Act, it has become common practice for principal councils to develop, consult on and then publish ToR for a community review.

2.13 The ToR should establish the timetable and procedures, provide guidance and set out the issues that will be considered during the course of the review. Provision of a ToR allows the Council to ensure that they are seen to be following a set procedure and appropriate considerations for a review and allows interested parties to understand how to effectively engage in the review. It also provides the Commission with information as to whether the council has appropriately conducted the review under the terms of the Act and has met their own expectations when submitting proposals to the Commission.

2.14 Examples of provisions within a ToR to be considered by a principal council are, but not limited to: • An indicative timetable for the review• The procedures the council will follow• Considerations during the review

o Non-Statutory: Suitability of existing boundaries Recognition of rural / urban divides A Council Size Policy (see 2.18 below) The Commission’s proposed council size aim at the next

electoral review. Grouping of communities Amalgamation of communities

o Statutory: Easily identifiable boundaries Not breaking community ties Whether a community or town be warded (or de-warded) If warded, the number of councillors per ward. Naming of communities and/or their wards.

o Consequential arrangements of any changes proposed

2.15 The principal council may wish to informally consult with the Commission or colleagues from other principal councils in the drafting of the ToR. The principal council may also wish to consult with the Welsh Language Commissioner when considering Welsh language community or community ward names as part of the community review process.

2.16 Once a draft ToR has been agreed by the relevant council authority, it is good practice to consult on this draft in order to ascertain the views of interested parties. This should be provided, at a minimum, to the mandatory consultees (See Appendix 2 – Glossary of terms) and should last for 6 to 12 weeks.

2.17 Once the consultation has ended, the representations received should be considered and a final ToR be produced for approval by the principal council. Once the ToR is approved, the Council will be in a position to begin the review.

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Council Size Policy

2.18 Whilst not a requirement of the Act, it has become common practice for principal councils to develop, consult on and then publish a Council Size Policy. This is ordinarily included within a ToR.

2.19 The Council Size Policy creates a mechanism to determine, for the principal area’s community and town councils, the appropriate number of community councillors for a given town or community based on the electorate of the community or town council. It should ensure that representation on a community or town council is, as far as is practicable, the same across all the community councils within the principal area.

2.20 Issues a council may wish to consider when developing a council size model are:

• An approximate councillor allocation per electorate• Provision of an overall minimum and maximum number of community

councillors for a community council. Historically the minimum number ofcouncillors for a community council has been 7, but some councils haveused 6. The largest community council in Wales at present is 24. Themaximum size may be dependent on the factors below.

• What are the existing community council sizes• The scale of the activity of the community councils in a principal council

area.• The geography of the principal council area• How sparsely or densely populated a principal council area is; or is it

mixed.

2.21 Each principal council should determine its own policy, based on its own considerations. It may be that it wishes to discuss the modelling with the Commission or other principal councils. The Commission can provide examples of models utilised by other councils in previous reviews.

Amalgamation and Grouping of Communities

2.22 A principal council may receive a request from a group of communities which wishes to conduct their business together, allowing for cost savings or increased capacity to expand on its services or functions.

2.23 Alternatively, a principal council may take the view that in certain areas, or more widely across their principal area, they wish to delegate functions to the communities or towns within their jurisdiction. In doing so they may require communities or towns to be of a certain specific size, whether geographically or in terms of electorate, where there is sufficient capacity to discharge these duties.

2.24 In such circumstances consideration may be given to either grouping or amalgamating the existing community or town councils to provide that capacity.

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2.25 Where a principal council wishes to apply such a model across its principal area it should consider setting out a Community Amalgamation / Grouping Policy. This policy should set out maximum and minimum sizes of the groups and any factors it is taking into consideration when creating group communities.

Amalgamation

2.26 The amalgamation of communities would be the joining of two or more existing communities together to form one, new, larger community. The existing community councils are dissolved and a new separate community area and council are established. Consideration, as with all communities, should be given to the warding of that new community. The Commission would expect the wards of the new community to, at least, reflect the former communities that have been amalgamated.

Grouping

2.27 A principal council may group two or more communities together to form a new, group community council. However, unlike an amalgamation of communities, each community council (and community ward where appropriate) being grouped will continue to have separate representation on the new, grouped community council. For more information on group communities please see the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011, Part 7, Chapter 2.

The Initial Consultation

2.28 The Act sets out the procedure for a review in Chapter 4. Specifically, in Section 35(1) of the Act it stipulates that the reviewing body must consult the mandatory consultees and conduct such investigations as it thinks appropriate. A list of the mandatory consultees is contained in Appendix 1.

2.29 The Act does not stipulate how long this consultation should be. It is considered best practice to allow 12 weeks for such a consultation. This should allow interested parties, particularly the town and community councils to consider their arrangements and make representations to the principal council.

2.30 It is during this period that a council should consider the views of those who make representations but should also consider all of their current arrangements and whether they are appropriate or not. A change does not have to be precipitated by representations as long as the council is acting within its prescribed policies (as set out in the ToR) and the confines of the Act.

Identifying Potential Changes

2.31 In order to discharge its duties under the Act, the principal council should maintain a mechanism to identify potential changes. This may be achieved by a combination of periodic consultation with the community councils and ongoing consideration of community boundaries and electoral arrangements when

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considering issues such as planning (including the preparation of development plans) and electoral administration.

2.32 During the initial consultation period officers responsible for the review should

consider each community area boundary and if they are still appropriate. Examples of common issues that can arise are (but not limited to): new developments or extensions of existing developments straddling communities; anomalies not identified in previous reviews (for example, golf courses split across two communities or areas where a small road or cul-de-sac is ‘split off’ from the rest of their community); and, changes to water courses or farms.

Changes to Community Boundaries (Section 25) 2.33 Changes may be proposed to community boundaries. Proposed new

boundaries should wherever possible follow features that can be identified both on detailed maps and on the ground. Proposals may also be made to abolish a community, constitute a new community, amalgamating communities or establishing or adding to a group community.

Changes to Community Electoral Arrangements (Section 31) 2.34 Changes may be proposed to the electoral arrangements of a community1. In

making proposals for changes to community electoral arrangements regard is to be had to any change in the number and distribution of local government electors of the community which is likely to take place within the period of five years immediately following any recommendations. The Act also requires account to be taken of any discrepancy between the number of local government electors and number of persons that are eligible to be local government electors (as indicated by relevant official statistics). Such proposals should take into account the Council Size Policy.

2.35 Where a community area has, or will have, a community or town council,

consideration should be made to whether it should be warded. In considering whether a community should be divided into community wards, regard should be had to whether the number or distribution of the local government electors for the community is such as to make a single election of community councillors impractical or inconvenient and whether it is desirable that any area of the community should be separately represented on the community council. Regard is also to be had to the desirability of fixing boundaries which are and will remain easily identifiable and any local ties which will be broken by the fixing of any particular boundaries.

2.36 Where a community council is already warded those ward boundaries should

be considered in the same way as changes to community boundaries, taking

1 The electoral arrangements of a community are defined in the Act as: (a) the number of members of the council for the community; (b) its division into wards (if appropriate) for the purposes of the election of councillors; (c) the number and boundaries of any wards; (d) the number of members to be elected for any ward; (e) the name of any ward.

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into account the potential changes identified (see 2.31) and the ToR. Where making changes to the wards, account should be taken to the consequential representation of the wards within the community.

Consequential Changes of any Proposals

2.37 When proposing changes to communities and their wards, the principal council needs to consider consequential changes that may need to be made to the electoral arrangements of the principal area2. The communities and their wards are the building blocks of electoral wards. Where a change is proposed to one of these ‘shared’ boundaries it is normal practice to also propose a consequential change to the arrangements for a principal council electoral ward. Ordinarily, if a minor change is proposed consideration will be limited to a simple shift of the boundary. However, if significant changes are made the council will need to consider the appropriate consequential arrangements, including the creation of new electoral wards and the number of members representing the new or significantly changed wards. These should be proposed at the same time as any change to communities and their wards, if appropriate.

Complex or Challenging Areas

2.38 On occasion difficult decisions may have to be confronted by officers and the principal council where arrangements, although popular with local residents, may not be appropriate. In these areas innovative solutions may need to be sought. Alternatively, it may be necessary to make a robust evidence based case in making proposals that are most appropriate for an area in the face of strong or considerable opposition. The Commission will endeavour to provide any informal advice it can in these instances or offer differing options for the Council to consider. Decision making in these areas needs to be clear and evidence based.

Draft Proposals

2.39 Once the initial consultation has completed, the representations received should be considered with the changes identified by the officers and a report should be produced for the approval of the principal council. Once approved the council should prepare a draft proposals report for publication and consultation.

2.40 The Draft Proposals Report must contain details of the review and any proposals for change that the principal council considers appropriate or, if it does not consider any change appropriate, a proposal to that effect. The draft proposals are published in order to ensure adequate consultation in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Act.

2 The electoral arrangements of a principal area are defined in the Act as: (a) the number of members of the council for the principal area,(b) the number, type and boundaries of the electoral wards into which the principal area is for the

time being divided for the purpose of the election of members,(c) the number of members to be elected for any electoral ward in the principal area, and(d) the name of any electoral ward.

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2.41 Notice must be given of the consultation one week before it commences. The notification can be by means of letter and email, notices placed on principal council and community council notice-boards, the principal council and community council websites, social media and by any other means that the principal council considers appropriate. It is good practice for the notification to include details of the draft proposals and maps (or details of how and where to access maps) and would ask the community councils and all interested parties, including the general public, to make comments on the draft proposals.

2.42 A period of 12 weeks is normally allowed for consultation3 on the draft proposals. The Draft Proposals Report must be published electronically and must be available for inspection (without charge) at the offices of the principal council for the duration of the period for representations. The report must also be sent to Welsh Ministers and mandatory consultees and all others who responded at the preliminary stage must be informed how to obtain a copy of the report.

2.43 In addition, some principal councils have undertaken road shows, meeting each community in their area discussing the proposals and encouraging representations which support or oppose proposals, or offer alternative suggestions.

2.44 As noted at paragraph 2.38, on occasion difficult decisions may have to be confronted by officers and the principal council where arrangements, although popular with local residents, may not be appropriate. Decision making in these areas needs to be clear and evidence based. If the status quo is maintained the evidence for the decisions made must be robust when providing its report to the Commission.

2.45 At the end of the consultation period the comments on the draft proposals and all evidence collected to that point is considered and final proposals drawn up. The final proposals are then adopted by the principal council by means of the appropriate mechanism.

Final Proposals

2.46 The report of the review (known as the Final Proposals Report) must contain any proposals for change that the principal council considers appropriate or, if it does not consider any change appropriate, a proposal to that effect. The report must also contain details of the review and the consultation carried out on proposals and details of any changes to the proposals made in the light of representations received and an explanation of why those changes have been made.

2.47 The Final Proposals Report is submitted to the Commission. The principal council should also publish the final proposals in the same way as the draft proposals (see 2.42 and 2.43 above). The Final Proposals Report must be

3 The Act states that the period for representations should be a period of not less than 6, nor more than 12, weeks beginning no earlier than one week after the notice period is given.

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made available for inspection (without charge) at the offices of the principal council for at least 6 weeks following publication. A copy of the Final Proposals Report must be sent to the mandatory consultees, Ordnance Survey and the Welsh Ministers and all others who responded at the earlier stages must be informed how to obtain a copy of the report.

3. THE COMMISSION’S ROLE3.1 Where the principal council has carried out a Community Review and has

submitted its report containing its final proposals (including consequential changes to principal council electoral arrangements) to the Commission, the Commission, after a period of 6 weeks, will consider the proposals and may make an Order implementing the proposals. During this six week period the Commission may accept representations on the councils proposals for its consideration.

3.2 On receipt of the proposals the Commission will request for copies of information pertinent to the review to satisfy that the council has conducted the review in accordance with Part 3 of the Act. This will include, but not restricted to, copies of every representation received, the reports to the relevant scrutiny committee and full council and the minutes of those meetings.

3.3 Once satisfied the correct process has been undertaken, it will consider the details of the proposals made to the Commission. The Commission may implement the proposals of the principal council without change or, with the agreement of the principal council, may make changes to the proposals. Where the proposals contain changes to the electoral arrangements of the principal council the Commission must first seek the consent of Welsh Ministers before making the Order.

3.4 Under certain circumstances the Commission may decide to conduct its own review. These circumstances are where the Commission is unable to agree changes to the proposals with the principal council or it does not consider it appropriate to implement any of the changes proposed by the principal council or it considers that the review has been defective in some way. Where the Commission conducts a community review it makes its proposals to the Welsh Ministers who may make an Order implementing them. It is hoped that by maintaining an open relationship between the Commission and principal council, where the Commission is kept informed throughout a review, that such circumstances can be avoided.

Community Electoral Arrangements

3.5 Where the principal council has made a report proposing changes to a community boundary and its community electoral arrangements the Commission will make an Order implementing all of the changes in one Order. Where, as a result of the changes, the proposal also includes consequential changes to the principal council electoral arrangements, the Commission will also seek the consent of Welsh Ministers before making the Order. This

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simplifies the Order making process, reduces the burden on the principal council and allows changes to happen in one place.

3.6 Where the principal council has made a report proposing changes to community electoral arrangements but not to the external community boundary of a community then, after a period of six weeks, the principal council may make an Order implementing the changes. Where, as a result of changes to the community electoral arrangements, the council makes proposals for consequential changes to the principal council electoral arrangements, the council must first seek the consent of Welsh Ministers before making the Order.

3.7 The Commission requests that an Order be prepared after six weeks but is not made in Council until after the Commission has completed its work and is preparing its own Order, or the Welsh Government is preparing an Order. The Commission is of the view that it would not be appropriate to make changes to community electoral arrangements before the Commission has completed its duties.

3.8 Any Order made by the principal council needs to be sent to Welsh Government, Ordnance Survey, the Commission and any body affected by the changes.

3.9 The changes made in the Orders by the Commission, principal council and Welsh Government will ordinarily come into force and the first ordinary council election following the date the Order is made.

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Community Review Process – Best Practice

Publish complete draft ToR and start consultation on ToR

Principal Council gathers evidence

Community Council or

Community Meeting request

Principal Council considers

Review?

Commission’s timetable for

electoral reviews

Inform interested

parties

Review preparation and investigation

Develop draft Terms of Reference (ToR)

Consider comments and prepare final

ToR

Y

N

PRELIMINARY

6-12 weeks

6-12 weeks

Ministerial Direction

Report to Commission

N

Develop Council Size Policy

Publish ToR and start initial consultation for

the review

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Submit final proposals to Commission and publish

Commission considers proposals

FINAL PROPOSALS

Final proposals agreed by Council

Consider all comments and prepare final

proposals

Publish draft proposals and

start consultation

DRAFT PROPOSALS Consider potential changes identified and all comments and prepare

draft proposals

6-12 weeks

6 weeks

Public Notice Issued

Council Order for community boundary

and electoral arrangements

changes prepared but not made

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Commission considers proposals

Agree? Commission

proposes change(s)

Principal Council

considers change(s)

Agree?

Commission undertakes

review

Commission prepares Order

Y

N

FINAL STEPS

NY Alternative

Commission completes statutory processes and

submits recommendations to Welsh Government

Commission receives Ministerial consent on

consequential changes

(if necessary)

Commission makes Order

Welsh Government makes Order

Council makes their Order

6 weeks

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APPENDIX 2 – GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Commission The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales.

Community (area) The unit of local government that lies below the level of the principal council

Community Council

An elected council that provides services to their particular community area. A community council may be divided for community electoral purposes into community wards.

Community / Town ward

An area within a community council created for community electoral purposes.

Directions Directions issued by Welsh Ministers under Section 48 of the Act.

Electoral wards The areas into which principal areas are divided for the purpose of electing county councillors, previously referred to as electoral divisions.

Electoral review A review in which the Commission considers the electoral arrangements for a principal council.

Electorate The number of persons registered to vote in a local government area.

Interested party Person or body who has an interest in the outcome of a community review such as a community council, local MP or AM or political party.

Mandatory consultees

The Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013, in section 34, stipulates the “mandatory consultees” for a community review as follows:

(a) Any local authority affected by the review,(b) the police and crime commissioner for any police area which may be

affected by the review,(c) except where the review is (or is to be) conducted by it, the Commission,(d) any organisation representing the staff employed by local authorities

which has asked to be consulted, and(e) such other persons as may be specified by order made by the Welsh

Ministers.

Order Order made by an implementing body, giving effect to proposals made by the principal council or the Commission.

Principal area The area governed by a principal council: in Wales a county or county borough

Principal council The single tier organ of local government, responsible for all or almost all local government functions within its area. A county or county borough council.

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Projected electorate

The five-year forecast of the electorate

The Act The Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013

Town Council A community council with the status of a town are known as town councils. A town council may be divided for community electoral purposes into wards.

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One Voice Wales Innovative Practice Annual Awards Ceremony

Thursday 29 March 2018 Hafod a Hendre Building, Royal Welsh Showground, LD2 3SY

Agenda

09:30 – 10:30 Registration and Exhibition

10:30 – 10:35 Chairs’ Address

10:35 – 11.15 Keynote Address: Cllr Debbie Wilcox Leader of the WLGA

11:15 – 12:15 Innovative Practice Sessions Part 1 - Innovative Use of Websites (Councils A, B)- Innovative Tourism and Heritage Projects (Councils A,B,C)- Innovative Sustainability projects (Council A,B)- Innovative Youth Engagement projects (Council A,B,C)

12:15 – 1:30 Lunch and Exhibition

1:30 – 2:30 Innovative Practice Sessions Part 2 - Innovative Local Council Service including Devolution of Services

(Council A, B,C)- Innovative Annual Reporting (Councils A,B)- Innovative Environmental project (Councils A,B,C)- Innovative Community Engagement (Councils A,B,C)

2:30 – 2:45 Event Sponsor’s Address

2:45 – 3:25 Awards Ceremony 1. Best Annual Report2. Best Environmental Project3. Best Website4. Best Community Engagement Initiative5. Best Tourism Initiative6. Best Sustainability Initiative7. Best Youth Engagement8. Best Heritage Initiative9. Best Devolution of Services or Asset Project10. Local Council Service of the Year

3:25 – 3:30 Chair’s Closing Comments

3.30 End of Conference

To book your place: Please ring 01269 595400 or email admin@onevoicewales.org.uk

Event sponsored by: Came and Company Local Council Insurance Part of Stackhouse Poland Group

Appendix 8e

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Appendix 8f

Correspondence Received

AGENDA ITEM 10(vii) – RCTCBC Safe Routes in Communities

Action required:

To note the letter dated 21 February 2018. Correspondence

Received:

91

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MS CATHERINE CRAVEN RECEIVED 2 6 FEB 2018

CLERK TO LLANTRISANT COMMUNITY COUNCIL

NEW PARISH OFFICES GAERLAN HALL, NEWBRIDGE ROAD

CF72 BEX 22 February 2018

Dear Ms Catherine Craven,

WALK FOR LIFE -April to June 2018 SUPPORTING FAMILIES. CHANGING LIVES.

I write to inform you that the Walk for Life series is back for 2018 and would, as every year, invite you to organise a walk in your local area.

The Walk for Life is one of Kidney Wales' longest running events and is a key fundraiser,

allowing us to continue our work supporting families and changing lives throughout Wales.

While celebrating 50 years as a charity, Kidney Wales is looking ahead to an ambitious future. This year's Walk for Life series will help raise vital funds needed to open a Wellness Centre here

in Wales. The Kidney Wales Wellness Centre will be a place of respite for families struggling with the day-to-day difficulties of kidney disease.

WE WILL HELP YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

To help maximise your Walk for Life, Kidney Wales will provide marketing materials and all walk

attendees will receive a fundraising pack complete with a free Walk for Life T-shirt.

Please find enclosed a Walk for Life Details Request Sheet outlining the information we'll need

from you to help get your Walk for Life underway. You will receive the full support of our fundraising team throughout the process.

If you would like to lead a Walk for Life and be an ambassador for Kidney Wales in your area,

please visit our website at www.kidneywales.cymru or contact Lloyd Bowen on 02920 343 940 or send us an email at wfl@kidneywales.cymru.

Kind regards,

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Professor Roy J. Thomas

Chief Executive - Kidney Wales

Kidney Wales

.1: :.:! . '.·

@ 029 2034 3940

kidneywales.cymru O O e @ G)

Chief Executive: P1of Roy J. Thomas Chai1man: Ra1 Agga�val OBE DL Vice Chairman: Dr. R1cha1d Mome Di1ecto1 of Fundr aising and Operations: N,c Cla1ke Trustees: 01 Mick Kumwenda, E1rlys llatcl1er, Ian Cowan. Dr Judith van de, Voon A1g11is Asdcrak,s. Rob Wood. I ou1se Evans. M1cl,1el Stephens. David W1lharns. Jud 1th Stone. V1cto11a Wood

Patrons: 01 Jamie Robe11s. Kathe11ne Jen�rns OBE, Gerald Davies rnE DL. Ca11111 finch. Amanda P101l1eroe-lhomas. Max Boyce MBE. 1,m Rhys-Evans MBf. Nicole Coole MBE. Sarra Elgan, Alex Jones. Natlllln Cleverley. Lord Michael Geiman. Andrea Byme , Lmgh ll;;lfpenny. Baroness Gale of Blaemhondda. Lmd N1d1olas Boume. Dai Lloyd. Ruth Madoc. ,Jarn1e Baulch. Sue Chailes

M1ii:.l ·· of 11,e !r,1t,:11c,t ci.al Fr.Jr1c1tio1 of K1:h1c\ lcx1 .I.JI .,11s (IFr::t}. Memht.:1 of tile lm-tiluc al Fun;liai�•ng J1ld fu1, l1a;si1.y F':8gulatcr. Pri':l'rt.: IL ttkr I ('t <,r:t't' A:t 1�'), Ch,irit�• \a. 700395 C".1111;, ·it Rci•t', t,n•t N,., Z7COO:J�. b-!i1b'is.h�l 19C7

Appendix 8(g)Correpsondnce 10 viii

Action Required: To consider request to organised a Walk for Life on behalf of Kidney Wales

92

Item 10 ix Appendix 8h

93

Clerks Report

Appendix 8i

AGENDA ITEM 10 x – Independent Review Panel for Wales 2018 Annual Report.

Action required:

To agree

(i) The process by which remuneration payments to Members are made forDetermination 44, 48,49,50,51,52 and 53;

(ii) Nominate up to five Members for Determinations 46.

Correspondence Received:

The Independent Review Panel for Wales has published its 2018 Annual Report.

The report will have effect for the financial year 2018 / 2019.

Community and Town Councils have been grouped according to income/expenditure to reflect the differences of responsibilities and accountabilities of councillors.

This Council falls into the higher group A as its income and expenditure exceeds £200,000.

The agreed budget for 2018/19 has a Chairman's Allowance of £1,500 and Councillors Expenses of £4,800.

A new process will be set up by the Responsible Finance Officer (RFO) for Members and the Chair to claim the payment made available by the Council according to Determinations 44, 48,49,50,51 and 52.

To be discussed :

Who are the nominated Members for Determinations 46: Community and town councils in Group A must make available an annual payment of £500 each to a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 members in recognition of specific responsibilities. This is in addition to the £150 payment for costs and expenses. The minimum is one person leaving four more that could be nominated at a later date.

MARCH 2018

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To:

Leaders and Chief Executives of County and County Borough Councils

Chairs and Chief Executives of National Park Authorities

Chairs and Clerks of Fire and Rescue Authorities

Chair and Chief Executive of One Voice Wales

Leader and Chief Executive of Welsh Local Government Association

Head of Democratic/Members Services of County and County

Borough Councils, National Park Authorities and Fire and Rescue Authorities

Community & Town Councils

27 February 2018

Dear Colleague

Independent Remuneration for Wales – Annual Report 2018/19

The Panel is appreciative of those individuals and organisations that responded

to the draft Report issued in September last year. We have considered the

views and comments that were expressed and have made some amendments

which are reflected in the Report.

The Panel has decide to make a modest increase in the basic salary for elected

members of principal councils, with consequential increases for members of

National Park and Fire and Rescue Authorities. Other changes to the

remuneration framework particularly in respect of community and town

councils are set out in the body of the Report.

The Panel believes that it is vital to continue to have a constructive dialogue

with those affected by its decisions. So during the Summer/Autumn we visited

each of the newly elected county/county borough councils which provided an

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opportunity for members and officers of these newly elected councils to

discuss matters relating to remuneration within the Panel’s responsibility. We

met with over 400 members in total which has provided us with

comprehensive information on the current role and workload of an elected

member.

In the coming year it is our intention to improve communications with

community & town councils commencing with arranging meetings with council

clerks.

Yours sincerely

John Bader

Chair

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February 2018

© Crown copyright 2018 WG33960 Digital ISBN 978-1-78903-421-9

Mae’r ddogfen yma hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg.This document is also available in Welsh.

Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales

Annual Report

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1

ANNUAL REPORT 2018

FOREWORD

Elections to Principal Councils and Community & Town Councils took place in

2017 and as with our previous approach when new councils are formed the

Panel visited all 22 of the unitary authorities. This provides us with an

opportunity to discuss issues with a cross section of members and senior

officers. In total we met with 142 executive members, 280 other elected

members, 59 co-optees and 90 chief officers. The visits have helped us form

the direction for future consideration. On behalf of my colleagues I wish to

express our thanks to all councils for their engagement with the visits and the

welcome and hospitality we received.

The visits and the resulting discussions assisted in continuing to ensure that we

have a comprehensive understanding of the development of the role of a

councillor and the workload pressures that appear to be increasing across the

board.

The conclusions from our discussions have wherever possible been

incorporated in our determinations and in particular our decision to provide a

modest increase in the basic salary.

As a Panel we believe the overwhelming majority of the 1,254 elected

members of the 22 councils are committed to serving their communities and

put in many hours that the basic remuneration could not cover. Affordability is

an issue for both the councils and tax payers and this restricts other than

modest additional costs to the total payments to members. What we wish to

prevent is further erosion of the link with the average Welsh earnings.

In our draft report we proposed several changes in respect of the

remuneration of community & town councillors. We received a large number

of responses in relation to these changes, most of which suggested that our

draft proposals were a step too far. We have taken account of many of the

points that were raised and modified the arrangements contained in the draft

report. Our decisions can be found in Section 13 of this report. The Panel

received several enquiries during the recent consultation on the draft report

regarding tax queries for community and town councils. The question was

raised as to whether the Panel could contact HMRC to see if they could receive

a blanket dispensation for community councils. This issue is outside of the

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Panel’s remit and it is therefore a matter for each individual councillor or

community council to resolve their own taxation issues.

My personal thanks to my fellow Panel members who constantly demonstrate

the knowledge and enthusiasm to ensure we produce reports that are based

on key information.

Also my appreciation of the work of our secretariat without which we could

not function effectively.

John Bader

Chair

Panel Membership

John Bader – Chair Gregory Owens - Vice Chair Stephen Mulholland

Julie May Saz Willey Roger Symonds

Detailed information about the members can be found on the website: http://gov.wales/irpwsub/home/?lang=en

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3

Contents

Introduction 4

1. The Panel’s Framework: Principles of Members’ Remuneration 7

2. Annual Report Summary Page 9

3. Payments to Elected Members of Principal Councils: Basic, Senior and CivicSalaries 10

4. Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committees (JOSC) 21

5. Pension Provision for Elected Members of Principal Councils 23

6. Entitlement to Family Absence 24

7. Payments to Members of National Park Authorities 25

8. Payments to Members of Welsh Fire and Rescue Authorities 29

9. Payments to co-opted Members of Principal Councils, National Park Authoritiesand Fire & Rescue Authorities 33

10. Reimbursement of Costs of Care 35

11. Sickness Absence for Senior Salary Holders 36

12. Reimbursement of Travel and Subsistence Costs when on Official Business 38

13. Payments to Members of Community and Town Councils 40

14. Compliance with Panel Requirements 46

15. Salaries of Heads of Paid Service of Principal Councils and Fire and RescueAuthorities and Chief Officers of Principal Councils 47

Annex 1: The Panel’s Determinations for 2018/19 57

Annex 2: Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW) Regulations: 63

Annex 3: Schedule of member remuneration 78

Annex 4: Publication of Remuneration – the Panel’s Requirements 80

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13. Payments to Members of Community and TownCouncils

13.1 The Panel has had responsibility for the remuneration of community and town councils since the Measure of 2011 and its first determinations for such members came into effect in the financial year 2013/2014. Subsequent Annual Reports have developed ideas for remuneration of community and town councillors, allowing flexibility to meet appropriate responsibilities.

13.2 The Panel recognises a wide variation in geography, scope and scale across the 735 community and town councils in Wales, from small community councils with relatively minimal expenditure and few meetings to large town councils with significant assets and responsibilities.

13.3 Since producing its last report, the Panel met with 104 Councillors and Clerks representing 68 Community and Town Councils in 4 meetings it held across Wales. The discussions confirmed the widely held view that the roles individual councils undertake varied significantly. Subsequent research the Panel undertook into councils’ income and expenditure and councillor to population ratios further supported the wide variation.

13.4 The Panel is of the view that in accordance with this wide variation, the responsibilities and accountabilities of councillors must also vary. Councillors managing income or expenditure of £1m and those delivering significant services, including some that might have been delegated from principal councils, are operating in a much more complex environment than a council with an annual budget of less than £30,000.

13.5 Therefore the Panel is proposing to form groups of Community and Town Councils to reflect these differences. The Panel examined a range of measures they could use as the basis for any groupings and it considers that 3 groups based on the level of income or expenditure, whichever is the highest, in the previous financial year, is most appropriate. Using income or expenditure figures better reflects the activity levels of a council than population ratios which the Panel found did not correlate to income or expenditure. It is also easy for councils to understand which group they belong to.

13.6 In the draft report the Panel proposed a range of mandatory payments for councils. As part of the consultation on the draft report, the Panel received some helpful feedback from councils with income or expenditure of less than £30,000 which outlined the disproportionate impact this would have on their precept and administrative costs. The Panel has considered this and adjusted its groupings as set out in table 7 below.

In creating these three groups it has reflected that councils with income or expenditure in excess of £200,000 are subject to section 40 of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act; approximately 50% have income or expenditure

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below £30,000; and those councils with income or expenditure of between £30,000 and £200,000 are likely to have a greater range of responsibilities.

The Panel has reflected different payment requirements for councils in each of these three groups as set out in the remainder of this report. The Panel will be considering further differentiations based on the groups in the future.

Table 7: Community and Town Council Groupings

Community and Town Council Group

Income or Expenditure in 2017-18 of:

A £200,000 and above B £30,000 - £199,999 C Below £30,000

13.7 The Panel is of the view that Community and Town Councillors are not volunteers because further to the democratic process they have accepted formal responsibilities and all face some degree of liability, in respect of the Council functions they are running. Also, the Panel wants any member who has personal support needs and / or caring responsibilities to be able to fulfil their role. To reflect this, the Panel is mandating payment of a contribution to costs and expenses for members of councils in Groups A and B; and authorising payment of a contribution to costs and expenses to be made available for members of councils in Group C as set out in determinations 44 and 45. The Panel is also mandating reimbursement of cost of care for all members of Community and Town Councils as set out in determination 51.

13.8 The Panel is also of the view that Councils in Group A are likely to have a greater number of committees reflecting its level of activity; and therefore is additionally mandating the payment for senior roles as set out in Determination 46.

13.9 Where not mandated, each determination requires a formal decision by each of these community or town councils annually. A Council can adopt any or all of the non-mandated determinations but if it does make such a decision, it must apply to all its members.

13.10 In all cases, any individual member may make a personal decision to elect to forgo part or all of the entitlement to any of these payments by giving notice in writing to the proper officer of the council.

13.11 In the event of a member of the council standing down during the year, it is a matter for the council to decide whether or not to reclaim any payments made.

13.12 Members in receipt of a Band 1 or Band 2 senior salary from a principal council cannot receive any payment from any Community or Town Council, other than travel and subsistence expenses and reimbursement of costs of care. However, this does not preclude them from holding a senior role.

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Payments towards costs and expenses

13.13 The Panel is mandating payment of a contribution to costs and expenses for members of councils in Groups A and B; and authorising payment of a contribution to costs and expenses to be made available for members of councils in Group C. Receipts are not required for these payments.

Determination 44: Community and town councils in Groups A and B must make available a payment to each of their members of £150 per year for costs incurred in respect of telephone usage, information technology, consumables etc.

Determination 45: Community and town councils in Group C are authorised to make available a payment to each of their members of £150 per year for costs incurred in respect of telephone usage, information technology, consumables etc.

Senior roles

13.14 The Panel recognises that specific member roles especially within the larger community and town councils, for example a committee chair, will involve greater responsibility. It is also likely that larger councils will have a greater number of committees, reflecting its level of activity. The Panel has therefore determined that councils in Group A must make available a payment for a minimum of one senior role and a maximum of five senior roles. Councils in Groups B and C are authorised to pay up to five responsibility payments for specified roles.

Determination 46: Community and town councils in Group A must make available an annual payment of £500 each to a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 members in recognition of specific responsibilities. This is in addition to the £150 payment for costs and expenses.

Determination 47: Community and town councils in Groups B or C are authorised to make an annual payment of £500 each to up to 5 members in recognition of specific responsibilities. This is in addition to the £150 payment for costs and expenses if that is claimed.

Reimbursement of travel costs and subsistence costs

13.15 The Panel recognises there can be significant travel and subsistence costs associated with the work of community and town council members, especially

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where the council area is geographically large and/or when engaging in duties outside this area.

Determination 48: Community and town councils are authorised to make payments to each of their members in respect of travel costs for attending approved duties. 8 Such payments must be the actual costs of travel by public transport or the HMRC mileage allowances as below:

45p per mile up to 10,000 miles in the year.

25p per mile over 10,000 miles.

5p per mile per passenger carried on authority business.

24p per mile for private motor cycles.

20p per mile for bicycles.

Determination 49: If a community or town council resolves that a particular duty requires an overnight stay, it may authorise reimbursement of subsistence expenses to its members at the maximum rates set out below on the basis of receipted claims:

£28 per 24-hour period allowance for meals, including breakfast where notprovided.

£200 – London overnight.

£95 – elsewhere overnight.

£30 – staying with friends and/or family overnight.

Compensation for financial loss

13.16 The Panel has retained the facility which councils may pay as compensation to their members where they suffer financial loss when attending approved duties.

Determination 50: Community and town councils are authorised to pay

financial loss compensation to each of their members, where such loss has

actually occurred, for attending approved duties as follows:

Up to £34.00 for each period not exceeding 4 hours:

Up to £68.00 for each period exceeding 4 hours but not exceeding 24

8 Where a member who is on official business is driven by a third party (not a member or officer of that authority), the member can claim mileage at the prescribed rates plus any parking or toll fees provided the authority is satisfied that the member has incurred these costs.

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hours.

Reimbursement of the costs of care

13.17 The purpose of this is to enable people who have personal support needs and or caring responsibilities to carry out their duties effectively as a member of an authority. The Panel believes that the additional costs of care required to carry out approved duties should not deter people from becoming and remaining a member of an authority or limit their ability to carry out the role.

13.18 The Panel recognises the issues relating to the publication of this legitimate expense. This is reflected in the options for publication as set out in Annex 4. To support current members and to encourage diversity the Panel urges authorities to promote and encourage greater take-up of the reimbursement of costs of care.

Determination 51: All community and town councils must provide for the reimbursement of necessary costs for the care of dependent children and adults (provided by informal or formal carers) and for personal assistance needs up to a maximum of £403 per month. Reimbursement must be for the additional costs incurred by members in order for them to carry out their approved duties. Reimbursement shall only be made on production of receipts from the carer.

Civic Head / Deputy Civic Head Honoraria

13.19 Recognising that some mayors and chairs of community and town councils and their deputies are very active during their year of office, the Panel has determined that community and town councils should be authorised to pay an honorarium for these roles. In previous annual reports the Panel did not determine a maximum level of payment to mayors/chairs and their deputies.

13.20 The Panel’s consultation meetings this year, confirmed that the majority of community and town councils make no or very modest payments to their civic leaders and that some of them are reporting the budget allocated for civic functions and civic expenditure rather than the amount paid as personal senior salary to the individual.

13.21 The Panel is concerned only with the amount paid to the mayors/chairs as an honorarium to be used or retained at their discretion. This is separate from a budget for mayoral/chair activities. The Panel has determined that the maximum amount to be paid to a chair/mayor of a community or town council in this way shall be £1,500. The maximum amount to be paid to a deputy mayor/chair in this way shall be £500.

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Determination 52: Community and town councils are authorised to provide a Civic Head payment to the mayor/chair of the council up to a maximum of £1,500 to undertake the functions of that office. This is in addition to the £150 payment for costs and expenses and the £500 senior salary if these are

claimed.

Determination 53: Community and town councils are authorised to provide a Deputy Civic Head payment to the deputy mayor/deputy chair of the council up to a maximum amount of £500 to undertake the functions of that office. This is in addition to the £150 payment for costs and expenses and the £500 senior salary if these are claimed.

Publicity requirements

13.22 There is a requirement on community and town councils to publish details of all payments made to individual members in an annual Statement of Payments. This information must be published on council noticeboards and/or websites (with easy access) and provided to the Panel by email or by post no later than 30 September following the end of the year to which the payments relate. The Panel draws attention to the requirements stipulated at Annex 4. The Panel is concerned that a significant number of councils are in breach of this requirement.

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Correspondence Received 10(xi) Appendix 8j

RHONDDA CYNON TAF COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL Education Directorate, Ty Trevithick, Abercynon CF45 4UQ

Notice is given in accordance with sections 41and 43 of the School Standards and Organisation Act 2013 and the School Organisation Code that Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (RCTCBC), having consulted such persons as required, propose to:

1. discontinue the following schools currently maintained by RCTCBC:

• Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg, Main Road, Church Village, Pontypridd CF38 1DX• Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Garth Olwg, St Illtyds Road, Church Village, Pontypridd CF38

1RQ

2. establish a new Welsh Medium Community Middle School, to be maintained by RCTCBCat Main Road, Church Village, on the site of the Garth Olwg Community Campus, for boysand girls aged 3 to 19 years.

RCTCBC undertook a period of consultation before deciding to publish this proposal. A consultation report containing a summary of the issues raised by consultees, the proposer’s responses and the views of Estyn is available on the Council’s website at http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/GetInvolved/Consultations/Schoolconsultations.aspx.

It is proposed to implement the proposals on 1st September 2019.

It is proposed that pupils currently attending the two schools listed above should transfer to the new Garth Olwg Middle School, on 1st September 2019, subject to parental preference. This school is proposed to be a Welsh Medium Community Middle School. The new ‘all through’ 3 – 19 Middle school will be accommodated in the existing buildings of the current schools, which form part of the larger Garth Olwg Community Campus.

RCTCBC will be the admission authority for the new school which will make no provision for pupil banding.

The proposed capacity of the Primary Department of the new Middle School shall be 350 pupils, plus Nursery provision for at least 50 children. The admission number will be 50 at age 4 (Reception Class). The proposed capacity for the Secondary Department for pupils aged 11-16 will be 900 pupils and the admission number will be 180 age 11 (Year 7) so that each year group from 7-11 will accommodate up to 180 pupils. There will be up to 170 places available for post-16 students, the admission number will be 85 age 17 (Year 12).

Pupils will be provided with transport in accordance with the Council's Transport Policy. At present, the Council provides free transport for pupils who attend their relevant Primary, Infant or Junior School, if they reside beyond 1 ½ miles walking distance to that school; this distance is 2 miles for pupils attending Secondary schools. The relevant school is the catchment school or the nearest school.

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Within a period of 28 days after the publication of these proposals, that is to say by 29th March 2018 any person may object to the proposals. Objections should be sent to the Director of Education and Lifelong Learning, 21st Century Schools Team, Ty Trevithick, Abercynon, Mountain Ash CF45 4UQ, e-mail schoolplanning@rctcbc.gov.uk. RCTCBC will publish a summary of any such objections made (and not withdrawn in writing) within the objection period, together with their observations thereon, within the period of 7 days after determination of the proposal.

Signed:

Esther Thomas Director of Education and Lifelong Learning For Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Date: 2nd March 2018

Explanatory Note of the Proposals

RCTCBC has recently undertaken a comprehensive consultation exercise in respect of the proposal to create a new 3 – 19 ‘all through’ school at the Garth Olwg Community Campus. The new school will be created by closing the existing Primary and Secondary schools that are currently located at this Campus, namely YG Garth Olwg (Secondary school) and YGG Garth Olwg (Primary school) and opening a new ‘all through’ 3 – 19 school provision, utilising the existing buildings of the two schools. If agreed, the current schools will close on 31st August 2019 and will be replaced by the new school on 1st September 2019.

The Community Campus also accommodates a Lifelong Learning Centre, public Library, Youth Centre and a day care nursery, as well as outdoor sports pitches. No changes to these facilities are being proposed at this time.

108

Correspondence Received

Appendix 8k

AGENDA ITEM 10xii – Planning training workshop

Action required:

To nominate a Member to attend

Correspondence Received:

Sent: 27 February 2018 15:44

FREE PLANNING TRAINING

Wednesday 14th March 2018 6-9:15pm.

Pontyclun Community Centre, Heol yr Orsaf, Pontyclun, CF72 9EE

We will be delivering a free planning training workshop for Community and Town Councillors, and Community groups at Pontyclun Community Centre on 14th March.

The workshop will focus on planning applications. Planning officers from your local planning authority will be attending to answer questions. Attending the workshop will help your Council/Community Group to better understand how planning applications are dealt with and how you can influence decisions.

We can offer two free places to each community and town council/ Community Group (more places may become available, subject to space).

This workshop is one in a Wales-wide programme of events to be held in all 25 planning authority areas, with funding from Welsh Government.

To book your places at the workshop, please click here <https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cardiff-rhondda-cynon-taf-14318-planning-workshop-for-community-and-town-councils-and-community-tickets-43609752945>

If you need more information or have difficulty booking online, please email Angela Williams at <mailto:hannah@planningaidwales.org.uk> hannah@planningaidwales.org.uk or call her on 029 2062 5004.

Yours faithfully,

Gayle Wootton

Chair, Planning Aid Wales

109

Help us shape the future

of Ageing Well in Wales

We want to hear your views on what parts of Ageing Well in Wales you find most useful, and what you would like to see us focus on over the next two to three years.

Please take a few minutes to complete the questions below. Thank you in advance for your help. Strategic aims of Ageing Well in Wales • To make Wales a nation of age-friendly communities• To make Wales a nation of dementia supportive communities• To reduce the number of falls• To reduce loneliness and unwanted isolation• To increase learning and employment opportunities

1. Which of the following aspects of Ageing Well in Wales do you find most usefulor interesting?

Select up to three

☐ Ageing Well in Wales guides and publications (Loneliness andDementia pocket guides, How to age well, Age-friendly businessesetc.).

☐ Ageing Well in Wales website (www.ageingwellinwales.com).☐ Being able to contact the Ageing Well in Wales team for support.☐ National commitments from Ageing Well in Wales partners (the Ageing

Well in Wales Action Plan).☐ Networking and learning events.☐ Receiving updates and information from Ageing Well in Wales (network

updates, information about events and activities in your area, etc).

2. Which do you find least useful?Select up to three

☐ Ageing Well in Wales guides and publications.☐ Ageing Well in Wales website.☐ Being able to contact the Ageing Well in Wales team for support.☐ National commitments from Ageing Well in Wales partners.☐ Networking and learning events.☐ Receiving updates and information from Ageing Well in Wales.

Item 10xiii Appendix 8l

110

3. Which areas would you like to see us build upon going forward?Select up to three

☐ Ageing Well in Wales guides and publications.☐ Ageing Well in Wales website.☐ Being able to contact the Ageing Well in Wales team for support.☐ National commitments from Ageing Well in Wales partners.☐ Networking and learning events.☐ Receiving updates and information from Ageing Well in Wales.

4. Why do you want us to build upon your chosen 3?

5. What are your thoughts on the Ageing Well in Wales programme to date?

111

6. Do you have suggestions for the future direction of Ageing Well in Wales?

If you are happy to have someone contact you to discuss your answers, please fill in your details below

Name

Organisation / group (if applicable)

Email address

Phone number

Please return your completed survey to us by email to ageingwell@olderpeoplewales.com or by

post to: Ageing Well in Wales, Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Cambrian Buildings, Mount

Stuart Square, Cardiff CF10 5FL.

112

Correspondence Received

Appendix 8m

AGENDA ITEM 10xiv – Draft Autism (Wales) Bill

Action required:

To consider a response to the consultation

Correspondence Received:

Dear colleague,

I am pleased to share a consultation on the text of the draft Autism (Wales) Bill.

I look forward to receiving any comments you wish to make by 17 April 2018.

http://senedd.assembly.wales/mgConsultationDisplay.aspx?ID=293

Kind regards,

Paul Davies

Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire

113

Dyddiad | Date: 22 February 2018

Pwnc | Subject: Autism (Wales) Bill

Dear Colleague,

Following a ballot conducted by the Presiding Officer, the National Assembly for

Wales agreed that I can introduce proposals for a new law in Wales, to make

provision for meeting the needs of children and adults with autism spectrum

disorder, and protecting and promoting their rights.

Last year I undertook an extensive public consultation and engagement exercise

to assist me in developing my proposals. I also outlined that I intended to

undertake further consultation once a draft Bill had been prepared. This work has

now been completed and I am pleased to attach a copy of the draft Bill for your

information.

I am grateful to all those who responded to the initial consultation and I am

pleased that the majority of responses are supportive of the principles of this

legislation. In drafting the Bill I have given careful consideration to the points

raised within these responses.

One concern that arose in my first consultation was that by legislating to meet the

needs of children and adults with autism spectrum disorder, I might inadvertently

reduce the Welsh Government’s focus on addressing the needs of children and

adults with neurodevelopmental conditions other than autism spectrum disorder.

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

Address Line 3

Address Line 4

Address Line 5

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To minimise this risk, the draft Bill defines ‘autism spectrum disorder’ in the

following way:

autism spectrum disorder as defined by the World Health Organization

International Classification of Diseases from time to time;

and also

any other neurodevelopmental disorder prescribed by the Welsh Ministers.

This means that if Welsh Ministers believe the provisions of this Bill should be

applied to people with other neurodevelopmental disorders, they would have the

power to do so.

Depending on the outcome of this additional consultation, the Bill may be subject

to further drafting and technical changes before I formally introduce it to the

National Assembly. Upon formal introduction I will also publish an Explanatory

Memorandum and Regulatory Impact Assessment to support the detailed scrutiny

process which is required before a final decision is made on whether it should

become law.

I would, therefore, be very grateful if you could find the time to contribute to this

consultation and let me have your or your organisation’s views on the draft Bill

and what it is seeking to achieve. The draft Bill has also been published on the

Assembly’s website to allow as many people as possible to send in their

comments.

I would welcome comments on all aspects of the draft Bill. However, there are a

number of specific matters which I would particularly welcome views on. For full

details about how the information you provide will be used please see the

National Assembly for Wales’ Member Bill privacy policy.

Definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder

As mentioned above, I have included on the face of the draft Bill in section 7(1) a

reference to the definition of ‘autism spectrum disorder’ in the forthcoming World

Health Organization International Classification of Diseases (WHO ICD -111

). This

means that if the World Health Organisation’s definition of autism spectrum

1 https://icd.who.int/dev11/l-m/en#/http%3a%2f%2fid.who.int%2ficd%2fentity%2f437815624

115

disorder changed in the future, the Bill’s definition would automatically change

with it.

This definition would apply throughout the Bill but Welsh Ministers would also

have the power to include other neurodevelopmental disorders (i.e.

neurodevelopmental disorders other than autism spectrum disorder).

Questions

01. Do you agree that a definition of ‘autism spectrum disorder’ should appear

on the face of the Bill?

02. Do you agree that using the WHO ICD-11 definition in the draft Bill, together

with the power for Welsh Ministers to include other neurodevelopmental

disorders, is the right approach?

Range of bodies with functions under the Bill

I would welcome views on whether the range of bodies which would have

functions affected by the draft Bill is appropriate. The draft Bill refers to “relevant

bodies” which have duties to implement the autism strategy. Relevant bodies are

defined in section 7 as local authorities and NHS bodies but Welsh Ministers are

provided with a power to include other bodies within the definition. It should be

noted that the definition of ‘NHS body’ in section 7 captures a number of different

bodies providing health services.

Questions

03. Are the “relevant bodies” in section 7 of the draft Bill the appropriate bodies

to implement the autism strategy?

Duty to have regard to the autism strategy and

guidance

Section 4 of the draft Bill states that relevant bodies must have regard to the

autism strategy and guidance when exercising their functions.

I would welcome views on whether this provision in the draft Bill should be

reinforced by providing Welsh Ministers with a power of direction over relevant

bodies. A power of direction means that the Minister is able to require a relevant

body to do something. This power would only usually be exercised as a last resort

if it were clear to the Minister that otherwise the required action would not be

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taken. This is a significant power to grant Welsh Ministers and is not included in

legislation as a matter of course. Welsh Ministers already have a number of

existing powers of direction, under, for example, the Social Services and

Wellbeing (Wales) Act, so a further power of direction would only be required if

there appeared to be a deficiency within current powers.

Question

04. Should the duty on relevant bodies to have regard to the autism strategy and

guidance be reinforced by providing Welsh Ministers with a power of

direction over relevant bodies?

Timescales in the draft Bill

I would also welcome views on whether the timings set out in the draft Bill are

appropriate, including the following:

section 1(4) of the draft Bill states that “the autism strategy must be published

not later than six months after the day on which this Act comes into force.”

Section 3(2) states that “the guidance must be issued under this section no later

than 3 months after publication of the autism strategy.”

Section 9 states “this Act comes into force at the end of the period of 3 months

beginning with the day on which it is passed.”

Questions

05. Do you have any views about the timing set out in section 1(4) of the draft

Bill for the publication of the Autism Strategy?

06. Do you have any views about the timing set out in section 3(2) for issuing

guidance under the Bill?

07. Do you have any views about the timing set out in section 9 for when the Act

comes into force?

Timescales for diagnosis and assessment of needs

The draft Bill states in section 2(1)(c) that the Autism Strategy must provide for

diagnosis of persons to be completed as soon as is reasonably practicable and at

least within timescales set out in relevant National Institute for Health and Care

Excellence guidelines. This means that if there is a change to the recommended

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timescales set out in relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

guidelines, the maximum timescale for diagnosis as provided for in the Autism

Strategy would also change. I would be grateful for views on whether this is

appropriate.

The draft Bill also sets out in section 2(1)(e) the need to “ensure assessment of the

care and support needs are completed as soon as reasonably practicable and at

least within 2 months of a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or any post-

diagnostic meeting, whichever is the later”. I would be grateful for views on this.

Questions

08. Do you agree that diagnosis should be completed within timescales in the

relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, as set

out in in section 2(1)(c) of the draft Bill?

09. Do you agree that an assessment of care and support needs should be

completed within 2 months of a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or

any post-diagnostic meeting, as set out in section 2(1)(e)?

Multi-disciplinary team

The draft Bill currently states in section 3(6) that the Autism Strategy must make

provision for individual diagnostic assessment of persons with autism spectrum

disorder to be conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals. The draft

Bill states in section 3(6)(c) that guidance on the strategy must include guidance

about this multi-disciplinary diagnostic assessment team and in particular about

the inclusion of —

i. a psychologist;

ii. a psychiatrist;

iii. a speech and language therapist;

iv. an occupational therapist;

v. a behavioural therapist; and

vi. a social worker.

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I would welcome views on this list generally, and on whether there are any other

disciplines that you think should be listed as possible members of such a multi-

disciplinary team.

The list in the Bill is intended as an illustration and would not require the

inclusion of the professionals in the list on each occasion a diagnostic assessment

is undertaken. It would require guidance on the Autism Strategy to include

guidance whether, and when, the listed professionals should be included. I would

welcome views on whether it is useful to include a list of multi-disciplinary team

members on the face of the Bill, or whether there would be a preference for no

such list.

Questions

10. Do you agree that it is useful to include in the draft Bill a list of professionals

who may form the multi-disciplinary team for diagnostic assessment?

11. If so, are there any other disciplines that you think should be listed as

possible members of such a multi-disciplinary team?

Ensuring equity of access to services

The draft Bill seeks, in section 2(1)(f), to ensure that individuals with autism

spectrum disorder are not denied access to services on the grounds of IQ or

receipt of services for other medical conditions. I would welcome views on

whether the Bill should refer to other factors or circumstances which may

inappropriately prevent individuals with autism spectrum disorder accessing

services.

Question

12. Are there any other factors or individual circumstances which may

inappropriately prevent access to services and which should be set out in the

Bill?

Data on autism spectrum disorder

The draft Bill makes provision in sections 5 and 3(6)(d) for data collection by

Welsh Ministers to enable them to carry out functions under the Bill. This is likely

to include information on people with autism spectrum disorder in Wales, their

use of services, etc.

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I would welcome views on whether the types of data to be collected should be

specified, either on the face of the Bill or in guidance. Specifying the type of data

to be collected might help to ensure consistency of data reporting across Wales,

which in turn will better enable Welsh Ministers to identify any regional

differences.

I would also welcome views on whether the provision in section 5(2), to allow

Welsh Ministers to request anonymised data from relevant bodies, is appropriate

given existing data protection legislation which provides safeguards around the

use of data.

Questions

13. Should the draft Bill specify the types of data to be collected by Welsh

Ministers to enable them to carry out functions under the Bill?

14. If so, do you have any views about the types of data which should be

collected? Examples of types of data which should be collected might

include: age, age at diagnosis, gender, health board/local authority area,

time from assessment to diagnosis, profession(s) of diagnosing staff and

service in which based, diagnostic assessment tool(s) used, use of a scored

assessment, the diagnosing clinician’s estimate of intelligence level2,

communicative development, whether testing for phenylketonuria (PKU) was

carried out.

15. Should the types of data be specified on the face of the Bill or in guidance?

16. Do you agree that:

a. the provision in section 5(2) to allow Welsh Ministers to request

anonymised data from relevant bodies is appropriate, and

b. it should be included on the face of the Bill?

2 For clarity, IQ or other existing medical conditions should not be used in assessing eligibility for

services. For instance, a person can have both autism spectrum disorder and a very high

intelligence level, and this must not make them ineligible to receive services. However, in practical

terms a very low intelligence level can make it more difficult for a clinician to accurately assess

whether a person has autism spectrum disorder. As such, I believe there to be value in capturing

data on the diagnosing clinician’s assessment of intelligence level.

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Campaign to raise awareness and understanding

Finally, the draft Bill currently states (section 6(1)) that upon publication of the

Autism Strategy, the Welsh Ministers must initiate and maintain a campaign to

raise awareness and understanding of the needs of persons with autism spectrum

disorder. This would be intended to ensure a continuous campaign to promote

understanding and awareness of the needs of persons with autism spectrum

disorder.

An alternative option would be for the draft Bill to state that the Welsh Ministers

must re-launch the campaign at least every three years. This would be intended

to ensure a regular cycle of ‘new-impetus’ to awareness campaigning. I would

welcome views on whether a campaign to raise understanding and awareness of

the needs of persons with autism spectrum disorder should be rolled out on a

continuous basis, or on a regular (three-year) cycle.

Question

17. Should a campaign to raise understanding and awareness of the needs of

persons with autism spectrum disorder be rolled out on a continuous basis,

or on a regular (three-year) cycle?

Impact of this legislation

It would be very helpful if you could comment on whether there are any issues,

benefits or risks which could result from the draft Bill in relation to the issues

listed below.

Questions

18. Giving reasons for your answer, could any of the proposals in the draft Bill be

reformulated so as to increase its positive effects or reduce its possible

adverse effects, in relation to:

a. the Assembly’s official languages (Welsh and English);

b. equality, diversity and inclusion;

c. the justice system in England and Wales; or

d. costs and benefits to you or your organisation

19. Do you have any other comments to make on the draft Bill?

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Deadline

The Bill must be introduced to the National Assembly by 13 July 2018 and in order

to meet this deadline the closing date for this consultation is 17 April 2018.

How your information will be used

Information you provide may be used by me and other Assembly Members,

support staff and Assembly Commission staff, for the purposes of the

development of the Member Bill, promotion of the intended effect of the Bill, and

subsequent scrutiny of the Bill.

Your name, contact details (if you are responding in your professional capacity)

and full response may be published on the National Assembly for Wales’ website,

and potentially in subsequent publications or publicity material. You must make

clear in your response if you would like it to be anonymised.

Your contact details may be used in order to provide further opportunities to

engage in the development and/or scrutiny of the Bill. If you would like to ask a

question about how your information will be used please contact Consultation.AutismBill@assembly.wales

For full details about how your information will be used please see the National

Assembly for Wales’ Member Bill privacy policy. If you would like your response

to be anonymised, please make this clear.

I welcome responses in English and Welsh. I ask organisations with Welsh

Language policies / schemes to provide bilingual submissions, in line with their

public information policies. I am also publishing this consultation bilingually in

Easy Read.

Further information about the Member Bill process can be found at Member Bills.

I look forward to receiving your views and thank you for your time.

Croesewir gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu Saesneg.

We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English.

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Correspondence Received

Appendix 8n

AGENDA ITEM 10(xv) – Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Care Unit

Action required:

To consider the request to support Y Bwthyn as one of the Councils charities for 2018/19.

Correspondence Received:

Sent: Thu, 22 Feb, 2018 at 15:23

Good afternoon,

Re : Charity Consideration - Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Care Unit, Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Llantrisant, RCT

I would like to take this opportunity of introducing myself as your Regional Fundraising Manager for Macmillan Cancer Support covering Rhondda Cynon Taf. I am writing to ask if you would consider supporting Macmillan as one of your charities for 2018/19. I realise that you receive many requests for charitable donations throughout the year and your decision as to which cause to support must be a very difficult one.

Although we are a national charity, the money you donate will be used to help local people affected by cancer.

Macmillan Wales is currently working with Cwm Taf University Health Board to build a new specialist palliative care unit at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant. The unit will cost around £7m with Macmillan investing £5m and Cwm Taf contributing £2m. This will be the biggest single investment Macmillan has ever made in Wales and will open in the spring of 2019.

Our unit will enable people to access the right care and support in one place. The state of the art building will be built by experts to be a sensitive, comfortable and welcoming environment for people who are treated at the unit and their loved ones.

We really would welcome your fundraising support for this essential Macmillan Specialist Cancer Unit in RCT.

Macmillan is here to help people living with cancer get on with their lives no matter what. We give the practical, emotional, and personal support people need to hold on to who they are and what's important to them. We can be there during treatment, we help with work and money worries and we'll always listen when people affected by cancer, need to talk. We've helped millions of people through cancer but there are still so many more people who need our help.

Macmillan works tirelessly to support people in Rhondda Cynon Taf living with

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cancer, and their families, but resources are tight and we rely heavily on donations from the community. It costs £28 an hour to fund a Macmillan Nurse and any level of support makes a huge difference to Macmillan and to the people that we support.

Last year the Macmillan Welfare Benefits team untapped a staggering £91,000 of unclaimed benefits for people in RCT living with cancer and Macmillan gave over £86,000 of Macmillan Grants to 530 local people who were struggling financially. Macmillan relies entirely on donations and fundraising to support all our services and we couldn't do it without the generosity of local businesses, organisations and individuals.

Life with cancer is still life and together we can help people live it. If you would like any further information or would like to meet to discuss any of the above please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanking you for your consideration.

Kindest regards,

Nicola

Nicola Newhams Fundraising Manager Bridgend, RCT, Merthyr Tydfil & South Powys Macmillan Cancer Support * 07872 423102* nnewhams@macmillan.org.ukSupporter Care Team 0300 1000 200 oremail fundraising@macmillan.org.uk<mailto:fundraising@mamcillan.org.uk>

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Appendix 8o

Correspondence Received

AGENDA ITEM 10(xvi) – Dog Bin

Action required:

To consider the for a dog mess bin at Dan y Graig Heights.

Correspondence Received:

From: clerk@pontyclun-cc.gov.wales [mailto:clerk@pontyclun-cc.gov.wales] Sent: 16 February 2018 11:58 To: council@llantrisant.org.uk Subject: Dog bins

Cath

We recently posted a note on our facebook page about bog bins and asked if people had suggestions for where some were needed.

One resident said Dan y Graig Heights, which is in your area.

Leave it with you ask to if you ask RCT to fit one

Regards

Julius Roszkowski BSc (Hons)

Clerc / Clerk

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Non- Technical Summary

Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance - Houses in Multiple Occupation

Introduction

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council is consulting the public on draft supplementary planning guidance (SPG) for houses in multiple occupation (HMO). Recent changes in legislation have determined that planning permission is now required to change the use of a house in single occupation to an HMO. This draft SPG supplements the Council’s adopted Local Development Plan (LDP), by providing more specific policies and guidance for the suitable location of HMO in Rhondda Cynon Taf. One of the primary reasons for the preparation of the SPG was to identify solutions to address adverse impacts of over-concentrations of HMO in residential communities. Whilst the SPG cannot and will not affect the status of any existing lawful HMO, it seeks to limit the scope for additional inappropriate HMO in certain parts of Rhondda Cynon Taf, namely Treforest. Conversely, the SPG seeks to raise awareness that HMO may be appropriate in other sustainable locations in the County Borough, although preventing the creation of any over-concentrations elsewhere

Background

HMO are houses occupied by more than one household (a household is either a single person or more than one person who live together). HMO residents rent individual bedrooms and then share the facilities of the house e.g. bathrooms, kitchens or living areas. HMO are a cheap and flexible form of accommodation that suits small households. Students, low-income households and people who prefer or need the flexibility to move between areas often live in HMO.

The village of Treforest is characterised by a concentration of HMO, associated with the University of South Wales. The concentration of HMO in an established residential area can damage its character through a range of impacts. These may include: lower levels of property maintenance; additional parking pressures; household waste accumulations; clutter of ‘to let’ signs; neighbourhood shops replaced by hot food takeaway shops that are shut during the daytime; declining use of community facilities. Whilst an individual HMO is unlikely to have significant impacts on its own, their cumulative impact causes concern.

Planning and HMO

The adequacy of the internal arrangements of HMO is ensured through a system of licensing under Housing law. External issues are dealt with under Planning law, which requires that permission is needed to change a house to a HMO for 3 or more persons who are not part of the same houshold. Decisions to grant or refuse permission are made with reference to the adopted LDP, relevant SPG and any

Item 10 (xvii) Appendix 8p

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evidence of adverse impacts on the area that the proposal might have. Planning permission for a scheme can be refused if its impacts (including cumulative impacts) would be harmful and significant.

Policies of Rhondda Cynon Taf LDP relevant to HMO are: CS 1 (development in the North); CS 2 (development in the South); and AW 5 (amenity and design in new development). Relevant SPG already adopted includes: Design & Placemaking; Access, Circulation & Parking; and Development of Flats. Further LDP policies and SPG would be relevant if the proposal is in a conservation area or a town centre.

Draft Planning Guidance for HMO

In order to address the issue of existing or future over-concentrations of HMO, this draft SPG proposes a limit, a ‘threshold’ not to be crossed, on the number of HMO to be allowed within a 50-metre radius of any planning application for a HMO.

In Treforest (excluding Glyntaff), where existing HMO are concentrated, the threshold will be 20% of houses in a 50-metre radius of a proposed HMO. This threshold will not be applied where existing HMO exceed 80% of houses. In practice, this means that few new HMO in Treforest will be allowed. (See policies HMO 1 and 4.)

Elsewhere in Rhondda Cynon Taf, where few HMO currently exist, the threshold will be 10%. In practice, this threshold will allow some new HMO, while preventing any new concentrations emerging that would have significant cumulative impacts. (See policy HMO 2.)

In addition, the SPG will protect single-occupancy houses from being sandwiched between HMO. Also, it will prevent adjacent houses from both becoming HMO to avoid local clusters of HMO emerging. (See policy HMO 3).

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