Agenda and minutes

·        Speech of Incoming Mayor

·        Vote of Thanks to Outgoing Mayor

·        Speech of Outgoing Mayor

On the motion of Councillor Councillor A.Llewellyn seconded by Councillor J.Hale, it was:-

RESOLVED:      That Councillor Christopher Williams be elected Mayor for the Civic Year 2023/24 pursuant to Section 23(1) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Councillor Christopher Williams then subscribed to the Oath of Allegiance administered by the Chief Executive and made the formal Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Chief Executive was pleased to announce that the Mayoress would be Msm Debbie Rees and the Mayor’s Chaplain would be Father Steven Bodycombe from St Matthew’s Church, Dyffryn, Neath.

On the motion of Councillor Councillor E.V Latham seconded by Councillor S.Pursey, it was:-

RESOLVED:      That Councillor Matthew Crowley be elected Deputy Mayor for the Civic Year 2023/24 pursuant to Section 23(1) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Councillor Matthew Crowley then made the formal Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Chief Executive was pleased to announce that the Deputy Mayoress would be Ms Michelle Thomas.

The meeting was shortly adjourned in order for the Mayor to take his seat as Chairperson of Council

It was with great pleasure that the mayor informed Council that Neath Port Talbot residents Nick Carruthers and Jean Sharp had both been recognised as Royal Voluntary Service Coronation Champions.

Port Talbot’s Nick Carruthers volunteers with Prime Cymru as a Volunteer Mentor and had been recognised for his outstanding work supporting older people. Nick may also be a familiar face to anyone who has ridden on Margam Country Park's railway recently, as he combines his volunteering with a part-time role as train driver at the park.

Also receiving the award was Jean Sharp from Neath, a 92-year-old volunteer, whose dedication and hard work has raised almost £500,000 for Blood Cancer UK.

Award winners were hand-picked from almost 5000 nominations by a judging panel led by the Queen Consort.

The Mayor congratulated both local Coronation Champions for their much-deserved awards.

Congratulations were also offered to the Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School Year 7 football team who had won the under 12s Welsh Cup against Prestatyn High School on May 14^th. They were the first Year 7 team in Neath Port Talbot to win this cup.

And finally, the Neath Schools Under-11s rugby team were congratulated for winning the prestigious DC Thomas Bowl Final at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium back in April.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor S Hunt be elected Leader of the Council and Councillor A Llewellyn be elected Deputy Leader of the Council for the Civic year 2023/24 Pursuant to Part 4, Section 1(1.1) of the Constitution

Council considered the various administrative issues as set out in the circulated report.

RESOLVED:

1)   That the Policy and Budget Framework as contained in Annex A to the circulated report be approved.

2)   That the Executive arrangements for the Civic Year 2023/24 in respect of the size of the Cabinet; the appointment of Members thereto; the appointment of the Cabinet Boards; and the allocation of the Cabinet Portfolios be approved as contained in Annex B to the circulated report;

3)   That the apportionment of seats amongst the constitution of Political Groups for the Civic Year 2023/24 be confirmed as set out in Annex C to the circulated report;

4)   That the proposed structure of the five Scrutiny Committees and their functions and the apportionment of chairs of scrutiny committees amongst the constituted Political Groups and the member appointments to each Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the wishes of the political groups together with the re-appointment of the co-opted members to the Education Skills and Culture Scrutiny Committee as set out in Annex D be confirmed for the Civic Year 2023/24

5)   That the proposals in respect of the other Committee arrangements for the Civic Year 2023/24 be approved, together with the appointment of Members thereto, as set out in Appendix E to the circulated report. That the chair and vice chair of the Governance and Audit Committee and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Licensing Sub-Committee to be determined by the Sub Committee be approved.

6)   That the proposed appointment of Members to other Member/Officer Groups as set out in Annex F to the circulated report for the Civic Year 2023/24 be approved.

7)   That the proposed appointment (once approved by Cabinet) of Member/Officer appointments to Joint Committees, Outside and Other Public Bodies for the Civic Year 2023/24 as set out in Annex G be noted.

8)   That the Committee Cycle and Timetable for the Civic Year 2023/2024(including Member Seminars) set out at Annex H be approved.

9)   That the distribution of the available Senior Salaries as contained in Annex I be approved.

10)               That the structure for Democratic Services as set out in  Annex J be endorsed.

11)               That the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be granted delegated authority to amend the constitution to reflect the changes highlighted in the circulated report.