Venue: Committee Rooms A/B - Neath Civic Centre. View directions
No. | Item |
---|---|
Declarations of Interests Minutes: The
following Members made declarations of interest at the commencement of the
meeting: Councillor S.Rahaman Re
Third Sector Grant Funding – Award of Grants for Financial Year 2020/21, as he
is he is a local authority representative and Secretary/Trustee of NPT BME
Community Association. Councillor S.Reynolds Re
Third Sector Grant Funding – Award of Grants for Financial Year 2020/21, as she
is a trustee/current acting manager of Canolfan Maerdy. As her interest was prejudicial she withdrew from the room during the discussion and voting thereon. |
|
Minutes of the Previous Meeting PDF 65 KB Minutes: That
the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 30 October, 2019, be approved. |
|
Pre-Decision Scrutiny Minutes: The
committee scrutinised the following cabinet items: Officer
Indemnity Officers
explained the current arrangements concerning staff and assets, during the
transfer period of the Material Recovery and Energy Centre (MREC) which was being
brought in house to be Council run. Discussion also took place around the
directorship of Coed D’arcy
Ltd, and the plans for the future. Following
scrutiny, the committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
cabinet. Third
Sector Grant Funding – Award of Grants for Financial Year 2020/21 (At
this point in the meeting, Councillor S.Reynolds
reaffirmed her interests and withdrew from the meeting during the discussion
and voting thereon.) Members
queried page 56 of the circulated report regarding financial support to the
Black Minority Ethnic Community Association. It was noted that as the
organisation had not been awarded charitable status in 2019, the money given in
this period would be carried over and used in 2020/21. Members
noted that the monitoring arrangements fitted logically within budget
timescales. The half yearly monitoring reports were needed by partners and
would provide certainty and clarity and would inform this scrutiny committee. The
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was discussed, and members requested that an update
report be brought to a future meeting detailing the financial support that was
provided under this legislation. Following
scrutiny, the committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
cabinet. (Councillor
S.Reynolds re-joined the meeting) Quarter
2 Key Performance Indicators The
circulated report was discussed, and it was noted that the number of days lost
to sickness included, in part, work related stress. Staff within the Council
had been reduced by over 30 per cent in the last 10 years, so work load was
increasing. With
regards violence against women, current legislation was not in line with
increasing demand for services, which had led to a lack of investment. Relationship
counselling was part of certain lessons within schools, but it was emphasised
that teachers already had a high workload and were over worked, without being
identified as solutions for solving this issue. Problems
with staff retention and employment of Welsh speakers was highlighted as a
cause of the high average time to answer telephone calls in English and Welsh.
This was being addressed by the employment of four modern apprentices. Following
scrutiny, the report was noted. |
|
Forward Work Programme 2019/20 PDF 81 KB Minutes: The
committee noted the Forward Work Programme for 2019/20. |