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No. | Item |
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Declarations of Interests Minutes: The
following members made a declaration of interest at the commencement of the
meeting: Councillor P.Richards Re
the Council Representation on Outside Bodies as he is the Councils
representative for Neath Port Talbot Care and Repair. Councillor S.Rahaman Re
the Council Representation on Outside Bodies as he is one of the Councils
representatives for Neath Port Talbot Black Minority Ethnic (BME) Community
Association and is currently the secretary of the Association. Councillor S.Reynolds Re
the Tai Tarian Representation Changes as she is the
Councils representative on the Tai Tarian voluntary
board. Councillor D.Jones Re
the Council Representation on Outside Bodies as she is one of the Councils
representatives for Neath Port Talbot Black Minority Ethnic (BME) Community
Association and sits on the board for Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary
Service (NPTCVS) in an independent capacity. Councillor S.Penry Re
the Council Representation on Outside Bodies as she is one of the Councils
representatives for Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Service (NPTCVS). Councillor L.Jones Re
the Council Representation on Outside Bodies as she is one of the Councils
representatives for Neath Port Talbot Black Minority Ethnic (BME) Community Association. Councillor N.Hunt Re
the Council Representation on Outside Bodies as he sits on the board of Port
Talbot Business Improvement District (BID) in an independent capacity. |
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Pre-decision Scrutiny ·
To select appropriate items from the Cabinet agenda for pre-decision
scrutiny (cabinet reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members) ·
To select appropriate items from the Cabinet (Finance) Sub Committee
agenda for pre-decision scrutiny (Cabinet Finance Sub - Committee reports
enclosed for Scrutiny Members) Minutes: The
committee scrutinised the following cabinet items: Strategic
Equality Plan 2020-2024 It
was clarified that the Strategic Equality Plan 2020-2024 was being delivered to
Members in two parts: · Part one – the strategic
equality objectives and all the other relevant information that was required to
be included within the plan to ensure the Council met all of the equality
regulations. It was mentioned that the commission was asking that all strategic
equality plans be in place by October. It was noted
that work needed to be completed on the actions that will underpin the delivery
of the objectives contained within the circulated report; this work had already
started, with discussions taking place within the BME Association and amongst
staff, and would form an action plan. · Part two – the action plan
for achieving the objectives which will be presented to Cabinet Scrutiny
Committee towards the end of the year. Members
suggested that going forward when individuals applied for a position within the
Council, a number be applied to their application instead of their name to
remove any links to gender, ethnicity etc. It was noted that this could be
discussed in the second part of the delivery of the strategic equality plan,
when the actions would be presented. Detailed
within the circulated report, it quoted ‘as a non-Welsh person living and
working in Wales, I already feel discriminated against by Welsh Government
policy and practice’. Members asked if the individual had given any more
specific details in relation to their concerns. It was noted that no further
detail was provided, however Officers would try and determine what else the
Council could be doing and further information that could be collected in
future consultation exercises. Following
scrutiny, the committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
cabinet. Council
Representation on Outside Bodies (Cllr
S.Rahaman re-affirmed his interest at this point and
withdrew from the meeting) (Cllr
P.Richards re-affirmed his interest at this point and withdrew
from the meeting) (Cllr
D.Jones re-affirmed her interest at this point and
withdrew from the meeting) (Cllr
N.Hunt re-affirmed his interest at this point and
withdrew from the meeting) The
Committee received a report on the Council Representation on Outside Bodies to
consider the benefits and drawbacks of Members
being formally part of the voluntary boards of a selection of Organisations.
Officers had proposed alternatives to the arrangement to protect Members
against the conflicts of interest that would arise in relation to continuing
with the current arrangements. It
was highlighted that there was no specific guidance from the WLGA on this
matter, and instead it was for individual Councils to make a determination as
to what arrangements should be put in place and what role they anticipated
their Members to have in the community. In relation to what other Councils had done, it was noted that there was a number of Councils where Members did not sit on any boards and other Councils where they did, which was managed via the conflict of interest ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |