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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chambers - Civic Centre

Contact: Anne Jenkins  Governance Team Leader

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Preliminaries

        i.           To receive any apologies for absence.

      ii.           To receive any declarations of interest.

     iii.           To receive any announcements by the Presiding Member.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A two minute’s silence was observed for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

 

1.i  Apologies

The Presiding Member reported that apologies had been received from the following members: Councillors Perkins, Routley, Kellaway, Peterson and Linton.

 

1.ii  Declarations of Interest

 

None received.

 

1.iii  Presiding Member’s Announcements

 

The Presiding Member informed Council colleagues that in less than two weeks we will welcome the return of the Newport Food Festival. On Saturday 8 October, our city centre streets will once again become a hive of activity and tasty treats.

 

There will be plenty of food stalls as traders showcase the best in food and drink from across the city and the wider region.

 

The newly refurbished Newport Market will also play host to local chefs putting on special demonstrations throughout the day. Plus, there will be a full programme of activities for all the family. All members are invited to attend to show their support for the event and I hope to see you there.

 

The Presiding Member also reminded members that Remembrance Sunday was soon upon us and hoped that members could attend this.

2.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 199 KB

To confirm and sign the minutes of the last meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Minutes of 19 July 2022 were accepted as a true record.

 

3.

Appointments pdf icon PDF 91 KB

To consider any proposed appointments.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor James moved the appointments set out in the report, as agreed by the Business Managers, subject to the additional appointments set out below.

 

Resolved: That the appointments set out in the report to Council be agreed, together with the following additional appointments.

 

Governing Body Appointments

Governing Body

No of Vacancies / Re-appointments

Nominations Received

Llanwern High School

Reappointment

Mark Spencer

St Julians School

Reappointment

Deborah Davies

St Julians School

Reappointment

Tracy McKim

St Julians School

Reappointment

Phillip Hourahine

Glan Usk Primary School

Replacement

Paul Bright

Pillgwenlly Primary School

Replacement

Saeed Adan

 

Outside Bodies

Pill Millennium Centre Trust: Councillor D Jenkins to replace Councillor S Adan.

4.

Police Issues

30 minutes is allocated for questions to the Gwent Police representative.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Presiding Member welcomed Chief Inspector John Davies, who provided council members with an update on police issues within East, West and Central Newport.

 

The Presiding Member then invited the Leader to put questions to Chief Insp Davies. 

 

The Leader mentioned that councillors from the West of Newport commented that there appeared to be more regular engagement with councillors and Police in Newport East.  The Leader asked if this could be addressed in order to establish regular engagement with councillors in the West of Newport.  The Chief Inspector would look into this request for the Leader and also advised that the Police were looking into providing context to issues occurring in all wards to all members on what was going on within all areas of Newport by way of a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter.

 

The Leader also referred to the introduction of 20mph zones within Newport and the concerns around enforcement plans and asked if it would be possible for the Police to meet with Councillors to provide an information session, which could in turn be fed-back to constituents who regularly contact their ward members regarding this issue.  The Chief Insp would look into this for the Leader.

 

Finally, it was wonderful to see events within Newport up and running after two years, including the Pill Carnival, the Big Splash and Newport’s Inaugural Pride Event.  The Leader therefore wanted to congratulate the Chief Inspector and colleagues on their positive policing of all these events within the community, they had really engaged with the public and the Leader wanted this to be fed back to Chief Inspector Davies’ colleagues.  The Chief Inspector thanked the Leader for her kind comments and would feedback to his colleagues.

 

Questions to the Police raised by Councillors:

 

§  Councillor Fouweather referred to the consultation process for 20mph where no one from Gwent Police commented.  This had a massive implication for Police and resources and many people were not staying to the speed limit.  Could the Chief Inspector therefore find out why there were no comments from Gwent Police on the consultation and feedback to the Council. The Chief Insp would look into this and also advised that the majority of the enforcement was carried out by ‘Go Safe’ Wales.

 

§  Councillor A Morris had noticed an increase of e-bicycles within Lliswerry and the city, who were also going faster than 20mph.  These bicycles were purchase without the need of a licence, safety equipment, no knowledge of the Highway Code or insurance.  There had been several near misses and the possibility of a fatality was high.  What was the national position on this?  The Chief Insp advised that the national position around e-bicycles was about how the Police dealt with them tactically. There were a number of different options that the Police were looking into but felt it inappropriate to address in a public forum at this point but close to a tactical outcome for seizing them.  Part of the operation included targeting retailers, the majority of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Notice of Motion of Condolence

To receive the following motion for which the necessary notice has been provided.

 

This Council expresses its deep sadness at the death of Her Majesty the Queen and offers its sincere condolences to His Majesty the King and other members of the Royal Family.  We recognise Her Majesty's enduring commitment to public service and duty, including her support for many Welsh charities and organisations, and her lifelong association with Wales and its people.

 

The motion is to be proposed by the Leader of the Council, Councillor J Mudd and seconded by Councillor M Evans.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Presiding Member advised councillors that, by agreement between the political groups, this was the last item on the agenda, and any replies to questions for Leader or Cabinet Members would be provided in writing .

 

The Leader proposed the following motion to Council:

 

This Council expresses its deep sadness at the death of Her Majesty the Queen and offers its sincere condolences to His Majesty the King and other members of the Royal Family. We recognise Her Majesty's enduring commitment to public service and duty, including her support for many Welsh charities and organisations, and her lifelong association with Wales and its people.

 

Councillor M Evans seconded the motion.

 

The Leader reserved her right to speak at the end.  The Presiding Member invited Councillor Evans to speak:

The last few weeks had been an emotional rollercoaster from shock, grief and disbelief to feelings of proudness and hope, about the way the Nation and the city paid tribute to a much loved and respected lady. Even the staunchest of Republicans cannot deny her complete devotion to public service.

 

Some of us here had been fortunate to have been Mayor of our City, while others would have that opportunity.  A great honour privilege and, it had to be said, a very rewarding but demanding year.

 

I cannot even imagine doing this, on a much larger scale for over 70 years, but the Queen did it right up until the day before she died, at the age of 96 years.

 

I never met her, but was one of the few remaining Councillors here, to attend the dinner at the Newport Centre when she came to celebrate city status in 2002. The streets were packed with well-wishers, and it was a day I would never forget.

 

On another occasion I attended a church service in Ebbw Vale to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. Sitting opposite her, she had an immense presence despite her small stature, and her smile lit up the room.

 

We would all have heard about or seen some truly vile posts on social media, from a mindless minority, and sadly Newport was no exception. But the overwhelming strength of feeling has been to unite the city, the country and the nation, like we are doing here today.

 

As we come to terms with the Queen’s passing, perhaps the greatest tribute we could all make, is to emulate her great dedication and service to the people we represent, from Ringland to Ridgeway, and work hard to better our city.

 

The Queen was a much loved, stoic, duty-bound and respected Queen of the ages, a symbol of stability and resilience. She was a Monarch and a Matriarch and would be truly missed.  But she left behind a monumental legacy after 70 historical years in reign. May our beloved Queen rest in peace and God save the King.

 

Councillors Lacey, Marshall, Councillor Fouweather, Drewett, Cocks, Spencer, R Howells, D Davies, D Harvey and Morris all spoke in support of the motion, along with expressing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Written Responses to Cabinet Member Questions

To provide an opportunity to pose questions to Cabinet Members in line with Standing Orders.

 

Process:

No more than 10 minutes will be allocated at the Council meeting for questions to each Cabinet Member.

 

Members must submit their proposed questions in writing in advance in accordance with Standing Orders.  If members are unable to ask their question orally within the allocated time, remaining questions will be answered in writing.  The question and response will be appended to the minutes.

 

The question must be addressed through the Mayor or the person presiding at the meeting and not directly to the person being questioned.

 

Questions will be posed to Cabinet Members in the following order:

 

        i.           Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years

      ii.           Cabinet Member for Community and Wellbeing

     iii.           Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Regulation and Housing

    iv.           Cabinet Member for Social Services

      v.           Cabinet Member for Organisational Transformation

    vi.           Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Bio-Diversity

   vii.           Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Assets

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Written Questions from Council – 19 July 2022

 

 

Item 5: 2021/22 Treasury Management year-end report

 

Supplementary Question Raised in Council by Councillor Routley:

Councillor Routley referred to page 52, section 9 in the report where it stated that no investments supported Russian Institutes directly not being supported directly and therefore asked were there any investments that were indirectly supporting Russian Institutes.

 

Councillor Routley observed that under other debt activity, capital finances were raised for Glan Usk School and the Southern Distributor Road. The statement of accounts showed a liability of £39M to pay the operator and therefore asked could the finances be broken down between the School and the SDR.

 

The Head of Finance response:

INVESTMENTS

In theory, the nature of global money markets is such that you can never be 100% that any investments won’t have an impact upon Russian interests, particularly where state sponsored subterfuge is employed. This is because transactions beget other transactions with other organisations and it is impossible to vet every link in that considerably long chain, before needing to start again vetting other transactions the following day given the recurrent churn in money market transactions. The industry standard is to ensure that your immediate transaction doesn’t have any obvious Russian ties, and an expectation that others carry out that similar diligence on their transactions.

 

Our investments at 31st March were all with other Councils, other UK based public sector concerns, the Government public sector investment/borrowing platform (DMO), a pooled fund specifically for local authorities and our call account with Santander. Notwithstanding what I’ve said above, on that basis in terms of our position at 31 March (and since then) , we’re confident that investments had no links to Russian activities.

 

PFI’s

PFI – our transactions are with Morgan Vinci in respect of southern distributor link and Newport Schools Solutions Ltd in respect of Glan Usk school (the latter also being a bespoke subsidiary of the Vinci group). During 2021-22 we paid those companies £6.6m and £2.1m respectively.

 

Item 9: Questions to Cabinet Members

 

Supplementary Question raised by Councillor Mogford to the Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Assets re - Consultation with Residents Post 20 mph Zone

 

Councillor Mogford asked:

In terms of a local process post the 20 MPH speed limit, would there not be a consultation with residents?

 

Councillor Lacey responded:

Can I firstly direct you to the Members information pack provided by Welsh Government and distributed to all Members in July by Democratic Services, which seeks to provide information on all aspects of the 20mph default roll out across Wales including the public attitude survey and consultation on the reduction of the default speed limit undertaken by Welsh Government.

 

All local authorities in Wales are working to the guidance and criteria set by Welsh Government in identifying the roads that will both default to 20mph and remain 30mph.

 

Welsh Governments position is clear in that there will be no further public consultation on the roads that are defaulting to 20mph,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.