Agenda and minutes

        i.           To receive any apologies for absence.

      ii.           To receive any declarations of interest.

     iii.           To receive any announcements by the Presiding Member.

1.i Apologies

Councillors Fouweather, Screen, Kellaway and Cleverly

1.ii Declarations of Interest

None.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the last meeting.

The Minutes of 28 February 2023 were agreed, subject to the following:

Councillor M Howells asked that the Question to the Chair of Democratic Services Committee be included in the Minutes, as they were omitted in the Agenda papers.

To consider any proposed appointments.

To consider the proposed appointments set out in the report.

Councillor Clarke moved the appointments set out in the Report, as agreed by the Business managers, subject to the additional appointments set out below.

Councillor Routley seconded the report.

Resolved: That the following appointments be agreed.

Governing Body Appointments

Outside Bodies Appointment to Caldicot and Wentlooge Drainage Board

Councillors A Screen and P Drewett.

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

The Presiding Member introduced Superintendent Jason White, who provided council members with an update on Police issues within East, West, and Central Newport.

The Presiding Member congratulated Superintendent White on his promotion.

The Presiding Member invited the Leader to address Superintendent White.

The Leader congratulated Superintendent on his promotion.

The Leader referred to the recent introduction of a briefing note sent out to members from Chief Inspector Davies, which was very helpful.  It highlighted where police contacts were and outlined the major issues across the city There was support across the Chambers, councillors confirmed they found the briefing note very useful.  The Leader asked if the Police intended to continue this. Superintendent White advised that this briefing format would continue but that there would be some officer changes; Carl Williams was remaining as Chief Superintendent and Superintendent White was replacing Vicki Townsend.  Chief Inspector Davies was remaining in Newport but taking over the Superintendent’s previous role.  There was also the addition of Amanda Thomas who was dealing with neighbourhood side.

Questions to the Police raised by Councillors:

§  Councillor Jordan wanted to pass on his thanks to Inspector Hannah Welty and the team who dealt with a robbery at a Newsagents in Bettws recently, which ended in an arrest. Millbrook School in Bettws was targeted by youths who had broken into the school causing damage. The Head Teacher was at school during one break in and raised the alarm; causing the youths to run away. One of the youths dropped her purse and was identified in this way.  There were also break ins at the Flying Start building and Ifor Hael school.  Councillor Jordan requested extra police presence on foot patrol around the area.  The Superintendent agreed to extra police patrols as requested.  The Detective Inspector confirmed that the police in Newport were very eager to quickly identify offenders and had a very good return rate in dealing with robberies and violent crime.  The Superintendent stated that over the last 4-6 weeks in Newport Central and West the Police had identified and arrested 12 individuals and there was ongoing work around prevention and intervention. Concerning the burglaries at Millbrook and Flying Start, the Superintendent advised that the Police had heavily invested in a system called ‘We Don’t Buy Crime’, which was geared towards crime prevention.  Officers were helping to prevent crime and keep communities safe, giving crime prevention advice to reduce reoffences.

§  Councillor M Howells referred to vehicle congregation and car racing on the Southern Distributor Road (SDR).  Tesco in Spytty was a previous location for this, and officers worked very hard with councillors to address this.  Councillor M Howells stated that over the past six months this was happening again with youths congregating at the Velodrome and racing their cars. Councillor M Howells requested that the police therefore also respond to this, and confirmed he was happy to also meet with Newport Live to engage their support. The Superintendent was pleased to announce that calls had reduced in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This Council is concerned by the UK government’s illegal immigration bill which proposes to detain and later remove anyone who arrives in the UK on a small boat, meaning the Home Office will not consider any of their Asylum claims regardless of whether they have fled war or persecution for being a minority.

These people seeking sanctuary will then be deported back to the country they have fled from or a ‘safe’ third country. This third country could be Rwanda or another country deemed safe by UK Government but which may have a questionable record on human rights. The likely effect of this legislation will be to punish the most vulnerable people from across the world.

Questions have been raised surrounding the legality of the Bill and whether it is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and consistent with the 1951 Refugees Convention. The Prime Minister has also stated in writing that if you come to the UK illegally “You can’t benefit from our modern slavery protections”.

This Council also notes the language which has been used to support this Bill, which has the potential to cultivate and provide a platform for a culture of abuse, racism and even violence against refugees and minorities.

As an experienced dispersal area this council has made a firm commitment in our Corporate Plan to establish Newport as a City of Sanctuary. This Council and the people of Newport have welcomed and accepted refugees and asylum seekers. We have a proud history of integration and inclusion. Our city is a more interesting, diverse and tolerant city because of this.

This Council calls in to question the action of the UK Government in bringing forward this legislation, and calls upon the prime minister and his ministers to withdraw these proposals.

We call upon the Leader of Council to write to the prime minister in the strongest possible terms to outline our concerns.

We would also request the Leader of the council commits to ensuring that Newport City Council gives full support to all partners and stakeholders in Newport currently working towards City of Sanctuary status.

The Motion is to be proposed by Councillor Stowell-Corten and seconded by Councillor Clarke.

The Presiding Member invited Councillor Corten to present the motion with Councillor Clarke to second.

This Council is concerned by the UK government’s illegal immigration bill which proposes to detain and later remove anyone who arrives in the UK on a small boat, meaning the Home Office will not consider any of their Asylum claims regardless of whether they have fled war or persecution for being a minority.

These people seeking sanctuary will then be deported back to the country they have fled from or a ‘safe’ third country. This third country could be Rwanda, or another country deemed safe by UK Government, but which may have a questionable record on human rights. The likely effect of this legislation will be to punish the most vulnerable people from across the world.

Questions have been raised surrounding the legality of the Bill and whether it is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and consistent with the 1951 Refugees Convention. The Prime Minister has also stated in writing that if you come to the UK illegally “You can’t benefit from our modern slavery protections”.

This Council also notes the language which has been used to support this Bill, which has the potential to cultivate and provide a platform for a culture of abuse, racism and even violence against refugees and minorities.

As an experienced dispersal area this council has made a firm commitment in our Corporate Plan to establish Newport as a City of Sanctuary. This Council and the people of Newport have welcomed and accepted refugees and asylum seekers. We have a proud history of integration and inclusion. Our city is a more interesting, diverse, and tolerant city because of this.

This Council calls in to question the action of the UK Government in bringing forward this legislation and calls upon the prime minister and his ministers to withdraw these proposals.

We call upon the Leader of the Council to write to the prime minister in the strongest possible terms to outline our concerns.

We would also request the Leader of the Council commits to ensuring that Newport City Council gives full support to all partners and stakeholders in Newport currently working towards City of Sanctuary status.

Comments from Councillors:

§  Councillor Drewett gave an account of his family history as a descendent of immigrants. Councillor Drewett referenced an event held by the Red Cross at the Westgate Hotel two or three years ago, called Giving Voice. Asylum speakers spoke at this event about their experiences since their arrival in Newport and their appreciation of the warm welcome they received, of friendships they made, and the opportunities available.  Councillor Drewett said that Newport had a proud tradition of supporting immigrants, and that he strongly supported the motion.

§  Councillor Davies spoke of research into her own family history, where her ancestors had moved to the UK for economic reasons, and at other times to escape conflict and persecution. Councillor Davies stated that her story was not uncommon, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Senior Solicitor for Litigation explained to members of the Council the conflict of interest regarding the above item, relating to the Chief Executive and Senior Officers, therefore, at this juncture the Chief Executive and Senior Officers were asked to leave the Council Chambers.

The Presiding Member invited the Leader to introduce the report, which had two items for recommendation to full Council. This required colleagues to review and agree the annual Pay and Reward Policy and the alignment of Chief Officer Leave.

The Pay and Reward Policy for the workforce was an annual report that required adoption by the Council. The policy set out the internal mechanisms for remunerating Council officers and provided an update on any changes since the last adoption in 2022.

Any changes made during the last 12 months were supported by the correct democratic / officer processes where necessary and noted in the covering report.

When the Leader reported last that the Council’s gender pay gap continued to compare favourably with other Councils across Wales and the UK, it was anticipated this was still the case when this Council refreshed its pay data later this month.  The Leader was also pleased to report that the Council has seen a reduction in the ratio of pay between the lowest and highest paid officers, meaning there was less gap between them.

The report also outlined how the Council aligned the leave of officers, and other terms and conditions, as part of the Councils commitment to a single status agreement in 2015.   In the 2022/23 pay award, all officers, other than Chief Officers, were awarded an additional day’s annual leave as part of the pay award.

To ensure the Council’s continuing commitment to have a single status approach, wherever possible, it was recommended that Chief Officers annual leave was also aligned to include the additional day’s leave that other officers of the Council have been awarded.

Councillor Batrouni seconded the report.

Resolved:

That Council

1.      Reviewed and agreed the Pay and Reward Policy in order to meet the statutory requirement for a pay policy statement to be approved and published by Council on an annual basis.

2.      Reviewed and agreed the alignment of Chief Officer leave.

The Presiding Member invited the Leader to present the proposed Framework for the re-introduction of Ward Meetings as a valuable means of engaging with residents.

The report sought Council’s approval for the framework setting out the frequency, order of business and provision of support for Ward Meetings to be adopted.

In May 2022, the Council made a commitment to support residents to become more involved in decision-making and encouraged more diversity in decision-makers through the adoption of a Participation Strategy.

Under this strategy, the Council aimed to build on the existing programme of engagement and consultation with the public to further increase participation in democratic processes.

Feedback from the Participation Strategy consultation indicated that residents wanted the Council to explore alternative methods of consultation and Ward Meetings were one of many ways that the Council was able to support wider public involvement in decision-making.

In developing the proposed framework, members of the Democratic Services Committee highlighted the key features that they considered to be an essential part of the arrangements for ward meetings; these features helped to ensure that residents have the opportunity to engage in important decisions, and to set their own agenda, reflecting the issues that were important to each community.

Defining an agreed framework for the ward meetings, that included two fully supported Ward Meetings each year per ward, recognises the Council’s commitment to engaging with residents on key decisions that impacted their communities in a timely manner.

Utilising one of the regular ward meetings to focus on budget setting and supporting residents to engage with this process on a face-to-face basis would encourage rich and meaningful feedback shaping the outcome of the decisions being made.

In addition, a second supported ward meeting approximately six months after the budget setting ward meeting would provide a further opportunity to promote awareness of the Council’s functions including a summary of progress against key objectives and projects.

Where Members wish to hold a third meeting in a year, administrative support would be provided for booking suitable venues within communities for ward meetings, but there would be no officer support at the meetings.

Importantly, both supported ward meetings would provide the opportunity for residents to set their own points for discussion; so, the community could help to set an agenda that provided a platform to discuss what matters in their own community.

Whilst the proposed framework would support meetings in each ward if required, it would remain within the remit of the ward member/s to determine whether the ward meetings were held in their own community.

Members may prefer to communicate with their residents in a different way, such as ward surgeries, casework, emails, or social media, for example.

Ward Meetings were an option that could be used to enhance communication but would not replace any of these other methods of engagement with communities that were open to Councillors.

The proposed framework supported the long-term development of greater engagement and involvement of residents so that the Council continued to involve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Presiding Member invited the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, Councillor Hourahine to present the 2021/2022 Scrutiny Annual Report to Council. The purpose of this report was to apprise Council and other interested parties of the role of the scrutiny committees, and their work during the 2021/22 municipal year.

Scrutiny was a function of Councils in England and Wales and was introduced by the Local Government Act 2000, creating separate Cabinet and Scrutiny functions in Local Authorities.

The role of scrutiny was strengthened with the passing of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011. This Act required the Committee to report annually to the Council on the work that carried out in the past 12 months and its future work programme. Since the introduction of the Wellbeing of Future Generation Act, Scrutiny also had a statutory role to scrutinise the work of the Public Service Boards.

The underlying principle of Scrutiny arrangements was ensuring that the decision-making process was open, accountable, and transparent.

The scrutiny function at Newport City Council was performed by four scrutiny committees comprising of Elected Members who were not part of the Council’s executive. Three of these committees were concerned with performance under Place and Corporate, People, and Partnerships. Overview and Management Scrutiny considers policies, strategies and plans that are cross-cutting and impact upon the whole Council.

The annual report covered the period from May 2021 to April 2022 and was the final annual report of the five-year term leading up to local elections in May 2022.

During this time, there was a restructure which meant that the configuration of the Council changed, however this did not have a material impact on the service areas scrutinised by each Committee.

The Report highlighted the important work carried out by Scrutiny over the year, during which the four committees met on a regular basis.

Performance Committees considered regular updates on service plans for their relevant areas, and used this evidence base to scrutinise performance in a wider context. The Service plan updates included financial information, links with corporate goals, Wellbeing goals and work towards goals set externally to the Council.

End of year updates also included details on how the Council adapted and responded to the challenges faced by services and communities due to the pandemic, and how support was provided to residents and businesses.

A number of recommendations were made to Cabinet commending the quality of the updates, and to promote key achievements within Newport so that residents were informed of actions that provided support during and subsequently to the pandemic. 

During this time Committees received reports on the Cabinet’s responses to the Recommendations the Committees previously made to the Draft Budget proposals, including investments, as part of Scrutiny’s remit of measuring and assessing the Authorities impact and value.

Outside of the cycle of performance review, the Performance Scrutiny Committees also considered reports on topics including In-House Residential Care in Newport aimed at increasing the local provision available for looked after children, the Economic Recovery Strategy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To provide an opportunity for Councillors to ask questions to the Leader of the Council in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders.

Process:

No more than 15 minutes will be allocated at the Council meeting for questions to the Leader of the Council.

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

Before commencement with questions, the Leader made the following announcements:

Opening of the new bridge

Last week the Leader was joined by the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS, and the Mayor, to officially open the new city centre active travel bridge.

The bridge replaced the old subway and provided residents and visitors with a safer, more accessible route across the railway line. It connected communities and the city centre, something residents were clear they wanted in responding to the active travel consultations.

It was a complex project led by Newport City Council in partnership with Welsh Government, Network Rail and Transport for Wales. The bridge was delivered on-site by contractors and sub-contractors that were all Welsh based companies, directly benefitting the local economy and communities.

The building of this bridge was yet another step forward in delivering wider regeneration plans for the city centre and greatly improved the public realm around this important transportation hub, making the area far more attractive for all users. The planting beds were sustainable thanks to a drainage system that captured and directed water straight to them.

Marathon

Newport City Council was pleased to welcome thousands of runners and spectators to the city just over a week ago for the ABP Newport Wales marathon and 10k. The weather wasn’t the finest on the day, but it proved to be perfect for competitors with three new course records set.

Newport was on the small screen again when the race and highlights were televised last Friday. Well done to everyone who took part, to all the local volunteers and those that worked very hard to make the event a success.

Coronation

The Coronation weekend was fast approaching and so were the plans for community events. The highlight this year was the Big Lunch at Beechwood Park, taking place on Sunday 7 May from 12 noon to 4pm.

With support from Newport City Radio, the Beechwood Park Group and Newport Live, there would be live music, roaming entertainers, sporting, and craft activities for all the family.

The Leader was also pleased to announce that the Council would be able support street parties again this year. Applications were being processed and those successful would be supported with traffic management on the day.

More information about all the Coronation events was available on our website.

Wales National Armed Forces Day

After the coronation, the next major event was Wales National Armed Forces Day.

The Leader was proud to announce that Newport was hosting this year’s event on Saturday 24 June with an actioned-packed schedule in place.

The day would begin at 10am with military displays along the riverside and organisations such as the Royal British Legion, the Royal Naval Association, Help for Heroes, Newport Veterans Hub, GAVO and many more, with stalls inside the theatre and arts centre.

There would be a parade in the city centre led by the Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Welsh, and the Tigers Army Parachute Display Team  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

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

There was one written question to the Cabinet Members.

Question 1 – Deputy Leader/ Cabinet Member: Education and Early Years

Councillor Routley

As the number of new housing developments in Newport rises, it is becoming increasingly clear that our existing schools are struggling to meet the demand.

As a Cabinet Member, what actions are you taking to alleviate the current and future pupil placement crisis that is affecting numerous families? 

What measures will you and your administration take to address the emotional strain that parents are experiencing due to the high rate of application rejections?

Response from Councillor Davies

Offers of places in the September 2023 Reception year group were issued on 17^th April, and whilst a high proportion of applicants were successful in gaining a place at one of their preference schools, a minority of primary schools for which the Council is the admission authority (2/37) were unable to meet the demand for places from pupils living in their catchment area. This is disappointing; however, parents are always encouraged to include multiple preferences when making their applications to increase their probability of receiving an offer that they are satisfied with. The School Admissions Team will continue to work with families without a current offer to secure an alternative school placement for their children and support them with this process.

Notwithstanding this, there is an overall sufficiency of places across in city within the primary sector, and therefore the Council continues to fulfil its legal duties in relation to statutory schooling; however, it is inevitable that this does not always correlate with parental preference. The development of a new school on the Whiteheads development, and the subsequent relocation of Ysgol Gymraeg Nant Gwenlli, will increase the overall availability of primary school places in the west of the city, and two new developer led primary schools will open on the east of the city over the next few years. All Newport primary schools perform to high standards and our Home to School Transport policy supports primary aged children whose nearest available school is two miles or more from their home address.

In terms of the secondary sector, the published admission numbers of two secondary schools will formally increase from September 2023 to assist in meeting transitional demand, and again there is an overall sufficiency of places in the sector for the September 2023 Year 7 cohort. The projected future demand for secondary provision continues to be reported through and monitored by the Planning of School Places group, and data will be used to inform future capital projects.

The next meeting would take place on 16 May and was the Council AGM. 

The Presiding Member took the opportunity to thank all councillors for their hard work, especially newly elected members for the work in their wards.