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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED that the decisions be approved and confirmed as a true record of proceedings.
RESOLVED that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the Terms of Reference attached at appendix 1, be approved.
RESOLVED that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the Council, acting in its capacity as Trustee of the Cwm Betterment Recreation Fund, grant a 35-year lease of the property, shown edged red on the attached plan (Appendix 1), to Betterment Park Sports CIC.
RESOLVED that the report be accepted and - the joint regional commitments as outlined within the Area Plan be noted; and - the Regional Partnership Board Annual Report (RPB) 2024/2025 be accepted.
RESOLVED that the following be appointed: - Deputy Leader of the Council – Councillor Tommy Smith. - Cabinet Member Adults & Communities – Councillor Jules Gardner. - Member Champion – Age Friendly – Councillor Jules Gardner. - Governance & Audit Committee (Vice-Chair) – Councillor Jen Morgan, J.P. - Governance & Audit Committee – Councillor Dean Woods - Governance & Audit Committee Appointments Panel – Councillors Jen Morgan & Dean Woods - Children, Young People & Families Scrutiny Committee – Councillors Helen Cunningham & Chris Smith. - Economic Development & Environmental Management Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - General & Statutory Licensing Committees – Committee Member – Councillors Malcolm Cross & David Wilkshire. - Getting to Know Our Schools Sub-Group (Same Membership as Children, Young People & Families Scrutiny Committee) – Councillors Helen Cunningham & Chris Smith. - Appointments Committee – JNC Officers – Committee Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Longlisting/Shortlisting – JNC Officers – Panel Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Appeals Committee – Committee Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Investigating & Disciplinary Committee – JNC & Chief Officers – Committee Member – Councillor Dean Woods. - Blaenau Gwent & Caerphilly Care & Repair Board – Councillor Haydn Trollope. - Housing & Homelessness Strategy Working Group – Councillor Ellen Jones. - Council Tax Premium Appeals Panel – Councillor David Wilkshire. - Member Champion - Climate Mitigation – Councillor John C. Morgan. - EAS Audit & Risk Assurance Group – Councillor Jacqueline Thomas. - Tai Calon Board – Councillor Jen Morgan, J.P. - Gwent Police & Crime Panel – Councillor D. Rowberry FURTHER RESOLVED that the following be appointed to the resulting vacancies: - Member Champion – Smart Money, Poverty & Inequality – Councillor Haydn Trollope. - Corporate Parenting Board – Councillor Dean Woods. - Grants Working Group (Brynmawr Ward) – Councillor John Hill. - Adults, Communities & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Dean Woods. The following amendments to appointments were noted: - Economic Development & Environmental Management Scrutiny Committee – Councillor George Humphreys be appointed to replace Councillor Jonathan Millard on this Committee. - Advisory Panel for the Appointment of Local Authority School Governors’ – Councillor Jules Gardner be removed as a substitute member on the above-named panel. Advisory Panel for Local Authority Governors The following recommendations were made by the Panel on 6th January, 2026 to appoint in principle: - Andrew Rogers – All Saints R.C. Primary School - Councillor Gareth A Davies – Rhos-y-Fedwen Primary School It was, thereupon, unanimously, RESOLVED that the above appointments be endorsed
It was noted that no requests had been received for the simultaneous translation service.
Apologies for absence were received from: Councillors K. Chaplin, G. A. Davies, M. Day, J. P. Morgan and D. Wilkshire. Joint Chief Executive Joint Strategic Director of Adults & Communities
There were no declarations of interest or dispensations reported.
No announcements had been received to report at the meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the decisions be approved and confirmed as a true record of proceedings.
The Decision Book for the period November – December 2025 was submitted for consideration. It was unanimously, RESOLVED that the decisions be approved and confirmed as a true record of proceedings.
Agreed.
Agreed.
The following question was received from Councillor Helen Cunningham and was responded to by Councillor Stephen Thomas, Leader of the Council: Question: What assurance could be provided to Council that Blaenau Gwent receives an equitable deal from its membership of the Cardiff Capital Region? Response: For context, the Leader explained when the Cardiff Capital Region was established there was a clear understanding that the greatest benefit would materialise from regional scale and regional impact and this principle remained as true today as when the deal was first agreed. It was difficult to judge the value of regional partnership solely by postcode, as people travelled to work, businesses operated across borders and supply chains did not stop at council boundaries. However, Blaenau Gwent received a strong and measurable return on its investment, to date £2.3m had been contributed to the City Deal and in return £10.8m had been invested directly into the County Borough. This had gone on to leverage over £20m in private sector funding and a further £5.9m in public sector investment, supporting at least 480 high scale, high value jobs and many more across the supply chain. This was a return of nearly £5 for every £1 contributed and this was before the wider economic and transport benefits that came from being part of the region, were accounted for. Details of some of these investments were shared at this juncture. In addition, Blaenau Gwent was a 1/10th shareholder in regional companies created through the Cardiff Capital Region including the CSC Foundry i.e. the compound semi-conductor mega foundry. These were long term regional assets that residents benefitted directly from. The Leader concluded by stating that taking into account the metric above, it was accurate to assert that the Council was indeed receiving a fair reckonable return on its investment. Supplementary Question: Reference was made that connecting people to jobs was key considering there was such a high outward commuting rate and insufficient jobs within the County Borough and in addition, only one-third of residents in the County Borough had access to a car. Did the Leader believe that the Cardiff Capital Region was cognisant of those circumstances and if so, why had the Cardiff Capital Region webpage relating to the Abertillery transport hub not been updated since 2021, why did the South Wales Metro Plus map have little appearance and why did Blaenau Gwent not feature highly within that? Response: The Regional Transport Plan and Delivery Programme would distribute between £42m – £50m across the region and £3.36m had been submitted for Blaenau Gwent under the one year Regional Transport Delivery Programme to implement enhancements within the County Borough. The Leader confirmed that a Member Briefing would be arranged in due course which would cover the whole issue of the Corporate Joint Committee and Cardiff Capital Region with a particular focus on transport.
There were no questions submitted by members of the public.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the Terms of Reference attached at appendix 1, be approved.
Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Legal & Corporate Compliance. It was unanimously, RESOLVED that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the Terms of Reference attached at appendix 1, be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the Council, acting in its capacity as Trustee of the Cwm Betterment Recreation Fund, grant a 35-year lease of the property, shown edged red on the attached plan (Appendix 1), to Betterment Park Sports CIC.
The report of the Team Leader – Estates & Valuation was submitted for consideration. It was unanimously, RESOLVED that the report be accepted and Option 1 be endorsed, namely that the Council, acting in its capacity as Trustee of the Cwm Betterment Recreation Fund, grant a 35-year lease of the property, shown edged red on the attached plan (Appendix 1), to Betterment Park Sports CIC.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be accepted and - the joint regional commitments as outlined within the Area Plan be noted; and - the Regional Partnership Board Annual Report (RPB) 2024/2025 be accepted.
Members considered the joint Officers’ report. It was unanimously, RESOLVED that the report be accepted and - the joint regional commitments as outlined within the Area Plan be noted; and - the Regional Partnership Board Annual Report (RPB) 2024/2025 be accepted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the following be appointed: - Deputy Leader of the Council – Councillor Tommy Smith. - Cabinet Member Adults & Communities – Councillor Jules Gardner. - Member Champion – Age Friendly – Councillor Jules Gardner. - Governance & Audit Committee (Vice-Chair) – Councillor Jen Morgan, J.P. - Governance & Audit Committee – Councillor Dean Woods - Governance & Audit Committee Appointments Panel – Councillors Jen Morgan & Dean Woods - Children, Young People & Families Scrutiny Committee – Councillors Helen Cunningham & Chris Smith. - Economic Development & Environmental Management Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - General & Statutory Licensing Committees – Committee Member – Councillors Malcolm Cross & David Wilkshire. - Getting to Know Our Schools Sub-Group (Same Membership as Children, Young People & Families Scrutiny Committee) – Councillors Helen Cunningham & Chris Smith. - Appointments Committee – JNC Officers – Committee Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Longlisting/Shortlisting – JNC Officers – Panel Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Appeals Committee – Committee Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Investigating & Disciplinary Committee – JNC & Chief Officers – Committee Member – Councillor Dean Woods. - Blaenau Gwent & Caerphilly Care & Repair Board – Councillor Haydn Trollope. - Housing & Homelessness Strategy Working Group – Councillor Ellen Jones. - Council Tax Premium Appeals Panel – Councillor David Wilkshire. - Member Champion - Climate Mitigation – Councillor John C. Morgan. - EAS Audit & Risk Assurance Group – Councillor Jacqueline Thomas. - Tai Calon Board – Councillor Jen Morgan, J.P. - Gwent Police & Crime Panel – Councillor D. Rowberry FURTHER RESOLVED that the following be appointed to the resulting vacancies: - Member Champion – Smart Money, Poverty & Inequality – Councillor Haydn Trollope. - Corporate Parenting Board – Councillor Dean Woods. - Grants Working Group (Brynmawr Ward) – Councillor John Hill. - Adults, Communities & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Dean Woods. The following amendments to appointments were noted: - Economic Development & Environmental Management Scrutiny Committee – Councillor George Humphreys be appointed to replace Councillor Jonathan Millard on this Committee. - Advisory Panel for the Appointment of Local Authority School Governors’ – Councillor Jules Gardner be removed as a substitute member on the above-named panel. Advisory Panel for Local Authority Governors The following recommendations were made by the Panel on 6th January, 2026 to appoint in principle: - Andrew Rogers – All Saints R.C. Primary School - Councillor Gareth A Davies – Rhos-y-Fedwen Primary School It was, thereupon, unanimously, RESOLVED that the above appointments be endorsed
Following a change to the political make-up of the Labour Group it was, RESOLVED that the following be appointed: - Deputy Leader of the Council – Councillor Tommy Smith. - Cabinet Member Adults & Communities – Councillor Jules Gardner. - Member Champion – Age Friendly – Councillor Jules Gardner. - Governance & Audit Committee (Vice-Chair) – Councillor Jen Morgan, J.P. - Governance & Audit Committee – Councillor Dean Woods - Governance & Audit Committee Appointments Panel – Councillors Jen Morgan & Dean Woods - Children, Young People & Families Scrutiny Committee – Councillors Helen Cunningham & Chris Smith. - Economic Development & Environmental Management Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - General & Statutory Licensing Committees – Committee Member – Councillors Malcolm Cross & David Wilkshire. - Getting to Know Our Schools Sub-Group (Same Membership as Children, Young People & Families Scrutiny Committee) – Councillors Helen Cunningham & Chris Smith. - Appointments Committee – JNC Officers – Committee Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Longlisting/Shortlisting – JNC Officers – Panel Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Appeals Committee – Committee Member – Councillor Lisa Winnett. - Investigating & Disciplinary Committee – JNC & Chief Officers – Committee Member – Councillor Dean Woods. - Blaenau Gwent & Caerphilly Care & Repair Board – Councillor Haydn Trollope. - Housing & Homelessness Strategy Working Group – Councillor Ellen Jones. - Council Tax Premium Appeals Panel – Councillor David Wilkshire. - Member Champion - Climate Mitigation – Councillor John C. Morgan. - EAS Audit & Risk Assurance Group – Councillor Jacqueline Thomas. - Tai Calon Board – Councillor Jen Morgan, J.P. - Gwent Police & Crime Panel – Councillor D. Rowberry FURTHER RESOLVED that the following be appointed to the resulting vacancies: - Member Champion – Smart Money, Poverty & Inequality – Councillor Haydn Trollope. - Corporate Parenting Board – Councillor Dean Woods. - Grants Working Group (Brynmawr Ward) – Councillor John Hill. - Adults, Communities & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Dean Woods. The following amendments to appointments were noted: - Economic Development & Environmental Management Scrutiny Committee – Councillor George Humphreys be appointed to replace Councillor Jonathan Millard on this Committee. - Advisory Panel for the Appointment of Local Authority School Governors’ – Councillor Jules Gardner be removed as a substitute member on the above-named panel. Advisory Panel for Local Authority Governors The following recommendations were made by the Panel on 6th January, 2026 to appoint in principle: - Andrew Rogers – All Saints R.C. Primary School - Councillor Gareth A Davies – Rhos-y-Fedwen Primary School It was, thereupon, unanimously, RESOLVED that the above appointments be endorsed
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
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