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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 Private or Unadopted Roads Guide be approved and incorporated into the Highway Design Guide as supplementary guidance.
RESOLVED that 7.1 the duration of the Carmarthenshire County Council (Dog Control) Public Spaces Protection Order 2016 be extended for a further period of 3 years with effect from the 1st July 2025; 7.2 That the Council makes an Extension Order to give effect to the above extension and endorses the 2016 Order with suitable wording to reflect the fact that the duration of the 2016 order has been extended.
RESOLVED that the budget monitoring report be received and the budgetary position and appropriate corrective action taken be noted.
RESOLVED 11.1 that the Capital Programme update report 2024/25 be received; 11.2 that the new projects, as detailed within the report, be noted and agreed,
RESOLVED to acknowledge and note the work that had been undertaken in respect of the Petition referred to Cabinet by County Council.
RESOLVED that the following application submitted as part of the Ten Towns programme be approved: Applicant: Newcastle Emlyn Town Council Project: Development of Amphitheatre Total cost: £119,960 SPF Grant requested: £19,960 Carmarthenshire County Council grant requested: £100,000
There were no apologies for absence.
Councillor Minute Number Nature of Interest Hazel Evans 11. 11 - Ten Towns Programme – Newcastle Emlyn Councillor Evans had a conflict of interest regarding the application, as she serves as the Local Member for Newcastle Emlyn. She left the Chamber prior to the consideration of the item. Hazel Evans 12. 14 – Sustainable Communities 2 Round 1 Applications She is a Director of one of the companies who had submitted an application for the Shared Prosperity Fund. She left the Chamber prior to the consideration of the item. Linda Evans 13. 14 – Sustainable Communities 2 Round 1 Applications She is a Director of one of the companies who had submitted an application for the Shared Prosperity Fund. She left the Chamber prior to the consideration of the item. Carys Jones 14. 14 – Sustainable Communities 2 Round 1 Applications A personal interest in that three of the applicants are situated in her ward. Following legal advice in that she only had a personal interest, she remained in the meeting, took part in the consideration and voted. Darren Price 15. 14 – Sustainable Communities 2 Round 1 Applications His wife is a member of one of the organisations who had submitted an application for the Shared Prosperity Fund. He left the Chamber prior to the consideration of the item. Edward Thomas 16. 14 – Sustainable Communities 2 Round 1 Applications A personal interest in that one of the applicants were situated in his ward. Following legal advice in that he only had a personal interest, he remained in the meeting, took part in the consideration and voted.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on the 28th April, 2025 be signed as a correct record.
The Chair advised that no questions on notice had been submitted by members.
The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Private or Unadopted Roads Guide be approved and incorporated into the Highway Design Guide as supplementary guidance.
The Cabinet received a report which appended the Private or Unadopted Roads Guide. Members were asked to consider the guide for incorporating into the Highway Design Guide as a supplementary guidance. The guidance has been developed to provide supplementary advice to developers and frontagers on the process and requirements of getting private roads adopted as public Highway. Members noted that an unadopted road is a highway that isn’t maintained by the local authority or council. Unlike publicly funded roads, unadopted roads don’t receive public funding for maintenance and upkeep. These roads can still be accessed by the public, but the responsibility for their maintenance typically falls upon the owners of properties fronting the road The guide sets out fees the Council would require for vetting and approving applications, including where applicable commuted sums for future maintenance. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Private or Unadopted Roads Guide be approved and incorporated into the Highway Design Guide as supplementary guidance.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that 7.1 the duration of the Carmarthenshire County Council (Dog Control) Public Spaces Protection Order 2016 be extended for a further period of 3 years with effect from the 1st July 2025; 7.2 That the Council makes an Extension Order to give effect to the above extension and endorses the 2016 Order with suitable wording to reflect the fact that the duration of the 2016 order has been extended.
The Cabinet received a report which sought approval to the extension of the existing Public Spaces Protection Order 2016 for the county of Carmarthenshire. The Carmarthenshire County Council (Dog Control) Public Spaces Protection Order 2016 came into force on the 1st July 2016. It was initially made for a period of 3 years up to 2019. In 2022, the duration of the original order was extended for a further period of 3 years with effect from the 1st July 2022 which was due to expire at the end of June 2025. Members noted that a targeted consultation exercise was undertaken with a number of statutory consultees and other relevant stakeholders which was listed within the report together with the summary of responses. It was reported that 92% of respondents supported the extension of the current PSPO for a period of three years. The report included that since the 2016 Order came into force there had been 3,425 (Up to Dec 2024) complaints received in relation to dog fouling; 136 fixed penalty tickets had been issued and 7 prosecutions had been implemented for offenders who failed to pay the fixed penalty notice. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that 7.1 the duration of the Carmarthenshire County Council (Dog Control) Public Spaces Protection Order 2016 be extended for a further period of 3 years with effect from the 1st July 2025; 7.2 That the Council makes an Extension Order to give effect to the above extension and endorses the 2016 Order with suitable wording to reflect the fact that the duration of the 2016 order has been extended.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the budget monitoring report be received and the budgetary position and appropriate corrective action taken be noted.
The Cabinet considered the revenue budget monitoring report which provided the latest budgetary position as at 28th February, 2025 in respect of 2024/25. Overall, the monitoring report forecasted an overspend for the year at departmental level of £12.8m including school budgets, with a forecast overspend on the Authority’s net revenue budget of £942k. It was reported that this improved position was significantly influenced by an unexpected one-off grant that would not be recurring. The Cabinet Member for Resources expressed that there was an urgent need to address key issues which continued to put significant strain on finances, with the underlying contributors, unchanged since the previous report, being: - continued high levels of demand and complexity within adult social care; - sustained pressures within children’s services; - Increased transport costs due to higher supplier expenses and operational changes from Easter occurring three weeks later, extending school term time. Even with the additional grant funding, schools' delegated budgets continued to have the largest overspend, with an expected £8.2 million deficit in balances. This projection was identified as unsustainable and was being addressed. Chief Officers and Head of Service were requested to continue to review options available to them in order to take urgent and significant action to address the ongoing impact across both departments and schools. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the budget monitoring report be received and the budgetary position and appropriate corrective action taken be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED 11.1 that the Capital Programme update report 2024/25 be received; 11.2 that the new projects, as detailed within the report, be noted and agreed,
Cabinet received a report providing an update on the latest budgetary position for the 2024/25 capital programme, as at the 28th February, 2025 and detailed new projects and virements. Appendix A to the report indicated a forecast net spend of £80,678k compared with a working net budget of £132,412k, giving a -£51,733k variance. This underspend was due to ongoing projects extending into 2025/26. For instance, funds for Sustainable Communities for Learning were allocated to future schemes with a grant intervention rate of 65%. Additionally, the Towy Valley Path project, primarily funded by grants, will be completed in 2025/26. The net budget included the original H.R.A. and General Fund capital programmes approved by Full Council and slippage from 2023/24. Some of the budgets had also been amended to account for differences in actual grant allocations compared with the anticipated allocations at the time the programme was approved, and new grant awards received during the year to date and virements approved. Appendix B to the report detailed the main variances within each department. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED 11.1 that the Capital Programme update report 2024/25 be received; 11.2 that the new projects, as detailed within the report, be noted and agreed,
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to acknowledge and note the work that had been undertaken in respect of the Petition referred to Cabinet by County Council.
The Cabinet received a report following a petition which was referred by County Council on 25th January 2023. The petition cited:- “We call on Carmarthenshire County Council to:· - remove their business from Barclays at the earliest possible time and transfer to an ethical bank (or should there be no ethical bank able to deal with their corporate needs, move to the least worst bank in sector);· - apply pressure on Barclays to change their investments policies to those that prioritise the needs of the climate and future generations.” The Cabinet Member for Resources reported that since the question was placed before Council, the Authority had undertaken significant work in researching the options for its Banking Service for the future. Officers had engaged with a specialist independent Banking adviser to seek the current market information in respect of current Banking organisations and services provided. In addition, Officers had engaged directly with Barclays in respect of its Environmental, Social and Governance Policies (ESG). The report indicated that significant changes had been implemented by Barclays Bank in respect of ESG issues and updates had been provided on their journey to be a net zero bank by 2050. Updates on Barclays Bank ESG strategy had been provided in February 2024 which was appended to the report at Appendix B – Investor Presentation 2023, August 2024 Appendix C – Progress: Barclays’ climate change strategy and February 2025 Appendix D – Responsibility Investor Presentation), to include the strengthening of restrictions on energy clients, to progress their climate strategy, engagement with clients on energy transition to decarbonisation and progress updates on their strategy implementation. It was reported that progress had included: • 2024 – Stopped project finance and other direct finance to energy clients, for upstream oil and gas expansion projects and related infrastructure. • 100% of electricity used from renewable sources in 2023. • 44% reduction in energy consumption compared to 2018. • During 2024 Barclays facilitated $94.4bn of Sustainable and Transition Financing, 39%yr-on-yr increase. In addition to ESG issues in renewing this contract, independent advice was sought on alternative banks, highlighting significant operational costs and risks involved in changing bank, which would affect all services and customers. The report also highlighted the limited interest from the mainstream banks in the UK for local government contracts, where it is common to see only one Significant consideration had been given by the Authority to all the issues before renewing the contract and the operational issues were key to providing the appropriate services for the County Council. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to acknowledge and note the work that had been undertaken in respect of the Petition referred to Cabinet by County Council.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the following application submitted as part of the Ten Towns programme be approved: Applicant: Newcastle Emlyn Town Council Project: Development of Amphitheatre Total cost: £119,960 SPF Grant requested: £19,960 Carmarthenshire County Council grant requested: £100,000
[Note: Councillor H.A.L. Evans, having earlier declared an interest in this item left the meeting prior to the consideration thereof.] Given the conflict with Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism in relation to the Newcastle Emlyn proposal, the Cabinet received the report for consideration. Cabinet were asked to consider an application submitted by Newcastle Emlyn Town Council as part of the Ten Towns programme. The aim on the programme was to provide designated rural market towns across the County the opportunity of economic growth and sustainability. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the following application submitted as part of the Ten Towns programme be approved: Applicant: Newcastle Emlyn Town Council Project: Development of Amphitheatre Total cost: £119,960 SPF Grant requested: £19,960 Carmarthenshire County Council grant requested: £100,000
The Chair advised that there were no items of urgent business. The Chair advised that there were no items of urgent business.
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED, pursuant to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007, that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items as the reports contained exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act.
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.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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