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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 report be received.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the report be received and Option 3 be recommended to the Cabinet as the preferred option of the Committee.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the explanation for the non-submission be noted.
RESOLVED that the Forthcoming Items be approved
There were no apologies for absence.
Councillor Minute No (s) Nature of Interest R. Sparks 4, 5 Owner of a swimming pool in Carmarthen and has dispensation to speak but not vote on swimming related matters There were no declarations of prohibited party whips.
There were no public questions.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
(NOTE: Councillor R. Sparks redeclared his interest and remained in the meeting) The Committee received a report on the progress of the Pentre Awel development, having undertaken a site visit earlier in the day. The Committee noted its appreciation for the site visit and commended officers on the success of the centre’s opening. The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism presented the report, and the Committee had the following questions or comments: - The Committee was advised in response to a question regarding engagement in the continued development of the site, that as future phases of the development go forward, the public and relevant stakeholders will continue to be engaged. - With regard to monitoring of the leisure facilities at Pentre Awel, the Committee was advised that data from the access gates to the swimming pool and the gym could be used to see how they were being used and monitor trends to make sure that the centre is accessible to all. The Head of Healthy Communities & Public Protection advised that there had been 600 additional signups to gym or swimming memberships since the centre had opened, and that many of these came from people who had not previously engaged with leisure services. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
(NOTE: Councillor R. Sparks redeclared his interest and remained in the meeting) The Committee received the Council’s draft Annual Report for 2024/25. The Deputy Leader of the Council presented the report and advised the Committee that the aim was to give an overview of the authority’s progress against the four wellbeing objectives noted in the summary. Publishing an annual report is a statutory requirement of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Local Government and Elections Act (Wales) 2021 and this report meets both requirements in one document. The Committee was advised that some sections are still to be completed, but that these will be added when available, and the final report is due to be presented to Cabinet in December. The Committee had the following questions or comments: - In response to a question regarding expanding the Transforming Tyisha team to neighbouring wards, the Committee was advised that the lessons learned from the team’s work would be applied elsewhere and that this work would continue to be done collaboratively with stakeholders. - The Committee also asked that Dyfed-Powys Police engage more with the Transforming Tyisha team, especially given the recent loss of PCSOs in the area. It was noted that this could be requested through the Council’s membership on the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel. - It was noted that the percentage of people prevented from becoming homeless had gone down from 72.1% to 67.5% but remained above the 2023/24 Welsh rate of 57.9%. The homelessness prevention team was commended for their work on this, and it was noted that it was making a big difference for families. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee received a report on the current overview, issues, improvement plan progress and performance in relation to: Housing Property Repairs, Voids Management, and Home Adaptation Services. The Cabinet Member for Homes presented the report and noted that the number of void properties had continued to come down, around 900 adaptations were completed each year, and the backlog of repairs had come down by 66% since January 2025. The Cabinet Member advised that the department was committed to continuous improvement, and that these improvements included a live repairs dashboard for the repairs teams to monitor progress, a data cleansing exercise that had helped reduce the backlog of repairs, and the ongoing plan to set up a Minor Works Team to take pressure off Responsive Repairs. The Committee had the following questions or comments: - In response to a question regarding the data cleansing efforts, the Cabinet Member confirmed that the decrease of 66% caused by this was in part due to jobs having been completed but this not being confirmed by contractors, causing the job not to be closed. It was also partly due to jobs that involved several elements being combined into one overall job. - The Cabinet Member also advised that some of the emergency repairs that were outside the 4-hour target may be outside because the tradesperson doing the work may have had to delay updating the progress due to other urgent works, or because the work took longer than expected. - In response to a question regarding the sale of houses if they are uneconomic to repair, the Head of Housing advised that this would only be done as a last resort following an evidence-based assessment of the cost of maintenance, and that the authority wanted to keep as much housing stock as possible. - In response to a question regarding funding levels, the Committee was advised that big improvements had already taken place within the current budget, but that any increase in funding would be considered within the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan, due to be scrutinised by the Committee at its December meeting. - In response to a question regarding a void property at Danybanc, Llanelli, the Head of Housing advised that the department was in the process of assessing Phase 2 of the work, and before any decisions are made, the local ward members would be consulted. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received and Option 3 be recommended to the Cabinet as the preferred option of the Committee.
The Committee received a report on the findings of the Council’s annual rent affordability assessment, undertaken in line with the Welsh Government’s Rent and Service Charge Standard 2026–2036. The assessment evaluates the affordability of allowed rent levels for 2026/27, compares Council rents with the average National Rents for Welsh Councils & RSLs 2024/25, and considers the implications of various uplift options. The Cabinet Member for Homes presented the report and asked the Committee to indicate their preference of the following rent increase options, to guide the rent setting process: - Option 1: Apply a uniform uplift across all property types. - Option 2: Freeze rents for 1-bed houses/bungalows and apply uplift elsewhere (with a projected income loss of £83k). - Option 3: Freeze 1-bed house/bungalow rents but apply the maximum uplift to all other properties to recover income The Committee discussed the options and had the following questions or comments: - The Committee was advised in response to a question regarding the differences between Options 2 and 3, that if Option 2 was chosen, this would mean that the authority would have to recoup the projected £83k loss elsewhere through the Housing Revenue Account, but that if Option 3 was chosen this would be recouped through rent increases on other properties. - The Committee asked about the rent increases if Option 3 was chosen and was advised that it was difficult to confirm this now, that rent levels differ given the different properties, and that this would be decided later in the rent setting process. RESOLVED that the report be received and Option 3 be recommended to the Cabinet as the preferred option of the Committee.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee received the Annual Monitoring Report on the implementation of the adopted Local Development Plan. The report asked the Committee to consider the findings and evidence contained within this Annual Monitoring Report prior to its submission to Welsh Government and inform evidence gathering as part of the preparation of the Revised LDP 2018-2033. The Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs & Planning Policy presented the report and advised the Committee that the report contained a series of monitoring measures that the plan is assessed against, and that it notes some of the contextual changes in planning policy that became apparent during the monitoring period, that will be looked at when completing the new LDP. The Cabinet Member noted that a total of 362 new homes were completed within the monitoring period, 291 new homes on large sites and 71 on small sites, an increase on the previous year. They also noted that almost 85% of these were on sites allocated in the plan, with 70% of these built on sites within growth areas, and nearly 25% within sustainable communities. Also noted was the fact that no developments were built within flood risk zones 1 or 2 and that planning permission had been granted for over 14 megawatts worth of renewable energy projects. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the explanation for the non-submission be noted.
The Committee received an explanation for the non-submission of the following scrutiny report · Economic Vision Statement UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the explanation for the non-submission be noted.
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 30th September 2025 be signed as a correct record
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