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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED to approve the following: • Continuation of the current practice of not making payments for travelling expenses whilst undertaking Ward duties; • That travelling, subsistence, overnight accommodation and car parking are paid at the levels proposed by the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru; • To continue with the opt-in monthly allowance scheme of a maximum of £10 to cover telephone, broadband and postage costs; • To reflect the opt-in of this allowance in the Statement of Payments made to Members annually; • Co-opted Members to be paid fees subject to a maximum equivalent to 10 full days for each committee to which an individual has been co-opted; • To continue to publish the total amount reimbursed by the authority during the year but not attributed to any named Member in respect of the reimbursement of care; • The 2026/2027 Schedule of Member Remuneration, subject to incorporating any amendments determined by the Council at this meeting; and • To authorise the Corporate Lead Officer: Democratic Services to incorporate any such amendments prior to publication and submission to the DBCC, after the Annual Meeting to be held 16 May 2025.
RESOLVED to approve the Pay Policy for 2026/27.
RESOLVED that Councillor John Roberts be elected Chair-elect for the Council for 2026/27 to be installed at the Annual Meeting to be held at 2.00pm on Friday, 15 May 2026.
RESOLVED that Councillor Wyn Evans be elected Vice-Chair-elect for the Council for 2026/27 to be installed at the Annual Meeting to be held at 2.00pm on Friday, 15 May 2026.
a) Councillors Shelley Childs and Amanda Edwards apologised for their inability to attend the meeting, due to being on other Council business; b) Councillors Euros Davies and Ceris Jones apologised for their inability to attend the meeting.
a) Councillor Ann Bowen Morgan, Chair of the Council declared a personal interest on behalf of all Councillors in relation to item 5; b) Councillors Bryan Davies, Gareth Davies, Meirion Davies, Endaf Edwards, Elaine Evans, Wyn Evans, Keith Henson, Gwyn James and Gareth Lewis declared a personal and prejudicial interest in relation to item 6 and withdrew from the meeting during discussion; c) Eifion Evans, Chief Executive on behalf of all Senior Officers present declared a personal and prejudicial interest in relation to item 6 below in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Local Government. Those members of staff withdrew from the meeting during discussion. Catherine Hutton, Team Manager, People and Organisation and a translator remained in the meeting during discussions.
Councillor Ann Bowen Morgan, Chair of the Council noted the following: a) She was pleased to hear that Ceredigion had been successful in attracting the Lloyds National Road-Cycling Championships back for a second year; b) She congratulated Steffan George from Aberystwyth on winning the World Yough Shearing Championships which was held at New Zealand; a) She congratulated Callum Wooley from Cardigan, who has been selected to represent the UK in the Rugby 7 World Series for 2026; b) She congratulated Harri Evans from Llangeitho on receiving a bravery award from the Chief Constable of Heddlu Dyfed Powys Police for assisting to save a live from the sea in Aberystwyth; c) She congratulated Mrs Ann Jones, Dyfed High Sheriff for all of her hard work over the past year and raising money to her chosen charity, namely the Wales Air Ambulance; d) She congratulated Councillor Keith Evans on being recognised by the High Sheriff of Ceredigion for all the hard work that he has done representing his community over the years; e) She also praised the Ceredigion Youth Services on their community graffiti project who have been busy decorating the stand at the Cardigan playing fields.
It was RESOLVED to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 3 February 2026. Matters arising Councillor Gareth Davies noted that the minutes showed that Councillor Rhodri Evans stated that the Council Tax for a Band D had gone up nearly £550 since 2022/23 which was nearly a 40% increase over the last 4 years. Councillor Gareth Davies noted that this was inaccurate and misleading. The Council Tax for a Band D property had actually gone up by £528 which is equivalent to 36.5%. He noted that due to an election in 2022, the budget for 2022/23 had been set by the previous administration of which Councillor Rhodri Evans was a Cabinet member. He also noted that the Welsh Government had provided a one-off additional payment of £1 million which did not form part of the settlement, and this additional funding had been allocated to reducing the Council Tax increase for that year from 4.75% to 2.5% as had been recommended by Cabinet and approved by the council. Consequently, an additional £1 million had to be found by the new administration for the following year. Councillor Rhodri Evans responded noting that the minutes showed that he had stated the figures to be “nearly” as opposed to exact, and that he had used the figure of 2022/23 as baseline from when the current administration had started.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to approve the following: • Continuation of the current practice of not making payments for travelling expenses whilst undertaking Ward duties; • That travelling, subsistence, overnight accommodation and car parking are paid at the levels proposed by the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru; • To continue with the opt-in monthly allowance scheme of a maximum of £10 to cover telephone, broadband and postage costs; • To reflect the opt-in of this allowance in the Statement of Payments made to Members annually; • Co-opted Members to be paid fees subject to a maximum equivalent to 10 full days for each committee to which an individual has been co-opted; • To continue to publish the total amount reimbursed by the authority during the year but not attributed to any named Member in respect of the reimbursement of care; • The 2026/2027 Schedule of Member Remuneration, subject to incorporating any amendments determined by the Council at this meeting; and • To authorise the Corporate Lead Officer: Democratic Services to incorporate any such amendments prior to publication and submission to the DBCC, after the Annual Meeting to be held 16 May 2025.
Councillor Bryan Davies, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Democratic Services, Policy, Performance and People and Organisation presented the report to Council noting that the decisions relating to the remuneration are made by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales, which is not within the control of the Council, and that any Member wishing to waive their remuneration should contact the Corporate Lead Officer for Democratic Services in writing. He noted that Members had submitted a response to the consultation on the remuneration, and he noted that the majority of Members did not claim any travelling experience and that they all contributed financially towards events and activities in their communities. This was reiterated by both Councillors Elizabeth Evans and Rhodri Evans. Following a vote it was RESOLVED to approve the following: • Continuation of the current practice of not making payments for travelling expenses whilst undertaking Ward duties; • That travelling, subsistence, overnight accommodation and car parking are paid at the levels proposed by the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru; • To continue with the opt-in monthly allowance scheme of a maximum of £10 to cover telephone, broadband and postage costs; • To reflect the opt-in of this allowance in the Statement of Payments made to Members annually; • Co-opted Members to be paid fees subject to a maximum equivalent to 10 full days for each committee to which an individual has been co-opted; • To continue to publish the total amount reimbursed by the authority during the year but not attributed to any named Member in respect of the reimbursement of care; • The 2026/2027 Schedule of Member Remuneration, subject to incorporating any amendments determined by the Council at this meeting; and • To authorise the Corporate Lead Officer: Democratic Services to incorporate any such amendments prior to publication and submission to the DBCC, after the Annual Meeting to be held 16 May 2025.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to approve the Pay Policy for 2026/27.
Councillors Bryan Davies, Gareth Davies, Meirion Davies, Endaf Edwards, Elaine Evans, Wyn Evans, Keith Henson, Gwyn James and Gareth Lewis and all Senior Officers withdrew from the meeting for the duration of the discussion. Councillor Alun Williams presented the report to the Council on behalf of Councillor Bryan Davies who had declared a personal and prejudicial interest. He provided an outline of the report. Following a vote, it was unanimously RESOLVED to approve the Pay Policy for 2026/27.
Duncan Hall. Executive Corporate Lead Officer for Finance and Procurement and Section 151 Officer provided an outline to Members of the financial implications of the Middle East conflict on Council operations, focusing on volatile commodity markets, energy contracts, fuel costs, inflation risks (including a upside risk to pay awards), and government support measures. He noted that the Council’s energy contracts for electricity and mains gas are purchased via a consortium framework and that prices had been locked in to 30 September 2026 with two/thirds of the gas and electricity for the following 12 month period (from 01 October 2026 to 30 September 2027) already purchased. He noted that heating oil and LPG prices remains subject to short-term volatility due to weekly pricing, however there is limited use of this due to several of the Council’s boilers having been transferred to more renewable energy, such as a new air source heat pump at Ysgol Bro Sion Cwilt. Duncan Hall noted that the elevated inflation was likely to persist which benefitted the Council in terms of investment and returns, however the cost of borrowing would increase significantly, and the timing of borrowing for any large project would therefore be critical. He highlighted the volatility of the fleet fuel costs, which was subject to weekly pricing, and the potential risks in terms of operational contracts for home-to-school transport and capital cost pressures relating to items such as construction materials and tarmac prices. He noted that in the worst-case scenario - products and services would no longer be available, however this was not the case at present. He also noted background work in relation to civil contingency planning and intelligence gathering as well as ongoing dialogue and a watching brief by all services and the Leadership Group. He confirmed that there was already an earmarked reserve – the Cost & Inflationary Pressures reserve – with a balance of c£700k that could be used to assist Services. In concluding, Duncan Hall gave an overview of the potential funding sources that may be available for those in fuel crisis following a WG announcement yesterday (18/03/26) in relation to Heating Oil, noting that information and details of the organisations through which funding could be accessed would be available shortly on the Council’s website. He noted that as at the 2021 Census - 10,895 households in Ceredigion used Oil as their primary source of heating. Councillor Bryan Davies noted that as a rural authority, the residents of Ceredigion are often the worst affected due to remoteness, travelling distances and the high percentage of properties heated by oil. Councillor Wyn Evans noted that he was pleased to hear that the Council was endorsing renewable energy, however due to the recent and ongoing instability in the world, the Council would also need to look at the potential for creating and using hydrogen. Duncan Hall confirmed that on a micro level, the Council’s capital programme had been strongly pivoted towards renewable energies and carbon reduction such as solar panels (with the most recent ones currently in progress in the car park at Canolfan Rheidol, Aberystwyth) and air heat pumps with funding from the Welsh Government and leveraged from elsewhere. He noted the Council’s ageing fleet of refuse vehicles and that considerations relating to renewable energy would be a factor in replacing these vehicles as part of the upcoming considerations of the Waste Collection model. Councillor Alun Williams noted that it would be timely to timely for members to receive an update on the progress to date in relation to changing to renewable energies and carbon reduction. Councillor Keith Evans noted his concerns that the increasing fuel costs would impact on agriculture and food production, and he also asked whether the Council could purchase energy on behalf of the community swimming pools in order that they could access a preferred pricing structure. Duncan Hall noted that he would look into this matter.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that Councillor John Roberts be elected Chair-elect for the Council for 2026/27 to be installed at the Annual Meeting to be held at 2.00pm on Friday, 15 May 2026.
Councillor Elizabeth Evans proposed and was seconded by Councillor Meirion Davies that Councillor John Roberts be elected as Chair of the Council for the ensuing municipal year. It was unanimously RESOLVED that Councillor John Roberts be elected Chair-elect for the Council for 2026/27 to be installed at the Annual Meeting to be held at 2.00pm on Friday, 15 May 2026.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that Councillor Wyn Evans be elected Vice-Chair-elect for the Council for 2026/27 to be installed at the Annual Meeting to be held at 2.00pm on Friday, 15 May 2026.
Councillor Rhodri Evans proposed and was seconded by Councillor Gareth Lloyd that Councillor Wyn Evans be elected as Vice-Chair of the Council for the ensuing municipal year. It was unanimously RESOLVED that Councillor Wyn Evans be elected Vice-Chair-elect for the Council for 2026/27 to be installed at the Annual Meeting to be held at 2.00pm on Friday, 15 May 2026.
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.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.