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RESOLVED that the events attended by the Chair and Vice Chair be noted.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2025 be received and confirmed as a correct record.
RESOLVED that, by majority vote, Council – (a) note for information the six-monthly Performance Update Report October 2024 to March 2025 (Appendix II to the report), the update on improvement activities previously updated (Appendix III to the report), and Citizen Voice report (Appendix IV to the report); (b) notes feedback from Committees summarised at Appendix V to the report, and (c) approves the Performance Self-Assessment 2024 to 2025 (Appendix I to the report).
RESOLVED that, by majority vote, – (a) Second Homes and Long Term Empty (standard premiums) remain at current levels of 150% from April 2026; (b) premiums for Long Term Empty properties that have been empty for over 5 years are increased annually by 25% up to the maximum of 300%, resulting in current premiums of 200% rising to 225% from April 2026, 250% from April 2027, and so forth, and (c) two new categories of premium relief within the S13a Discretionary Relief Policy as set out within paragraph 4.7 – 4.9 of the report be introduced.
RESOLVED that Council approves the Committee Timetable for 2026 (attached as Appendix 1 to the report). At this point (12.35 pm) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break.
RESOLVED, by majority vote, that subject to an amendment to move the advertisement period to September, Council – - agree to recruit a new Chief Executive - agree the proposed remuneration package - agree the recruitment pack, and - agree the recruitment process.
RESOLVED that Council and Council Workshop forward work programmes be noted. The meeting concluded at 1.25 pm.
Apologies were received from Councillor Justine Evans
Councillor Chris Evans declared a personal interest in agenda item 7: Review of Second Home (SH) / Long Term Empty (LTE) Council Tax Premiums because he owned a house which he let out. Councillor Eryl Williams declared a personal interest in agenda item 7: Review of Second Home (SH) / Long Term Empty (LTE) Council Tax Premiums because he owned a property which was let.
The following two matters were raised at this juncture – · the Chair referred to the twinning of Rhuddlan Town Council with a town in Carlow County Council, Ireland who had also expressed an interest in twinning with Denbighshire County Council, and he was honoured to present relevant documentation to the Chief Executive to be kept in the Chairman’s office · Councillor Julie Matthews shared a statement on behalf of the Strategic Equality and Diversity Group (SEDG) detailing the significant work undertaken to date. A number of important equality, diversity and inclusion dates celebrated throughout the year were highlighted together with other important milestones and the Council’s Homelessness Team and Refugee and Asylum Seeker Team being recognised in the LGC Awards 2025 for their work in the Diversity and Inclusion category. Attention was drawn to the requirements of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015 relating to a more equal Wales together with the Equality Act 2010 and socio-economic duty. The SEDG had gone from strength to strength with examples provided of work to tackle and bring down the drivers of division. Diversity was celebrated and equality promoted within the Council to improve the quality of life for everyone living, working and visiting Denbighshire. Finally, Councillor Matthews was pleased to inform members that the SEDG intended to update the Council by providing an annual report with information on activities and progress and ensure that this important work was supporting a safe and inclusive Denbighshire for staff, residents and visitors.
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RESOLVED that the events attended by the Chair and Vice Chair be noted.
The Chair referred to the civic engagements he had undertaken during the period 13 May – 6 July 2025 (previously circulated) and he thanked the Vice-Chair for attending Ruthin’s Civic Service whilst he had attended Wrexham’s Civic Service. RESOLVED that the events attended by the Chair and Vice Chair be noted.
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RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2025 be received and confirmed as a correct record.
The minutes of the Council meeting held on 13 May 2025 were submitted. RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2025 be received and confirmed as a correct record.
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RESOLVED that, by majority vote, Council – (a) note for information the six-monthly Performance Update Report October 2024 to March 2025 (Appendix II to the report), the update on improvement activities previously updated (Appendix III to the report), and Citizen Voice report (Appendix IV to the report); (b) notes feedback from Committees summarised at Appendix V to the report, and (c) approves the Performance Self-Assessment 2024 to 2025 (Appendix I to the report).
Councillor Julie Matthews, Deputy Leader / Lead Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy, Equalities and Strategic Assets presented the report and the Council’s Performance Self-Assessment for 2024 to 2025 to Council for approval together with other performance related information for consideration (previously circulated). Councillor Matthews thanked officers for their hard work and to Governance and Audit and Performance Scrutiny Committees for their constructive feedback. She reflected that the Council should be proud of what had been achieved in difficult circumstances over the past twelve months with clear evidence of delivering to high standards. She highlighted the 5 key achievements over this period together with the 5 key challenges and areas for improvement. The challenges were common to all local authorities with acute pressures in social services, education and housing dominating spending at the expense of other high profile placemaking services visible to the public and which made a difference to community wellbeing. The Head of Corporate Support Service: Performance, Digital and Assets guided members through the report which consisted of an Executive Summary (Appendix I) highlighting performance against objectives and the seven governance areas; the Performance Update Report October 2024 to March 2025 (Appendix II); all improvement activities generated since 2023 (Appendix III); new Citizen Voice report (Appendix IV) triangulating a range of data, and recommended changes by Governance and Audit and Performance Scrutiny Committees (Appendix V). She also highlighted the legislative requirements for monitoring and reporting performance and identifying improvement actions, with 9 improvement actions identified for this period set out in section 4.3 of the report. Progress with improvement actions identified over past years was also highlighted. Finally, Council was asked to approve the Performance Self-Assessment 2024 to 2025. The Strategic Planning and Improvement Officer highlighted and elaborated on a number of areas of excellent performance together with areas where challenges were faced together with key messages arising from the report. A number of indicators had been identified as not improving and further analysis was being carried out with those. The report aimed to be honest, open and transparent. During a detailed debate members raised wide-ranging questions, commented on the report, and expressed their own views on the Council’s performance and how it had been portrayed in the documentation. Overall, most members considered the report provided a balanced view of performance, including both positive and negative aspects, and accepted the impact the ongoing financial climate facing local authorities had on performance with funding being diverted from front facing environmental/placemaking functions such as road maintenance, grass cutting, street cleaning, etc. to address pressures and demand in key areas such as social services and education. Members’ feedback included the need for information to be presented in a more user friendly way with a change of tone and language which was sensitive to the public and focused on issues which mattered to residents. The importance of meaningful communication with the public was reiterated. Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts was critical of the report and questioned the merits of a self-assessment approach and findings of the Performance Panel Assessment and raised concerns about the impact on important services such as public toilets and libraries and increases in council tax and car parking charges which had a direct impact on residents together with how that was portrayed in the documentation and the public perception of it. The key challenges facing the council were also highlighted including loss of public trust together with poor performance in other key areas such as school attendance and Rhyl regeneration projects. Councillor Chris Evans raised concerns regarding the failure to provide a replacement Llanerch Bridge, the delayed People’s Strategy and staff wellbeing. Main points of debate and response to matters raised included the following – · there was a need to be clear in communications with residents as to which public body was responsible for different services, particularly in areas where the council worked in partnership with others, in order to provide that clarity · the number of people on the Single Access Route to Housing Register had reduced by 26.22% but the demand for social housing had grown meaning the number of applications awaiting assessment had increased; the matter would be kept under close review and an update included in the next report to members · deterioration in the condition of the county’s roads was an area of concern and the investment in this area via the Welsh Government (WG) Local Government Borrowing Initiative (LGBI) funding was welcomed but it was suggested a change of approach was required to maintaining ditches and drains otherwise that investment would be undermined. Officers confirmed the approach was likely due to prioritisation of resources and restrictions around grant funding but accepted the point and agreed to review the matter outside of the meeting · officers accepted the points raised about language and tone and were committed to continuous improvement and working on that aspect of the report and had previously agreed to add figures where percentages were quoted; work was also ongoing to develop a short, nicely designed infographic in line with an annual statement and overview of what had been delivered against the corporate plan and a means of communicating those messages to residents · the report covered the time period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 and therefore live decisions taken since then such as Llanerch Bridge had not been included · Children and Education Service were committed to improving school attendance and Council had allocated £500k extra funding in the base budget to support learners including attendance with proposed spend considered by Performance Scrutiny Committee in April and a progress report back in twelve months; whilst the funding would help it would not solve all the issues which were multifactorial · the Self-Assessment was a statutory requirement and was necessarily technical in certain aspects although work was being carried out to develop a more accessible version for the public, and the Performance Panel Assessment (PPA) was also a statutory requirement and carried out independently · the discrepancy in the analysis statement in relation to ‘A well run, high performing Council’ theme relating to the significant unexplained differences in residents perspective compared to the PPA findings was highlighted and officers referred to the outcome of the stakeholder survey and Citizens Voice report where inconsistencies had been identified and improvement action ix focused on addressing that issue and improving the data from the stakeholder survey (which was currently subject to self-selection bias) to ensure a better representation across all Denbighshire residents with options being considered including randomised stakeholder surveys and participating in the National Residents Survey so the data would be comparable to other councils · the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs Group had received a report on the transformation programme and status of the first tranche of projects with further information to be shared in forthcoming budget and transformation workshops · the new corporate communications business model was working well, and improvement action ii and v related to communications with an update on progress in the next six-monthly performance report in October; an infographic on how council tax was spent had been produced which highlighted the majority of spend on social care and education and the importance of raising awareness and communicating that information to the public was reiterated · little reference had been included in the Executive Summary relating to the roll out of the waste and recycling scheme but a section on that work had been included in the Performance Update Report; the business as usual elements of the Planning Service such as planning applications/breaches would be referenced in the service business plan rather than the corporate plan · there was some debate about the staff survey and officers provided further data and statistics in that regard with 1178 responses from 2439 staff with an overall response rate of 48.3% and the positive results for staff wellbeing did not indicate that staff morale was very low; the council was fully supportive of staff · the stakeholder survey was predominantly an online survey (paper copies had been made available but not completed) and promoted via many different means and work to improve the stakeholder survey was an improvement action · it was suggested that future reports include data on whether funding and lack of resource was the biggest barrier to improved performance or whether the authority could have performed better with the resources it had. The Leader felt there had been a good debate and welcomed all comments and challenge from members accepting that more needed to be done to get things right. He reiterated the point that issues raised in relation to public toilets, libraries etc. mattered to the public but funding was having to be diverted to areas such as social services to protect the most vulnerable in society. Assurances were provided that for those issues where improvement was needed there were mechanisms in place, and all were working hard to deliver on those nine improvement actions. Councillor Delyth Jones congratulated staff on their efforts in difficult circumstances and reiterated the serious financial challenges facing the council and local government. She stressed the importance of clear communication with the public on the financial impacts and appealed to all members to work proactively together to deliver a balanced budget, looking at the reality of the situation, and to make decisions to reduce the impacts on residents as much as possible. The Chair declined a request from Councillor Andrea Tomlin to vote on each recommendation separately and the recommendations were voted upon en bloc. RESOLVED that, by majority vote, Council – (a) note for information the six-monthly Performance Update Report October 2024 to March 2025 (Appendix II to the report), the update on improvement activities previously updated (Appendix III to the report), and Citizen Voice report (Appendix IV to the report); (b) notes feedback from Committees summarised at Appendix V to the report, and (c) approves the Performance Self-Assessment 2024 to 2025 (Appendix I to the report).
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RESOLVED that, by majority vote, – (a) Second Homes and Long Term Empty (standard premiums) remain at current levels of 150% from April 2026; (b) premiums for Long Term Empty properties that have been empty for over 5 years are increased annually by 25% up to the maximum of 300%, resulting in current premiums of 200% rising to 225% from April 2026, 250% from April 2027, and so forth, and (c) two new categories of premium relief within the S13a Discretionary Relief Policy as set out within paragraph 4.7 – 4.9 of the report be introduced.
Councillor Delyth Jones, Lead Member for Finance presented the report seeking Council’s review of the existing Council Tax premiums and recommended changes to the policy (previously circulated). Some background was provided on the legislative changes introduced by the Welsh Government since 2017 allowing local authorities to raise Council Tax premiums on Second Homes (SH) and Long Term Empty (LTE) properties and the Council’s previous approvals of premium increases in that regard. The aim of the policy was to reduce the number of SH and LTE properties and increase affordable housing in the county. The report updated Council on the latest review of those premiums to understand the impact of the current policy and recommended policy changes. The outcome of the review and recommended changes were set out. In brief – · numbers of SH had remained stable and not a concern in comparison with other North Wales Councils – it was considered too early to assess the full impact of the recent increases to premiums and therefore no change was recommended · early indications suggested the increases in premiums on LTE properties (standard) was having the desired effect with a reduction in numbers – therefore no change was recommended at this stage and it be kept under review · LTE properties empty for over 5 years had been more of a challenge and the Council had the joint second highest proportion of such properties out of 5 North Wales Councils – therefore it was recommended to introduce an additional 25% premium increase, year on year, on those properties from April 2026 · acting on feedback to support new owners of LTE properties where the relief discount had been used prior to their ownership, 2 additional categories of support had been recommended: General Renovation and Major Renovation. The Lead Member added that the report had been recommended to Council by Cabinet and had also been considered and approved by Communities Scrutiny Committee. She thanked those committees for their considerations and provided a summary of the main points raised and actions agreed during those discussions. The following points were raised during the ensuing debate – · in response to questions from Councillor Merfyn Parry regarding the motion passed by Council in September 2023 on this matter, it was confirmed that the extra funding generated from SH and LTE council tax premiums was circa £2m and the difficulties in separating out that funding to report specifically on spend on the generalities detailed in that motion for local communities, amenities and to tackle homelessness was explained. However, a commitment was given to review that spend and report back as much information as possible thereon · Councillor Mark Young highlighted issues of housing and homelessness in Denbigh and felt there would be merit in increasing the premium to 50% to bring properties back into use quicker and consider other powers available to the authority to take over management of LTE properties. The Lead Member and officers explained the rationale behind the proposal taking a balanced approach with the maximum 300% premium being reached in four years’ time, setting out the Council’s intention with a view to changing behaviour and supporting new owners. Whilst it was a decision for Council, the proposals had been through the relevant democratic processes with no counter view expressed. Reference was also made to the different mechanisms used in bringing LTE properties back into use taking a one council approach, including the role of the Empty Homes Officer and consideration of a range to powers the authority had; consideration was also being given to using a process known as enforced sale of empty properties where there was a substantial council tax debt · general support was expressed for transparency around any income generated as a result of implementation of new legislation and powers in terms of spend, and specifically in respect of council tax premiums to support local communities · officers confirmed a 12-month exemption from the charge relating to properties for sale; explained the categorisation of SH or LTE properties depending on whether the property was furnished, and acknowledged the challenges around tracing owners of LTE properties with a range of search techniques used · Councillor Andrea Tomlin did not consider a further increase would be effective given the previous increase in premium for LTE properties over five years had not worked to bring those homes back into use and she felt other targeted mechanisms should be used to address the problem. It was confirmed that the increased premium along with the additional relief to assist new owners was just one tool, along with others, to target the problem, particularly given there were a range of reasons why properties remained empty. Officers believed there would be a tipping point and as the premium edged closer to 300% it would provide that encouragement to bring those properties back into use. Councillor Mark Young reiterated the importance of bringing empty homes back into use to address the acute housing need and sought a commitment in that regard. The Chief Executive confirmed the Council’s commitment to bring as many LTE properties as possible back into use using the range of tools at its disposal and suggested it may be a useful topic for scrutiny to consider. RESOLVED that, by majority vote, – (a) Second Homes and Long Term Empty (standard premiums) remain at current levels of 150% from April 2026; (b) premiums for Long Term Empty properties that have been empty for over 5 years are increased annually by 25% up to the maximum of 300%, resulting in current premiums of 200% rising to 225% from April 2026, 250% from April 2027, and so forth, and (c) two new categories of premium relief within the S13a Discretionary Relief Policy as set out within paragraph 4.7 – 4.9 of the report be introduced.
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RESOLVED that Council approves the Committee Timetable for 2026 (attached as Appendix 1 to the report). At this point (12.35 pm) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break.
The Democratic Services Manager presented the report seeking Council approval of the draft Committee Timetable for 2026 (previously circulated). A draft timetable was prepared annually for Council to approve and the report also included an explanation as to how those committees had been scheduled to ensure a viable timetable taking into account the business needs of the council. Thanks were extended to the Senior Committee Administrator for preparing the scheme which required careful planning. It was recommended that Council approve the timetable which would allow the necessary meeting arrangements to be made. Councillor Brian Jones paid tribute to the excellent work carried out by the Democratic Services Manager and his team. RESOLVED that Council approves the Committee Timetable for 2026 (attached as Appendix 1 to the report). At this point (12.35 pm) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break.
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RESOLVED, by majority vote, that subject to an amendment to move the advertisement period to September, Council – - agree to recruit a new Chief Executive - agree the proposed remuneration package - agree the recruitment pack, and - agree the recruitment process.
Councillor Jason McLellan, Leader and Lead Member for Economic Growth and Tackling Deprivation introduced the report seeking Council approval to recruit to the role of the Chief Executive and agree the approach to the recruitment process. The Chief Executive would retire on 30 January 2026 and arrangements to fill the post needed to be agreed and actioned quickly to ensure the authority continued to have robust management and governance in place after that date. The Head of Corporate Support Service: People (HCCSP) guided members through the report detail which included the remuneration package; legal position; recruitment process including shortlisting and assessments; role of the Special Appointments Panel, and a timeline of the process culminating in a special Council meeting to interview candidates and consider an appointment. Comparative salary information, Vacancy Information Pack, and Communication Strategy had been appended to the report. During the ensuing debate members who had previously been involved in similar recruitment processes in the past reported on their experiences of it and officers responded to members’ questions and comments regarding the report, particularly in terms of the advertisement period and timescales involved, assessments carried out, role of full Council and questions, relocation policy and salary details. In response to members’ comments the HCCSP clarified that applicants from across all sectors would be welcomed and she would amend the communication plan accordingly and reference in the job description (page 272 of the report) to “Welsh Assembly” would be replaced with “Senedd Cymru Welsh Parliament”. A number of amendments were put forwarded during the course of the debate. Councillor Brian Jones noted the proposal to advertise the post in the summer (21 July – 1 September) and felt an extension was required to maximise the number of external applicants, including those from further afield. Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts agreed believing advertising in the summer would attract fewer candidates and that the application period should be moved to September. He also suggested an independent lay member, who may not necessarily know any of the candidates, be involved in the process to present the feedback from the assessments. Councillor Gwyneth Ellis felt the Welsh Language requirement should be strengthened and that some consideration should be given to the option of sharing a Chief Executive due to the ongoing financial challenges. Councillor Merfyn Parry proposed, seconded by Councillor Gwyneth Ellis that before proceeding with appointing a new Chief Executive the Council explored the option of entering into a shared Chief Executive arrangement with a neighbouring authority with a report back outlining the feasibility, benefits and risks of such a move. Councillor Jason McLellan felt it unlikely there would be a willing partner to share the role and the Chief Executive agreed given existing workloads and difficulties with that approach. Councillors Huw Hilditch-Roberts and Joan Butterfield did not support the proposal. Upon being put to the vote the amendment was declared LOST. Councillors Gwyneth Ellis and Terry Mendies also questioned whether a relocation allowance should be payable. Officers explained that it was possible to remove the relocation element, but it was part of a council policy used to attract candidates from a wider area for certain positions with a minimum distance criteria applicable. Councillor Terry Mendies proposed an amendment, seconded by Councillor Karen Edwards, to remove the reference to relocation expenses form the remuneration package. Upon being put to the vote the amendment was declared LOST. Councillor Jon Harland considered the proposed salary to be significantly higher than the average across North Wales authorities and proposed an amendment to reduce the salary to the 2023 average of North Wales authorities which would be £141k. There being no seconder, the proposal was not taken forward to a vote. Taking into account members views regarding advertising the position, the HCCSP explained the original six week timescale had been set to allow sufficient time to capture potential applicants that may have been away during the summer period and based on the ideal position of having a handover period. However, the handover period could be waived, and the post advertised for a four week period in September with subsequent timescales for the recruitment process amended accordingly. Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts proposed an amendment, seconded by Councillor Emrys Wynne, that the advertisement period be moved and undertaken from the beginning of September to the end of September. Upon being put to the vote the amendment was declared CARRIED and was included as part of the substantive motion which was reiterated for clarity. It was subsequently – RESOLVED, by majority vote, that subject to an amendment to move the advertisement period to September, Council – - agree to recruit a new Chief Executive - agree the proposed remuneration package - agree the recruitment pack, and - agree the recruitment process.
Councillor Elfed Williams referred to the Notice of Motion submitted on behalf of the Plaid Cymru Group (previously circulated). Councillor Williams advised that Plaid Cymru had consistently been against the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) being reduced. This motion had been put forward before the change to the legislation dealing with PIP was passed. This change would have had an adverse impact on many people, but the Labour UK Government had made a U-turn and withdrawn the changes to the PIP. As a result, the Plaid Cymru Group had withdrawn the Notion of Motion.
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RESOLVED that Council and Council Workshop forward work programmes be noted. The meeting concluded at 1.25 pm.
The Council and Council Workshop forward work programmes were presented for consideration. RESOLVED that Council and Council Workshop forward work programmes be noted. The meeting concluded at 1.25 pm.
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Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Dyw'r cyngor ddim wedi cofnodi presenoldeb ar gyfer y cyfarfod hwn.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.