Wrthi'n llwytho
Does dim crynodeb o'r cyfarfod hwn eto. Caiff crynodebau eu hysgrifennu pan fydd y cyngor yn cyhoeddi'r cofnodion, sef ei gofnod swyddogol o'r hyn a benderfynodd cyfarfod. Maen nhw fel arfer yn ymddangos ychydig wythnosau ar ôl y cyfarfod.
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. The Chair advised that the meeting would be paused at 11.00am to observe two minutes silence.
There were no declarations of interest received.
Members considered the minutes as circulated. Amendment to Page 3 of the minutes, paragraph 3. To insert: “Two Pembrokeshire County Councillor’s highlighted that the proposed Newgale scheme had attracted local opposition and an alternative scheme had been proposed at a much reduced cost.” The minutes were approved as a true and accurate record with above amendment.
Members considered the report as circulated within the agenda pack. Members queried why the procurement of the chosen provider was undertaken by Carmarthenshire Council. Officers confirmed that Carmarthenshire is the lead authority for the economic well-being theme under the Corporate Joint Committee, therefore the procurement exercise for the strategy was led by Carmarthenshire. However, it was confirmed that all three other authorities were involved in the procurement exercise, involved in the evaluation panel and had voting rights on the panel. Following scrutiny, the report was noted.
Members considered the report as circulated within the agenda pack. The original strategy was produced in 2021. Following the review, officers confirmed that the strategy is still relevant and appropriate in the priorities that it sets out in terms of the region’s economic well-being progress. Alongside the strategy is a delivery action plan of all the programmes and projects that are either being delivered or currently being worked up. Members noted in relation to connectivity and transport that a greater emphasis has been placed on the Southwest Wales metro, than there previously was. Benefits to employment and economic activities are identified, however should there also be a need to consider access to training as this is key to employment. Members were in support generally of the ambitious approach to transport investment. However, it was noted that the document does not acknowledge the bus franchising network and members feel that this is an opportunity to drive it forward. Officers noted that the strength of the strategy is that it underpins the fundamental, embracing the priorities of unemployment, skills, sustainable connectivity which allows the region to have a coherence approach to economic well-being. This is all underpinned by a delivery plan. Members sought confirmation of investment in training, given the skill shortages in the region and the upcoming ventures in the region, including Freeports. Officers stressed the importance of equality in terms of everyone being able to take part, as well as economic success. Following scrutiny, the recommendation was supported to Joint Committee.
Members considered the report as circulated within the agenda pack. The officer went through the report. Members queried with regards to the Finance Officer role, when is it anticipated that this role is going to be required? Officers confirmed that it is not anticipated for this year. It will be mainly due to the requirements of the sub-committees. There is an indication that there could be around £24m of transport grants flowing through the CJC to be dispersed to local authorities. This may require the accountancy post to be filled. Members reiterated the point of making budgets accurate and if it wasn’t anticipated that the post was required, it should not have been budgeted for. Members queried if there has been an indication from Welsh Government with regards to revenue grant support moving forward into future financial years? Officers confirmed that there have been several indications. The £200,000 for the Capacity and Capability Grant, is for the current financial year and two further financial years. The RTP grant is currently £200,000 and reduced to £100,000 per year moving forward. Members referred to page 58, where it outlines the possibility of £400,000 to accelerate and incentivise the Strategic Development Plan preparation. Currently budgets for next year are being considered and how much is being required for each sub-committee. There is consideration to using reserves to fund activities. Officers confirmed that with regards to the £400,000 grant, formal criteria has not been issued on how to claim or bid for funding from this. The Chief Executive is currently engaging with Welsh Government to seek further clarification on this. Following scrutiny, the report was noted.
Members considered the report as circulated within the agenda pack. Officers provided an overview of the Annual Return, which has been signed off and approved by the Financial Officer and Audit Committee. There were no questions raised. Following scrutiny, the report was noted.
Members considered the report as circulated within the agenda pack. Members were informed that in May 2025 the Joint Committee approve the option to progress with the delivery agreement and resource it accordingly. On 1st September, an appointment was made through secondment on this basis. The delivery agreement is now progressing. The target for submission of the delivery agreement is 31st March 2026. Members sought further information on the recruitment process. Officers advised that they would seek further information from the relevant officer and circulate to members of the committee. Following scrutiny, the report was noted.
Members considered the report as circulated within the agenda pack. The purpose of the report is to provide an overview on the progress against satisfying the well-being objectives. Members were asked for their comments on the template for the report and if there are any suggestions for improvement. With regards to the Investment Strategy outlined in 4.1, a consultant has been commissioned to undertake that piece of work and it is hoped that it will be completed by the end of November. In terms of the RTP, the submission date has been satisfied. It was submitted in July and has been approved by Welsh Government. In relation to Strategic Planning and Land use outlined in 4.3 progress is being made and the CJC is on target to submit the draft delivery agreement before 31st March 2026. There were no questions or comments on this item from the committee. The report was noted.
Members considered the report as circulated within the agenda pack. Members were reminded that the Regional Transport Plan itself has been approved and the next part is to produce a Regional Transport Delivery Plan and a one year investment plan in relation to that. The policy section is now a live document, and this is required to be taken into consideration in relation to planning decisions. It was confirmed that there is a statutory process that Welsh Government are required to go through to allow grant money to be paid to the Corporate Joint Committee directly. Grant money will continue to be paid to the local authorities directly, and funding is likely to be channelled to the CJC directly in 2027/2028. Officers outlined potential funding rolling into years two and three of the programme of delivery. Officers are working on the principle that there will be a small number of schemes around the region that will be half constructed. Therefore, they will be the main projects subject to further budget rounds. There has been some discussion about the reclassification of schemes. Officers advised that this is concerned with Welsh Government identifying internal resources to issue advice and support etc. Welsh Government have offered reassurance that reclassification will not affect prioritisation of schemes. Officers also confirmed that all the budget numbers are subject to decision by Welsh Ministers and confirmation of the draft budget. In terms of additional funding, there is no guarantee that funding will appear. However, should additional funding arrive, a recommendation will be made to the Chair of the CJC that 50% of the funding be dedicated to increasing the breadth of scheme outlined within the delivery plan, and then 50% of that money will be put towards the metro. The funding can be used to carry out some regional work with regards to the Metro and elaborate further on the detailed work that is necessary to bring the Metro proposals forward. It was clarified that when referring to the South West Wales Metro scheme this solely relates to the more regional and local schemes, as opposed to the main rail elements of the scheme, which are Welsh Government driven. Officers were asked to provide a summary of the new grant arrangements, as this is the first year where these grants will be amalgamated. The expectation was that this change would be useful, and members wanted a comparison with how grants were previously allocated. It was noted that the current funding levels are not as high as initially hoped. Early indicative figures suggested a potential uplift of 1.5%, amounting to around £39 million, which was considered optimistic. However, the actual figure now stands at £24 million, although there is potential for additional funding from other sources. Officers emphasised the importance of making a strong case for these extra funds and ensuring they are not restricted to specific schemes, such as those previously carried out in South East or North Wales, but instead considered on a cross-regional basis. The mechanism for calculating the grants has also changed. Previously, transport funding tended to focus on population, but now the calculation is based on road length. This shift has required significant discussions on how to prioritize spending within the reduced budget. As a result, ambitions have had to be scaled back, and officers have worked extensively to adjust plans accordingly. Despite these challenges, there is hope that through continued representation and encouragement, higher levels of funding might still be secured. Another point raised was the transitional arrangements for managing the grants. In the next financial year, grants will be paid directly to local authorities, but in the following year, the Corporate Joint Committee (CJC) will become the custodian of these funds. This interim stage introduces complexity, particularly for regional schemes involving multiple initiatives spread across different areas. Ensuring an equitable distribution of activities among individual authorities has been a challenge, but progress has been made. Welsh Government officials are aware of these discussions.Transport for Wales (TfW) also supports the approach, recognising the difficulties faced. In terms of using the road length as a metric for funding, member queried if there had been any pushback in relation to this funding methodology? Members noted concerns regarding the current allocation formula for transport funding. It was highlighted that the approach appears flawed if considered solely from the perspective of maintaining a highway network, which is not the primary objective. Authorities were consulted during the grant modernisation process, and representations were made regarding the mechanisms involved. It was acknowledged that a population-based allocation can disadvantage rural areas, while a road-length-based approach poses challenges for transport funding, which is generally focused on the movement of people and goods. Welsh Government currently favours the population-based method for allocation. However, this approach has provided only minimal benefit to the South West region, while some other regions have seen greater advantages. A member raised the importance of addressing regional transport issues, particularly in relation to the emerging bus franchising model. It was noted that councils currently contribute revenue funding to the network, with Welsh Government providing significant financial support. The key question posed was regarding the mechanism for adding additional funding post-franchise to enhance the base network. The member suggested that the regional level appears to be the appropriate forum for these discussions, which would require engagement between local authorities and the region to define ambitions for the bus network, agree on potential financial contributions, and understand the expected outcomes. Given that network development work is ongoing, it was considered timely to initiate these conversations and clarify any existing background work. It was recognised that harmonising across the region is going to have huge benefits in terms of people being able to access employment. It was clarified by officers in terms of a failure to delivery any of the schemes identified in year 1, there would need to be consideration by the local authority in the first instance to look at the local programme and understand what could be done with the funding. In the first year each authority will get the grant money directly from central government. In years two and three, the CJC will be the custodian of the overall fund, so there will be the ability to move the funding around the region to a certain degree. However, to confirm there would be an in-year process for amendment to the programme that would need to be adhered to, and amendments would need to be Welsh Government approved. Officers reaffirmed that the programme is not about being equal spending across the region, but it’s about ensuring that there is a fair distribution of investment to make sure that the transport interventions impact across the whole region and benefit the whole region. Following scrutiny, the recommendation was supported to Joint Committee.
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.