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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 minutes of the 27th January as an accurate record of the meeting. The Monitoring Officer took the opportunity to update Members on the action from the previous meeting in respect of the consultation by the Ombudsman on informing Members about complaints made against them. The Monitoring Officer informed Members that the Ombudsman has informally advised that they will be referring to their previous practice of informing Members about complaints at the time they are received. The Monitoring Officer informed Members that he expects to be officially informed about this in due course and assured Members that he will keep them updated in respect of any developments.
RESOLVED: i. To consider the recent decision made by the Adjudication Panel For Wales; and, ii. To determine whether there are any possible messages or lessons to be learnt arising out of the decision that could be communicated to Members or as part of future training for Members on the Code of Conduct.
RESOLVED: i. To consider the contents of the report and provide any comments/feedback on the complaints received by the Ombudsman during the period 1st January 2025 – 31st March 2025.
RESOLVED: i. To note and consider the contents of the summary of investigation outcomes concerning alleged breaches of the Members Code of Conduct originally published by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales on the ‘Our findings’ section of her website and attached as ‘Appendix 1’ to the report.
RESOLVED: i. To approve the revised proforma Group Leaders Report, attached at Appendix 1, subject to any agreed amendments; ii. To agree to consider the Group Leaders’ Reports for the 24/25 Municipal Year at the September 2025 Committee meeting; and iii. To agree to receive the Group Leader Reports on an annual basis thereafter
RESOLVED: i. To Consider the report published by the Senedd Local Government and Housing Committee on 5th March 2025 in relation to the role, governance and accountability of the community and town council sector, as attached at Appendix 1, together with its recommendations; and ii. To provide any feedback/comments in relation that report and/or its recommendations.
RESOLVED: i. To review the Civility & Respect Pledge which has been proposed by the National Association of Local Councils and other organisations for adoption by Town and Community Councils; and ii. To refer the Respect & Civility Pledge to the Town & Community Councils within the area of Rhondda Cynon Taf for their consideration and adoption.
RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 12 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act.
In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the 27th January as an accurate record of the meeting. The Monitoring Officer took the opportunity to update Members on the action from the previous meeting in respect of the consultation by the Ombudsman on informing Members about complaints made against them. The Monitoring Officer informed Members that the Ombudsman has informally advised that they will be referring to their previous practice of informing Members about complaints at the time they are received. The Monitoring Officer informed Members that he expects to be officially informed about this in due course and assured Members that he will keep them updated in respect of any developments.
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the 27th January as an accurate record of the meeting. The Monitoring Officer took the opportunity to update Members on the action from the previous meeting in respect of the consultation by the Ombudsman on informing Members about complaints made against them. The Monitoring Officer informed Members that the Ombudsman has informally advised that they will be referring to their previous practice of informing Members about complaints at the time they are received. The Monitoring Officer informed Members that he expects to be officially informed about this in due course and assured Members that he will keep them updated in respect of any developments.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: i. To consider the recent decision made by the Adjudication Panel For Wales; and, ii. To determine whether there are any possible messages or lessons to be learnt arising out of the decision that could be communicated to Members or as part of future training for Members on the Code of Conduct.
The Monitoring Officer presented the report to Members and noted that the purpose of the report is to allow Members the opportunity to consider the recent decision of the Adjudication Panel For Wales (APW). Following the overview, Members RESOLVED: i. To consider the recent decision made by the Adjudication Panel For Wales; and, ii. To determine whether there are any possible messages or lessons to be learnt arising out of the decision that could be communicated to Members or as part of future training for Members on the Code of Conduct.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: i. To consider the contents of the report and provide any comments/feedback on the complaints received by the Ombudsman during the period 1st January 2025 – 31st March 2025.
The Monitoring Officer presented the report and provided the Committee with a summary of complaints made against Members and submitted to the Public Service Ombudsman For Wales for the period 1st January 2025 – 31st March 2025. Committee Members were content with the report and RESOLVED: i. To consider the contents of the report and provide any comments/feedback on the complaints received by the Ombudsman during the period 1st January 2025 – 31st March 2025.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: i. To note and consider the contents of the summary of investigation outcomes concerning alleged breaches of the Members Code of Conduct originally published by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales on the ‘Our findings’ section of her website and attached as ‘Appendix 1’ to the report.
The Monitoring Officer presented the report to Members for them to consider the summary of investigation outcomes concerning alleged breaches of the Members Code of Conduct as published by the Public Service Ombudsman For Wales on the ‘Our Findings’ section of her website and not previously reported to the Committee. The Chair observed that in all cases no further action was determined to be appropriate by the Ombudsman and noted that this has some bearing on a later agenda item and how some local protocols can be used to deal with these issues, thereby saving the Ombudsman a significant amount in resources. Another Member noted his agreement with the Chair and commented that matters should be dealt with as quickly as possible and that some matters do not need to get so far as to get to the Ombudsman. The Chair agreed that there is a resource issue in terms of the number of complaints that are referred to the Ombudsman and noted that steps are currently being taken to see if local protocol resolution can be used in some cases. Following discussion, Members RESOLVED: i. To note and consider the contents of the summary of investigation outcomes concerning alleged breaches of the Members Code of Conduct originally published by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales on the ‘Our findings’ section of her website and attached as ‘Appendix 1’ to the report.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: i. To approve the revised proforma Group Leaders Report, attached at Appendix 1, subject to any agreed amendments; ii. To agree to consider the Group Leaders’ Reports for the 24/25 Municipal Year at the September 2025 Committee meeting; and iii. To agree to receive the Group Leader Reports on an annual basis thereafter
The Monitoring Officer presented the report for Member to consider the arrangements to be put in place in order to comply with the duties of Political Group Leaders in relation to Standards of conduct and corresponding duties placed on Standards Committees. Following discussion, Members RESOLVED: i. To approve the revised proforma Group Leaders Report, attached at Appendix 1, subject to any agreed amendments; ii. To agree to consider the Group Leaders’ Reports for the 24/25 Municipal Year at the September 2025 Committee meeting; and iii. To agree to receive the Group Leader Reports on an annual basis thereafter
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: i. To Consider the report published by the Senedd Local Government and Housing Committee on 5th March 2025 in relation to the role, governance and accountability of the community and town council sector, as attached at Appendix 1, together with its recommendations; and ii. To provide any feedback/comments in relation that report and/or its recommendations.
The Monitoring Officer presented the report to Members of the Committee and noted that the purpose of the report was to enable Members to consider the report published by the Senedd Local Government and Housing Committee on 5th March 2025 in relation to the role, governance and accountability of the community and town council sector and provide any feedback/comments in relation to that report. Following the overview, the Chair noted that the Welsh Government were keen to find a resolution to matters that frequently occur and that the Standards Committee would monitor this issue as further developments are made. In respect of the various costs and training a Committee Member queried if online training was appropriate in respect of this matter. The Monitoring Officer advised that Code of Conduct training is rolled out when Members are newly elected at the beginning of their term of Office and advised that those sessions are run on a hybrid basis. The Monitoring Officer also advised of the ‘Members Portal’, a platform the Council has provided to Members to allow them access to training and recordings of training sessions Following a query the Monitoring Officer confirmed that work was already being undertaken to see if access to the Portal could be rolled out to Community and Town Councillors. The Monitoring Officer continued his update by providing details of the training available to Community and Town Councils and the work undertaken by the Deputy Monitoring Officer in respect of Code of Conduct training sessions. The Monitoring Officer emphasised that there are plenty of opportunities for Members to access training. The Chair agreed with the Monitoring Officer on the sufficient provision of training opportunities and noted his disappointment that issues do still unfortunately occur. A Member commented that until training is made a mandatory requirement then issues will still occur to which other Members agreed. Following discussions, Members RESOLVED: i. To Consider the report published by the Senedd Local Government and Housing Committee on 5th March 2025 in relation to the role, governance and accountability of the community and town council sector, as attached at Appendix 1, together with its recommendations; and ii. To provide any feedback/comments in relation that report and/or its recommendations.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: i. To review the Civility & Respect Pledge which has been proposed by the National Association of Local Councils and other organisations for adoption by Town and Community Councils; and ii. To refer the Respect & Civility Pledge to the Town & Community Councils within the area of Rhondda Cynon Taf for their consideration and adoption.
The Monitoring Officer presented the report and noted that the purpose of the report was to enable Members to review the Civility & Respect Pledge which has been proposed by the National Association of Local Councils and other organisations for adoption by Town and Community Councils; and to consider whether the Committee wishes to commend its adoption to Town and Community Councils within Rhondda Cynon Taf. A Member noted his support that this should be adopted by Town and Community Councils within RCT and noted that Pontypridd Town Council adopted this pledge a number of years ago. Following discussion, Members RESOLVED: i. To review the Civility & Respect Pledge which has been proposed by the National Association of Local Councils and other organisations for adoption by Town and Community Councils; and ii. To refer the Respect & Civility Pledge to the Town & Community Councils within the area of Rhondda Cynon Taf for their consideration and adoption.
The Monitoring Officer updated Members in respect of a Declaration of Interest training session that was recently provided to RCT Councillors. Members were advised that RCT Councillors were provided with a Bitesize session in respect of personal and prejudicial interests. It was advised that the session had a good attendance and was positively received. The session was recorded and would therefore be available for Members to view at any time and at their leisure. The session had been delivered in advance of the annual update of Members Declaration of Interest Forms and the session was a reminder to Members to keep their forms up to date. The Chair queried if the session had been conducted in house and the Monitoring Officer confirmed that he had conducted the session himself. Following discussion, Members RESOLVED to note the update.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 12 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act.
It was RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 12 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act.
There was no urgent business to report.
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.