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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED to note the contents of the report.
AGREED to:- · note the monitoring position for 2023/24 and the forecast surplus; · determine the estimated 2024/25 costs for the Archives Service as £1,117,635; · note the resultant constituent authority contributions as set out in the table shown at paragraph 5.7; · note that the estimates for the costs of the service had been forwarded by the Treasurer of the Host Authority to the Joint Councils; · note that, in accordance with the Joint Agreement, the estimates would be deemed to have been approved by each of the participating Councils unless notification was received by the Treasurer of the Joint Committee before the commencement of the financial year 2024/25; · consider the medium term financial forecast.
AGREED on a 5% increase in charges and APPROVED the proposed fees and charges for 2023-2024.
AGREED the skills, knowledge and experience required to fulfil the role of co-opted member, and that opportunities to join the Gwent Archives Joint Committee as a co-opted member be advertised widely via social media, local authority communications teams, contact lists and the local media.
AGREED to note that a review of the Disability Access Policy had taken place and that a substantial review of the accessibility of Gwent Archives, and the Disability Access Policy, will take place in 2024-2025.
AGREED to hold an in-person/hybrid meeting in June. 9.3 Councillor Morgan and Trollope left the meeting.
1.1 Apologies were received from Councillors Fay Bromfield (Monmouthshire CC), Pat Drewett (Newport CC), Julian Simmonds (Caerphilly CBC), and Russell Deacon, Steve Duffin, John Evans and Jack Hanbury Tenison.
2.1 Councillors Morgan and Trollope declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest as Councillors of Blaenau Gwent CBC, who were responsible for the Gwent Archives building. 2.2 No other interests were declared.
3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2023 were confirmed as a true and accurate record.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to note the contents of the report.
4.1 The CA presented her report, pulling out key points. Following, she commented and responded to questions from the Joint Committee as follows: · Opportunities for funding were being looking at with Welsh Government and it was suggested that the Shared Prosperity Fund could be an option to explore. · They were keen to progress relationships with each local authority and it was thought to be key to have a link officer at each. This was progressing well at Blaenau Gwent CBC. · The link officer would hopefully be able to help with their contact and relationships with schools. Some had responded and visited as a result of the survey they sent to schools, but not all of them. Working with schools helped massively to raised their profile. · A discussion took place around working on a pictorial project with a museum, linking in with dementia and young people and the County Archivist agreed that would be something they would love to do. 4.2 The Joint Committee AGREED to note the contents of the report.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to:- · note the monitoring position for 2023/24 and the forecast surplus; · determine the estimated 2024/25 costs for the Archives Service as £1,117,635; · note the resultant constituent authority contributions as set out in the table shown at paragraph 5.7; · note that the estimates for the costs of the service had been forwarded by the Treasurer of the Host Authority to the Joint Councils; · note that, in accordance with the Joint Agreement, the estimates would be deemed to have been approved by each of the participating Councils unless notification was received by the Treasurer of the Joint Committee before the commencement of the financial year 2024/25; · consider the medium term financial forecast.
5.1 The LFO presented her report by referring to the key points. 5.2 The Joint Committee congratulated the finance team for their great work and AGREED to:- · note the monitoring position for 2023/24 and the forecast surplus; · determine the estimated 2024/25 costs for the Archives Service as £1,117,635; · note the resultant constituent authority contributions as set out in the table shown at paragraph 5.7; · note that the estimates for the costs of the service had been forwarded by the Treasurer of the Host Authority to the Joint Councils; · note that, in accordance with the Joint Agreement, the estimates would be deemed to have been approved by each of the participating Councils unless notification was received by the Treasurer of the Joint Committee before the commencement of the financial year 2024/25; · consider the medium term financial forecast.
Decision as recorded
AGREED on a 5% increase in charges and APPROVED the proposed fees and charges for 2023-2024.
6.1 The CA presented her report by highlighting key points and referred to the recommendation; that Members consider an uplift in fees and charges by 3% or 5%. Following, the Joint Committee commented as follows: · Uplifts in charges was expected in every sector these days. · It was vital that costs were covered. · A lot of extra background work had to be covered including the review of every policy at the relevant time, which also cost the service. · The services which were charged for were discretionary and so they didn’t have to be used. Most enquiries came from people who didn’t live close enough to travel and so the uplifts in costs were still lower than travelling. · Gwent Archives were still at the lower end of fees and charges compared to other services, elsewhere. · Fees were increased in the previous year and there was no major impact on visitor number. · The increases generally translated into small amounts. · If the service didn’t move with inflation the gap could widen to a stage where they would have to agree a massive increase, which could impact the service and its users. · The charges were in the main for luxury items and they weren’t creating hardship by increasing them. · The number of photography licences should be included in the report going forward, as it helped to inform the Joint Committee’s decision making. 6.2 The Joint Committee AGREED on a 5% increase in charges and APPROVED the proposed fees and charges for 2023-2024.
Decision as recorded
AGREED the skills, knowledge and experience required to fulfil the role of co-opted member, and that opportunities to join the Gwent Archives Joint Committee as a co-opted member be advertised widely via social media, local authority communications teams, contact lists and the local media.
7.1 The CA presented her report, highlighting key points. The Joint Committee commented as follows: · It was important to outline time commitments and to make clear expectations. · Applicants could be asked to present a CV as this would make them realise that they needed to be chosen by the service, not the other way around. · Applicants should be looked at geographically in order that there is good coverage by co-opted members. 7.2 The Joint Committee AGREED the skills, knowledge and experience required to fulfil the role of co-opted member, and that opportunities to join the Gwent Archives Joint Committee as a co-opted member be advertised widely via social media, local authority communications teams, contact lists and the local media.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to note that a review of the Disability Access Policy had taken place and that a substantial review of the accessibility of Gwent Archives, and the Disability Access Policy, will take place in 2024-2025.
8.1 The CA presented her report and requested that should Members be aware of any organisations in their area who could help feed into the policy, to refer them on to her. 8.2 The Joint Committee AGREED to note that a review of the Disability Access Policy had taken place and that a substantial review of the accessibility of Gwent Archives, and the Disability Access Policy, will take place in 2024-2025.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to hold an in-person/hybrid meeting in June. 9.3 Councillor Morgan and Trollope left the meeting.
9.1 The CA referred to recent discussions around holding an in-person/hybrid meeting and asked the Joint Committee when they would like this to take place. 9.2 The Joint Committee AGREED to hold an in-person/hybrid meeting in June. 9.3 Councillor Morgan and Trollope left the meeting.
10.1 There was no other business.
11.1 The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 15 March 2024. 11.2 Meeting ended at 11.14am.
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.
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