LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR WALES
16 MAY 2005 AT CARADOG HOUSE, ST ANDREW'S PLACE, CARDIFF
Present:
Commission
Mrs Susan Smith (Chairman), Mr Dennis Roberts (Member)
Secretariat
Mr Edward Lewis (Secretary), Mr Steve Halsall, Mr Dave Carr
Apologies for absence were received from Mr J E Davies (Deputy Chair).
1. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
1.1 There were no new interests declared.
2. MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON 20TH APRIL 2005
2.1 These were agreed subject to minor amendments.
3. MATTERS ARISING
3.1 MERLIN Issues
3.1.1 It was reported that MERLIN had not yet commenced the upgrade of the Commission's data link.
3.1.2 It was still not possible to directly update the Commission's website due to technical problems which had not yet been resolved by MERLIN. An interim solution where the updates are sent to the MERLIN team for them to apply has been put into place.
3.1.3 The Commission expressed concern that the action necessary to resolve these two matters had still not been taken. It was agreed that Mr Lewis would seek the opinion of the sponsor division as to whether a letter from the Chair to the Assembly's Local Government Minister expressing the Commission's concern would help to resolve these outstanding issues.
3.2 Community Councillors
3.2.1 The Secretary reported that he would shortly be meeting with sponsor division officers and would raise the issue of the requirement to review the Commission's 1976 advice on community councillor numbers.
3.3 Finance - cheque signatories
3.3.1 The Secretariat had checked the Commission's Financial Memorandum and had not found anything indicating that Commission Members should not be cheque signatories. The Commission considered that given the small size of the Secretariat it was desirable to have Members as additional cheque signatories. It was agreed that the Secretary would seek clarification on this issue from the Assembly.
3.4 Community Councils
3.4.1 It was reported that the Secretary had now written to One Voice Wales and the Welsh Local Government Association regarding the possibility of holding a meeting to discuss community council issues.
3.4.2 The Secretary had written to the Chief Executives of the 22 principal authorities regarding community reviews. Four authorities had responded to date, three acknowledged receipt of the correspondence whilst Rhondda Cynon Taff had requested a meeting with the Secretariat to discuss the issue.
3.5 Accounting Software
3.5.1 The Secretariat had contacted a software supplier to seek advice on the suitability of accounting software.
4. REVISED CODE OF PRACTICE ON PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION
4.1 The Commission approved the revised code subject to the inclusion of details of the Commission's practice of not publishing meeting minutes containing exempt information and subject to a decision being taken in respect of the publication of audit committee minutes.
5. PUBLICATION OF AUDIT COMMITTEE MINUTES
5.1 In view of the absence of Mr Davies it was agreed that this item would be deferred until the next Commission meeting.
6. REFURBISHMENT - ORAL REPORT
6.1 The Secretary advised that Dalkia had now sent out the invitations to tender for the refurbishment work. The deadline for the submission of tenders had been set for 23 May 2005 and Dalkia would meet with the Secretariat after that date to discuss the tenders received. It was expected that the work would commence at the end of June 2005.
7. ANNUAL OPEN MEETING
7.1 The Commission considered possible agenda items for the meeting. It was agreed that the Secretary would produce a draft presentation on the issue of community councillor numbers.
7.2 It was agreed that the Secretary would contact the sponsor division regarding the possibility of them making a presentation on possible directions for the forthcoming review of electoral arrangements.
7.3 Additionally the Secretary would contact One Voice Wales and the WLGA to ask whether they would like to contribute any items for the agenda and to contact the Chief Executive of Ceredigion County Council to enquire if he would be willing to make a presentation at the AOM.
8. FINANCE REPORT - END OF YEAR EXPENDITURE 2004/05
8.1 It was reported that the Commission's underspend for 2004/05 was £62,000. It had originally been the Commission's intention to utilise this surplus to pay for some of the refurbishment work. However, the Assembly had not given the permission for these funds to be carried over into the 2005/06 financial year.
9. ANNUAL REPORT 2004/05 - FIRST DRAFT
9.1 The Commission agreed the annual report subject to some minor amendments. It was agreed that the Secretary would check whether the Commission's sponsor division should be referred to in the report as the 'National Assembly' or 'Welsh Assembly Government'.
10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
10. It was reported that Public Services Management Wales have an annual fee commencing at £2,000 p.a. payable by the individual bodies that wished to participate in their programmes. It had been agreed, however, that the cost be waived for the Commission but individual course fees would still apply.
11. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
11. The date of the next meeting was set for 21 June 2005 at 10.00 a.m. It was agreed that the Secretariat would check with Wales Audit Office whether they would be ready to present the annual accounts at an Audit Committee meeting on the same date.
13/10/2005