LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR WALES
11 DECEMBER 2006 AT CARADOG HOUSE, CARDIFF
Present:
Commission
Mrs Susan Smith (Chairman), Mr John Davies (Deputy Chair), Mr Dennis Roberts (Member)
Secretariat
Mr Edward Lewis (Secretary), Mr Steve Halsall, Mr Dave Carr
1. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
1.1 There were no new interests declared. The Chair reported that she had resigned from her position as a director of Llandaf Diocesan Board of Finance. It was agreed that this change would be included in the published Register of Interests when the new Member was appointed.
2. MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON 8 NOVEMBER 2006
2.1 These were agreed subject to some minor amendments.
3. MATTERS ARISING
3.1 Merlin Issues
3.1.1 The Secretary reported that there was to be a further meeting with the National Assembly Business & ICT Development Division on 12th December 2006.
3.2 Commissioner Appointment
3.2.1 The Secretary reported that the Minister had not issued the letter of appointment as she was still awaiting the agreement of several of the Assembly Members responsible for vetting appointments. The Commission expressed concern that the appointment of the new Member had still not been confirmed by the National Assembly as the current Deputy Chair was to stand down on 31st December 2006. This could leave the Commission with only two members for a short period that could give rise to some difficulties. It was agreed that the Secretary would contact the National Assembly to look into the possibility that the current Deputy Chair's appointment could be extended to cover any period in the New Year in which the Commission would otherwise be left with only two members.
3.3 Community Reviews
3.3.1 The Secretary advised that a request had been received from One Voice Wales (OVW) for the Commission to make a presentation on the conduct of community reviews to OVW's Anglesey Area Committee meeting that was held on 7 December 2006. The Commission had agreed to attend and Commissioner Dennis Roberts made the presentation. The presentation was well received and had generated a considerable amount of discussion amongst the Committee members. OVW had also requested that the Commission make a similar presentation on their Draft Proposals for the Anglesey community review at a future Anglesey Area Committee meeting. It was agreed that the Commission would wait until after all representations had been received and considered before deciding whether a further presentation would be useful. It was agreed that the Secretary would contact OVW and suggest that similar presentations could be made to other Area Committees in local authority areas where the Commission was undertaking community reviews.
3.3.2 The Secretary reported that the Rhondda Cynon Taff Community review had now commenced and the initial letters had been distributed. There had been a problem, however, with a complaint received from the Clerk of Llanharan Community Council regarding one of the enclosures sent with the initial letter. The Council considered that the enclosure was misleading and should be amended and requested that the Commission re-issue their initial distribution letters. The Secretariat had contacted Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council who had said that they did not consider the enclosure to be erroneous and had agreed to contact Llanharan Community Council regarding the issue.
4. REVIEW OF COMMUNITY BOUNDARIES IN THE COUNTY BOROUGH OF WREXHAM
4.1 The Commission considered the Draft Proposals Report for the Wrexham Community Review together with updated tables for electoral figures. Several minor amendments to the report were agreed. It was agreed that the Draft Proposals report would be submitted to the Commission's legal advisor for comment. It was agreed that should the amendments arising from the legal advice be minor then the report could be translated and published, but any significant changes arising from the legal advice would be referred back to Members.
4.2 It was agreed that the Secretary would also seek legal advice on the status of the Commission should there be only two Members at the time of publishing the report.
5. GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTING THE BIODIVERSITY DUTY ON PUBLIC BODIES
5.1 The Secretary reported that he had attended a workshop organised by the National Assembly on development of guidance on implementing the biodiversity duty on public bodies. The issue had arisen as a result of the introduction of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 that requires that all public bodies have regard to the purpose of conserving biodiversity when exercising their functions. The Secretariat had sought the views of the Commission's Legal Advisor that were that although the Act did impose a duty on the Commission to have regard to the purpose of conserving biodiversity, the interests of effective and convenient local government must prevail because to be influenced by biodiversity would not be consistent with the Commission's statutory functions. The Commission accepted the advice received from their Legal Advisor.
6. CONFERENCE REPORTS: WLGA, OVW & MODERN ROLE OF THE COUNCILLOR
6.1 Mr Roberts reported that the One Voice Wales Annual Meeting had largely dealt with law, order and community safety. The Welsh Local Government Association Annual Meeting had covered a variety of topics including reforming Welsh public services, European Structural funds, the future of local government and the Government of Wales Act 2006. Both meetings had proved very informative. The Chair thanked Mr Roberts for attending on behalf of the Commission.
6.2 The Secretary reported that he had attended the conference held by CRG Research Ltd. on the Modern Role of the Councillor, which had proved informative although the results of their research had not yet been published.
7. MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AND FINANCIAL MEMORANDUM (MSFM)
7.1 The Secretary reported that the MSFM had still not been finalised. He also intended to raise some issues regarding his role as the Commission's Accounting Officer with the Permanent Secretary, National Assembly.
8. DEVELOPING A CORPORATE IDENTITY
8.1 It was agreed that the Secretariat would proceed with the purchase of two display boards for use at public meetings and also request that the company develop a new LGBCW logo.
9. CONTRACT TENDERING EXERCISE
9.1 The Secretary reported that the tendering exercise had now commenced.
10. COMMUNITY WARD BOUNDARIES PROJECT
10.1 The Commission noted the latest position on the in-house project to capture the community boundaries and the estimated date for completion. It was agreed that there was no longer a requirement for any part of this work to be passed to an outside firm.
11. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
11.1 The Secretary reported that he had visited the Secretary of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland in Belfast. This had included a visit to the Northern Ireland Ordnance Survey to view their mapping software system. He would arrange for the Deputy Secretary to visit in the New Year.
11.2 As this was the last meeting to be attended by Mr John E. Davies, Deputy Chair of the Commission, Mrs Smith, the Chair, paid tribute to the contribution that he had made during his six years of service with the Commission. Mr Dennis Roberts echoed this and the Secretary wished him well on behalf of the staff.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
12.1 It was agreed that the next meeting would be held in late January at a date to be confirmed by Members by email.
6/7/2007