Agenda and draft minutes

County Councillor Tomos Davies declared an interest as a member of the Welsh Government's Innovating Democracy Advisory Group.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4^th July 2025 were approved.  In doing so it was noted that County Councillor Christopher Edwards had submitted apologies for the meeting which had not been recorded.

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The Local Democracy Manager presented the report for the committee to consider the proposals contained in the Draft Annual Remuneration report 2026-27 and to consider whether to respond to Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru consultation on the proposals.

Members were invited to assess the potential need for resettlement payments Councillors who stand for election but aren't re-elected to a county council; the framework for senior salaries at the county council; and to review the appropriateness of the average earnings that the boundary commission use when they review annual salaries.

Members were invited to comment:

·        While there was understanding of the need of a resettlement payment for those in a full-time role as a member of the Senedd, or an MP, some members thought that the role of a county councillor had always been considered part-time, and not a sole source of income.  This could be seen to send out the wrong message to the public as to why people stand for council in the first place.

·        In terms of the responsibility of the Corporate Joint Committee and its sub-committee’s role across principal councils, it was thought that this would be an expected council leaders role, and council leaders are remunerated on more than a decent level, ranging from £67,000 to £78,000 per annum.

·        The increase in remuneration next year is 6.4% on the basic salary. The accounts team are working on the models for next year to be included in the budget.  Members salaries are available on the MCC Website.

·        There were concerns around the banding for different authorities, which should be included in the feedback.

·        It was noted that an Office for National Statistics statistical release states that those working in the private sector have only experienced wage growth of circus 4.2% compared to the proposed 6.4% for councillors.

·        It was suggested that conducting a member seminar or progressing this paper to a meeting of the full council would be beneficial to enable a full discussion about the merits of the proposals.

The Chair summarised that a response be drafted to the commissioner with the full range of views raised by members.

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The Local Democracy Manager presented the report for the Committee to consider the Welsh Government consultation which aims to determine:

·        whether the duty on a principal council to broadcast meetings should be extended to include meetings other than that of the full council.

·        whether there should be a duty imposed upon Fire and Rescue Authorities and/or National Park Authorities to broadcast their meetings.

·        whether there should be a retention period for recordings of broadcast meetings.

The Chair noted that MCC are currently exceeding the statutory minimum by broadcasting all committee meetings and how we could take this opportunity to influence national policy by sharing our approach and lessons learned, particularly on cost efficiency, accessibility, and long-term recording retention.

We noted how broadcasting has resulted in increased public interest in recent meetings when debating such issues as Tudor Street or the Replacement Local Development Plan.

Councillors expressed unanimous support for extending the duty to broadcast meetings and to include the fire and rescue authority and national park authorities. Members agreed that it would enhance transparency, accessibility and public engagement.

The Local Democracy Manager agreed to draft a response.

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Members received a presentation of a new forward work programme for Cabinet and Council business.  Members were directed to the pages on the hub and shown how officers were now able to submit a form of information to add a report to the FWP.

The new system should ensure report authors think about the process that a decision is going to go through from the start to finish.  It will show the scrutiny arrangements and where the end decision will be made.

In terms of a forward work programme for Democratic Services Committee it was suggested that the Monitoring Officer be invited to a future meeting to discuss the Constitution with regards to the new meeting software being introduced, and any other issues raised.

Noted.