This council calls on the Welsh Government to accept the proposals in our response to their Open Market Review consultation which sought views on the data that will inform further work to extend the reach of Superfast Broadband across Wales. This council acknowledges the digital divide that is impacting both urban and rural communities, and recognises the growing frustration that is felt by many residents who have inadequate broadband provision. Given the fact that Monmouthshire is the second most competitive authority in Wales with the highest rate of business births, we ask that the Welsh Government prioritises Monmouthshire under the next deployment of Superfast Cymru 2 due to take place in early 2018.
Minutes:
This council calls on the Welsh Government to accept the proposals in our response to their Open Market Review consultation which sought views on the data that will inform further work to extend the reach of Superfast Broadband across Wales. This council acknowledges the digital divide that is impacting both urban and rural communities, and recognises the growing frustration that is felt by many residents who have inadequate broadband provision. Given the fact that Monmouthshire is the second most competitive authority in Wales with the highest rate of business births, we ask that the Welsh Government prioritises Monmouthshire under the next deployment of Superfast Cymru 2 due to take place in early 2018.
Councillor Jones credited Cath Fallon and Mike Powell who have worked tirelessly on this issue, supporting communities. Councillor Jones assured Members, that should the motion be supported she would take this forward as a priority for our residents and would hope to see positive outcomes.
The motion was duly seconded.
Debate ensued:
Councillor Blakebrough thanked the Cabinet Member for highlighting the devastating consequences for not only Monmouthshire, but also Wales, of not being included in the first round, and thanked her for the report highlighting the strong case for Monmouthshire being one of the first authorities in the phase 2 roll out. She expressed concern that Phase 1 had been political in that Monmouthshire were at the back of the queue.
Members recognised the problems for residents and businesses alike, and concerns were raised that there was difficulty in encouraging people into the area with no appropriate infrastructure in place.
Councillor Batrouni expressed support for the motion but highlighted concerns requesting assurance from the Cabinet Member that funding would not be squandered away as had been the case in the past, and for detail of the specific measures.
Councillor Jones responded that there were serious questions to be raised beyond the motion in terms of accountability for the first round of funding. She added there is no divide between rural and urban areas, other than a digital divide. In response to Councillor Batrouni’s questions there are excellent examples of where we are delivering in this field, an example being the work undertaken by Mike Powell in terms of the TV white space project. In terms of KPIs we would work with a provider to ensure we get the digital infrastructure in place and to ensure that people access the provision.
Upon being put to the vote the motion was carried. Councillor Jones would submit a supplementary paper to UK Government highlighting the support of Council.
The Chairman invited the Cabinet Member for Governance to present the following statement to Council:
You will have no doubt seen the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government last week on the call for Councils in Wales to work more closely together and to share and pool resources and services. Emphasis in the Cabinet Secretary’s speech, was placed on increasing integration of ‘back office’ functions with stated examples around revenues, payroll and legal services and also, the subject of wider electoral reforms. The position on the requirement for Councils to work more collaboratively and closely together has already been set out in the LG White Paper, giving life to an agenda around LG Reform. This Council submitted a full response to the consultation paper ‘Renewed and Resilient’ in April 2017 and LG Reform continues to be a matter debated and discussed ongoing by our Democratic Services Committee. The content of the White Paper is now expected to be rolled forward into a wider LG Bill in 2018. In the meantime, we can expect to see more of a focus on working together in areas of functional geography – economic development, strategic planning and transport – as we are for example through the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal. The Cabinet Secretary has maintained his commitment to 22 LAs as the ‘front door’ for local people, stating behind the door, the collaborative regional agenda needs to quickly develop.
The final detail of the Cabinet Secretary’s proposals are awaited and Monmouthshire will have the opportunity to feed into and input into the process. With our Leader as vice-chair of the CCR City Deal Joint Cabinet and our leadership of regional economic programmes such as the Compound Semi-Conductor Project, strong representation on the Regional Transport Authority, Regional Planning Group, the Education Achievement Service and now, the Local Government Reform Task and Finish Group convened by WG – we can play a key role in shaping and informing what is to come. Our strong position remains alongside the focus on form and footprint, we must give real consideration to issues of the function and purpose of local government and the services it provides, in order that we remain viable; and legitimate and relevant to the communities we are so privileged to serve.
The Chairman accepted an emergency motion from County Councillor S. Howarth:
The motion is
graded as an emergency motion (Human rights, health & safety,
blight on people’s lives, also Equalities act) after
receiving late response from the Welsh Government/Costains engineering and Construction UK on a
matter which is felt of significant importance for everyone using
the Gateway to Wales the A465 Trunk Road.
Would this council support that the chief executive and the leader
of the council seek an urgent meeting, with reassurances from the
Welsh Government and their contractor Costains UK, that all measures are put in place to
inform every user travelling into Wales and also commuting in
Wales, in respect of road closures on the A465 Gilwern to Brynmawr
Trunk road. Its apparent now that some measures are in place but
are not being used, we are seeking reassurances from the Welsh
Government that in future that all the technology possible is
used.
The motion was seconded and debate ensued:
Councillor Pratt agreed with the comments regarding signage, She had attended a meeting with the Community Council and the Head of Operations in June when better signage was suggested. An update from the Head of Operations was requested. She pressed for Elected Members to be invited to meetings between the Council, Welsh Government and Costain to avoid future communication issues.
Councillor Howard supported the motion, commenting that communication initially took local views into account but this has now deteriorated and there is no access to officer meetings, and many more closures than originally promised with lack of notice.
Councillor Williams supported the motion and expressed concern about Costain’s traffic management, and referred to the company’s unwillingness to engage in discussion.
Councillor Blakebrough observed that the A465 is the Gateway to Wales and the road closures are preventing tourism, and added that Welsh Government should listen to concerns from local residents.
Councillor Thomas supported the motion commenting that his understanding was that the signs were bi-lingual. There was agreement that road signs should not only be available in Welsh.
The Leader expressed his sympathy with local members having personally experienced the congestion in the area. He agreed that the voice of local residents must be heard and was pleased to hear that there is a meeting on Monday, and that there had been a meeting with the Head of Operations to look at possible solutions. He acknowledged that there was only one matrix sign available to warn of the closure, that it had insufficient space to be bi-lingual and had to be in Welsh. He stated that signage required urgent action and supported the motion, and suggested that the matter could be addressed at the meeting on Monday. He suggested that a letter could to be sent immediately to the Cabinet Minister.
The Head of Operations provided an update that there had been meetings including a public meeting with the Council, Costain and Welsh Government that resulted in a list of actions that will be raised by officers with Costain, and also at meetings with the Council, Costain and Welsh Government that Elected Members are able to attend.
Councillor Howarth responded that he didn’t feel the meeting on Monday would make a difference. He pressed for a meeting of the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council with Welsh Government and their Costain.
The Leader of the Council expressed his willingness to attend a meeting in September.
The motion was carried.