Posted on: Tuesday 14 May 2024
At the Annual General Meeting of Torfaen Council today, key political appointments to the council's cabinet, committees and outside bodies were confirmed for the year ahead.
The first act of the AGM was to appoint a new Presiding Member and Deputy Presiding Member to chair council meetings for the municipal year 2024/5.
Cllr Rose Seabourne was re-elected as the council’s Presiding Member and Cllr Stuart Ashley was elected as Deputy Presiding Member.
Following nominations for the position of Leader of the Council, Cllr Anthony Hunt received a majority vote and was duly re-elected. The Leader will also have responsibility for strategic finance and financial services.
Cllr Richard Clark was re-elected as Deputy Leader of the Council and will also hold the portfolio for Children, Families and Education.
It was agreed the Environment portfolio will be divided into separate Environment and Waste and Sustainability portfolios.
The full list of cabinet appointments are:
- Executive Member for Adult Services and Housing - Cllr David Daniels
- Executive Member for Children, Families and Education – Cllr Richard Clark
- Executive Member for Communities – Cllr Fiona Cross
- Executive Member for Corporate Governance and Resources – Cllr Peter Jones
- Executive Member for Environment – Cllr Mandy Owen
- Executive Member for Economy, Skills and Regeneration - Cllr Joanne Gauden
- Executive Member, Waste and Sustainability – Cllr Sue Morgan
It was also agreed the Overview and Scrutiny Committees be renamed in line with the council's directorates.
The committee chairs were elected as follows:
- Economy and Environment O&S Committee – Cllr Stuart Ashley
- Education O&S Committee – Cllr Rose Seabourne
- Adults and Communities O&S Committee – Cllr Mark Jones
- Children and Families O&S Committee – Cllr Janet Jones
- Cross Cutting Resources and Business O&S Committee – Cllr David Williams
Members were also appointed to chair the following statutory committees:
- Planning Committee – Cllr Norma Parrish
- Statutory and General Licensing Committees – Cllr Steven Evans
- Pensions Committee – Cllr Nathan Yeowell
- Democratic Services Committee – Cllr Ron Burnett
In accepting his appointment as Leader of Torfaen Council, Cllr Anthony Hunt said: "In common with councils across the UK, there are huge challenges ahead of us and behind us.
"I'm proud of the way we have taken these on this year and in previous years with a focus on communities, early intervention and improvements and a relentless focus in the last year on data and performance.
"We've worked hard to protect services like schools as much as we can, and I'm proud that we've had the lowest or equal lowest council tax rise in Wales over the last three years. I think we need to continue to innovate to be as efficient as we can and to prioritise the corporate priorities we hold so dear."
The 90 seats on various committees and sub committees are allocated based on political balance. The majority Labour Group is allocated 71 seats with 12 seats allocated for the Independent group and seven seats allocated to the Torfaen Independent group.
The council approved the Executive Members to the following champion positions:
- Age Friendly Champion - Cllr David Daniels, Executive Member Adult Services & Housing
- Equalities & Diversity Champion – Cllr Peter Jones, Executive Member Corporate
Governance and Resources
- Anti-Poverty Champion – Cllr Anthony Hunt, Leader of the Council
- Young Person’s Champion - Cllr Richard Clark, Executive Member for Children, Families and Education
The following Members champions were also appointed:
- Members Training & Development Champion – Cllr Ron Burnett
- Armed Forces Champion – Cllr Gaynor James
- Carers Champion – Cllr David Daniels
- Sustainability Champion – Cllr Stuart Ashley
- World Heritage Champion – Cllr Janet Jones
- Motor Neuron Disease (MND) – Cllr Giles Davies
- Dementia Champion – Cllr Mandy Owen
- Gypsy Traveller Community Champion – Cllr Sue Malson
- Mental Health Champion – Cllr Nick Byrne
The council also made nominations to outside bodies including Aneurin Bevan University Health Board; Torfaen Leisure Trust; Bron Afon Community Housing and the Brecon Beacons National Park.
(Photo L-R: Cllr Fiona Cross; Cllr David Daniels; Cllr Anthony Hunt; Cllr Richard Clark; Cllr Sue Morgan; Cllr Joanne Gauden)