Monmouthshire County Council met on 18 September 2025, and among other business, resolved to review its investments and request that those of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund are reviewed to identify any direct or indirect holdings in companies that are supplying arms, military technology, or logistical support which enable breaches of international law in Gaza, and also agreed to support towns and communities to becoming better places to grow older, resolving to increase its investment and focus on enhancing highway infrastructure to improve residents' mobility beyond private vehicles. The council also discussed a self-assessment report for 2024/25.

Here's a breakdown of the key topics discussed:

Gaza Motion

Councillor County Ian Chandler submitted a motion regarding the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and alleged breaches of international law. The motion called for the council to:

1. Review its own investments and request a review of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund to identify any holdings in companies supplying arms or military support that enable breaches of international law in Gaza.
2. Work with asset managers to end such investments and request the pension fund do the same.
3. Report back to the council within three months on progress made.

Age-Friendly Communities Motion

Councillor County Emma Bryn put forward a motion to support towns and communities in becoming better places to grow older. This followed Monmouthshire joining the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities. The motion resolved to increase investment and focus on enhancing highway infrastructure to improve residents' mobility beyond private vehicles and to advance the reporting and recording of footway taxonomy within the county.

Bridges Centre Motion

Councillor County Richard John submitted a motion recognising the significant contribution the Bridges Centre in Monmouth makes to the lives of residents across Monmouthshire. The motion called upon the Cabinet to seek an affordable and fair agreement with the trustees of the Bridges Centre to secure its long-term future.

Surplus Places in Schools Motion

Councillor County Richard John also submitted a motion calling on the administration to set out its plans to tackle surplus places in the Monmouth and Chepstow clusters.

Childcare Motion

Councillor County Lisa Dymock submitted a motion noting that access to affordable childcare is essential for parents/guardians seeking to return to work and that the current Welsh Government childcare offer provides funded childcare from the age of three to four, while in England parents will now be entitled to 30 hours per week funded childcare starting at nine months. The motion resolved to write to Welsh Government to call for an extension of the current childcare offer to match the entitlement in England by providing free childcare from nine months old.

Self-Assessment Report 2024/25

The council considered its Self-Assessment Report 2024/25, a legal requirement under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021¹. The report evaluates the council's performance against its six well-being objectives and enabling functions. The report assigned an evaluation score between 1 (unsatisfactory) and 6 (excellent) to each of the council's six objectives for the year ending March 2025. Five objectives were assessed as level 4 (good) and one as level 3 (adequate).

Key areas of focus in the report included:

• Fair Place to Live: Providing targeted support to those experiencing disadvantage, including increasing Flying Start[^2] places and running the Food and Fun programme. [^2]: Flying Start is a Welsh Government programme that supports families with children aged 0-3 years in disadvantaged areas.
• Green Place to Live: Taking local action to reduce carbon emissions. The report noted that Monmouthshire County Council has improved its work towards net zero and is performing better than most councils in England and Wales, according to Climate Emergency UK scorecards.
• Thriving and Ambitious Place: Delivering projects to develop a diverse local economy. The council secured up to £8.4 million to implement transport projects across the county.
• Safe Place to Live: Taking action to reduce homelessness. Last year, 71% of households at risk of homelessness were prevented from becoming homeless.
• Connected Place: Changing the way social care is provided by taking a more preventative approach.
• Learning Place: Achieving higher secondary school results than elsewhere in Wales.

The report also assessed the effectiveness of enabling functions like corporate planning, financial planning, workforce planning, and digital infrastructure.

The council approved the Self-Assessment Report 2024/25.

Member Questions

Several questions were posed by councillors to cabinet members:

• Councillor County Jan Butler asked Councillor County Ian Chandler, Cabinet Member for Social Care, Safeguarding and Accessible Health Services, about measures to address issues with blue badge renewals and the closure of Able2, the designated independent assessor.
• Councillor County Alistair Neill questioned Councillor County Catrin Maby, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, regarding the lack of a construction traffic management plan for private construction work by European Energy near the B4598.
• Councillor County Christopher Edwards asked Councillor County Catrin Maby for an update on the road safety review of Welsh Street, Chepstow.
• Councillor County Christopher Edwards also asked Councillor County Catrin Maby for an update on the review of the B4235 junction off St Lawrence Road in Chepstow.