Here is a summary of the items scheduled for discussion at the Powys Council meeting on 9 October 2025. The agenda includes public questions on housing, and motions on social cohesion, transport, wind energy and pensions. Councillors will also consider a report on visitor accommodation, recommendations from the Democratic Services Committee, an independent member vacancy on the Standards Committee, and the council's scheme of delegation.

Visitor Accommodation Levy

Councillors are scheduled to consider a report regarding visitor accommodation and a potential visitor levy. The report pack notes that the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill was passed by the Senedd on 8 July 2025, enabling local authorities to introduce a discretionary overnight visitor levy. The report pack says that implementation of the levy is discretionary for each local authority, and cannot occur before 2027, as it must be preceded by a consultation. The report pack includes some key features of the levy:

• All visitor accommodation providers in Wales will be required to sign up to the national register, starting in 2026.
• The Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) will manage collection of the levy.
• Levy rates are set nationally: £0.75 per person per night for campsites and hostels (under-18s exempt), and £1.30 per person per night for all other visitor accommodation types (all ages).
• Exemptions to the levy include stays of over 31 days, stays at another individual's sole or main residence, and emergency or temporary housing arranged by the local authority.

The report pack lists several options for Powys Council to consider:

• Not implement the levy.
• Undertake an engagement exercise with residents, businesses and tourism stakeholders.
• Implement the levy and use the income to support general council services that impact visitors, such as street cleaning, public toilets, parking, waste and recycling services, rights of way maintenance, and public transport.
• Implement the levy and use the income for tourism-specific infrastructure, visitor marketing, visitor information and site-based interpretation, and tourism development projects.
• A mixture of the above two options.

The report pack notes that MWT Cymru, which represents over 600 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion, and Meirionnydd, has called for a delay in implementation until a comprehensive register of tourism businesses is established. The Economy Residents and Communities Scrutiny Committee considered the report and requested that the wording of engagement questions be carefully considered, that a detailed financial assessment be undertaken, that clarity be provided on whether the funds raised would be ringfenced for tourism, and that costings for the engagement exercise be made available.

Amendments to the Constitution

The council is scheduled to consider recommendations from the Democratic Services Committee regarding amendments to the council's constitution. According to the report pack, the Monitoring Officer has undertaken minor amendments to the constitution under delegated authority, and the Democratic Services Committee has proposed further amendments for consideration. The report pack notes that the Monitoring Officer has been tasked to undertake a complete review of the Council's Constitution. Some of the proposed amendments include:

• Changing the definition of Corporate Joint Committee to reflect the requirements of the Corporate Joint Committee (General) (Wales) Regulations 2022.
• Removing reference to Strategic Directors and/or Directors from the definition of Head of Service.
• Amending the definition of Corporate Improvement Plan to make it more future-proof.
• Amending the publication of agenda and papers to provide 5 clear days before a meeting, instead of the current 3.
• Removing reference to the Single Integrated Plan.
• Replacing reference to Brecon Beacons National Park with reference to the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.
• Inserting a new rule to clarify what happens if an individual agenda item cannot proceed due to declarations of interest by Councillors.
• Amending the rules regarding petitions to give clarity of process and to remove reference to Councillors presenting petitions on behalf of constituents.

The report pack includes several related documents, including Section 01 - Introduction v17 05.12.2024, Section 02 - Purpose Definition Interpretation and Amendment of the Constitution v17 05-12-2024, Section 03 - Getting Information and Getting Involved v18, Section 04 - Council, Section 07 - Scrutiny Committees v17 05-12-2024, and Section 11 Constitution.

Revision to the Petition Scheme

The council is scheduled to consider recommendations from the Democratic Services Committee on the Petition Scheme. The report pack notes that the current Petition Scheme went live in May 2022, as required under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 Section 42, and that petition schemes should be reviewed from time to time. The Democratic Services Committee considered the following issues:

• Petitions regarding local issues: the definition of local was considered, and the report pack says that if a petition with over 500 signatures was judged to be a local issue, this should be considered by the Chair of Council upon receipt of advice from the Monitoring Officer.
• The report pack says that it was considered appropriate that if the subject of a petition was the same as an issue debated in Council in the previous six months it would be rejected.
• The report pack says that it was considered that no visual presentations should be made at a Council meeting when a petition is debated.

Independent Member Vacancy on the Standards Committee

The council is scheduled to consider a report regarding an independent member vacancy on the Standards Committee. According to the report pack, the term of office of Mr Stephan Hays, an Independent Member of the Standards Committee, ceases on 26 January 2026, and Mr Hays will have completed two terms of office. The report pack says that the council will therefore need to undertake an appointment process for a new Independent Member to replace Mr Hays in accordance with the Standards Committees (Wales) Regulations 2001 (as amended). The report pack includes a provisional timetable for the appointment process, with the County Council scheduled to make the formal appointment of a new Independent Member at its meeting in December 2025. The report pack also includes a draft newspaper advertisement and a draft set of criteria for the appointment of independent members.

The Council's Scheme of Delegation and Executive Functions

The council is scheduled to consider a report regarding the council's scheme of delegation and executive functions. The report pack notes that the Leader has reshuffled the Cabinet with effect from 1st October 2025, allocating roles as follows:

• Leader and Cabinet Member for People, Partnerships and Corporate Joint Committee - developing and maintaining partnerships, including the Public Service Board, people services, corporate health and safety, corporate performance management, strategic and local development planning, and property.
• Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Fairer Powys - housing services, tackling poverty, violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, equality and diversity, and armed forces partnership.
• Cabinet Member for a More Prosperous Powys - developing a strategic economic framework, securing economic investment opportunities, and supporting the Mid Wales Growth Deal and Regional Skills Partnership.
• Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Transformation - finance, procurement, income and awards, integrated business planning, and risk management.
• Cabinet Member for a Caring Powys - adult social care and commissioning, North Powys Wellbeing Programme, integration of the care system with Powys Teaching Health Board, and developing community engagement.
• Cabinet Member for Legal and Regulatory Services - environmental health and public protection, trading standards, emergency planning and community safety, development management and building control services, legal services, and ombudsman, coroner and registrar services.
• Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys - education, schools' transformation programme, and post-16 learning and skills development.
• Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys - climate change and decarbonisation, highways and recycling, transport, countryside services, and environmental matters.
• Cabinet Member for Future Generations - children's services, youth justice, youth services, Future Generations Act, and Welsh language.
• Cabinet Member for Customers, Digital and Community Services - customer services and information governance, digital Powys programme, and leisure and culture.

Public Question

The agenda includes a question from a member of the public, Ms H Ni Seighin, to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Fairer Powys, regarding Welsh Government funding for properties in Ystradgynlais, particularly those housing the elderly and disabled. Ms Ni Seighin asks about plans to bring pre-1960s bungalows in Ystradgynlais up to a decent affordable standard, and whether extra money will be injected into these older properties to make them properly energy efficient.

Notice of Motion - Social Cohesion

County Councillor Richard Church, seconded by County Councillor Matthew Dorrance, has proposed a motion regarding social cohesion. The motion notes with concern the rising levels of misinformation and misconceptions relating to asylum and migration in Powys communities, and recognises the fear this creates among refugees, asylum seekers, ethnic minorities, and the wider community. The motion resolves to:

• Recognise the risk to communities and the council if misinformation is allowed to persist unchallenged.
• Correct misinformation on asylum and migration wherever it occurs.
• Work with partners to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone in Powys communities, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics.
• Reaffirm the intention to be a county of sanctuary.
• Ensure, as an anti-racist council, that racism is confronted wherever it occurs.
• Reaffirm the role as councillors in tackling misinformation and building stronger, cohesive communities.

Notice of Motion - A470

County Councillor Elwyn Vaughan, seconded by County Councillor Alwyn Evans, has proposed a motion regarding the A470. The motion notes that the A470 is a key road tying Wales together, and that there are certain parts in Powys that continue to cause problems, such as the accident hotspot at Pontdolgoch. The motion calls on Welsh Government to work with Network Rail and Powys Council to identify and undertake measures to alleviate the situation and to prioritise action on the A470.

Notice of Motion: Wind Energy in Powys

County Councillor Glyn Preston, seconded by County Councillor Jonathan Wilkinson, has proposed a motion regarding wind energy in Powys. The motion states that Powys is abundant in opportunities to generate renewable energy, and supports local ownership of energy generation and distribution designed to support the wider Powys community transition towards low carbon energy use. The motion calls on the Welsh Government to pause its open invitation to submit any more DNS¹ applications for major on-shore wind farms in Powys until:

• The Government clearly sets out how it will ensure that cumulative impact across all outstanding DNS applications is to be properly managed and considered.
• The Government sets out a clear and coherent plan for upgrading the power transmission and distribution network, confirming their commitment to undergrounding new lines of 132kva and above, and demonstrates how electricity generated can be accessed and used by local residents.
• The Government demonstrates how it intends to align the two consenting regimes for wind farms and transmission lines and not permit more energy parks to be granted planning consent unless and until there is demonstrable evidence that they can be implemented and connected up to the grid.

Notice of Motion: Pensions Divestment

County Councillor Chloe Masefield, seconded by County Councillor Sian Cox, has proposed a motion regarding pensions divestment. The motion notes the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and that recent figures suggest that 0.3% of the total Powys Pension Fund is invested directly in Israel, estimated at between £2.5 million and £3 million. The motion also notes that Cardiff Council and Carmarthenshire County Council have voted to ask their pension funds to consider disinvesting from firms that are allegedly complicit in Israeli war crimes or are complicit in breaches of international law. The motion resolves to:

• Express in strong terms the Council's view that it does not wish to be associated with companies potentially complicit in war crimes.
• Write to the Powys Pension Fund and the Welsh Pension Partnership to make these views clear and to ask them to review their investments and consider whether any holdings should be divested.
• Ask the Powys Pension Fund and Wales Pension Partnership to review their ethical/responsible investment policies to ensure there are strong checks prior to investment of whether any companies are potentially complicit in war crimes.
• Ask the Powys Pension Fund and Wales Pension Partnership to regularly review and report divestment progress.

Appointment to Outside Bodies

The council is scheduled consider the appointment of a Montgomeryshire member to the Powys Community Foundation Grants Panel, and a Radnorshire member to the Elan Valley Trust.

Other Items

The agenda also includes:

• Apologies for absence.
• To authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the meetings held on 4th July and 10th July 2025 as correct records. The minutes for the 4th July meeting are available in the report pack. 2025-07-04 Council minutes The minutes for the 10th July meeting are also available in the report pack. 2025-07-10 Council minutes
• Declarations of interest from members.
• Chair's announcements.
• Leader's announcements.
• Following the meeting, there will be a demonstration of the Councillor Hub.