10 GWYNEDD COUNCIL ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT 2019/20 PDF 119 KB
To submit the
report of the Council Leader (attached).
Additional documents:
Decision:
To approve the report as an accurate, balanced and clear reflection of
the Council's performance in 2019/20, and to adopt it.
Minutes:
Submitted – a
report by the Leader requesting that the Council approve and adopt Gwynedd
Council's Performance Report 2019/20 as a clear, balanced and accurate picture
of the Council's performance in 2019/20.
Due to the
pandemic, the Leader noted that all efforts of Council departments had been
directed towards the response to the crisis from mid-March, and that it was
strange to look back at a normal period. He noted that the crisis had
highlighted the importance of local government in providing a service for
residents, and he thanked the staff of all services for their hard work in
supporting the county's communities, and to the councillors for undertaking
heroic work on behalf of their electors.
The Leader further
noted that members had not been given the usual opportunity to scrutinise in
committees this year, and the thanked them for their patience during the
period. As he was aware of the gap in the usual dialogue between all members
and the Executive, he also explained that he intended to arrange briefing
meetings with Cabinet members and heads of department in order to update
members regarding the work that had been undertaken in different fields, and to
give members an opportunity to discuss and ask questions.
He thanked Bethan
Richardson (Business Support Officer) and Dewi Jones (the Council's Business
Support Service Manager) for preparing the report in such a coherent manner.
The Leader
expressed his best wishes to Councillor Cemlyn
Williams (Cabinet Member for Education) who could not be present at the
meeting, as he had recently had surgery at the hospital. He then extended an
invitation to all other Cabinet members to say a few words in their turn.
During their presentations, Cabinet members highlighted some points from the
report that were relevant to their fields of work, elaborating on the
priorities of services during the next period and the challenges they faced.
They also reported on how departments had made a substantial contribution
towards the response to the crisis, and thanked the heads of department and
staff for all their hard work.
Members were then given an opportunity to make observations and ask
questions. The following matters were
raised by individual members:
·
All Council staff were thanked for their commendable
work during the crisis, and also the councillors, local volunteers, the third
sector, Mantell Gwynedd and the county's small
businesses.
·
Disappointment was expressed
regarding the wish of Betsi Cadwaladr
Health Board to remove nearly 40 nursing beds from Pen Llŷn,
and the Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being was asked to raise the
matter with the Health Board.
·
The Cabinet Member for the
Environment was thanked for recently visiting Pen Llŷn,
and it was noted that it was good to see how wildlife had thrived and how
pollution had reduced during the lockdown period.
· It was noted that there was concern regarding what lay ahead of us in light of the pandemic, and all the jobs that would be lost here in Gwynedd over ... view the full minutes text for item 10