Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member – Councillor Menna Trenholme

To consider a report on the above.

To accept the report and to note the observations.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, the Corporate Director, the Head of Corporate Support and the representative of North Wales Councils Regional Emergency Planning Service were welcomed to the meeting.

Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Support inviting the committee to scrutinise the arrangements in place relating to Emergency Planning within the Council, and specifically:

·         How does the regional service contribute to the resilience and safety of communities in Gwynedd?

·         What is the service's current work programme?

·         What is the structure within Cyngor Gwynedd to respond to an urgent or emergency situation?

The Cabinet Member set out the context and the members were then given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. 

It was asked whether there was a coastal pollution emergency plan specific to Gwynedd, as it was crucial that the county itself was a key part of any recovery plan following an incident of pollution.

In response, it was noted that:

·         There was a draft plan that was used for Gwynedd years ago, and that revising the Coastal Action Plan was one of the priorities of the Emergency Planning Service this year. 

·         The Service looked at the best practice across England and Wales with the aim of creating a template that was suitable for Gwynedd.

Concern was expressed that there was a pattern in Gwynedd of not cleaning watercourses or dredging around bridges, and it was noted that there was a desire to see pressure being brought to bear on Natural Resources Wales to undertake regular maintenance work.  It was noted that this was in essence a resource problem within Natural Resources Wales, but it was vital that the work was carried out as minor problems became major problems, if there was no place for the water to go.

In response, it was noted that:

·         There were specific responsibilities that belonged to the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department in this context.

·         It was believed that the Flood Strategy, which would be introduced in the autumn, placed a great deal of emphasis on collaborating with Natural Resources Wales.

In response to a question, it was confirmed that Flintshire contributed less than its share according to population to the Regional Service because it hosted the scheme.

The need was noted to correct the references to 'North Wales Resilience Forum' in the report to read 'North Wales Local Resilience Forum’.

It was noted that one of the risks identified in the report was the Covid-19 Pandemic, and it was asked how resilient our preparations were for such an emergency; how effective was our response in Gwynedd and across the north, and what steps were being taken to learn from the experience and to improve our response in the future in terms of resilience.  In response, it was noted that:

·         It was probably true to say that Gwynedd was as prepared for the pandemic as any other county, and that no one would have predicted the type of emergency that arose during that period.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7