Issue - meetings

The information in the report was accepted and noted.

The report was submitted by Cllr Menna Trenholme.

DECISION

The information in the report was accepted and noted.

DISCUSSION

Members were reminded that the report provided an overview of the Department's performance during the current financial year and placed a specific emphasis on the six Council Plan projects that were under the care of the department, which included:

·       Keeping the Benefit Local

·       Women in Leadership

·       Ensuring Fairness for Everyone

·       Workforce Planning

·       Promoting the Use of the Welsh Language by Gwynedd Residents

·       Strategic Review on Health and Safety Management

It was ensured that work was underway to identify gaps in the Workforce Planning field and it was noted that proactive action was a priority. It was detailed that a draft Workforce Plan had been prepared with the aim of setting a strategic direction for the project.

It was noted that the Council’s new careers website had been launched at the beginning of August, and that 14 new apprentices had recently been appointed as well as six new trainees on Yfory Scheme.

It was explained that specific projects would be undertaken to promote the use of the Welsh language and to increase the opportunities to use Welsh in the community. Members were reminded that a draft Language Strategy 2023-2028 had recently been submitted to the Cabinet and it was hoped that it would be approved by the Full Council in December.

It was reported that the Council's sickness rates were higher than desired and, therefore, work was being carried out to monitor the situation. It was elaborated that a Sickness Absences Group had also been established to focus on this challenge.

It was confirmed that the Customer Contact Service had coped especially well under difficult circumstances. It was detailed that the latest data suggested that more calls were being answered the first time that the customer contacted the Council.

It was explained that the Organisational Learning and Development service gathered feedback on a regular basis and the results of this work were consistently high.