Venue: Siambr Dafydd Orwig, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH. View directions
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
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CHAIRMAN To elect a
Chairman for 2016/17. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Eric Merfyn Jones was elected as Chair for
2016/2017. Councillor Eric Merfyn Jones signed a declaration
accepting the post of the Chair of Gwynedd Council for 2016/2017. |
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VICE-CHAIRMAN To elect a
Vice-chairman for 2016/17. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Annwen Daniels was elected as Vice-chair
for 2016/17. Councillor Annwen Daniels signed a declaration
accepting the post of Vice-chair of Gwynedd Council for 2016/17. |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors: Craig ab Iago,
Endaf Cooke, Gwynfor Edwards, Alan Jones Evans, Jean Forsyth, Chris Hughes,
Louise Hughes, Jason Humphreys, Dyfrig Jones, Christopher O’Neal, Glyn Thomas,
Gethin Glyn Williams and Hefin Williams. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meetings of the Council held on the
following dates be signed as true records (attached) (i) 3
March, 2016 (ii) 18
March, 2016 (extraordinary meeting) Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meetings
of the Council held on the following dates as a true record. (i) 3 March 2016 (ii) 18 March, 2016 (extraordinary meeting) |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: Members had received a guidance note from the
Monitoring Officer in advance regarding item 14 on the agenda – Members'
Salaries. As a consequence of the nature of the report on
Members' Salaries, and in order to comply with the requirements under the Code
of Conduct, the Chair declared a personal interest in the item on behalf of all
members present but as it was not a prejudicial interest, members would have
the right to participate in the discussion and to vote on the matter. |
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THE CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS To receive any Chairman’s announcements. Additional documents: Minutes: (1) Condolences Condolences were expressed to the following:- ·
Councillor John
Brynmor Hughes on the death of his mother. ·
Councillor Linda A.
W. Jones on the death of her mother. (2) Congratulations The following were
congratulated: ·
Councillor Alan Jones
Evans and his wife on their recent marriage. ·
Councillor
Christopher O'Neal and his wife on the birth of their twins - two little girls.
·
Councillor Sian
Gwenllian and Lord Elis-Thomas on their election as Assembly Members.
Councillor Sian Gwenllian provided a brief address thanking her fellow members
and officers for every assistance and support throughout the last few years. ·
Arfon Jones on his election as North
Wales Police Crime Commissioner. |
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CORRESPONDENCE, COMMUNICATIONS OR OTHER BUSINESS To receive any correspondence,
communications or other business brought forward at the request of the Chairman. Additional documents: Minutes: None. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items which are
urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so they
may be considered. Additional documents: Minutes: None. |
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QUESTIONS To consider any questions the appropriate notice for which
have been given under Section
4.19 of the Constitution. Additional documents: Minutes: None. |
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THE WALES AUDIT OFFICE'S ANNUAL REPORT PDF 225 KB (a) To submit the report of the Head of Corporate
Support (attached). (b) To receive a presentation by the Wales
Audit Office. Additional documents: Minutes: Huw Lloyd Jones and Jeremy
Evans from the Wales Audit Office were welcomed to the meeting. Submitted – Gwynedd Council’s Annual Improvement
Report 2015-16, along with an advance report from the Head of Corporate Support
setting out the context. The Leader provided brief guidance and then Huw Lloyd
Jones was invited to provide a verbal presentation on the Annual Improvement
Report 2015-16. In his presentation, Huw Lloyd Jones explained that
the report was not an attempt to provide a fully comprehensive picture of the
Council's work but rather to summarise all the auditing work completed during
the year in Gwynedd, along with the observations of Estyn, the Care and Social
Services Inspectorate Wales and the Welsh Language Commissioner. He provided an
outline of the main reasons which had led to the opinion of the Auditor General
that the Council was likely to make arrangements to ensure continuous
improvements for 2016/17 and he elaborated on the main findings of the three
themes of work, namely performance in some specific fields, the manner in which
the Council used its resources and aspects of governance. Questions/observations were
invited from the members. Several issues were raised, including:- ·
The requirement to
ensure continuous improvements in a period of cuts. ·
The fees charged by
the Audit Officer for their work. ·
The accountability of
the Trunk Road Agency and the need for the Minister to also be more accountable
and transparent and not to prevent Gwynedd employees of the Trunk Road Agency
from responding directly to enquiries from residents and local councillors. ·
The present division between
the work of the Cabinet and scrutiny. ·
The potential
advantages of an arrangement of a Shadow Cabinet/Shadow Cabinet Members. ·
The challenge facing
the Services Scrutiny Committee considering that approximately 75% of the
Council's budget was spent in the fields scrutinised by that committee. ·
Satisfaction from
being given to understand that the Council continued to improve in priority
fields and that it had robust financial management arrangements in place. ·
Acknowledgement that
there were weaknesses in the scrutiny arrangements, the recommendations for
improvement and the timetable for that. ·
Satisfaction that the
national report recommendation of 2015-16 regarding developing effective
leaders and recruiting the best talent recognised the problem of attracting
leaders of quality. ·
Slower progress than
what was expected in the field of special education. Huw Lloyd Jones and Jeremy Evans were thanked for
their guidance to members on how to improve Gwynedd. |
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THE REFERENDUM ON MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION PDF 242 KB To submit
the report of the Council Leader (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Head of Legal Services
/Monitoring Officer withdrew from the meeting because of his statutory function
as Monitoring Officer. Submitted - the Leader’s
report report which:- (a) Sought the Council's viewpoint on the matter
of the referendum on membership of the
European Union and specifically the question regarding whether or not
there would be more benefit for Gwynedd residents of remaining a member of the
European Union. (b) Recommended that the Council stated that it
was of the opinion that Gwynedd residents would derive more benefits by
remaining a member of the European Union. Further to the content of
the report, the Leader noted:- ·
Gwynedd had benefited by £158m from European funds since 2000 and this
had created an investment of £300m for the county during this period. ·
He did not believe that it would have been possible for Gwynedd to
attract these amounts of funding from any other source. ·
Some of the projects in Gwynedd that had benefited from European funding
included Pont Briwet (worth approximately £20m); Plas Heli, Pwllheli
(approximately £9m); Blaenau Ffestiniog Rejuvenation
Scheme (£4.5m); Snowdonia Centre of Excellence (£4.5m); Llwyddo'n
Lleol (equal to £3.2m investment for Gwynedd). During the discussion, it
was noted:- ·
This was the most important issue which had faced the UK in a generation.
·
Businesses in Wales had access to 500,000 customers in the European
Union. Thus far, this had been tariff-free but if the UK left the EU, a tariff
would be imposed on all the trade going to and from Europe such as exports and imports
which would mean an added cost for the consumer, higher costs for businesses
and damage to the economy. ·
71% of businesses which were members of the CBI stated that membership of
the European Union had had a positive effect on businesses and 67% of all
members which were small and medium businesses were also of the same
opinion. ·
It could also be
argued that we received £10 for every £1 we paid the European Union, not
necessarily directly as cash but in the form of benefits stemming from trading
with the European Union, e.g. low prices, growth of jobs and commerce. ·
Remaining in the EU could create 75,000 additional jobs in the EU over
the next 15 years. ·
An independent assessment had calculated that 190,000 jobs in Wales had
trading links with the EU, namely one in eight jobs. ·
In Wales, more than 50,000 were employed in agriculture and agriculture
was one of the main winners through the Common Agriculture Policy. ·
Leaving the EU would lead to a loss of all the grants and would mean more
costly imports and exports. Also,
there could be a possible tariff of 40% on farming. ·
The amount paid to
the European Union was very small compared with what was paid for other
essential services, but the gains in commercial terms and job opportunities
were far greater than what it cost. · There was a need to strengthen the powers of the Committee of the Regions and the Leader and ... view the full minutes text for item 11. |
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AMENDMENTS TO MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT PDF 108 KB To submit
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Monitoring
Officer inviting the Council to adopt a series of amendments to some key
elements of the current Code of Conduct as a consequence of the introduction of
the Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2016 on
1 April 2016. RESOLVED to adopt the amendments to the Code of
Conduct for Members in accordance with the report. |
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(a) To submit the report of Councillor
Thomas G.Ellis, Chairman of the Democratic Services
Committee (attached). (b) To select a Chairman for 2016/17. Additional documents: Minutes: (a) Councillor Thomas G. Ellis, Chair of the
Democratic Services Committee, submitted the annual report, updating the
members on the support that was available, the developments that had been
realised and those which were ongoing. (b) It was reported that there was a need to
appoint a Chair for 2016/17. RESOLVED to elect Councillor Thomas G. Ellis as Chair
of the Democratic Services Committee for 2016/17. |
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To submit
the report of Councillor Thomas G. Ellis, Chairman of the Democratic Services
Committee (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the report of
Councillor Thomas G. Ellis, Chairman of the Democratic Services Committee, on
behalf of a sub-group of the Committee, recommending the way forward in respect
of elected members' salaries. Referring to the
recommendation to keep the level of salaries of Cabinet Members and Committee
Chairs on Level 1, an amendment was proposed and seconded to reduce the
salaries levels to Level 2, on the grounds that this would save approximately
£40,000 to be spent in other fields and showed the residents of the county that
the Council was willing to share the pain of the current period of austerity. Some members expressed their
objection to the amendment on the grounds that:- ·
Although there was always room to examine the salaries of all members, it
would be a mistake to separate the Cabinet Members' duties from the salary as
the duties would remain the same but the salaries would be reduced. ·
Cabinet Members had been appointed to the posts on a full-time basis and
some had given up other jobs or had had to make special arrangements to be able
to take on the role. ·
This was not the time to review salaries but rather at the beginning of
the Council's new term. ·
If there was a desire to re-visit salaries, then all members' salaries
should be examined and not Cabinet Members' salaries only. A vote was taken on the
amendment and it fell. Referring to the
recommendation not to pay the higher salary to the Chair of the Employment
Appeals Committee hereafter, the current Chair of the Employment Appeals
Committee (who would be standing down this month), expressed his objection to
the recommendation on the grounds that:- ·
The Committee acted on behalf of 6,000 - 7,000 Council employees and had
to make very difficult and emotional decisions e.g. dismissing staff. ·
The number of meetings had increased with the committee convening at
least once a month and sometimes twice a month. ·
The meetings were all-day meetings and one meeting had continued for two days
and another meeting had gone from 9.30am until 7.00pm. ·
The sub-group which had examined members' salaries had not discussed the
workload with him or with members of the Committee before forming their
recommendation. ·
If the Council was willing to refuse the recommendation, he was willing
to propose that the sub-group should undertake more research on the issue which
would include questioning the chairs and members of the Employment Appeals
Committee and the Pensions Committee regarding the workload. The amendment to retain the
current arrangements because of the workload of the Employment Appeals
Committee was proposed and seconded. During the discussion on the
amendment, it was noted:- ·
Additional work facing the Chair of the Pensions Committee could lead to
17 meetings a year, including an overnight stay on some occasions and it could
mean committing to at least 19 days in this respect. ·
Members of the Pensions Committee had to undertake continuous training
and assessments. · It was anticipated that the sub-group had examined in ... view the full minutes text for item 14. |
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THE COUNCIL'S POLITICAL BALANCE PDF 239 KB To submit
the report of the Council Leader
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the report of
the Leader detailing the annual review of the Council's political balance. It was explained that the
allocation of seats on committees (Appendix A of the report) was consistent
with what had been adopted on 3 March, 2016 and to approve the recommendation
because the regulations had not been fully implemented, the Council would have
to approve them without objection (as had been done in the past). RESOLVED (a) To
adopt the allocation of seats on the Council’s committees in accordance with
the table below – SCRUTINY COMMITTEES
OTHER COMMITTEES
(a) To delegate the power to the Head of Democratic Services to make
appointments to the committees on the basis of political balance and in accordance
with the wishes of the political groups. (b) To allocate the chairpersonships of scrutiny committees on the basis of
political balance as follows:- Corporate Scrutiny Committee – Llais
Gwynedd Communities Scrutiny Committee – Plaid Cymru Services Scrutiny Committee – Independent |
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NOTICES OF MOTION Additional documents: |
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Notice of Motion by Councillor Owain Williams In accordance
with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Owain
Williams will propose as follows:- “That
the Council asks Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet to consider reviewing its policy
regarding the allocation of contracts to food suppliers in our schools and the
priority it gives to small local companies. The
logic behind this is the fact that it alleges that it gives priority to small
local companies rather than large companies. This is crucially important as some companies
supply imported food, especially meat. The importance of being able to trace
the source of every type of meat cannot be over-emphasised, given the
difficulties and dangers for children and adults of eating contaminated meat
e.g. mad cow disease. Arguing that the
price of meat supplied by large companies is cheaper is futile and cynical;
what price the safety and health of our children?" Additional documents: Minutes: (a) Submitted - the following notice of motion by
Councillor Owain Williams, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution
and it was seconded. "That the Council asks Gwynedd Council's Cabinet to consider reviewing
its policy regarding the allocation of contracts to food suppliers in our
schools and the priority it gives to small local companies. The logic behind
this is the fact that they allege that they give priority to small local
companies rather than large companies. This is crucially important as some
companies supply imported food, especially meat. The importance of being able
to trace the source of every type of meat cannot be over-emphasised, given the
difficulties and dangers for children and adults of eating contaminated meat
e.g. mad cow disease. Arguing that the
price of meat supplied by large companies is cheaper is futile and cynical,
therefore what price is placed on the safety and health of our children." A member called on the proposer to delete the second
paragraph of his proposal, on the grounds that:- ·
Its content was
factually inaccurate as there was clear information about the source of all
meat on the labels these days. ·
Making an allegation
that it was possible for the Council to bypass all the strict regulations
regarding the sale of meat was completely unreasonable. The proposer noted that he
was unwilling to delete the second paragraph. An amendment was proposed
and seconded to delete the second paragraph and to amend the first paragraph as
follows:- "That the Council asks
Gwynedd Council's Cabinet to increase their efforts to keep the benefit local
and to collaborate with and empower small local companies to compete for
tenders." During the discussion on the
amendment, the Cabinet Member for the Economy noted:- ·
This was not a matter of choice, but a legal business process and
although it would have been an easy option for Gwynedd to purchase on a north
Wales level, the Council had succeeded in their business case to move away from
that as the arrangement did not suit the smaller scale businesses in the
county. ·
Furthermore, the county was divided into smaller sections to provide an
opportunity for businesses to tender and there had been sessions to meet the
buyer etc., to raise awareness and considerable work had been undertaken by
officers of this Council to empower the businesses. ·
It was not legally possible for the Council to include in a contract that
the company received the work because it was a local company but it was
possible to deviate from the arrangements by giving them favourable conditions.
·
The second paragraph of the original proposal was unjustified and raised
concerns amongst parents of children in the schools. ·
Although some small companies had lost contracts, there was a local
company in Gwynedd which had also been awarded the contract and this type of
statement in public documents by the Council was an insult to their
professionalism and their opportunity to grow within this county. Some points were raised by other members ... view the full minutes text for item 17. |
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Notice of Motion by Councillor Elwyn Edwards In accordance
with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Elwyn
Edwards will propose as follows:- “Following the Council’s
decision on 18/3/16 to
monitor and assess the
Welsh language situation (from 2011) in the context of the Joint Local Development Plan, that this Council
invites Anglesey Council to
participate fully in the work.” Additional documents: Minutes: (b) Submitted - the following notice of motion by
Councillor Elwyn Edwards, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution
and it was seconded:- "Following the
Council's decision on 18/3/16 to monitor and assess the Welsh language
situation (from 2011) in the context of the Local Development Plan, that this
Council invites Anglesey Council to participate fully in the work." A member noted – ·
It was important to note completely clearly that implementing the
decision of the extraordinary meeting of the Council was to endorse the Joint
Local Development Plan process and this did not mean interfering in the
statutory process or undermining it in any way. ·
Implementing the decision was not going against the legal position or the
Council's constitutional position or changed anything in terms of the position
of the statutory requirements. ·
Rather, implementing the decision would be an all-important and crucial
addition to the process by gathering key evidence that would be a means of
understanding what effect housing developments since 2011 (since the beginning
of the lifespan of the Plan), have had on the Welsh language. ·
Receiving this information was completely necessary as housing
developments since 2011 had not been monitored or reviewed. ·
That this decision had been made on 18 March and it was reasonable to
invite Anglesey Council to do the same. ·
He supported the plan and suggested that the work commenced now. The Cabinet Member for
Planning noted that the mechanism was already in place to implement what had
been requested and the work would commence fairly soon and, therefore, he
welcomed the proposal. RESOLVED following the Council's decision on 18/3/16
to monitor and assess the position of the Welsh language (from 2011) in the
context of the Joint Local Development Plan, that this Council invites Anglesey
Council to participate fully in the work." |