Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Councillors Endaf Cooke, Gweno Glyn, Aeron M. Jones, Dyfrig Wynn Jones, Linda A. W. Jones, June E. Marshall, Dewi Owen, Peter Read and Hefin Underwood.

 

 

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the annual meeting of the Council held on 12^th May, 2016 be signed as a true record. (attached)

The Chairman signed the minutes of the Council's annual meeting held on 12 May, 2016 as a true record.

 

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

 

No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present.

 

To receive any Chairman’s announcements.

 

 

Condolences

 

Condolences were expressed to the family of Jo Cox, MP, who was recently murdered in horrific circumstances in Yorkshire and Councillor Gwen Griffith paid tribute to her.

 

Condolences were extended to the family of the late Professor Gwyn Thomas, poet, scholar and literary critic.

 

It was noted that the Council wished to express condolences to everyone within the county’s communities who had lost loved ones recently.

 

The Council stood in silence as a mark of respect.

 

Congratulations

 

All of the children and young people from Gwynedd who had been competing at the Urdd Eisteddfod in Caerphilly were congratulated.

 

Elin Thomas, originally from Llannor, Pen Llŷn, was congratulated for representing Wales and singing the Welsh national anthem at the start of three recent international rugby matches between New Zealand and Wales, and she was wished every success for the future.

 

Other Matters

 

Local Government Reorganisation

 

It was reported that Mark Drakeford, Welsh Government's Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, had published a statement on 23 June which confirmed that:-

 

·         Local councillors elected in the May 2017 election would serve a five-year term (May 2017 to May 2022) and that this would coincide with the Welsh Government's electoral cycle, which was also now five years.

·         Electoral boundaries would not be reviewed prior to the election in May, which meant that 75 elected members would continue to serve on Gwynedd Council from May 2017 onwards.

 

More information regarding local government reorganisation would be available by the autumn term.

 

Plaque Unveiling

 

It was reported that everyone was welcome to attend a ceremony at Plas Llanwnda, Castle Street, Caernarfon at 11:45am on Friday, 1 July, to unveil a memorial plaque for Major Lionel Wilmot Brabazon Rees, who was the only person from Gwynedd to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War.

 

Commemoration of the Battle of Mametz Wood

 

To mark a century since the Battle of Mametz Wood, the First Battle of the Somme during the First World War, an invitation was extended to everyone to the Official Opening of the Great War's Memorial Garden at Caernarfon Castle at 12:00pm on Thursday, 7 July. It was noted that other activities would also be held as part of the Opening of the Memorial Garden with the North Wales Rugby Choir and the Band of the Royal Signals taking part.

 

Council at its Best Ceremony

 

It was noted:-

 

·         The Council at its Best Ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate all of the excellent work of the 7,000 staff members who work for Gwynedd Council to provide a range of services that make a difference to the county's residents, staff members who go beyond their job description to put the people of Gwynedd central to what they do.

·         The five awards presented during the Ceremony were related to the Council's values namely Value for Money, Positive, Working as a Team,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To receive any correspondence, communications or other business brought forward at the request of the Chairman.

 

None.

To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so they may be considered.

 

None.

To consider any questions the appropriate notice for which have been given under Section 4.19 of the Constitution.

 

(1)       Question from Councillor Sion Wyn Jones

 

"Is it possible for the Cabinet Member to make a statement regarding the lack of grass cutting in Gwynedd?"

 

Response from Councillor John Wynn Jones, Cabinet Member for the Environment

 

"The Member is aware of the very difficult financial situation facing the Authority and out of this Council's decision in its meeting on 3 March, 2016 to implement 49 cuts to services which included reducing the frequency of grass cutting in some locations.

 

As a consequence, we must, unfortunately, accept that this will lead to the deterioration in the appearance of some locations at certain times of the year and when there are variances to the growing season as evident this year.

 

The relevant Department is carefully monitoring the effect of implementing the changes and is also ensuring that locations where there are concerns regarding safety are given priority. The Department is also adapting its cutting programmes in order to mitigate the effect of this change. These adaptations to the cutting programmes will continue for what remains of the growing season and the year.  I would like to thank Grounds Maintenance staff for ensuring that the work is being carried out despite the changes."

 

A supplementary question from Councillor Sion Wyn Jones

 

"Is the Cabinet Member willing to consider placing the responsibility of grass cutting to community and town councils or having a new strategy in the department?"

 

Response from Councillor John Wynn Jones, Cabinet Member for the Environment

 

"Of course, Gwynedd Council is willing to work with community councils in every possible field, and this is one of those possible fields, but we must be careful not to hand it over without certainty from the community councils on some matters, e.g. with regards to public liability insurance and also that they will accept responsibility should an accident take place and personally I think this is something that they should seriously consider. I would be willing to discuss any solution that is better than what we currently do. I congratulate the department as it has been a very difficult growing season with such changeable weather and all of us have experienced that in our gardens in general and I believe that the department and employees who have been at the front line have undertaken amazing work in recent months."

 

(2)       Question from Councillor Aled Evans

 

"Will the Cabinet Member responsible for planning report on the steps taken to make sure that linguistic impact statements provided with planning applications under the LDP are impartial, so that an applicant does not provide such a statement as part of his submission for permission for any development".

 

Answer from Councillor Dafydd Meurig, Cabinet Member for Planning

 

(The Cabinet Member's written response was distributed to the members in advance).

 

"Currently, we are determining planning applications according to the current Local Development Plan and the question is involved with the Local Development Plan, which will hopefully be adopted by the Council in March next year. Therefore, what drives  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To submit the report of the Statutory Director and Corporate Director (attached).

 

Submitted – The Annual Report of the Statutory Director of Social Services for 2015/16.

 

In her presentation, the Director provided an overview of the performance of Gwynedd’s Social Services over the past year, highlighting those elements that had been successful, and also referring to some matters that needed to be addressed. She also provided a taste of the direction of Social Services for the future and outlined the priorities for the years to come.

 

She also took advantage of the opportunity to recognise the guidance and support of Cabinet Members in the care field, Councillors W. Gareth Roberts and Mair Rowlands. She thanked all staff, providers and partners for their commitment and hard work in ensuring that children, young people, vulnerable adults and their families receive the best possible services. She also thanked everyone who cared informally for a member of the family or a neighbour, noting that their contribution was invaluable.

 

Following the presentation, the Director responded to a series of questions / observations from members in relation to:-

 

·         Plans to address the shortage of severe dementia care nurses in South Meirionnydd.

·         The lack of services / problems with services in South Meirionnydd and how to address those problems in the current challenging financial climate.

·         Plans to ensure that the cohort of children who have very complex needs, but who do not receive a service from Derwen or the Council, received the appropriate support.

·         Disappointment that there was no reference in the report to Council arrangements to ensure that adults with autism received sufficient services. The Director noted that it would not be practical to include everything in the report, but that she would accept the observation for next year.

·         Importance of preventative work in the youth justice field and the need to express the Council's disappointment, through the Cabinet Member, in the statutory partnerships for reducing the funding available from them to maintain the service.

·         The number of children who had to go beyond Gwynedd to receive care. The Director noted that she was unsure of the exact figures, but she could share them with the member after the Council meeting.

·         The need for members who are school governors to address safeguarding at their governors meetings and the good work to raise the awareness of all Council staff about the safeguarding field and the need to continue to do so.

·         The time it takes to transform services.

·         Impact of challenges that faced the service on staff morale and turnover.

·         How to address the other wave of inward migration that would take place, should condition 50 of the Lisbon Treaty be realised as people returned home from the continent in order to continue to receive free medical treatment.

·         Recent news that people with mental illness who referred themselves for treatment at a local establishment were being turned away. The Director noted that she could not answer the specific observation but that she could discuss the matter with the Health Board should the member provide her with examples.

·         The Social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Annwen Hughes will propose as follows:-

 

“As Councillors, we are fully aware of the suffering forced upon many Gwynedd residents due to Westminster Government's funding cuts. We believe, however, that there is an alternative to this ideologically driven attack on public services that is having an adverse effect on local people. The alternative is a levy through a financial transaction tax on activities that has accelerated the wealth of recent greedy London bankers to the detriment of the larger population. I would urge Gwynedd Councillors to support my call on Westminster Government to actively utilise the financial transaction tax, Robin Hood Tax and use the funds to reverse ongoing reduction to the central grant supplied to local councils, including Gwynedd.”

 

In light of the current financial market and the result of the EU referendum, Councillor Annwen Hughes noted that she would withdraw her motion as there was a need for her to re-examine the matter.

 

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Mandy Williams Davies will propose as follows:-

 

“That Gwynedd Council calls on HSBC Bank to re-consider their decision to close their branches at Blaenau Ffestiniog, Barmouth and Tywyn and to express our concern regarding the negative effect on businesses and inhabitants in these key towns within the county.”

The following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Mandy Williams-Davies under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-

 

"That Gwynedd Council calls on HSBC Bank to re-consider their decision to close their branches at Blaenau Ffestiniog, Barmouth and Tywyn and to express our concern regarding the negative effect on businesses and inhabitants in these key towns within the county."

 

During the discussion, it was noted:-

 

·         Disappointment regarding the bank's lack of contact with the town about their intention.

·         That it was a cause for concern when services were starting to leave the county's main towns without a long-term plan.

·         Although people's banking methods were changing, that banks had a duty to the community and that they should think how they were going to maintain services and modernise, without disappearing entirely from the rural towns.

·         Banks listened to their shareholders instead of their customers.

·         Failure to bank money locally could lead to businesses having to close.

·         There was a need for the Council to contact HSBC to discuss with open minds and positive suggestions.

 

An amendment to the motion was proposed and seconded, namely that this Council would extend an invitation to HSBC bank to hold a discussion on the matter.

 

The proposer of the original motion agreed to amend the proposal on the lines noted with the consent of the Council and the seconder.

 

A vote was taken on the amended motion, and it was carried.

 

RESOLVED to accept the original motion, adjusted as follows:-

 

"That Gwynedd Council:-

(a)     Calls on HSBC Bank to re-consider their decision to close their branches at Blaenau Ffestiniog, Barmouth and Tywyn and to express our concern regarding the negative effect on businesses and inhabitants in these key towns within the county.

(b)     Extends an invitation to HSBC bank to hold a discussion on the matter.”