Venue: Siambr Dafydd Orwig, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors Louise Hughes, Anne Lloyd Jones, Eric
Merfyn Jones, Linda Ann Jones, Beth Lawton, Dewi Owen, Peter Read and Owain
Williams. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council
held on 14th December, 2017 be signed as a true record. (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting
of the Council held on 14 December 2017 as a true record. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: The Monitoring Officer declared a personal
interest in item 9, 'Annual Review - Council's Pay Policy 2018/19' on behalf of
the chief officers who were present as the report involved their salaries. He was of the opinion that it was a prejudicial
interest and, along with the Head of Finance Department and the Head of
Corporate Support, the Monitoring Officer left the meeting during the
discussion on the item. |
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THE CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS To receive any Chairman’s
announcements. Additional documents: Minutes: Condolences were extended
to Councillor Simon Glyn following the loss of his father. Condolences were also
expressed with the families of two staff members, namely: ·
Iwan
Huws from the Consultancy Department who had died recently following an
accident. ·
Daffni Eynon Williams from
the Children's Services Department who had died suddenly approximately a
fortnight ago. It was also noted that the Council wished to express
condolences to everyone in the county's communities who had lost loved-ones
recently. The Council stood as a mark
of respect. The following were congratulated: ·
Councillor Ioan Thomas on becoming a grandfather to a little girl. ·
Sue Owen, Lili Wen florist in Porthmadog, on winning the Welsh Weddings
Award Cymru competition for the best florist in North Wales. The members were thanked for
their flexibility as a result of having to change the arrangements of this
meeting of the Council at short notice and the Council staff who had gone the
extra mile to support the county's communities during the recent severe weather
were thanked. The members were thanked
for agreeing to have their photographs taken to celebrate the fact that today
was the International Women's Day.
Everyone was also encouraged to look on social media to see photographs
of many famous women from Gwynedd and to join in on the celebrations by
nominating more of them. Reference was made to the
'Dathlu ein Cymreictod' video which had been shown to the members before the
beginning of the meeting. It was
explained that the Education Department had commissioned the 'Cewri Cymru' work
to support the Secondary Language Charter to promote the sense of Welsh
identity. |
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PRESENTATION OF A PETITION To note
that a request to present a petition has been received from Councillor Cemlyn
Williams. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Cemlyn Williams
submitted a petition to the Chair on behalf of nearly 300 children and young
people of the Caernarfon area, calling on the Council to keep the Penrallt
Youth Club open. The Chair thanked the member
for the petition, noting that he would refer it to the relevant department. |
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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
to note. |
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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 to
note. |
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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: (The Cabinet Members' written response to the questions had been
distributed to the members in advance). (1) Question
by Councillor Nia Jeffreys "What steps does Gwynedd Council take to
enforce developers who own land or buildings in Gwynedd to look after their
sites and keep them tidy and safe?" Response from the Cabinet Member for the
Environment, Councillor Dafydd Meurig "The Council does have some equipment in
the toolkit for things like this but, obviously, if we're talking about private
land, this would be the owner's responsibility in the long run, but there are
some specific tools. There are public
protection powers in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 should anything pose
a hazard to health and to be able to do something about it, to enforce. Also, there are powers under Section 215 of
the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
There are enforcement powers if somewhere is very untidy, but I assume
that what's probably behind this is the fact that the Member has been concerned
about the untidiness of the Colosseum site in Porthmadog and I think, although
this is private land, there has been some movement there and things have now
been resolved." A supplementary
question by Councillor Nia Jeffreys. "What can the Council do about buildings,
e.g. the Old Mill building or the Seion Chapel building in my ward where local
people are concerned about the public's safety as these buildings attract
children and young people into them, and also is there something pro-active
that the Council can do with the site, e.g. Tŷ Moelwyn in Porthmadog, to
prevent the building from deteriorating to such a state in the first instance,
once the Revenue and Customs staff have vacated the building?" Response from the
Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Dafydd Meurig "In terms of safety, ensuring the site's
safety is a specific matter for the landowner. The Council can use the
discretion of these powers to go after the owner if required, but I think, with
many similar matters, it is a matter of contacting the department and I to go
after things like this if they arise, but we will definitely do so if there's a
problem." (2) Question from Councillor Sion Jones "What's the Cabinet Member's opinion on the future of our County's
community and town councils?" Response from the Leader of the Council,
Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn "I'm not sure
how much my opinion matters, and I've had an opinion for many years as a member
of the Dolgellau Town Council. The answer is there and is legible. There were
talks at one point that the Government in Cardiff would place the
responsibility of reorganising community councils in the hands of county
councils and when I heard this, I was shocked, because I wouldn't wish for the
Council to have that responsibility, but then again there is an argument for
doing so." A supplementary question by Councillor Sion
Jones "Is it time for us as Gwynedd Council to ask for a radical change ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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ANNUAL REVIEW - COUNCIL'S PAY POLICY 2018/19 PDF 218 KB To submit
the report of the Deputy Leader (attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: The Deputy Leader submitted
a report recommending that the Council approved the Pay Policy Statement for
2018/19. During the discussion, responses were given to
questions from members in relation to the Council's attainment in terms of the
commitment to pay the living wage to its staff and the logic behind this
amendment to the policy for claiming travelling expenses for Officers. Also, in response to an inquiry, it was
confirmed that the amendments to the travelling expenses policy would not
affect home carers. RESOLVED to approve the
recommendation of the Chief Officer Appointment Committee to adopt the draft
Pay Policy Statement for 2018/19 in Appendix 1 of the report. |
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2018/19 BUDGET AND 2018/19 - 2020/21 FINANCIAL STRATEGY PDF 138 KB To submit
the report of the Cabinet Member for Finance
(attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: The Cabinet Member for
Finance submitted: ·
A report recommending a budget for the Council's approval for 2018/19 ·
A medium term plan to cope with the financial deficit 2018/19 - 2020/21. ·
The draft decision on the Council Tax based on the Cabinet's
recommendation to the Council (based on an increase of 4.8%), along with tables
showing the Council Tax level and the increase per community. He thanked all the staff of the Finance Department,
under the leadership of the Head of Finance Department, for their thorough work
throughout the year in preparing and leading the Council towards establishing a
balanced budget. During the discussion the following matters were
raised: ·
Concern about the under-funding as a result of the Barnett Formula and
the need to increase the pressure being but on Welsh Government o have a better financial settlement for Gwynedd. It was noted that the current situation was
unsustainable and it was suggested that this Council should send a letter to
Welsh Government to call for a review of the tax system in its entirety. It was
also suggested that, in addition to the continuous lobbying by the Leader,
Cabinet Members, the Chief Executive and the Head of Finance Department, it
would be beneficial to send a delegation of councillors down to Cardiff to meet
the Minister. All members were also encouraged to apply pressure on their
Assembly Members. ·
The fact that an increase of only 0.6% in the Government Grant had been
received for 2018/19, although Welsh Government had received a 2.6% grant
increase by Westminster Government, and the need to make it clear to the
taxpayers that the Council would not have to increase the Council Tax if it had
received a sufficient grant from Welsh Government. ·
Concern about the Government's method of funding education by giving with
one hand and taking away with the other, and the lack of consistency between
the Minister's messages and what was happening on the ground. ·
The need to put all Gwynedd residents at the centre of every Council
service despite the difficult climate. ·
Concern that people
found it increasingly difficult to pay the Council Tax and reference was made
specifically to the people who were slightly above the threshold to claim
Council Tax Support. ·
Concern that more and more holiday home owners would transfer to business
rates in order to avoid the Council Tax Premium on their houses. ·
Concern about the impact of the Council Tax Premium on people who were
attempting to sell houses inherited by them as a result of a family member's
death. ·
A revenue bid to appoint two additional Council Tax inspectors - it was
confirmed that the Head of Finance Department would not receive any additional
funding for the responsibility of this new task, but that the taxation officer
who would be undertaking additional supervision duties would receive a very small
increase to reflect this. · The need for the Council to look at alternatives ways to increase income, e.g. by charging a fee for services on caravan ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |
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To submit
the report of the Cabinet Member for Finance
(attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member
for Finance requesting that the Council adopted the proposed strategy. Referring to the fact that this Council gave
loans to local authorities in England, it was asked whether there was a risk that
some of those councils could become bankrupt.
In response, the Head of Finance Department explained that these
councils were credit-rated and that the risk had been spread widely. Also, the loans were temporary and it was
'nigh impossible' for a council to become bankrupt because it could charge more
tax. RESOLVED to adopt the
Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for
2018/19 (Appendix A of the report), the Prudential Indicators (Appendix B), the
Minimum Revenue Provision Statement (Appendix C) and the merger arrangements
with the Pension Fund for the investment of daily cash flow. |
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GWYNEDD COUNCIL PLAN 2018/23 PDF 124 KB To submit
the report of the Council Leader
(attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted - the Leader's report inviting the Council
to adopt the Gwynedd Council Plan 2017/23. The officers were thanked for all their work in
preparing the report. An apology was expressed
that the Corporate Support Department's plan had been left out of the
Department's Plan due to an oversight. The members had received a separate copy
and the document would be incorporated in the final version of the Council Plan
that would be published. Some minor editorial errors would also need to be
amended, in addition to adding a paragraph stating that all matters in the plan
complied with the Council's Financial Strategy, although it could be impossible
to realise all priorities due to the financial context. During the discussion the
following matters were raised: ·
It was noted that parents had received a text message from a primary
school Headteacher after 9am on two occasions
recently, saying that the school was closing as they had no gas, and asking
them to return to fetch their children. It was asked why the parents were not
being informed of situations like this earlier, as the school knew about the
gas problem before 9am. The Leader responded that this was a matter for the
Governors. ·
It was asked whether
the Derwen Team had plans to extend their criteria to ensure that every child
with disabilities in Gwynedd could take advantage of the specialist service
that they were offering. The Leader noted that he would forward the question to
the Team and the member would receive the answer directly. ·
It was asked how much
pressure the Council was putting on ensuring an adequate supply of rented
housing. The Leader responded that the housing matter was a fundamental
priority for him and that discussions had already taken place with housing
associations to move this on further. In identifying where there was a need and
what the need was, it would be possible to research how the Council could
assist the housing associations and he was eager to see buildings up and
let. ·
In response to an enquiry, the Leader noted that this plan was not only a
wish list, and that there were many more details available on the individual
plans than what was included in the document. It was an action plan and there
was development on details. It would be
developed regularly and would possibly change direction. ·
It was asked whether the Planning Department had been contacted regarding
Improvement Priority 4 - Ensure a greater supply of suitable housing available
to our residents. The Leader responded that the planning policy had been
discussed as a completely separate matter. Planning matters impacted matters
such as these, but the Council had no choice but to act within its policies.
The planning question had arisen in the discussions on economic growth and
planning touched upon everything. If the Council's planning policies were too
stringent, there was room to also review this and the Joint Planning Policy
Committee could look at them. · Concern was expressed that local ... view the full minutes text for item 12. |
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REVIEW OF GWYNEDD COUNCIL'S ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS PDF 79 KB To submit
the report of the Deputy Leader (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Leader presented a report inviting the Council to respond to
the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission's draft proposals for the review on
electoral arrangements for Gwynedd Council. During the discussion, the following
observations were noted: ·
That the Commission's draft proposals went against the recommendations of
this Council and the community councils. ·
Concern about combining some wards - the Chief Executive confirmed that
he would present a strong argument to the Commission against two member
constituencies. ·
Concern that the timetable for a response to the Commission's draft
proposals was very tight. ·
Lack of clarity about what had been agreed about the Abersoch
Ward and some other wards and, in light of this, it was suggested to refuse the
Commission's report in its entirety. The Chief Exectuvie
responded that refusing the report was not an option, and the only other choice
was to confirm the original proposals presented before the Commission in June
2017. However, the recommendation to
hold discussions with the local members in the places where the local members
considered that it would be prudential to propose an alternative option, would
give members in these areas a better outcome. ·
Concern that including Llanfrothen within the Tremadog Ward would mean that the new ward would include
parts of four different communities and would bridge the Dwyfor
and Meirionnydd areas. ·
Some of the Commission's proposals did not take the natural boundary
between wards into consideration. ·
That the Commission's proposal to keep the Dyffryn
Ardudwy Ward as it was and to combine the Llanbedr
and Harlech Wards was better than what had been
originally put forward by the Council, which was to combine Dyffryn
Ardudwy with Llanbedr. The Chief Executive responded
that if the members felt that some of the Commission's proposals were better
than what the Council had presented, that the Council's proposals could not be
pushed so strongly, but that the discussion needed to be had. RESOLVED (a) That
the Council agrees to respond by re-stating the Council's proposals and
pressing on the Commission to accept what was in our original proposals, but
authorising the Chief Executive to hold discussions with local members in the
places where the local members consider it would be prudential to offer an
alternative option, and to authorise the Cabinet to include this alternative
option in the formal response if all local members are unanimous in their
opinion. (b) That
the Council authorises the Cabinet to suggest different names for wards to what
is in the Commission's proposals, if there is a local desire to do so. |
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COMMITTEES CALENDAR 2018/19 PDF 298 KB To submit
the report of the Deputy Leader
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader submitted
the calendar of dates of Council meetings for 2018/19. RESOLVED to adopt the Committees Calendar for 2018/19. |
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NOTICES OF MOTION Additional documents: |
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Notice of Motion by Councillor Elin Walker Jones In
accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the
Constitution, Councillor Elin Walker Jones will propose as follows:- “This Council notes that: ·
Plastics pollution is a huge
environmental problem that is endangering marine life. ·
12.7 million tonnes of plastic end
up in our oceans each year. This is the
equivalent of a truck load of rubbish a minute. ·
Plastic debris causes the deaths of
more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine
mammals, according to UNESCO. ·
Plastic waste is a blight on Wales’s
beautiful landscape, beaches and seas. The Council further notes that: ·
Wales’s pioneering implementation of
a charge on single use carrier bags (SUCBs) led to a decline of 71% in the use
of SUCBs within the first three years of the scheme. ·
International environmental
organisations such as Greenpeace have recently called on the Welsh Government
to take steps to charge a levy on plastic waste such as coffee cups, which
cannot be recycled. ·
The National Assembly for Wales has
recently voted in favour of a Plaid Cymru amendment
to back plans for a levy on single use plastics in Wales. This Council calls on the Welsh Government: To act as a matter of urgency to implement a
levy on single-use plastics in Wales as well as considering to raise a levy on
all plastics to help ensure that Welsh seas are clean, healthy, safe,
productive and biologically diverse.” Additional documents: Minutes: The following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Elin Walker
Jones, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution and it was seconded. "This Council
notes that: ·
Plastic pollution is an enormous
environmental problem which endangers marine life. ·
12.7 million tonnes of plastic goes
into our seas each year. This equates to a truck full of waste every minute. ·
Pieces of plastic cause the death of
a million sea birds and 100,000 aquatic mammals, according to UNESCO. ·
Plastic waste is a plague on the
beautiful landscape, beaches and seas of Wales. The Council further notes that: ·
Wales' innovative action to charge a
fee on single-use bags has led to a 71% reduction in the use of single-use bags
within the first three years of the scheme. ·
International environmental
organisations such as Greenpeace had recently called on Welsh Government to
take steps to charge a toll on plastic waste such as coffee cups that cannot be
recycled. ·
The Assembly has recently voted in
favour of Plaid Cymru's amendment to support schemes
to charge a toll on single-use plastics in Wales. The Council calls on Welsh Government: To take urgent action to implement a
toll on single-use plastics in Wales and also to consider charging a toll on
all plastics to ensure that the seas of Wales are healthy, safe, productive and
biodiverse." Strong support was expressed to the proposal from many members, and it
was proposed to add the following wording to the original proposal: "That we carry
out an investigation into Gwynedd Council's use of single-use plastic in order
to assess how and where we can reduce this use with the aim of becoming a
plastic free council." The proposer of the
original proposal agreed to amend the proposal on these grounds with the
Council’s consent. Keep Wales Tidy was
thanked for organising a session to tidy up the Hell's Mouth Beach recently. RESOLVED This Council notes that: ·
Plastic pollution is an enormous
environmental problem which endangers marine life. ·
12.7 million tonnes of plastic goes
into our seas each year. This equates to
a truck full of waste every minute. ·
Pieces of plastic cause the death of
a million sea birds and 100,000 aquatic mammals, according to UNESCO. ·
Plastic waste is a plague on the
beautiful landscape, beaches and seas of Wales. The Council further notes that: ·
Wales' innovative action to charge a
fee on single-use bags has led to a 71% reduction in the use of single-use bags
within the first three years of the scheme. ·
International environmental
organisations such as Greenpeace had recently called on Welsh Government to
take steps to charge a toll on plastic waste such as coffee cups that cannot be
recycled. ·
The Assembly has recently voted in
favour of Plaid Cymru's amendment to support schemes
to charge a toll on single-use plastics in Wales. This Council calls on Welsh Government: To take urgent action to implement a toll on single-use plastics in Wales and also to consider charging a toll on all plastics ... view the full minutes text for item 16. |
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RESPONSES TO PREVIOUS NOTICES OF MOTION Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted, for information: (a) A letter from the
Foreign Office and the Commonwealth, in response to Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn's notice of motion to the meeting on 14 December
2017, in relation to the situation in Catalonia. (b) A letter from
Welsh Government, in response to Councillor Owain Williams's notice of motion
to the meeting on 14 December 2017, in relation to Welsh history education. (c) A letter from
Welsh Government, in response to Councillor Craig ab Iago’s notice of motion to
the meeting on 14 December 2017, in relation to Universal Credit. RESOLVED to note the contents of the letters. |
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Response to Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn's Notice of Motion to the previous meeting PDF 253 KB To submit,
for information, a letter from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in response
to Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn’s notice of motion to
the 14th December, 2017 meeting regarding the situation in
Catalonia (attached). Additional documents: |
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Response to Councillor Owain Williams' Notice of Motion to the previous meeting PDF 285 KB To submit,
for information, a letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor
Owain Williams’ notice of motion to the 14th December, 2017 meeting
regarding the teaching of Welsh history
(attached). Additional documents: |
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Response to Councillor Craig ab Iago's Notice of Motion to the previous meeting PDF 247 KB To submit, for
information, a letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Craig
ab Iago’s notice of motion to the 14th December, 2017 meeting
regarding Universal Credit (attached). Additional documents: |
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Additional documents: |