Venue: Siambr Dafydd Orwig, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors Aled Evans, R.Medwyn
Hughes, Sian Wyn Hughes, Judith Humphreys, Eryl Jones-Williams, Linda Morgan,
John Pughe Roberts, W.Gareth Roberts, Mair Rowlands,
Gareth Thomas, Hefin Underwood and Catrin Wager. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council
held on 3rd May, 2018 be signed as a true record (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the Council's Annual
Meeting held on 3 May, 2018 as a true record. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Dewi Wyn Roberts declared a personal interest in item 11 on
the agenda - Scrutiny Annual Report 2017/18, as he was the Vice-chair of the
Community Health Council and that the matter relating to health in the Blaenau Ffestiniog area had been discussed at that Council. The member was not of the
opinion that it was a prejudicial interest, and he did not withdraw from 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: The following were
congratulated:- ·
Gwenan
Ellis Jones, Gwynedd and Anglesey Welsh Language Charter Co-ordinator, for
winning the 'Inspirational use of the Welsh Language' category at the
Professional Teaching Awards Cymru recently. Gwenan
had won the award for her substantial contribution to formulating and
developing the Language Charter which had been launched in Gwynedd in
2011. ·
The
Derwen Youth Project, which offered various activities for young people with
disabilities in Gwynedd, for winning the 'Promoting equality and diversity'
award at the 2018 Youth Work Excellence Awards in Wales recently. |
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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 that 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 responses to the questions had been
distributed to the members in advance). (1) Question from Councillor Sion Jones "Has
the Planning Department got reserves when implementing a commuted sum for
developers?" Response from the Cabinet Member for
Planning, Councillor Dafydd Meurig "Briefly, these are contributions from
developers in relation to major developments where there is a contribution
towards local improvements. For example,
there is a £1.2m contribution from the Redrow company related to a large housing
estate in Bangor and most of this will go towards education in the city.
Therefore, to answer the question, I believe that approximately £1.95m of
contributions in total have been received in recent years, including the Redrow
money. Subsequently, some of the money
has not been spent yet, but this has been earmarked and it will be spent
appropriately and the entire system, of course, is managed by 106
agreements." A Supplementary
Question by Councillor Sion Jones "Does the Member agree with me that the Local Development Plan is an
opportunity to set more commuted sums on developments in order to give
something back to communities across Gwynedd?" Response from the
Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Dafydd Meurig "It is not possible to use these sums for anything except something
that is related to planning applications.That is their purpose and this is what
manages the system here and I'm sure that the planning system takes complete
advantage of this money within what is allowed." (2) Question from Councillor Cai Larsen "With the transfer of Gwynedd Leisure Centres to a Limited Company
in the Autumn, has there been any progress with the work of setting up the
Company?" Response from the Cabinet Member for Housing,
Leisure and Culture, Councillor Craig ab Iago "As you can see, everything has gone well,
therefore, it is very pleasing to stand before everyone today with a very
positive report.The company has been registered, a Shadow Board is in place and
is operational and we are currently undergoing the TUPE process with staff. Again, this consultation is very positive and
the union has been part of the process from the offset. They support it, the staff support it and
also all staff have been part of the process to design the business plans. We are learning a lot and their opinion will
be part of how the plan will be run. It
has been fantastic. The only thing I am
concerned about is the timescale, it is tight, there is a lot of work - I don't
think the staff will have summer holidays.
I'm very happy to answer questions, if you have any, after the
meeting." (3) Question from Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd "How much of
Gwynedd Council's resources, in officer time and cash, have been contributed
and will be contributed in the future towards establishing the North Wales
Growth Bid and its viability?" Response by the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig
Siencyn "Every council in north Wales has agreed to contribute £50,000 towards the work of setting ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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GWYNEDD CORPORATE PARENTING PANEL ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 PDF 177 KB To submit
the report of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the
annual report of the Corporate Parenting Panel 2017/18 by the Cabinet Member
for Children and Young People, which highlighted the role and responsibilities
of the Council to act as corporate parents for looked after children, shared
information about the panel's implementation over the past year and outlined
the panel's intentions for the future. He noted further that
it had been reported at the end of a full inspection of the Children's Service
by Care Inspectorate Wales in May this year that the Corporate Parenting Panel
was positive and developmental in nature, and that this, in turn, would ensure
that looked after children and young people in Gwynedd received suitable
support throughout their looked after period and beyond. The Cabinet Member
thanked panel members for their work and members of the Care Scrutiny Committee
for their interest and positive input to the department's work. In response to
questions from members, the Cabinet Member explained:- ·
Although the foster placement extension scheme "When I am Ready" had been targeted for
young people aged between 18 and 21, that the Council continued to be
responsible for young people until they were 25, but that support was optional
for them by then. ·
Information in the report had been presented in percentage form instead
of numbers so as to avoid individual cases being identified. It was emphasised
that the Council had a responsibility to assist these young people to achieve
their aspirations. |
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NORTH WALES GROWTH BID - GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS PDF 96 KB To submit
the report of the Leader (attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted - a report
by the Leader inviting the Council to approve the scrutiny arrangements for the
Growth Bid Joint Committee (“North Wales Economic Ambition Board”) to be
incorporated in the first stage Governance Agreement. At the beginning of
the discussion, the Leader and the Corporate Director were thanked for their
work in this field and for being a strong voice for Gwynedd. It was noted that this was the most important
scheme that would be submitted before this Council, and if successful, it would
create many jobs for young people in our areas.
Therefore, it was important that everyone supported this no matter what
the cost would be for this Council. On the contrary, serious reservations were
expressed about the scheme based on a number of financial and political
risks. The Westminster and Welsh
Governments were happy to bind north Wales with the North West of England
although it would be much more sensible and natural for Gwynedd to collaborate
with counties in west Wales, and counties such as Wrexham and Flintshire would
link with the Northern Powerhouse. There
was concern regarding impact on the rural economy and the fact that the scheme
would drown Gwynedd economically, culturally and linguistically. Also, there was substantial risk associated
with delegating the right for one person to lead the work in Gwynedd, no matter
who would hold the post in future. On
this basis, members were urged not to support the scheme. In response, the Leader noted that he refused
the ideology of withdrawing, building defences and refusing to do anything with
anyone else, and that Gwynedd had to be confident and willing to collaborate
with every northern county in order to thrive in the modern world. In response to
further observations and questions by the members, the Leader noted:- ·
He had reminded the Secretary of State of his recent failures to attract
investment to Wales and that the future of the Secretary of State depended on
the success of this scheme. ·
The question of business rates was not part of the matter in hand, but
that he was aware of the concerns and that the private sector was a central
part of all discussions. ·
He was very aware of the economic problems of rural areas and although
the Growth Bid could not be the answer to everything,he,
along with other leaders, would voice a strong opinion for projects that would
have an impact across the countryside. ·
The aim of the Growth Bid and this Council's strategy was to increase
the skills of Gwynedd residents rather than the money leaving the area to the
major companies. ·
Although there was no scheme involved directly with agriculture, the importance
of securing input from both agricultural unions to the project was recognised,
especially in view of Brexit implications. · Approving arrangements did not constitute signing any blank cheques. Although he understood that there was an element of cynicism regarding this scheme, in view of the failure of some schemes in the past, this did not ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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GWYNEDD COUNCIL ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT 2017/18 PDF 58 KB To submit
the report of the Leader (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - a report
by the Leader which recommended that the Council approved the annual
performance report as a balanced, fair and accurate reflection of the Council’s
performance during 2017/18, and to adopt the report. The Leader thanked the
officers that had been involved with the work. In
response to observations / questions by members, the Leader noted:- ·
He would ask the Cabinet Member for Education whether or not the
reduction from 64.4% in 2016/17 to 57.4% in 2017/18 in the percentage of 16
year old pupils who achieved the Core Subjects Indicator was a matter of
concern for the service. ·
The Cabinet Member for Housing, Leisure and Culture was working hard in
the leisure field to create a new arm's-length company and it was greatly hoped
that the new arrangements would give the service a new life and direction and
attract people back to the leisure centres. ·
He was not hopeful that
additional funding could be attracted from Welsh Government in recognition of
the extra value the innovative work
carried out by this Council's staff on the Welsh language, such as the Language
Charter, offered to people across Wales.
He added that it must also be acknowledged that other councils were
undertaking substantial work on the Welsh language and that this Council was
willing to offer a helping hand to anyone who wanted help to promote the Welsh
language. ·
It was recognised that recruiting home carers in the county's rural
areas was an increasing problem, and in the long-term, a career structure in
the care field must be created where the Council could be proud of the work
undertaken. He also referred to the
success of collaborating with the Health Service in the field of care for the
elderly, and noted that priority was given to the needs of the adult and what
they required to be able to continue to live independently. ·
Adopting this annual performance report was part of the work to promote
the good work undertaken by Council staff.
As well as publishing the report in its entirety on the Council website,
there was an intention to communicate messages from the report on digital
media. ·
He intended to have a conversation with the local member regarding a
concern expressed by him about a lack of funding to run the Talysarn
nursery school building. RESOLVED to approve the report as an
accurate, balanced and clear reflection of the Council's performance in
2017/18, and to adopt it. |
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SCRUTINY ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 PDF 758 KB To submit
the Scrutiny Annual Report 2017/18
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the
scrutiny annual report for 2017/18 by the Chair of the Scrutiny Forum,
Councillor Beth Lawton. She thanked the
scrutiny members who attended scrutiny committee meetings and noted that
attendance was very high. She apologised
that there were some minor errors in the report and noted that she would ask
officers to rectify those errors prior to publishing its final version. In response to
questions / observations by members, the Chair of the Scrutiny Forum noted:- ·
She was satisfied that scrutiny work was being heard and that the
Scrutiny Forum now had status , with the Chief Executive and key officers
attending the meetings. She added that
there was still room to improve scrutiny and that the situation would be
reviewed over the coming year in order to see how the system worked. ·
In the unavoidable absence of two scrutiny chairs from this meeting,
that the Scrutiny Forum's wish was for her to submit the annual report on
behalf of the four Chairs. ·
The Scrutiny Forum could investigate the observation made that the
workload of scrutiny committees merited a full day to be assigned for scrutiny
committee meetings. It was enquired who
would undertake the independent investigation on health provision in the
Blaenau Ffestiniog area, and when. In the absence of the Chair of the Care
Scrutiny Committee, the Vice-chair, Councillor Dewi Wyn Roberts (who was also
the Vice-chair of the Community Health Council) noted that his understanding
was:- ·
The Care Scrutiny Committee had invited the Community Health Council
(CHC) to hold an independent investigation into the health provision in the Blaenau
Ffestiniog area. ·
Although the CHC was fully supportive of the people who had raised this
matter, they did not have the resources to undertake this type of
investigation. Also, the purpose of the
CHC was to examine the matters of individuals, and this was something much
more. ·
Therefore, it appeared that this was a matter for Welsh Government to
decide who should undertake the investigation. During the ensuing
discussion, it was noted:- ·
The situation was shameful as reasonable people were awaiting a response
to their totally reasonable and democratic request, but nobody was taking any
notice of them. ·
The Care Scrutiny Committee needed to re-address the matter, with the
likely intention of referring the matter back to Welsh Government. The Chair of the
Scrutiny Forum was thanked for submitting the report on behalf of the scrutiny
chairs. |
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATUTORY DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES 2017/18 PDF 29 KB To submit
the report of the Statutory Director of Social Services (attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted - the
Statutory Director of Social Services submitted her annual report offering an
overview of the 2017/18 performance and evaluating how Gwynedd Council Social
Services had promoted the well-being of people in Gwynedd who needed care and
support, along with their carers. She noted that a
positive performance had been seen during the year, and this in the context of
higher demand and increasing complexity.
Very much had been achieved in the field during the year, and this, to a
degree, was a reflection of the good relationship the Council had with its key
partners within the field. She also noted that
the Children and Supporting Families Department had recently been the subject
of a full inspection of their services by Care Inspectorate Wales, and although
the official report had not yet been agreed and published, that verbal feedback
from the Chief Inspector at the end of the fieldwork had been very positive and
praised the work that was taking place within the Council. She took advantage of the opportunity to thank
all staff, internally and externally, for their tireless and committed work
once again this year. In particular, she
thanked Marian Parry Hughes (Head of Children and Families Department) and Aled
Davies (Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department) who had worked
closely with her in creating the annual report.
She also thanked members of the Care Scrutiny Committee for their work
and constructive observations and the Cabinet Members in the care field,
Councillors W.Gareth Roberts and Dilwyn Morgan for their support over the year. In response to
questions / observations by members, the Statutory Director of Social Services
noted:- ·
In terms of staff
morale, it was recognised that it was a challenging period for everyone, and
although some staff were more confident and found changes in the service easier
than others, that they welcomed the fact that managers now entrusted in them. She added that inspectors had noticed that
the Council had committed and confident staff and that morale seemed to be
high. Also, staff were staying in posts, liked to work through the medium of
Welsh and were experienced in their work. ·
The Regional Workforce Board was looking at what impact people returning
to Gwynedd from the continent would have on the service in light of Brexit, but
that there was no easy answer to this problem. ·
The excellent provision and support at the Respite Unit, Hafan y Sêr,
Penrhyndeudraeth was praised. |
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THE COUNCIL'S POLITICAL BALANCE PDF 73 KB To submit
the report of the Head of Democratic Services
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Head of
Democratic Services reported:- ·
After receiving a message on the morning of the meeting from Councillor
Sion Jones who had noted that he was withdrawing his request to join the
Independent Group, the 'Political Balance' report that had been included with
the meeting's agenda, needed to be amended. ·
In light of a discussion with the Monitoring Officer and the members in
question, and also of informing the Leaders of the Political Groups of this
latest development, the following recommendation had been submitted, in an
attempt to ensure a practical solution and to maintain a membership as full and
consistent as possible on Council committees:- (a) The Council was asked to: appoint Councillor Stephen Churchman to the individual
seats on the Communities Scrutiny Committee, the Planning Committee and the
Pensions Committee. (b) The Council was asked to appoint Councillor
Sion Jones on the Audit and Governance Committee and the Licensing Committee. RESOLVED (a) To appoint Councillor Stephen Churchman to the individual seats
on the Communities Scrutiny Committee, the Planning Committee and the Pensions
Committee. (b) To appoint Councillor Sion Jones on the Audit and Governance
Committee and the Licensing Committee. |
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RESPONSES TO PREVIOUS NOTICES OF MOTION Additional documents: |
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Response to Councillor Elin Walker Jones' previous Notice of Motion PDF 135 KB To submit,
for information, a letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Elin
Walker Jones’ notice of motion to the 8th March, 2018 meeting
regarding taxes on plastics in Wales
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted, for information:- A letter from Welsh Government, in response to
Councillor Elin Walker Jones's notice of motion to the meeting on 8 March 2018,
in relation to taxes on plastic. RESOLVED to note the contents of the letter. |
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Responses to Councillor Judith Humphreys' previous Notice of Motion PDF 675 KB To submit,
for information, letters from the UK and Welsh Governments in response to
Councillor Judith Humphreys’ notice of motion to the 3rd May, 2018
annual meeting regarding Associate EU Citizenship (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted, for information:- Letters from the Westminster
and Welsh Governments, in response to Councillor Judith Humphreys's
notice of motion to the annual meeting on 3 May, 2018, in relation to Associate
EU Citizenship. RESOLVED to note the contents of the letters. |