Venue: Siambr Dafydd Orwig - Council Offices
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
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CHAIRMAN Elect a Chairman for 2015/16. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Dilwyn Morgan was
elected chairman for 2015/16. Councillor Dilwyn Morgan signed
the declaration accepting the post of the Chairman of Gwynedd Council for
2015/16. |
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VICE-CHAIRMAN Elect a Vice-chairman for 2015/16. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Eric
Merfyn Jones was elected as Vice-chairman for 2015/2016. Councillor Eric
Merfyn Jones signed a declaration accepting the post of the Vice-chairman of
Gwynedd Council for 2015/2016. |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors: Eddie Dogan, Gwynfor Edwards, Gweno Glyn, Simon Glyn, Linda Wyn Jones, Llywarch Bowen Jones, Dilwyn Lloyd, Linda Morgan, Peter Read, Gareth Thomas, Gethin Glyn Williams, Gruffydd Williams and Eurig Wyn. |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the last meeting of the
Council held on 5 March, 2015 be signed as a true record. (attached) Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes
of the previous meeting of the Council, held on 5 March, 2015 as a true record. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: ·
Councillor Aeron M. Jones declared a personal interest
in item 13(a) on the agenda - Notice of Motion from Councillor Sian Gwenllian -
because he had offered office space to Trinity Mirror. ·
Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams declared a
personal interest in item 13(a) on the agenda - Notice of Motion from Councillor
Sian Gwenllian - because he worked as a journalist. The members were of the opinion that
they were prejudicial interests, and they withdrew 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: (1) Welcome Councillor Glyn
Thomas, the new member for Cadnant Ward, was welcomed
to his first meeting of the Council. (2) Congratulations The following
were congratulated:- ·
Councillor Liz Saville Roberts and Hywel Williams on
being elected as Members of Parliament. As this was her
last meeting as a member of this Council, Councillor Liz Saville Roberts gave a
short speech and she noted that it had been an honour to be a member of Gwynedd
Council over a number of years and that she had learned much from the
experience. ·
Elfyn Evans from Dinas Mawddwy who came third in
the world rallying championships in Argentina and who was currently fourth in
the championship. It was noted that this was the first time a Welshman had
achieved such a standard. ·
The 9bach Folk Group on their recent success in being
awarded the album of the year with the Tincian album in Radio 2’s Folk Awards in the Millennium
Stadium. ·
Bala Football Club
on reaching the Europa Cup competition for the second season in succession. (3) Condolences Condolences
were expressed to Councillor Glyn Thomas following the loss of his mother. It was also
noted that the Council wished to remember others in the county’s communities
who had lost loved ones recently. The Council
members stood as a mark of respect. (4) Best Wishes Best wishes were
extended to Councillor Eddie Dogan and Linda Morgan who were currently
receiving treatment. (5) General Attention was
drawn to a letter sent to members regarding the series of members’ scrutiny workshops
on the cuts and everyone was encouraged to attend these all important
sessions. It was noted
that Councillor Aeron M. Jones was looking for 12 councillors or staff members
to run or walk for a period of two hours on the Treborth
fields, Bangor in June to raise money towards the Macmillan Nurses Appeal in
Gwynedd. Members were
reminded that 2016 would be the hundredth anniversary of the Easter Rising in
Ireland. It was noted that events would be held around June next year to
celebrate the time when the prisoners arrived in the prison-camp in Frongoch, Bala and it was
emphasised that it was timely to contact the Irish Government to promote
tourism in the area. |
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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: |
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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: |
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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: |
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AMENDING THE OFFICERS' SCHEME OF DELEGATION PDF 341 KB To submit the report of the Council Leader (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader
submitted a report on the need to adapt the Officers' Delegated Rights Scheme
following the restructuring of the Human Resources Department and the Strategic
and Improvement Department to form the Corporate Support Department. RESOLVED to accept the report to amend the
Officers’ Delegated Rights Scheme in accordance with Appendix 1 of the report
and to delegate the right to the Head of Legal Services to make editorial
amendments to the Constitution arising from the changes. |
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THE COUNCIL'S POLITICAL BALANCE PDF 232 KB To submit the report of the Council Leader (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader
submitted a report reviewing the political balance of the Council and adding
that this matter would also be before the next meeting of the Council as a
result of developments that morning. RESOLVED to adopt seat allocation on the
Council’s committees in accordance with the table below:- SCRUTINY COMMITTEES
OTHER COMMITTEES
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(a) To
consider the report of Councillor Lesley Day, Chairman of the Democratic
Services Committee for 2014/15
(attached). (b) To
select a Chairman for 2015/16. Additional documents: Minutes: (a) The Chair of the Democratic Services Committee, Councillor
Lesley Day, submitted the annual report,
updating the members on the support that was available, the developments that
had been realised and those which were ongoing. On a point of
accuracy, it was noted that there was a need to include Councillor Beth Lawton,
Mental Health Champion, in the English version of the list of champions
(paragraph 2 of the report). Councillor
Lesley Day was thanked for her work in progressing this agenda. During the
discussion:- ·
Disappointment was expressed that the report of the Scrutiny
Investigation From Hospital to Home (part 2) had not been published although it
had been submitted in December last year. Members of the investigation had
worked very hard and the report, which was critical of the Health Service and
the Social Services Department, had since been diluted. ·
It was noted that the personal development interviews
had been very useful and other members were encouraged to take advantage of
this opportunity. (b) It was reported that there
was a need to appoint a Chairman for 2015/16. RESOLVED to elect Councillor Thomas Ellis
as Chairman of the Democratic Services Committee for 2015/16. |
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(a) In
accordance with the Notice of Motion received under the Procedural Rules,
Councillor Sian Gwenllian will propose as follows:- “I call on the council to express disappointment regarding
the decision of Trinity Mirror, newspaper publishers, to close the Herald
office in Caernarfon, putting an end to a presence in the town which expands
over 180 years, and to show full support to the journalists and the other staff
members who will be affected. This
is the office of the Daily Post, the Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, the
Holyhead and Anglesey Mail, the Bangor and Anglesey Mail and Yr Herald Gymraeg. Caernarfon
is a traditional home for the press and is an important municipal, cultural and
historical centre. Caernarfon is home to a crown court, a county
court and a magistrates' court, as well as the north-west Wales coroner and
Gwynedd Council headquarters. I also call on the Council
to do everything in its power to ensure the continuation of the presence of
Trinity Mirror staff in an office in Caernarfon.
Reporters work in the communities they serve, from a local news room, creating
good journalism - a vital element of local democracy and a valuable source of
information for residents from Gwynedd and beyond. I worry that closing
the existing office would represent a further decrease in Trinity Mirror's
commitment to local journalism in the region, and that it would pave the way
towards closing down newspapers that we value and are at the heart of the
community.” (b) To submit, for information, a letter from the
Treasury in response to Councillor Sian Gwenllian’s
notice of motion to the December meeting regarding tax avoidance (attached). (c) To
submit, for information, a letter from the First Minister for Wales in response
to Councillor R.H.Wyn Williams’ notice of motion to
the last meeting regarding Trident
(attached). (ch) To submit, for information, a letter from the
Welsh Government in response to Councillor Craig ab Iago’s notice of motion to
the last meeting regarding the Traws
Link Cymru campaign to reopen the railway line
between North and South Wales
(attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: (a) The following notice of
motion was submitted by Councillor Sian Gwenllian, in accordance with the
Procedural Rules, and it was seconded. “I call on the council to express disappointment
regarding the decision of Trinity Mirror, newspaper publishers, to close the
Herald office in Caernarfon, putting an end to a presence in the town which
extends over 180 years, and to show full support to the journalists and the
other staff members who will be affected. This
is the office of the Daily Post, the Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, the
Holyhead and Anglesey Mail, the Bangor and Anglesey Mail and Yr Herald Gymraeg. Caernarfon
is the traditional home for the press and it is an important municipal,
cultural and historical centre. Caernarfon is home to the crown court, the
county court and the magistrates' court, as well as the north-west Wales
coroner and Gwynedd Council headquarters. I
also call on the Council to do everything in its power to ensure the
continuation of the presence of Trinity Mirror staff in an office in
Caernarfon. Reporters work in the communities they
serve, from a local news room, creating good journalism - a vital element of
local democracy and a valuable source of information for residents of Gwynedd
and beyond. I worry that closing
the existing office would represent a further decrease in Trinity Mirror's
commitment to local journalism in the region, and that it would pave the way
towards closing down newspapers that we value and are at the heart of the
community. The proposal was supported unanimously. RESOLVED to accept the motion. (b) Submitted, for
information, a letter from the Treasury, in response to Councillor Sian Gwenllian’s notice of motion to the December meeting
regarding tax avoidance. RESOLVED to note the letter. (c) Submitted, for
information, a letter from the First Minister of Wales, in response to
Councillor R.H.Wyn Williams’s notice of motion to the
previous meeting regarding Trident. RESOLVED to note the letter. (ch) Submitted,
for information, a letter from the Welsh Government, in response to Councillor
Craig ab Iago’s notice of motion regarding Traws Link
Cymru to re-open the railway between north and south
Wales. RESOLVED to note the letter. |