Venue: Siambr Dafydd Orwig, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH. View directions
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors Stephen Churchman, Lesley Day, Gweno Glyn, Louise
Hughes, Anne Lloyd Jones, Brian Jones, Eric Merfyn Jones, Beth Lawton, June E.
Marshall, Dafydd Meurig, Linda Morgan, W. Roy Owen, Nigel Pickavance, Peter
Read and Mike Stevens. |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council held on 9 July, 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 9 July
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 Jones declared a personal
interest in item 12 on the agenda - Urgent Decision Notice by a Cabinet Member - as he
was the manager of a company
in Caernarfon that could benefit from
the proposal in question. The member was of the opinion that it
was a prejudicial interest and he withdrew
from the meeting during the discussion on the item. The following members declared a personal interest in item 13(B) on
the agenda – Notice of Motion
from Councillor Ioan
Thomas, for the reasons noted:- ·
Councillor W. Tudor Owen – as he was the Chairman of
the Gisda Board. ·
Councillor Siân Gwenllian – as she
was a member of the Gisda Management Board. ·
Councillor Gwen Griffith – as she was
the Chair of Mantell Gwynedd. ·
Councillor Linda Wyn Jones – as she
was a member of the Seren company. The
members were of the opinion that they
were prejudicial interests, and they withdrew from
the meeting during the discussions on those items. |
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THE CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS To receive any Chairman’s announcements. Additional documents: Minutes: (1) Condolences Reference was made to the sudden death of Councillor Bob Wright who had represented the Pwllheli (South) Ward on
this Council since 2008, and previously the Dwyfor District Council for many
years prior to the re-organisation
of local government in 1996. The Chairman read out a tribute
to him which had been prepared by
Councillor Peter Read, and condolences were extended to the family in their loss. Condolences were also
extended to the family of
20 year old Robin Llyr
Evans from Llanbedrog who
had died following a horrific accident in China. It was noted that the Council also wished to express condolences to everyone within the county’s communities who had lost loved
ones recently. The Council stood as a mark of
respect. (2) Speedy Recovery A
speedy recovery was wished to Councillor Linda Morgan
who was currently receiving treatment and also to Councillors
Peter Read and Louise Hughes following
recent ill-health. (3) Best Wishes Best wishes were
extended to former councillors Eddie Dogan and
Llywarch Bowen Jones who had had
to give up their work as
councillors due to ill-health. Eddie
Dogan had served local government for over forty years
starting with the former Gwyrfai Council and he then
had become a member of the
Arfon Borough Council before being elected
to represent the Dewi Ward on
this Council in 1996. He had also been a member of Bangor City Council for 43 years. Llywarch Bowen Jones
had been elected to represent the Llanaelhaearn Ward in 2012 and he had also
been a valuable member of this Council. It was noted that
they would be sorely missed and
that the Council would send its
best wishes, along with its
gratitude, to both. It was noted that
plans were in place to hold
the Dewi and Llanaelhaearn by-elections
on 19 November and the Pwllheli (South) by-election
on 26 November. Councillor Roy Owen and his family were also
wished well following recent events and
it was also noted that everyone’s
thoughts were with Councillor Eric Merfyn Jones
and his family. (4) Welcome Councillor Sian Hughes, the new member for the Morfa Nefyn Ward,
was welcomed to her first meeting of the Council. (5) Congratulations Elfyn
Evans was congratulated on securing the best ever result for
a Welshman in the World Rallying Championship. Elfyn Evans managed
to be the runner-up in the Tour de Corse, namely the French round of the FIA World Rally Championship this year and
he was wished every success in
the Wales Rally GB on 12-15
November. The National Team was congratulated for doing so well in the Rugby World Cup competition and they were wished well in their match against Australia the following Saturday. The National Football Team was also wished well in the Euro 2016 qualifying rounds in a key match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on the following Saturday night and it was noted that the Council took ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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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: Minutes: Question from Councillor Sion Jones “What is the Leader’s view on
wasting public money on external
consultants?” Answer from Councillor
Dyfed Edwards, Council Leader (The Leader’s written response had been circulated to members in advance.) “It is likely
that all of us in the Chamber can state that we are
not keen to see public money being
wasted in any situation. I believe that all of us have work
to do to ensure that any public expenditure
is undertaken in the most appropriate and efficient manner. As the answer outlines,
there is always a need to enquire about and scrutinise
the Council’s expenditure and indeed that
is the work of the scrutiny
committees and the Audit Committee and the Audit Committee
has decided to undertake a piece of work to examine expenditure on external consultants and that report
will be available for members in
due course. I do not anticipate what the outcome of that work will be but
I have said that there is a need for us
to commission work from external bodies and external agencies
to assist us in the process. The examples I think about are those
where the Council seeks to create change. Clearly, we must have an
independent person to be involved
in that work
and we should not support both sides
of the argument at the same
time. That is not possible. The presence of independent people in the situation is required to ensure fairness for everyone
and of course expenditure is associated with that. Let us see what
results are achieved by the working group that
is looking at this.” A supplementary question by Councillor Sion Jones “The Leader states in his written
response that if the specialist skills or necessary
capacity is not available within the Council, that we will be using external consultants. I think that that
is quite insulting. We have 7000 members of staff working for Gwynedd Council and I believe
that there are fantastic skills
in this Council
to deal with the work that is required
by these external consultants. Is the Leader willing to apologise for wasting
public money?” Answer from Councillor
Dyfed Edwards, Council Leader “It is not insulting to recognise that we do not always have all the skills. Is this not the reality of the situation? We are not all experts on everything. There are situations where we require specialist support and advice. In that situation, is not ensuring that we receive the appropriate and suitable advice the responsible thing to do? Indeed, unless we do that, we could be challenged. The Wales Audit Office would be after us and there would be situations where we could be challenged. There is also a bit of reality involved, i.e. as we reduce the workforce, we do not have the capacity to do everything. That is impossible. There are ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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GWYNEDD COUNCIL PERFORMANCE REPORT 2014/15 PDF 46 KB To submit the report of the Deputy Leader (attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: The Leader submitted a report which recommended that the Council approved the document as a balanced, fair and accurate
reflection of the Council’s
performance during 2014/15,
and to adopt the report. The Leader thanked the officers who had been involved
with the work. RESOLVED
to approve the report as a balanced, fair and accurate
reflection of the Council’s
performance in 2014/15, and to adopt the report. |
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GWYNEDD COUNCIL OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY ANNUAL REPORT 2014-15 PDF 323 KB To submit:- (a) The
Annual Reports of the three Scrutiny Committees for 2014/15 (attached). (b) The
Work Programme for the three Scrutiny Committees for 2015/16 (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The annual reports of the three scrutiny committees for 2014/15 were submitted together with their work
programmes for 2015/16. Corporate Scrutiny Committee The Chairman of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Dyfrig
Jones provided details on the terms of reference and work
of the committee during
2014/15, and he thanked the Vice-chair, Councillor Jason Humphreys, members
of the committee and officers for their
support. Services Scrutiny Committee In the absence of the Chairman and Vice-chair
of the Services Scrutiny Committee,
Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd provided
details on the terms of reference and work of the committee during 2014/15, and he thanked
the Chairman, Councillor
Peter Read, the Vice-chair, Councillor
Beth Lawton, members of the committee
and officers for their support. During the discussion the following matters were raised:- ·
Reference was made to the very heavy workload of the
Services Scrutiny Committee and the need to review the Constitution was noted
so that the three scrutiny committees shared the work fairer. The Chairman of
the Corporate Scrutiny Committee noted that the current system was based on a
model that had been forced on the Council following the last election and that
the Corporate Scrutiny Committee would support the attempt to ensure a better
balance between the workloads of the different scrutiny committees. ·
It was enquired whether the Leader and Cabinet were
paying enough attention to the recommendations of the scrutiny committees? It was suggested that the member should raise
the point directly with the Leader and the Cabinet. It was further noted that the scrutiny
committee had not been informed of how many times the Cabinet had accepted /
refused their recommendations. ·
The Vanguard project in Ysbyty
Alltwen was praised and a wish was expressed to see
Morwena Edwards, Corporate Director, drawing up a report to inform the people
of Gwynedd of the pilot’s success. ·
It was noted that the scrutiny committee had asked on
numerous occasions how much money was being spent on consultants, but it had
not received a response. Communities Scrutiny Committee The Chair of the Communities Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Angela
Russell, provided details on the terms of reference and work
of the committee during
2014/15, and she thanked the Vice-chairs during the year, Councillors Mandy Williams-Davies and
Caerwyn Roberts, members of the committee
and officers for their support. The Leader thanked
the chairs, vice-chairs and members of the three scrutiny committees for all their work and
noted that the report clearly highlighted what topics had been scrutinised, what had been the purpose of the scrutiny and what
had happened to the resulting
recommendations. |
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GWYNEDD COUNCIL STANDARDS COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15 PDF 64 KB To submit the report of the Chairman of the Standards Committee (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Dr Einir Young, Chair of the
Standards Committee was welcomed to the Council to submit the annual report of the Standards Committee for 2014/15. Dr Einir Young provided details about the main purpose of the committee of promoting and maintaining
high standards of conduct by the councillors and co-opted members of Gwynedd Council and Gwynedd community and town
councils and referred to the membership of the
committee and the work that it
had achieved during
2014/15. She thanked Gwilym
Ellis Evans, who had been
the Chairman of the committee
for 10 years, for his diligent work and commitment
and also Sam Soysa, who had been a Vice-chairman, before his time on the committee came to an end. She also thanked
the Monitoring Officer and other officers
who had supported the committee. Dr Einir Young was thanked for submitting the report. |
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To submit the consultative document and the draft observations of the Democratic Services Committee for consideration by full Council (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Tom Ellis, Chairman of the Democratic Services Committee, submitted a report by the Head of Democratic Services which noted that as
part of its programme of local government reform, that the Welsh Government would require the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission
Wales to conduct reviews of
electoral arrangements for proposed new
local authority areas. The Council was asked to consider the recommendations of
the Democratic Services Committee
together with the committee’s view on the changes proposed for the 2017 elections. A member expressed
a lack of confidence in the whole process
on the grounds that bribing councillors
with an additional
year without any mandate and
on full pay
indicated how low the process had sunk. RESOLVED (a) To submit the observations on the contents of the
Draft Directions to the Boundary Commission that have been summarised in
Appendix A of these minutes. (b) To write to the
Welsh Government to state
the view that it would be inappropriate
to implement the proposed changes for the 2017 elections with such a fundamental change in the boundaries
to follow so soon with the reorganisation. |
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CABINET MEMBER URGENT DECISION NOTICE PDF 7 KB To submit the report of the Cabinet Member Economy (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Economy submitted
a report for information noting that a Cabinet Member Decision Notice had been submitted regarding the Proposed Bangor and Caernarfon Business Improvement District (BID) -
Gwynedd Council voted that it was an
urgent decision in accordance with
section 7.25.2 of the Constitution
so that the call-in procedure would
not apply in this case to ensure
that the Council could submit votes
before the closing date. She noted
that this procedure allowed for a decision to be made with the agreement
of the Chair of the Council
but it would
be required to report on that to the next meeting of the Council. Agreement from the Chair of the Council had been received in
that the decision was an urgent matter
and that the proposed decision was reasonable under the circumstances. During the discussion:- ·
The fact that a scheme was in place was welcomed and
the Cabinet Member was thanked for her work. ·
It was noted that the central Government in England had
decided that local councils in England would get to keep all of the business
rate for it to be invested locally and a suggestion was made that the Welsh
Government should be contacted to ask for the same conditions to be introduced
in Wales. The Chief Executive responded that a scrutiny committee would have to
look at this first in order to see whether or not such a system in Wales would
lead to benefits for Gwynedd. RESOLVED
to note the report for information. |
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(A) In accordance with the Notice of Motion
received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Elin Walker Jones
will propose as follows:- “I call upon my fellow councillors to support a request to write to
John Penrose, MP to request a change in the legislation to allow us who wish to
be identified as Welsh rather than British, to be identified as such on the
Electoral Roll, passports and any other relevant official documentation. Recently,
an Electoral Enquiry Form was sent to every home in Gwynedd. One of the things
registered on the Form is nationality; however, a Welsh person does not have
the right to register as Welsh. The Form is sent by our Council to every home
in Gwynedd, and although the Council is responsible for administrating the
Electoral Roll in Gwynedd, it is a system which implements a statutory
procedure to hold elections. The system must be followed in order to maintain
the electoral roll in order to ensure that the citizens of Gwynedd have the
right to vote. Gwynedd
is not responsible for the system. Welsh Government is not responsible for the
system. In order to change the system, we must contact John Penrose, MP, the
Government whip, the Lords Commissioner from Her Majesty’s Treasury and
Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for Constitutional Reform). Contact John Penrose
in order to change the law in Westminster. I
call upon my fellow councillors to support the right of Welsh people to call
themselves Welsh. I call upon my fellow councillors to express support in order
for us, as Gwynedd Council, to write to John Penrose to change the
legislation.” (B) In accordance with the Notice of Motion
received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Ioan Thomas will
propose as follows:- “That Gwynedd Council:- (1) Recognises and supports the good work that
Gwynedd has done in terms of providing a range of accommodation and/or support
services for vulnerable people to help them to retain or regain their place in
the community in Gwynedd. (2) Supports the continuation of the Supporting
People preventative programme funded by Welsh Government to assist and support
vulnerable people and people on the periphery to live independently and with
dignity in their communities by providing support with housing and Council
services. (3) Calls upon Welsh Government to protect the Supporting
People grant, rather than reduce it further. (4) Supports a joint campaign between Cymorth Cymru and Community
Housing Cymru “Let’s Keep on Supporting People”, to
protect the Supporting People grant. (5) Invites the Welsh Assembly Regional and Constituency
Members to support this proposal.” (C) To submit, for information, a letter from
Alun Cairns MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales in response to
Councillor Wyn Williams’ Notice of Motion to the previous meeting regarding
devolving the powers of the Crown Estate
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: (a) 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. “I call upon my fellow
councillors to support a request to write to John Penrose, MP to request a change in the legislation to
allow us who wish to be identified as
Welsh rather than British, to be identified as such on the Electoral Roll, passports and any other relevant official
documentation. Recently, an Electoral
Enquiry Form was sent to every home in Gwynedd.
One of the things registered on the Form is
nationality; however, a Welsh person does
not have the right to register as Welsh. The
Form is sent by our Council to every home in Gwynedd, and although the Council is responsible for administrating
the Electoral Roll in Gwynedd, it is a
system which implements a statutory procedure
to hold elections. The system must be
followed in order to maintain the
electoral roll in order to ensure that the citizens of Gwynedd have the right to vote. Gwynedd is not responsible for the system. Welsh
Government is not responsible for the
system. In order to change the system, we
must contact John Penrose, MP, the
Government whip, the Lords Commissioner
from Her Majesty’s Treasury and Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for Constitutional Reform). I call upon my fellow councillors to support the right of Welsh people to call themselves Welsh. I call upon my fellow councillors to express support in order for us, as Gwynedd Council, to write
to John Penrose to change the legislation.” The motion was supported. RESOLVED to accept the motion. (b) The
following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Ioan Thomas, in accordance with
Section 4.20 of the Constitution
and it was seconded. “That Gwynedd Council:- (1) Recognises and supports the good work that Gwynedd has done in terms of providing a range of accommodation and/or
support services for vulnerable people to
help them to retain or regain their place in thecommunity in Gwynedd. (2) Supports the continuation of the Supporting People preventative programme funded by Welsh Government to assist and
support vulnerable people and people on
the periphery to live independently and
with dignity in their communities by providing support with housing and
Council services. (3) Calls upon Welsh Government to protect the Supporting People grant, rather than reduce it further. (4) Supports a joint campaign between Cymorth Cymru and Community Housing Cymru “Let’s Keep on Supporting People”, to
protect the Supporting People grant. (5) Invites the Welsh Assembly Regional and Constituency Members to support this
proposal.” The motion was supported. RESOLVED to accept the motion. (c) Submitted, for information, a letter from Alun Cairns, MP, Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Wales, in response
to Councillor Wyn Williams’s
notice of motion to the previous meeting regarding devolving the powers of the Crown Estate. RESOLVED to note the letter with disappointment. |