Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Councillors Craig ab Iago, Endaf Cooke, Trevor Edwards, Jean Forsyth, Chris Hughes, Dyfrig Jones, Mair Rowlands, Gareth Thomas, Eirwyn Williams, Gethin Glyn Williams and John Wyn Williams.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council held on 8 October, 2015 be signed as a true record. (attached)

The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council held on 8 October 2015 as a true record.

 

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

 

Members had received a briefing note from the Monitoring Officer in advance regarding the following matters:-

 

Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2016/17 (item 9 on the agenda)

Council Tax: Discretion to allow discounts - 2016/17 (item 10 on the agenda)

Review of Statement of Licensing Policy - Licensing Act 2003 (item 11 on the agenda)

 

Oral guidance was given to the members regarding the following item:-

 

The Future of S4C (item 14 on the agenda).

 

(1)     Councillor Linda Wyn Jones declared an interest in item 9 on the agenda – The Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2016/17 - because she ran Cwmni Seren, which received a council tax reduction.

 

          The member was of the opinion that it was a prejudicial interest and she withdrew from the meeting during the discussion of the item.

 

(2)     The following members declared a personal interest in eitem 10 on the agenda - Council Tax Discretionary Powers to Allow Discounts - 2016/17 for the reasons noted:-

 

·         Councillor Mandy Williams-Davies - because her husband owned an empty property via an inheritance.

·         Councillor Wyn Williams - because he was joint owner of an empty property in Talafon, Abersoch.

·         Councillor Linda Wyn Jones - because she ran Cwmni Seren, which received a council tax reduction.

·         Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn - because he owned an empty property.

·         Councillor Beth Lawton - because she intended to submit an application for Council Tax discount next year as she is now the only adult residing at the property.

 

The members were of the opinion that they were prejudicial interests, and they withdrew from the meeting during the discussions on the item.

 

·         Councillor Gwen Griffith - because she was the Chair of Mantell Gwynedd, who represented organisations that were applying for a Council tax discount as they were charities.

 

The member was of the opinion that it was not a prejudicial interest and she participated fully in the discussion on the item.

 

(3) The following members declared a personal interest in item 11 on the agenda – Review of Statement of Licensing Policy - Licensing Act 2003; for the reasons noted:-

 

·         Councillor Selwyn Griffiths - because he was on the Canolfan Porthmadog management body.

·         Councillor Ioan Thomas - because he was a director of a building that had a licence to sell alcohol

·         Councillor Peredur Jenkins  - because he was Chairman of Dolgellau Rugby Club.

·         Councillor Aled Wyn Jones - because he was a director of the Tŵr Licensed Club, Trefor.

·         Councillor Stephen Churchman - because he was the Chairman of the Garndolbenmaen Village Hall Committee.

·         Councillor Sion Jones - because he was the Chairman of Bethel Village Hall.

·         Councillor Aeron Jones - because he was a member of the Felinwnda Village Hall Committee.

·         Councillor Eric Merfyn Jones - because he was a member of the Groeslon Village Hall Committee.

·         Councillor Jason Humphreys - because he was a member of the Canolfan Porthmadog Management Committee.

·         Councillor Linda Wyn Jones - because she ran a hotel that was licensed.

·         Councillor John Brynmor Hughes - because he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To receive any Chairman’s announcements.

 

(1)     Welcome

 

          Councillors Aled Wyn Jones, Gareth Anthony Roberts and Hefin Underwood were welcomed to their first meeting of the Council. 

 

          Councillors Louise Hughes, Linda Morgan and Peter Read were welcomed back after recent ill health.

 

(2)     Congratulations

 

          The Meirionnydd Young Farmers were congratulated for holding the National Young Farmers Eisteddfod in Aberystwyth this year. The Meirionnydd and Eryri Young Farmers were congratulated for coming joint second and everyone was thanked for their hard work on behalf of the County's youth.  

 

 

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.

 

The Chairman noted that he would encourage members, should they wish to receive information only, to consult the departments directly. . 

 

(1)       Question from Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams

 

(The member explained that the One Voice Wales committee had asked him to ask the question because they had been unable to obtain information from the Council).

 

"Does the Highway Authority realise what effect its new policy has in asking community and town councils to take over and / or pay for filling the salt bins in their wards?"

 

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

 

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

 

"As the councillor has explained why he is asking the question, I would suggest that he could have contacted the department and he would have received the same explanation that is in the written response. This is part of the efficiency savings agreed in December 2014 and that is something for us to consider."

 

 

 

A supplementary question from Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams

 

"Will you reconsider this and have a proper discussion with the councils?"

 

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

 

"We as a Department have sent a letter to every community, town and parish council, and have asked them to consider this and get back to us. That is something that they can always do and is always open to them and I'm pleased to say that many community councils have taken advantage of this and have come back to us and discussion has taken place. Therefore, we encourage every member here who is a member of a community council to do the same, so that they go back to the Highways Department and voice their opinion. Some have done that already and have discussed it intensively. This means that we are going to save £100,000 a year, which is not an insubstantial sum and I would suggest that is the way forward."    

 

(2)       Question from Councillor Sion Jones

 

"What is the current situation with regard to keeping the Aber Bridge, Caernarfon open?"

 

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

 

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

 

A supplementary question by Councillor Sion Jones

 

"Can you confirm, if this bridge is transferred to the Harbour Trust, that the conditions would remain the same, that the staff would be safe in their work and that the Trust would not charge a toll on the bridge?"

 

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

 

"Unfortunately, discussions are ongoing, and at present I can't offer the member any guarantees at all. All I can say is that this is one of up to fifty things that are under consideration with the Gwynedd Challenge. I'm very happy that he is showing such an interest in the Gwynedd Challenge and this matter and I hope that he will show the same interest in almost fifty other things that we are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive a presentation by the Cabinet Member for Care.

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health set the context by explaining that the purpose of this item was to raise awareness regarding the Social Services and Well-being Act which would come into force in April 2016. He noted that the act was very broad and included extremely important principles, but that he intended to focus on just one element of the field at this meeting, namely the work of supporting people with learning disabilities.

 

The Head of the Adults, Health and Well-being Department gave an introduction to the act and regarding implementing the act, and noted:-

 

·         That the act responded to huge demographic changes and the increasing demand on care services in a period when the financial squeeze was extremely challenging.

·         That this was the kind of change that only happened in a generation as the changes were so fundamental and far-reaching, but that it offered many opportunities to look again at the kind of services that were offered by the Council and its partners. 

·         That one significant change was the voice and control that the act offered by putting individuals' needs and wishes at the heart of the everything.

·         That there was also an emphasis on prevention, early intervention, joint-producing as well as multi-agency elements.

·         That all of these changes involved a considerable change in culture and that it would take time to reach the aim and expectations that the Government had of us.

·         That the aim of the item was presenting a video to the members of the daily work of the Arfon Community Scheme in Frondeg, as an example of work that tied in with the principles and spirit of the new act, but that also highlighted that there was a lot of catching up to do in other settings.

·         That he was happy to welcome Andrew Guy, Day Care Supervisor at Frondeg, his colleagues, and users of the service to the meeting.

·         That there was a need for members to be aware of the changes and the impact in terms of the services and reference was made to a training session organised for them at Ysbyty Alltwen on the morning of 21 January.

 

As senior manager, with responsibility for the specific field that was addressed in the video, the Senior Operational Manager gave a background of the work and the idea behind it.

 

Then, Councillor Lesley Day said a few words about her own experience when the video had been shown at a conference in Caernarfon, noting that she had made a request for the video to be presented to the Full Council.

 

Following the film, the Chairman thanked Andrew Guy and the team at the Community Scheme for all of their work.

 

During the discussion:-

 

·         Great appreciation and admiration of the team's work was expressed.

·         It was noted, although it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consider the report of the Head of Finance  (attached).

 

Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing, Customer Care and Libraries, Deprivation and Equality asking the Council to confirm the continuation of the current Local Scheme for providing assistance towards paying Council Tax for the year commencing 1 April 2016.

 

RESOLVED

(a)  To continue to implement the Council's Local Scheme for the year commencing  1 April 2016 as it was in 2015/16.  Therefore the following conditions (i - iii below) regarding the continuation of the discretionary elements would apply:

 

(i)      To implement a 100% disregard for war disablement pensions, and war widow pensions for both pensioners and working age claimants.

(ii)     Not to increase the extended reduction periods for pensioners and working age claimants from the standard four weeks in the Prescribed Scheme.

(iii)    Not to increase the backdate period for pensioners and working age claimants from the standard three months contained within the Prescribed Scheme.

 

(b) Where appropriate, to delegate powers to the Head of Finance Department, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Customer Care and Libraries, Deprivation and Equality, to make minor amendments to the scheme for 2016/17, on the condition that it will not change the substance of the scheme.

 

To consider the report of the Head of Finance  (attached).

 

Submitted – the report of the Cabinet Member for Resources, requesting formal confirmation for 2016/17 of previous decisions not to allow any discounts for second homes and to disallow discounts on empty properties.

 

RESOLVED

(a)      That Gwynedd Council, for 2016/17, allows NO discount under Section 12 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to the two classes of second homes (classes A and B) as defined in the Council Tax (Prescribed Class of Dwellings) Regulations (Wales) 1998.

(b)     That Gwynedd Council, for 2015/16, allows NO discount in respect of empty properties (class C).

 

 

 

To consider the report of the Head of Regulatory Department (attached).

Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member for Resources requesting that the Council adopted the new statement of Licensing Policy, in accordance with Section 5 of the Licensing Act 2003.

 

During the discussion:-

 

·         It was asked if there were additional fees that very large events had to pay, also referred to eisteddfodau (page 24 of the policy).  The Cabinet Member responded that the fee levels had been adapted for the individual counties, but he could get back to the member on this specific point.

·         It was noted that the policy did not address concern regarding the cost for taxpayers as a result of a lack of management on the sale of alcohol in our towns and communities and it was noted that is was important that the message was passed on to those drawing up this legislation. The Cabinet Member replied that the draft policy had been approved by the Licensing Committee and that every license application to sell alcohol has been considered according to its merit by the appropriate sub-committee. 

·         The unit's staff were thanked for all their hard work during the past months.

 

RESOLVED to adopt the new Statement of Licensing Policy.

 

To consider the report of the Head of Democratic Services  (attached).

 

The Head of Democratic Services set the context, and explained:-

 

·         That the report that was before the council this time was a little different from usual because the Plaid Cymru group had a clear majority on the Council.

·         By fully implementing the rules pertaining to political balance, the Plaid Cymru Group would have the right to have a majority on every individual committee, but it was agreed at a meeting of the Business Group that the focus should be on expertise and experience, rather than implementing the rules rigidly in every case.

·         As a result, the recommendations in the report included three committees where the Plaid Cymru Group did not have a majority, namely the Corporate Scrutiny Committee, the Employment Appeals Committee and the Special Educational Needs Joint Committee.

·         In order to approve the recommendations, and that because the rules were not being fully implemented, the Council would have to approve them unopposed.   Otherwise, revised figures would have to be submitted to the Council which would mean that the Independent, Llais Gwynedd and Labour groups would further lose out on some committees.

 

He further noted:-

·         A notice was received during the meeting that Councillor Louise Hughes was joining the Independent Group and the groups were urged to present these types of notices far earlier in future.

·         That the result of the change in the political balance and the report's recommendations were that the Independent Group had gained two seats, one on the Communities Scrutiny Committee and the other on the Central Licensing Committee, and that at the expense of the individual members, but as Councillor Louise Hughes was the individual member on both of the committees in question, it did not involve any further changes to those committees.

 

The Leader gave a further explanation, and noted:-

 

·         That every member, across all of the political groups, had a contribution to make with only 16 months remaining until the next local government elections, and it was agreed that the culture of collaborating and seeing contributions from across the political spectrum should continue.

·         This meant that there was more pressure on all members to attend meetings.

·         That there was a need to look again at the seats of the Pensions Committee as a member of the Labour Group who would be losing his seat on the committee had received training in the field.

 

A registered vote was called for on the proposal.

 

In accordance with Procedural Rules, the following vote was recorded on the motion:-

 

In favour of the motion: (48) Councillors Stephen Churchman, Annwen Daniels, Anwen Davies, Lesley Day, Gwynfor Edwards, Dyfed Edwards, Elwyn Edwards, Thomas Ellis, Alan Jones Evans, Aled Evans, Gweno Glyn, Simon Glyn, Gwen Griffith, Selwyn Griffiths, Alwyn Gruffydd, Siân Gwenllian, Annwen Hughes, John Brynmor Hughes, Louise Hughes, Sian Wyn Hughes, Peredur Jenkins, Aeron M.Jones, Aled Wyn Jones, Anne Lloyd Jones, Brian Jones, Charles W.Jones, Eric Merfyn Jones, John Wynn Jones, Sion Wyn Jones, Eryl Jones-Williams, Beth Lawton, June Marshall, Dafydd Meurig, Dilwyn Morgan, Linda Morgan, Dewi Owen, Michael  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To consider the report of the Head of Democratic Services  (attached).

The Chairman noted that there was no need for the Council to discuss this item as the member in question, namely Councillor Peter Read, had been able to be present at the meeting.

 

To consider the Council’s response to the Chancellor’s recent announcement.

The meeting was chaired by the Vice-chairman, Councillor Eric Merfyn Jones, during the  discussion on this item, because of the interests of the Chairman.

 

Considered - the Council's response to the announcement in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement that the part of S4C's budget that came from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would be reduced by 26%, from £6.7m to £5m by 2019/20.

 

The Leader set the context by suggesting that a letter along the following lines be sent to Edward Vaizey, MP, Westminster Government's Minister for Culture, Media and Sport:-

 

"As well as being an organisation that is essential for the growth of the Welsh language, S4C has also made a key contribution to Gwynedd's economy for over thirty years.  Gwynedd Council wishes to voice its strong opposition to the recent cut to the budget that S4C receives from the Westminster Government.  We also urge the Government, the Minister, Edward Vaizey, and the BBC's trustees, to come to an early agreement on the funding that S4C receives from the licensing fee.   It would not be acceptable to cut the sum that S4C currently receives from the licensing fee and a financial commitment should be given to the channel that corresponds with the BBC's new charter."

 

The suggestion was welcomed and the wording of the proposed letter was approved, with two additions:-

 

·         It should be noted that, as well being an organisation that was essential for the growth of the Welsh language, it was also essential for the sustainability of our Welsh-language communities.

·         It should be noted that broadcasting was not a field that was devolved at present, but the opinion of this Council was that broadcasting should be devolved as a policy matter to be decided upon by Welsh Government.

 

RESOLVED to send a letter to Edward Vaizey, MP, along the lines noted above.

 

 

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

 

“Gwynedd Council acknowledges the constructive relationship and the contribution made by the Unions and their members in the workforce and their commitment to offering a high standard of public service. We therefore oppose the trade union bill tabled recently. The bill involves introducing a higher ballot threshold for industrial action; tightening the control over picketing, social communication and the way union subscriptions are collected.

                                                                                       

This Council considers that such control undermines the civil rights of our workers in the fields of health, education and core public services as the UK has some of the strictest Trade Union laws in the world.

 

I call upon Gwynedd Council to write to our Members of Parliament and Assembly Members stating our opposition to the bill.”

 

 

 

(a) The following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Mandy Williams-Davies, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution and it was seconded.

 

"Gwynedd Council acknowledges the constructive relationship and the contributions made by the Unions and their members in the workforce and their commitment to offering a high standard of public service. We therefore oppose the trade union bill tabled recently. The bill involves introducing a higher ballot threshold for industrial action; tightening the control over picketing, social communication and the way union subscriptions are collected.  

 

The Council considers that such control undermines the civil rights of our workers in the fields of health, education and core public services as the U.K. has some of the strictest Trade Union laws in the world.

 

I call on Gwynedd Council to write to our Members of Parliament and Assembly Members stating our opposition to the bill."

 

The motion was supported.

 

It was noted that workers' rights were undermined excessively and it was proposed and seconded to strengthen the second paragraph by adapting the wording as follows:-

 

"The Council considers that such control undermines the civil rights of our workers in the fields of health, education and core public services and undermines the principle of collective bargaining, which is one of the foundational aims of the Trade Union movement in the U.K., which has some of the strictest Trade Union laws in the world."  

 

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:-

 

"Gwynedd Council acknowledges the constructive relationship and the contributions made by the Unions and their members in the workforce and their commitment to offering a high standard of public service. We therefore oppose the trade union bill tabled recently. The bill involves introducing a higher ballot threshold for industrial action; tightening the control over picketing, social communication and the way union subscriptions are collected.  

 

The Council considers that such control undermines the civil rights of our workers in the fields of health, education and core public services and undermines the principle of collective bargaining, which is one of the foundational aims of the Trade Union movement in the U.K., which has some of the strictest Trade Union laws in the world. 

 

I call on Gwynedd Council to write to our Members of Parliament and Assembly Members stating our opposition to the bill."

 

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

 

“This Council expresses its fierce opposition to the Treasury’s monetary policies because they hit the most needy, destroy public services and force us like every Council to make dire cuts which will also have a significant impact on the local economy. The cuts are not Gwynedd Council cuts, they are the Tories’ cuts; we oppose the ideology that drives the cuts, but we are trying to act as fairly and transparently as possible under atrocious circumstances. Despite this, we remain ambitious for the county and eager to generate future success.”

 

 

 

(b) The following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Siân Gwenllian, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution and it was seconded.

 

“This Council expresses its fierce opposition to the Treasury's financial policies because they hit the most needy, destroy public services and force us like every Council to make dire cuts which will also have a significant impact on the local economy. These cuts are not Gwynedd Council's cuts but they are the Tories' cuts; we oppose the ideology that drives the cuts, but we are trying to act as fairly and as transparently as possible under atrocious circumstances. Despite this, we remain ambitious for the county and eager to generate future successes."  

 

The motion was supported.

 

During the discussion:-

 

·         The Cabinet Member for Resources referred to the Minister's announcement the previous day regarding the 2016/17 settlement, emphasising that there was no room to delight in the situation as the Council faced a 2% cut in its 2016/17 budget, and therefore continued to be in a situation of having to find around £7m of cuts in the next year.

·         To the contrary, it was noted that the Minister had stated, despite the horrific cuts by the Westminster Government, that the settlement for councils would not be as bad as predicted and it was largely hoped that Education, Social Services and other departments across the Council would not be facing as much of a cut.

·         It was suggested that the previous day's figure was not the important one, rather the cumulative figure, and that local government had received a 16% cut to its budget in 2009.

·         It was noted, as well as cuts, that the Council was facing big changes, such as the arrival of Inclusive Credit.

 

An amendment to add to the motion was proposed and seconded, stating that the Council also condemned the U.K. Government for being able to find funding for bombs and aircraft for warfare while arguing that there was no funding available for public services.

 

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

 

During the discussion:-

 

·         It was noted that the discussion had become very broad and it would have been better if the entire matter of the impact of the settlement had been raised as an urgent matter under item 6 of the agenda.

·         It was expressed that the addition to the proposal clouded the whole issue and that it was not possible to couple both things together in one proposal.

·         It was suggested that the addition was valid as it was simply a statement in principle, which condemned arming and spending on weapons of war.

 

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

 

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

 

“This Council expresses its  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15b