Agenda and decisions

To receive any apologies for absence.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 1^st May, 2025 be signed as a true record.

To receive any declarations of personal interest.

To receive any Chair’s announcements.

To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chair so they may be considered.

To consider any questions the appropriate notice for which have been given under Section 4.18 of the Constitution.

To submit the report of the Chair of the Standards Committee.

To accept the report.

To submit the report of the Head of Democracy.

1.     To accept the report.

2.     Establish an 8th field of core training for Elected Members, being “Violence
against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence”, in accordance with the recommendation of the Democratic Services Committee.

To submit the report of the Chair of the Pensions Committee.

1.    Note the Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case (Appendix 3, Appendix 4 and section 4 of the report) 

2.    Approve the formation of a corporate entity wholly owned by the WPP Administering Authorities (AAs) to be the WPP Investment Management Company (IMCo.) and all other actions necessary to submit an application to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the authorisation of the company including but not limited to the selection and recruitment of Senior Management Function (SMF) roles as required by the FCA and the preparation and submission of the application to the FCA.  (Section 5 of the report)

3.    Approve the revised WPP Business Plan & budget 2025/28 which includes design/enabling costs for Project yr Wyddfa (Appendix 5 and Section 6 of the report)

4.    Delegate the S151 Officer in consultation with the Chair of the Pensions Committee to progress Project yr Wyddfa alongside WPP Administering Authorities (AAs) in line with the Government timetable within the approved budget. 

5.    Delegate the final approval of the final formal documentation required for IMCo. to be operational, described as “Go Live Work” as outlined in Section 7, to The Pension Fund Committee to give effect to The WPP Fit for the Future Business Case.  

To submit the report of the Chair of the Interview Panel.

To appoint Dr Peter Barnes, Mr Dewi Lewis a Mr Paul Millar-Mills as Lay Members of the Governance and Audit Committee for the next five years, subject to receiving acceptable references.

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Rhys Tudur will propose as follows:-

Given the language shift seen in Gwynedd from census to census, this Council welcomes the Welsh Government's response to the recommendations of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities and calls upon the Government to urgently introduce measures giving local authorities the powers and funding to counteract the language shift.

Given the language shift seen in Gwynedd from census to census, this Council welcomes the Welsh Government's response to the recommendations of the Commission for Welsh speaking Communities and calls upon the Government to urgently introduce measures giving local authorities the powers and funding to counteract the language shift.

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Gwynfor Owen will propose as follows:-

Following the revelation that improvements to the Oxford to Cambridge railway line have been changed from an England-only scheme to an England and Wales scheme, and also in the wake of the paltry sum announced in the Westminster Government's spending review of £450m over 10 years, Cyngor Gwynedd is calling on the Welsh Government to demand that the entire Wales Rail Network is devolved to Wales as a matter of urgency.  This Council is of the view that Gwynedd and Wales are missing out significantly on investment due to being tied to England on these issues. We believe that Wales should have the same rights as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Following the revelation that improvements to the Oxford to Cambridge railway line have been changed from an England only scheme to an England and Wales scheme, and also in the wake of the paltry sum announced in the Westminster Government's spending review of £450m over 10 years, Cyngor Gwynedd is calling on the Welsh Government to demand that the entire Wales Rail Network is devolved to Wales as a matter of urgency. This Council is of the view that Gwynedd and Wales are missing out significantly on investment due to being tied to England on these issues.  We believe that Wales should have the same rights as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Jina Gwyrfai will propose as follows:-

Given that

a)    Agriculture is one of Wales' main industries, and that a high percentage of Gwynedd's economy is linked to agriculture,

a)    the stability of the family farm is a vital and invaluable contribution to the preservation of the Welsh language in our Welsh-speaking communities.

b)   The agricultural industry in Wales is currently able to make a valuable contribution to the food stock of the 'United Kingdom' in an age of increasing uncertainty, although the stock is low.

This Council notes with regret that the Inheritance Tax Act poses a threat to the traditional farming unit, to the economy of the country and to the Welsh countryside, especially to the Welsh-speaking areas.

(At least two farmers are known to have committed suicide since the announcement of the Act and families and related local workers and businesses face collapse if the Act comes into effect in 2026.)

I therefore call on Cyngor Gwynedd to bring pressure to bear on the Welsh Government to take the following actions-

i)                    pressurise the Westminster Government to recognise that the farming industry is crucial to the UK's security strategy, and to exclude family farms that produce food from the new tax when it comes into force.

i)                    make a plea to the Welsh Government to commission research to assess the impact of the Act on the Welsh economy and Welsh-speaking communities; also to implement adequate mitigation measures to protect the agricultural industry which is so crucial to the future of our country's rural communities.

Given that

a)    Agriculture is one of Wales' main industries, and that a high percentage of Gwynedd's economy is linked to agriculture

b)    the stability of the family farm is a vital and invaluable contribution to the preservation of the Welsh language in our Welsh-speaking communities

c)    the agricultural industry in Wales is currently able to make a valuable contribution to the food stock of the 'United Kingdom' in an age of increasing uncertainty, although the stock is low

This Council notes with regret that the Inheritance Tax Act poses a threat to the traditional farming unit, to the economy of the country and to the Welsh countryside, especially to the Welsh speaking areas.  (At least two farmers are known to have committed suicide since the announcement of the Act and families and related local workers and businesses face collapse if the Act comes into effect in 2026.)

I therefore call on Cyngor Gwynedd to bring pressure to bear on the Welsh Government to take the following actions:-

i)                     pressurise the Westminster Government to recognise that the farming industry is crucial to the UK's security strategy, and to
exclude family farms that produce food from the new tax when it comes into force.

 make a plea to the Welsh Government to commission research to assess the impact of the Act on the Welsh economy and Welsh-speaking communities; also to implement adequate mitigation measures to protect the agricultural industry which is so crucial to the future of our country's rural communities.

(1)  Letter from the UK Government in response to Councillor Elwyn Edwards’ Notice of Motion to the 6^th March, 2025 Council meeting regarding the Justice Jurisdiction.

(2)  Letter from the WLGA in response to Councillor Elwyn Edwards’ Notice of Motion to the 6th March, 2025 Council meeting regarding the Justice Jurisdiction.

(3)  Letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Elwyn Edwards’ Notice of Motion to the 6th March, 2025 Council meeting regarding the Justice Jurisdiction.

(4)  Letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Elfed Wyn ap Elwyn’s Notice of Motion to the 6th March, 2025 Council meeting regarding broadcasting and media rights.

(5)  Letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Elin Hywel’s Notice of Motion to the 1st May, 2025 Council meeting regarding welfare reform.

(6)  Letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Gwynfor Owen’s Notice of Motion to the 1st May, 2025 Council meeting regarding the increase to employer National Insurance contributions.