Agenda, decisions and minutes

To appoint a Chair for 2023/24.

To appoint Councillor Richard Medwyn Hughes as Chair for 2023/24.

Two names were proposed and seconded for the post of chair, namely Councillor Beth Lawton and Councillor R. Medwyn Hughes.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor R. Medwyn Hughes as Chair for 2023/24.

Councillor R. Medwyn Hughes read and signed the declaration accepting the post of Chair of Cyngor Gwynedd for 2023/24, in the presence of the Chief Executive.

To appoint a Vice-chair for 2023/24.

To appoint Councillor Beca Roberts as Vice-chair for 2023/24.

          Two names were proposed and seconded for the post of vice-chair, namely Councillor Beth Lawton and Councillor Beca Roberts.

          RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Beca Roberts as Vice-chair for 2023/24.

Councillor Beca Roberts read and signed the declaration accepting the post of Vice-chair of Cyngor Gwynedd for 2023/24, in the presence of the Chief Executive.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Councillors Anwen J. Davies, Dafydd Owen Davies, Annwen Hughes, Louise Hughes, Kim Jones and Eirwyn Williams.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council held on 2^nd March, 2023 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council held on 2 March 2023 as a true record.

To receive any declarations of personal interest.

The Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, declared a personal interest in item 11 - Senior Salaries, on behalf of those members who currently received senior salaries.

He was not of the opinion that it was a prejudicial interest, and those members did not leave the meeting during the discussion on the item.

To receive any Chair’s announcements.

Condolences were extended to the following:-

·         Councillor Glyn Daniels and his family on the recent loss of his young granddaughter.

·         Councillor Alan Jones Evans and family following the loss of his father;

·         The family of Alison Evans, a member of the Council’s Procurement Team.

It was also noted that the Council wished to sympathise with everyone in the county’s communities who had recently lost loved ones.

The Council stood in silence as a mark of respect and remembrance.

It was noted that several Council staff had retired over the past few months, and they were all wished a long and happy retirement.

Councillor Menna Trenholme was congratulated on her recent marriage.

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

None to note.

To consider any questions the appropriate notice for which have been given under Section 4.19 of the Constitution.

(The Cabinet Members' written responses to the questions had been published in advance.)

(1)     Question from Councillor Beca Brown

"In 2019 as a Council we declared a Climate and Nature Crisis accepting that the extreme changes in the climate are having a negative impact on our communities, and across the world. Climate change risks are very real risks for a number of Gwynedd residents - from flooding to landslides, and extreme hot and cold weather - the cost of ignoring the climate change is increasing.  How much Carbon has the Council saved since the start of our work to reduce carbon emissions with Cyngor Gwynedd's Carbon Management Plan, can you elaborate on how much money these changes have saved for the Council?"

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn

"This is one of the most important subjects that we as a Council face and I will read the written answer in full as we believe that this is such an important matter.

It is true that as a Council we were committed to reducing the environmental impact of our activities long before we declared a Climate and Nature Emergency in 2019. Back in 2010, we adopted a Carbon Management Plan in order to manage and reduce our
carbon footprint.  Since its introduction, we have saved 103,757 tonnes of carbon from the emissions created through energy use in our buildings (schools, leisure centres, residential homes, libraries, offices and more), our streetlights, our fleet and use of vehicles, and our waste.

After a decade of taking action and succeeding in the energy conservation field, the
annual carbon footprint of our direct activities were 43% less than before we began this journey.

Since 2010, we have worked tirelessly to try and take advantage of any possible
opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint, including investing £7.4M in projects such as 613kWp of solar panels on 55 of our sites to generate our own electricity, upgrading lighting and lamps to the most current technology, insulating our buildings to retain heat, covering swimming pools overnight, and much more. Our dedicated energy team also regularly monitor the energy consumption patterns of our buildings in order to identify waste and to ensure efficiency and use software which enables them to manage energy use in various buildings across the county from the team’s office in Caernarfon.

In fact, Cyngor Gwynedd’s Energy Team has received national recognition for their work as they won the 'Public Sector Energy Management Team' award at the UK’s Energy Managers Association Awards in 2020.

This work has led to a financial saving of £14.75M for the Council since 2010.

I would also like to draw attention to the astonishing financial benefit that we are gaining from today, due to our success over the last decade. If we had continued to use the same amount of energy as we did in 2010, our energy bills would have been £4.3M higher last year. If we had had to pay this additional cost, it would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To submit the report of the Council Leader.

To adopt the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Well-being Plan 2023-28.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, presented the report, inviting the Council to adopt the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Well-being Plan 2023-28, and the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager elaborated further on the content.

The Leader thanked the Programme Manager for all of her work in preparing the plan.

Members were given an opportunity to make observations and ask questions.  The following matters were raised by individual members:

It was noted that concern had already been expressed at the Communities Scrutiny Committee regarding the concept that the Welsh language was a golden thread that ran through the whole plan, instead of being a clear objective in a box, and assurance was sought that the officers had acted on that feedback before submitting this report to the Council.

In response, the Leader noted –

·         That whether placing the Welsh language in a box strengthened or weakened the language was a matter of opinion. 

·         That the Welsh language was an integral part of every field that the Board was involved with, and that the Welsh language did not need to be placed in a box.  He therefore believed that it was stronger, and he could guarantee that there would be no change in viewpoint regarding the Welsh language.

·         That all partners had made a financial contribution to projects, under the leadership of the Chair of the Board, Aled Jones-Griffith, relating to the use of Welsh across all organisations in their receptions, and he believed that there was more money to come for future projects regarding the Welsh language.

The Programme Manager added that the same comment had arisen when discussing with the other groups, and that she hoped that the current plan was quite different to the original draft, after the language aspect had been strengthened.

It was asked what the situation would be as a result of a future change in leadership, without any language policies or protection.

In response, the Leader noted that the Welsh language was not a personal matter for him, and that the Welsh language was a priority for Cyngor Gwynedd as an organisation.  To that end, whoever would be representing the Council on the Board in the future would clearly set out the Council's perspective in terms of the Welsh language.

The Programme Manager added:-

·         That the Board's terms of reference stated clearly that the work of the Board was done in Welsh.

·         That she believed that the most effective projects that the Board had been involved with related to the Welsh language, where all partners had committed to them.

·         That there was a new project in the pipeline to look at difficulties in appointing to posts where Welsh was essential, within the different organisations.

With reference to paragraph 2.9 in the front report, it was noted that the specific actions in relation to Welsh were obvious in Well-being Objective 2, where reference was made to transferring the language, but that there was a wish to have examples in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To submit the report of the Head of Democratic Services.

1.    To adopt the list of committees and sub-committees to be established for the 2023/24 municipal year, as noted below, and to adopt the allocation of seats as noted.

ALLOCATION OF SEATS ON COMMITTEES

* Labour/Liberal Democrats Group

1.    To delegate the authority to the Head of Democratic Services to make appointments to the committees on the basis of political balance, and in accordance with the wishes of the political groups.

2.    To adopt the chairpersonships of scrutiny committees on the basis of political balance, as follows:

Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee - Independent Group

Communities Scrutiny Committee – Plaid Cymru Group

Care Scrutiny Committee - Independent Group

The Head of Democratic Services presented a report on the annual review of the Council’s political balance.

The Independent Group Leader noted that she wished to ensure that the allocation was calculated correctly and that the chairpersonships of both scrutiny committees would go to the Independent Group as they should.

RESOLVED

1.         To adopt the list of committees and sub-committees to be established for the 2023/24 municipal year, as noted below, and to adopt the allocation of seats as noted.

ALLOCATION OF SEATS ON COMMITTEES

* Labour/Liberal Democrats Group

2.    To delegate the authority to the Head of Democratic Services to make appointments to the committees based on political balance, and in accordance with the wishes of the political groups.

3.    To adopt the chairpersonships of scrutiny committees based on political balance, as follows:

Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee - Independent Group

Communities Scrutiny Committee – Plaid Cymru Group

Care Scrutiny Committee - Independent Group

To submit the report of the Head of Democratic Services.

To adopt the following higher salaries for 2023/24:

·                Leader

·                Deputy Leader

·                Up to 8 other Cabinet members 

·                The Leader of the largest Opposition party*

·                Committee Chairs:

o Scrutiny Committees (x3)

o Planning Committee

o Licensing Committee (the Central and General Licensing committees count as one Committee)

o Pensions Committee

§    Civic head (Chair of the Council)

§    Deputy civic head (Vice-chair of the Council)

The Head of Democracy Services submitted a report inviting the Council to adopt higher salaries for 2023/24.

RESOLVED to adopt the following higher salaries for 2023/24:

·           Leader

·           Deputy Leader

·           Up to 8 other Cabinet members

·           The Leader of the largest Opposition party*

·           Committee Chairs:

o Scrutiny Committees (x3)

o Planning Committee

o Licensing Committee (the Central and General Licensing committees count as   one Committee)

o Pensions Committee

§   Civic head (Chair of the Council)

§   Deputy civic head (Vice-chair of the Council)

To appoint a Chair of the Democratic Services Committee for 2023/24.

[In accordance with the requirements of Section 14 of the Local Government Bill (Wales) 2011, the Chair of the Democratic Services Committee shall be appointed by the Full Council and it cannot appoint a member of a political group which is represented on the executive.]

To appoint Councillor Dewi Owen as Chair of the Democracy Services Committee for 2023/24.

The Council was invited to appoint a chair for the Democracy Services Committee for 2023/24.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Dewi Owen as Chair of the Democracy Services Committee for 2023/24.

To submit the report of the Head of Democratic Services.

To adopt the report for information.

The Head of Democracy Services presented his annual report on behalf of the Democracy Services Committee in respect of support for members.  The Head thanked the Chair of the Democracy Services Committee, Councillor Dewi Owen and the members of the committee, and also his predecessor, Geraint Owen, and the officers within the service, which provided day-to-day support.

The Chair of the Democracy Services Committee thanked the officers and noted that he was looking forward to working with the Head and Democracy and Language Services Manager over the next year.  He added that one of the main matters facing the committee was member safety, and that it would be useful to have a phone number for members to report any concerns regarding that.

The Department was thanked for the clear and timely information for new members following the 2022 Elections.

RESOLVED to adopt the report for information.

To submit the report of the Cabinet Member for Adult Services.

1.    To approve the Gwynedd Adults Population Needs Assessment.

2.    To adopt the recommendations in the report in order to incorporate them in the Council Plan.

The Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being submitted the report inviting the Council to approve the Gwynedd Adults Population Needs Assessment and adopt the recommendations in the report to be incorporated in the Council Plan.

The Cabinet Member thanked the Commissioning, Contracts and Projects Manager and the Team for their substantial work in preparing the document.

The Chair of the Care Scrutiny Committee for 2022/23, Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams, noted that he wished to personally thank the Cabinet Member for his work during the past year.  He noted, as a result of closing the inpatient ward at Tywyn Hospital, that the Gwynedd Older People Department had found a place for nearly all the patients locally at care homes in Tywyn, instead of them having to go to Dolgellau Hospital, and he thanked the Cabinet Member and the staff for their hard work.

The Cabinet Member gave thanks for the support, noting at the same time that it was the Department's staff who needed to be thanked for the work.

RESOLVED

1.         To approve the Gwynedd Adults Population Needs Assessment.

2.         To adopt the recommendations in the report in order to incorporate them in the Council Plan.

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

In order for the Council to be innovative in its method of monitoring the implementation of Welsh medium education and the progress in detail and effectively in our schools, the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee is requested to give consideration to the appropriate means of collecting data and monitoring the Welsh language provision in all secondary schools against the baselines of the categories in which the schools are included.

In order for the Council to be innovative in its method of monitoring the implementation of Welsh medium education and progress in detail and effectively in our schools, I ask the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee to consider the most appropriate way of gathering data and monitoring the Welsh-medium provision in every secondary school against the baselines of the categories in which the schools are included.

(A)      Submitted - the following notice of motion by Councillor Rhys Tudur in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-

In order for the Council to be innovative in its method of monitoring the implementation of Welsh medium education and progress in detail and effectively in our schools, I ask the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee to consider the most appropriate way of gathering data and monitoring the Welsh-medium provision in every secondary school against the baselines of the categories in which the schools are included.

The member set out the context to his motion, noting that:-

·         This was not the original notice that he had wished to submit before the Council, and that his notice had been changed as suggested by the Monitoring Officer.

·         That his original notice asked the Full Council to gather data and monitor the Welsh-medium education provision against the baselines of the national categories, and although he accepted the counsel, that it was disappointing and surprising to him that it was not possible for a member to submit a notice asking the Council to gather data.

·         That the notice did not go straight for the aim as he had hoped, but instead, crawled slowly towards the aim by calling for the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee to look at the data gathering method.  We should not be crawling towards the aim with the Welsh language, but instead we should be leaping and innovating.

·         That the significance of the proposal essentially was that the Welsh-medium education provision should be measured in line with the national categorisation.

·         As the baseline for Welsh-medium schools notes that 60% of the children undertake 70% of their education through the medium of Welsh, it is assumed that measuring how many children undertake 70% of their education through the medium of Welsh would be important to measure, along with the way in which the schools fit into the category's baselines. In the absence of that information, it was not known how the schools fit into the category and how they were improving.

·         That the Council's current measure in terms of Welsh-medium education provision was the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) in terms of how many children undertook 5 or more GCSE subjects through the medium of Welsh.

·         That the Council, had not only failed in the objective of increasing the number that undertook 5 or more subjects through the medium of Welsh, but had also slipped over the years, and so the WESP had failed in terms of that aspect.

·         It was hoped that we will collect data thoroughly from now on in order to reach our objectives and innovate for the benefit of Welsh.

·         That the national guidelines had been in force since September 2022 and that it would be very sad should Cyngor Gwynedd of all people refuse to measure in line with this categorisation.

·         That he was calling on all his fellow members to support the notice as it would empower us with information,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

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

Wales has a laudable ambition of being the first Nation of Sanctuary in the World.  Gwynedd has acted in line with this ambition by offering sanctuary to refugees from across the world.  Despite the ambition of Wales, the Westminster Government is introducing an Illegal Migration Act which endangers the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and criminalises the act of reaching the British Isles in search of asylum.  This conflicts with the principles of the Refugees Convention 1951, and our ambition here in Wales.  In considering the fear that the UK Government’s unwelcoming messages may create, I call on this Council to confirm its ambition to assist refugees, in order to alleviate some of this fear.

Wales has a praiseworthy ambition of being the first Nation of Sanctuary in the World.   Gwynedd has acted in line with this ambition by offering sanctuary to refugees from across the world.  Despite the ambition of Wales, the Westminster Government are introducing an Illegal Migration Act which endangers the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and criminalises the act of reaching the British Isles in search of asylum.  This conflicts against the principles of the Refugees Convention 1951, and our ambition here in Wales.  Considering the fear that the unwelcome messages of the UK Government can trigger, this Council confirms its ambition of assisting refugees, in order to mitigate some of this fear.

(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.

Wales has a laudable ambition of being the first Nation of Sanctuary in the World.  Gwynedd has acted in line with this ambition by offering sanctuary to refugees from across the world.  Despite the ambition of Wales, the Westminster Government are introducing an Illegal Migration Act which endangers the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and criminalises the act of reaching the British Isles in search of asylum.  This conflicts with the principles of the Refugees Convention 1951, and our ambition here in Wales.  Considering the fear that the unwelcome messages of the UK Government may create, this Council confirms its ambition to assist refugees, in order to alleviate some of this fear.

The member set out the context to her motion, noting that:

·         That we, in 2023, are still living in a cruel world, that is full of injustice and violence, despite the United Nations Statement on Human Rights call for freedom, justice and world peace.

·         That Article 14 stated that everyone had the right to seek and to receive sanctuary from persecution in other countries.

·         Nevertheless, the United Kingdom had introduced policies over the years to make it less attractive for asylum seekers to come to Britain, including barriers on being able to work and apply for benefits, and holding asylum seekers in retention centres where they have no status or any idea when their application will be processed.

·         That the stories of individuals showed that this caused stress, depression and anxiety and even physical and mental health problems, bearing in mind that asylum seekers were already vulnerable.

·         The Illegal Migration Bill would make things worse for these vulnerable people, but the new legislation would not prevent refugees from fleeing, or seeking asylum, or coming to Britain, and the numbers would continue to increase.

·         That people seek asylum in the UK as people spoke English, or possibly they already had family or friends here.

·         That the new legislation referred to sending people back to their homeland, but even the Westminster Government acknowledged that asylum seekers could not often be sent back to their country, as it was not safe for them to return.

·         That the legislation referred to sending people who cannot return to their homeland to Rwanda, but the system had not yet commenced, and what about Rwanda's capacity to receive the asylum seekers?

·         If asylum seekers could not return home, or go to Rwanda, they would be kept in retention centres in the United Kingdom (which are already over-full), without status, without a hope of their asylum application being processed, without a safe place to call home, without an adequate place to live or sleep, without sufficient health care, and that for an unspecified period of time.

·         That we in Wales had an ambition of being a nation of sanctuary, and we in Gwynedd have a long tradition of extending  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To submit, for information – Letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Huw Rowlands’ notice of motion to the 1st December, 2022 Council meeting regarding improving train services in Gwynedd.

Submitted for information - a letter from the Welsh Government in response to the notice of motion of Councillor Huw Rowlands at the meeting on 1 December 2022, regarding improving the train services in Gwynedd.

The Chair expressed his disappointment and discontent at the lack of response from Transport for Wales to the notice of motion, and he asked the officers to follow this up.