Agenda, decisions and minutes

Cabinet Members and Officers were welcomed to the meeting.

No apologies were received.

There were no declarations of personal interest.

There were no urgent items.

There were no matters arising from overview and scrutiny

The Chair signed the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 18 December, as a true record.

1.    To commit £50,000 of the Council's Transformation Fund during the 2019-20 financial year to realise the 'Increasing the Benefits of Major Events to Gwynedd' Scheme.

2.    To review the progress of the activity and further commitments to support the remainder of the Scheme before the end of 2019.

The report was submitted by Cllr. Ioan Thomas

RESOLVED

1.    To commit £50,000 of the Council's Transformation Fund during the 2019-20 financial year to realise the 'Increasing the Benefits of Major Events' Scheme.

2.    To review the progress of the activity and further commitments to support the remainder of the Scheme before the end of 2019.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted and the member noted that major events were extremely important not only for Gwynedd's economy, but in order to ensure that Gwynedd was a good place to live for the residents of the county. It was added that the investment had shrunk during recent years, and that the funds would not go towards funding the role of the Events Manager but rather, it would be funding available for events. It was noted that event organisers were offered a small contribution through the fund. The member elaborated by noting that the influence and impacts in light of the Council's investment ensured opportunities for local businesses to take advantage of agreements, create opportunities for young people and communities to contribute and that there was a central place for Gwynedd's language and culture.

It was noted that the Council invested £51,750 last year, adding that the funding attracted £217,000 in funding from Welsh Government to events, and the budget total was in excess of £4.6m. It was expressed that this demonstrated the value in this investment.

Attention was drawn to the highlights of 2018-19 in terms of events, noting that the Barmouth Hurly Burly attracted 1,000 people to participate in an off peak event in October. The Red Bull event was mentioned, noting that they had agreed to use Plas Tan y Bwlch as accommodation for the Red Bull Hardline. The Culture and Communities Senior Manager emphasised the importance of the influence the Council had when investing in events, noting that there was an influence in terms of language, opportunities to use local companies and to ensure the best outcomes for the Council and its residents.

Observations arising from the discussion

It was asked how the Council would monitor and evaluate events, not only those that received an investment, but also the events that did not receive it. It was expressed that the appendices to the report demonstrated the economic success, and there might have been a need to expand on the monitoring specifically when looking at language, the number of individuals who volunteered, and the cultural impact. The department was asked to do this and to report back on these next year

To accept and note the information in the report.

The item was submitted by Cllr. Dafydd Meurig

RESOLVED

To accept and note the information in the report.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted as the Cabinet Member was happy with the performance of the Environment department on the whole. He added that the time it took to decide on planning applications had been unstable at the beginning of this year, and he added that this was due to the impact of the new Delegation Scheme beginning to appear, and it would stabilise as it was monitored through separate recording as the number of applications that would need to be submitted to the committee would reduce.

Attention was drawn to the Public Protection Service, noting that the service was still behind with the Food Hygiene and Food Standards inspections. It was added that additional officers had now been appointed, and the service had adopted more efficient arrangements by holding food hygiene and food standards inspections during the same visit, where possible. 

It was expressed that the performance of the average number of days taken to determine a taxi licence application had improved compared to the previous report. It was noted that the average time it took to process driver's licences had also dropped. It was added that when challenging the performance of the service, it was noted that licences for taxi companies and vehicles were processed very quickly, within two days on average, but that there was an increasing number of driver's licences. It was noted that the procedure for carrying out a DBS check could be slow, and that the procedure for arranging hearings before the Licensing Sub-committee could add a delay to the process.

It was noted that the percentage of buildings with a complete security system had substantially decreased from 91% to 73%. It was explained that a member of staff had been on sickness absence, and that no other member of staff had the expertise to carry out the work. It was expressed that steps were now in place to ensure that the Service could continue to do the work in the absence of a staff member. It was noted that savings schemes had been realised and the Council Plan priorities had been outlined, noting that these had been developed following discussions with Councillors about their wards. It was expressed that steps were being taken to complete the priorities. 

Observations arising from the discussion

-        It was noted that a concern about a lack of parking in the Bala area, which was one of the Council Plan priorities, had now been resolved.

-        The Council Plan priority for safety outside schools in Caernarfon was discussed, noting that the whole site needed to be looked at as the Leisure Centre and the Tennis Centre were on the same site.

-        The department's performance measure for transport complaints was discussed, noting that many had praised the buses following a change in the company. It was noted that this measure looked at complaints, noting how the departments had responded to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To accept and note the information in the report.

The item was submitted by Cllr. Gareth Griffith

RESOLVED

To accept and note the information in the report.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted, noting that the Street Services had an improved performance this year, namely the service that kept the streets of the county clean and tidy. It was added that the cleanliness and street appearance measure this year to date was 74.1% which showed an improvement on last year's performance, which was 71.95%. It was expressed that the percentage of streets with standard B, B+ and A had seen an increase from 94.1% in 2017/18 to 98.5%. Attention was drawn to the change in the performance measure for the percentage of illegal tipping cleared within five days. It was noted that the performance for this new measure showed that on average, it took 1.7 days for the department to clear any illegal tipping and, on the whole, the department perceived this as quite a good performance, which would be used as a baseline.

It was expressed that the percentage of urban waste sent to landfill was lower this year for the period from April to October, at 17.98% compared to 24.33%. It was expressed that this improvement was due to the fact that more waste had been treated through the incineration process and, consequently, had not been sent to landfill.

The condition of the roads was discussed, noting that class A and B Highways were in a relatively good condition, and that there was an improvement in the national comparison figures. It was expressed that class C which was in poor condition had deteriorated, but it was expressed that the department had received funding from the Government and the funding would be used for class C roads. It was noted that the department needed to create a measure for unclassified roads as these roads were not part of the national measures. It was added that as so many of the County's roads were unclassified, the condition of these roads were crucial for Gwynedd residents.

Attention was drawn to cuts and a plan to close 50 out of 73 of the county's public toilets, noting that a Public Toilets Strategy needed to be drawn up by May 2019, and it would be submitted to the Cabinet for discussion. On the whole, it was noted that the Cabinet Member was happy with the financial situation and savings. 

It was expressed that the Gwynedd Consultancy Department had fulfilled its main measure, and that the projection of the latest NET situation showed a profit of £23,583. It was noted that the Department had won a National Award for Collaboration recently. It was noted that the member was very happy with both departments.

Observations arising from the discussion

-        Attention was drawn to an LED Lamps scheme, and it was noted that not only was it a saving in funds, but that it was a saving in carbon, and it was in-keeping with the carbon reduction agenda.

-        It was expressed that it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The item was submitted by Cllr. Dyfrig Siencyn

RESOLVED

To accept the forward programme.