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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH

Contact: Annes Siôn  01286 679490

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet Members and Officers were welcomed to the meeting.

An apology was received from Cllr W. Gareth Roberts

2.

DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of personal interest.

3.

URGENT ITEMS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no urgent items

4.

MATTERS ARISING FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no matters arising from overview and scrutiny.

5.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON pdf icon PDF 89 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair signed the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 31 July 2018, as a true record

6.

PERFORMANCE REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT pdf icon PDF 142 KB

Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Dafydd Meurig

Additional documents:

Decision:

a)    To accept and note the information in the report.

b)    To ask the Chief Executive to investigate the situation with the time it take to obtain a DBS to see whether it is problematic for other Council services and, if so, whether anything can be done about the problem.

 

Minutes:

The item was submitted by Cllr Dafydd Meurig 

 

RESOLVED

 

a)    To accept and note the information in the report.

b)    To ask the Chief Executive to investigate the situation with the time it takes to obtain a DBS to see whether it is problematic for other Council services and, if so, whether anything can be done about the problem.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The report was submitted noting that it reflected the discussions held at the Department's Performance Challenge Meeting. It was added that some of the information was now outdated as the meeting had been held in July.

 

It was noted that the average number of planning application determinations had been fairly stable until this year. It was explained that the Cabinet Member had enquired what the reason was for this and it had been noted that it had taken time to get accustomed with the Local Development Plan. It was added that the Planning Delegation Scheme had now been amended and it was hoped that this would reduce the Committee's workload which would speed up the planning decision-making process.

 

An indicator noting the average time taken to resolve all enforcement cases was discussed and it was noted that neither the service nor the Cabinet Member was confident that this was the right measure. It was felt that measuring whether enforcement case work was undertaken correctly was more important to Gwynedd residents rather than the time it took to resolve them, as that could vary from case to case.

 

When looking at the Food Hygiene measure, it was noted that figures were low in terms of establishments that had been inspected. It was explained that the reason for this had been the lack of staffing resources. It was added that two additional posts had now been created and that the results of this would be seen in the next Performance report. It was expressed that the Pest Control Unit had now increased its income and it was now financially self-sufficient. It was added that the customer satisfaction percentage was 100%.

 

Observations arising from the discussion

-    It was noted that the number of houses that had been approved by the planning department was very low for the quarter. It was added that 45% of houses approved had been affordable houses.

-    The Enforcement Cases measure was discussed and it was enquired whether the measure corresponded with the Government's measure. It was noted that it did and that the measure did not add value to Gwynedd residents.

-    The number of days taken to determine a Taxi Licence application was discussed and it was noted that one factor that substantially affected time was the time it took for the national DBS Service to process a DBS certificate. It was added that this was a problem in the Children and Supporting Families Department, the Adults, Health and Well-being Department and the Education Department. It was resolved that there was a need to ask the Chief Executive to investigate in order to see whether something  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Awdur: Dilwyn Williams

7.

PERFORMANCE REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR HIGHWAYS AND MUNICIPAL AND GWYNEDD CONSULTANCY pdf icon PDF 164 KB

Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Gareth Griffith

Additional documents:

Decision:

To accept and note the information in the report.

 

Accept the deferral of the implementation of the Highways and Municipal Department's Recycling Centres (PB5) savings scheme and deal with the deficit created when considering 2019/20 savings onwards, and approve the rest of the proposal noted in part 6.3 of the report, to meet the deficits in other savings schemes.

 

Minutes:

The item was submitted by Cllr Gareth Griffith

 

RESOLVED

 

To accept and note the information in the report.

 

To accept the deferral of the implementation of the Highways and Municipal Department's Recycling Centres (PB5) savings scheme and deal with the deficit created when considering 2019/20 savings onwards, and approve the rest of the proposal noted in part 6.3 of the report, to meet the deficits in other savings schemes.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The Former Head of Department - Gwyn Morris Jones - was thanked for his service and wished well in his retirement at the end of August. Steffan Jones was welcomed to his role as the acting Head of Department.

 

The report was submitted noting that in light of the fact that there were other choices with less impact on Gwynedd residents available, the department was eager to defer the implementation of the Recycling Centres savings scheme and deal with the deficit created when considering 2019/20 onwards. It was expressed that the Cleanliness and Appearance of Streets measure showed an improvement on performance at the end of 2017/18.

 

In terms of the Waste and Recycling Service, it was noted that the Cabinet Member was satisfied with the performance of the Service. It was added that 1.21 million of waste collections had been made during the period between April and June and that 3,067 complaints had been received. It was recognised that the figure was low compared to the number of collections. It was noted that the Cabinet Member had asked the department to submit information to identify the reasons for any failures and address the aspects we would be able to influence.

 

A discussion was held on the Street Enforcement Pilot Scheme which had commissioned an external company to hold a year-long street enforcement trial. It was noted that the trial had lasted for a few days in February. It was expressed that the department was seeking to begin another pilot using internal resources to target areas where there were ongoing problems. It was added that the department would update the Cabinet on the matter once the pilot scheme would be in place.

 

It was stated that one of Gwynedd Consultancy's measures was to identify profit against target. It was noted that income level was low for the quarter but, looking back at historical patterns, that this figure was often lower for the first quarter.

 

Observations arising from the discussion

-    The Street Enforcement Pilot was discussed and it was enquired whether any discussions were being held with other counties. It was noted that initial discussions had taken place with north Wales counties and that they would seek potential options.

-    It was stated that the Cleanliness and Appearance of Streets measure was a national system and that the department and Keep Wales Tidy provided the score for the level of Cleanliness.

-    It was asked whether or not there had been an increase in Racist Graffiti; it was noted that there had been no increase and that it remained, more  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Awdur: Dilwyn Williams