Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Annes Siôn 01286 679490
No. | Item |
---|---|
APOLOGIES Additional documents: Minutes: Cabinet
Members and Officers were welcomed to the meeting. No
apologies were received. |
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST Additional documents: Minutes: There were
no declarations of personal interest. |
|
URGENT ITEMS Additional documents: Minutes: There were no urgent items. |
|
MATTERS ARISING FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY Additional documents: Minutes: There were no
matters arising from overview and scrutiny. |
|
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 27 NOVEMBER PDF 96 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 27 November,
as a true record. |
|
STRATEGIC SAFEGUARDING PANEL'S ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 PDF 91 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr. Dilwyn Morgan Additional documents:
Decision: To accept
the report on the work of the Strategic Safeguarding Children and Adults Panel,
and accept the amendments to the Panel's Terms of Reference. Minutes: The report
was submitted by Cllr Dilwyn Morgan. RESOLVED To accept
the report on the work of the Strategic Safeguarding Children and Adults Panel,
and accept the amendments to the Panel's Terms of Reference. DISCUSSION The report was submitted, noting that it was an
update on what the Safeguarding Strategic Panel had achieved in 2017/18. It was
added that the report summarised the work accurately and fairly, noting that it
was essential for Cabinet members to be aware of the Panel’s work and be able
to feel satisfied that the Panel had undertaken the required work in a thorough
and conscientious manner. It was expressed that the Gwynedd Safeguarding
Performance was very good, and this was emphasised in an external report
recently received about the Children and Supporting Families Department
recently. It was added that the Panel had recently extended its focus to
include broader Safeguarding matters such as Domestic Violence and counter
terrorism. Consequently, it was noted that the Panel's Terms of Reference
needed to be modified in order to reflect the adjustments. It was noted that
the Terms of Reference also highlighted the Panel's responsibility to monitor and
challenge performance that related to Safeguarding. The members of the Safeguarding Executive Panel
were thanked for their work of ensuring day-to-day safeguarding. Observations arising from the discussion -
Modern
Slavery was discussed, noting that there had been three cases in Gwynedd, and
an example of the type of cases that had arisen was requested. An example was
noted of a worker at a work location who did not want to be there and was not
paid for his labour. It was added that it was a field that changed frequently
and that the Council needed to be aware of what was going on. It was expressed
that the greatest challenge was to keep focussed and be pro-active. -
It
was expressed that good work was being done in terms of safeguarding children,
and the terms of reference enabled staff to be aware of which signs to keep an
eye out for. Attention was drawn to the training on Violence against Women, domestic abuse and Sexual Violence, noting that only 50% of the training had been completed by the end of 2017. It was added that this was due to the fact that the standard of the Welsh language in the learning materials provided by Welsh Government was inadequate. It was expressed that the Government needed to give priority to the Welsh language, especially in training for such important subjects. It was added that Gwynedd Council was working with the Government in an attempt to overcome the barriers Awdur: Morwena Edwards |
|
PRINCIPLES OF AN EDUCATION SYSTEM WHICH ARE FIT FOR PURPOSE PDF 121 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr. Gareth Thomas Additional documents:
Decision: To approve the following education principles that
would form the basis for fulfilling the Education Department's vision and
develop the system to ensure a high quality of education for the children and
young people of Gwynedd for the twenty first century, namely: -
A system of viable secondary schools -
No more than two
age ranges within the same class in the primary sector -
Approximately 80%
of non-contact time for the Headteacher to concentrate on leadership issues in
the primary sector. Minutes: The item
was submitted by Cllr Gareth Thomas RESOLVED To approve the following principles of a fit for purpose education
system that would form the basis for fulfilling the Education Department's
vision, and for developing the system to ensure a high quality education for
the children and young people of Gwynedd for the twenty first century, namely: -
A system of viable secondary schools -
No more than two age ranges within the same class in the primary sector -
Approximately 80% non-contact time for the Headteacher to concentrate on
leadership issues in the primary sector. DISCUSSION The report was submitted, noting that it
acknowledged that a good basis for children’s education was strong leadership.
It was added that following the Primary Federation's report, which included
Primary School Headteachers, and which raised many matters, the Education
Department revisited the education conditions. It was noted that a report had been submitted
to Cabinet in July 2016, which gave permission for the Education Department to
consult with school Governors and wider stakeholders on the suitability of the
principles. It was expressed during the consultation that matters had arisen
regarding the Leadership conditions below: ·
that
many of our secondary and primary schools were too small to be able to offer
enough time for Headteachers, senior managers and middle managers to lead
effectively; ·
the
requirements were incompatible for many primary Headteachers, in that they had
a substantial commitment to teach classes alongside their management and
leadership roles; ·
difficulties
in terms of recruiting senior leadership managers and middle managers at
secondary schools; ·
difficulties
in recruiting Headteachers for primary schools; ·
a
lack of applicants from outside the local authority area. Consequently, principles that
supported the fit for purpose system were developed and submitted to Cabinet.
It was expressed that it was difficult to make extensive changes immediately as
a result of budgets, but the principles would be the basis for future
changes. Observations arising from the discussion -
The
importance of consultation was noted, and that the principles had derived from
Headteachers. It was emphasised that it was difficult in the Primary and
Secondary sectors to recruit Headteachers as they were required at some schools
to teach 4.5 days and, consequently, they did not have the time to carry out
the work of leading the school. -
It
was expressed that establishing the principles was an important step for the
future that would improve conditions, which in turn would improve children's
education. Awdur: Garem Jackson |
|
DEALING WITH THE FUNDING GAP PDF 109 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr. Peredur Jenkins Additional documents:
Decision: To adopt
the Schemes in appendices 1 to 6, subject to the results of the consultation,
as the ones which the Council will have to deliver to ensure a balanced budget
in 2019/20, with a consultation on the schemes in appendices 3 to 6 to be held
in January. Minutes: The item
was submitted by Cllr Peredur Jenkins RESOLVED To
adopt the Schemes in appendices 1 to 6, subject to the results of the consultation,
as the ones which the Council would have to deliver to ensure a balanced budget
in 2019/20, with a consultation on the schemes in appendices 3 to 6 to be held
in January. DISCUSSION The report
was submitted, noting that there was an annual requirement to balance the
Council's budget. It was added that this year, the Council anticipated a
significant financial deficit for 2019/20. Since the
beginning of the summer, it was expressed that the Cabinet Members, the
Directors and the Heads of Departments had been considering what would need to
be done in order to address the financial deficit. Every department noted how
it would find 20% from its budget if there was a need to do so. It was
expressed that this process had been difficult but thorough, and that it had
forced every Department to dig deep for possible savings. In addition to this,
it was noted that the Council had been in consultation with Gwynedd residents,
to ask of the things the Council did which were most important to them. The
financial context was provided, noting that the Head of Finance Department was
continuing to attempt to establish a balanced budget for 2019/20 and four
workshops were held for elected members to provide an understanding of their
situation now. It was explained that the Council had received another
disappointing settlement from Welsh Government where the grant given to Local
Government remained the same. It was added that despite this, the Council was
facing enormous pressure in the fields of Education and Care and that there was
a significant inflation to salaries and matters such as energy. Consequently,
it was explained that this meant that the Council would be facing a funding
deficit that was likely to be around £12.9m. The steps that could be taken in
order to reduce the gap were explained, and it was noted that in doing so, the
latest estimation brought the deficit down to approximately £6.8m. The Chief
Executive added that filling the remaining financial deficit was a mathematical
process. The only other thing to do was
to find more savings or increase Council Tax. It was noted, as part of the
process of looking at possibilities during the period since the end of the
summer, that Departments had identified further efficiency savings and that
these could be seen in appendices 1 and 2 of the report. It was expressed that
the efficiency savings proposed here would be savings where there would be very
little change to the service to Gwynedd residents, and that a percentage of
them would be back office savings. Appendices 3 to 6 then outlined the savings
that were likely to have a greater impact on Gwynedd residents, but not to the
same degree as many other plans that were considered. He added that these savings would come to £2.5 million ... view the full minutes text for item 8. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams |