Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Annes Siôn 01286 679490
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES Additional documents: Minutes: Cabinet Members and Officers were welcomed
to the meeting. Apologies were
received from Morwena
Edwards. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor
Catrin Wager declared a personal interest in item 8 as the Coroner was a member
of her family. |
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URGENT ITEMS Additional documents: Minutes: There were
no urgent items. |
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MATTERS ARISING FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY Additional documents: Minutes: There were no
matters arising from overview and scrutiny. |
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 2 APRIL 2019 PDF 247 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Attention had been
drawn to the list of current
Councillors at the previous
meeting noting that errors could
be seen, it was noted there was a need to update the list. The Chair signed the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 2 April,
2019, as a true record. |
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PUBLIC TOILETS STRATEGY PDF 148 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr. Catrin Wager Additional documents:
Decision: To accept and adopt the Public Toilets Strategy. Minutes: The item was submitted
by Cllr Catrin Wager
RESOLVED To accept
and adopt the Public Toilets Strategy. DISCUSSION The report was submitted,
noting her thanks for becoming a part of the Cabinet's team. It was expressed that section 8 of Public Health Act (Wales) 2017
placed a statutory requirement
on the Council to produce and publish a local toilets strategy.
As part of the process to develop the strategy, it was emphasised that consultation exercises had being undertaken. It was emphasised that 1,200 responses had been received as part of the public consultation and that the main messages from the consultation had created clear objectives
for the strategy. It was noted that
a consultation had been held on the objectives
and consultation outcomes were noted. It was emphasised that the public had noted they were willing
to contribute towards the
cost of maintaining public toilets. It was added that work was being
done to ensure that developments were being made
so that the Council attained the standards of the objectives. Attention was drawn to the fact that the department had commenced work to upgrade some of the toilets. It had been noted
last year that there was a great risk of closing
a high number of public toilets, but as a result of the department's work to collaborate with communities, it was stated that 63 public toilets were now
available for the public. It was expressed that this meant
that Gwynedd was the second
county in Wales in terms of the highest number of public toilets and the third throughout Britain. The staff of the department
and the Community councils were thanked for
ensuring that so many toilets
remained open. Observations
arising from the discussion -
Attention was drawn to
the hard work of the department in producing
the report. It was stated that the number of toilets had reduced substantially across the country but that
encouraging work had been undertaken to secure toilets in the county. -
Support for the strategy was noted but attention
was drawn to the Community Toilet
Grant Scheme. It was stated
that use of the grant was insufficient and that feedback had noted that the public, in general, were
unaware of the scheme. It
was stated that the scheme's website was not easy to use but
it was added that the department were examining other methods to share the information. -
It was noted that a member of the public had contacted one Cabinet Member noting that sanitary
bins were unavailable in public toilets across the county. It was noted there was a deficiency in provision
across the county and that work would
be undertaken in upcoming months. - Community and Town Councils were thanked for being so willing to adapt and to maintain services. Awdur: Steffan Jones |
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COUNCIL PLAN - REQUEST FOR IT DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES TO SUPPORT FFORDD GWYNEDD PDF 55 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Ioan Thomas Additional documents: Decision: To approve an allocation of
£341,046 (approximately £113,000 per annum for three years) from the
Transformation Fund to meed the substantial increase in demand to develop
computer systems to improve services across Gwynedd Council as a result of the
findings of Ffordd Gwynedd exercises. Minutes: Submitted
by Cllr Ioan Thomas DECISION To approve an
allocation of £341,046 (approximately
£113,000 per annum for three years) from
the Transformation Fund to meet the substantial increase in demand
to develop computer systems to improve services across Gwynedd Council as a result of the findings of Ffordd Gwynedd exercises.
DISCUSSION The report
was submitted noting there was a need to support the request for funding to meet the substantial increase in demand
to develop computer systems to improve services across the Council as a result of the findings of Ffordd Gwynedd exercises.
It was added that the Information Technology Development Unit was developing computer systems for all Council services and that, historically, the demand for the products of this unit was high. Following the success of Ffordd Gwynedd exercises
across the Council, it was reiterated that demand was far greater than the capacity to deliver. Very often, due to the nature of Ffordd Gwynedd of placing
Gwynedd residents at the centre,
it was noted that solutions for services
were unique and needed to be suitably tailored in accordance
with the findings of the
Ffordd Gwynedd exercises. As a result
of this, it was reiterated that the department had been pioneering and were often creating
computer systems to correspond with the need for a suitably
tailored service. It was stated
that a request for funding would
not deliver the task completely but it would ensure that
work was alleviated. It was
added that a graduate apprentice post would be created during the summer. It was noted that this
funding would be a boost to improve the Information Technology provision that was available for services. Observations
arising from the discussion ¾
Attention was drawn to
the Council creating new computer systems
and it was enquired whether
or not it would be possible
to sell services to companies and other councils. ¾
It was stated there was a need for the department to be enterprising and that it had an ambition to be at the forefront in terms
of Information Technology. Awdur: Huw Ynyr |
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CORONER'S PAY ARRANGEMENT PDF 92 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Nia Jeffreys Additional documents: Decision: To authorise the Head of Legal Service, in consultation with the Head of
Finance, to agree arrangements to pay a salary to the Senior Coroner, and a fee
to the Assistant Coroner, in line with the report. Minutes: The report was submitted
by Cllr Nia Jeffreys DECISION To authorise
the Head of Legal Services,
in consultation with the Head of Finance Department, to agree on arrangements to pay a salary to the Senior
Coroner, and a fee to the Assistant
Coroner, in line with the report. DISCUSSION The report
was submitted noting that it was a technical report. It was noted that the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 included provision that senior coroners had the right to a salary, while assistant coroners had the right to a fee. As the 2009 Act brought about major changes
in the structure of the service, it was stated that a new basis
would be required for paying both
senior and assistant coroners. National discussions were held, and a new pay guidance
was published in Circulars 61 and 62. It was stated
that the majority of coroners were full
time but it was noted that the Gwynedd and
Anglesey area was served by
a part time coroner. It was
noted that the Circular stated that the basic salary of Part time Senior Coroners was £20,000 which included statutory 'out of hours' work, and then payments for
every day worked. Following discussions with the Senior
Coroner, an agreement was reached which would
mean that the basis on which
he would be paid would differ to the approach set out in the Circular. It was noted that the approach assessed the likely number of days expected to be worked each year
by the Senior Coroner and converted that into an
annual figure which also included
the basic salary element. It was added that this would
require a periodic review. Observations
arising from the discussion It was noted that
the Council did not have much control over
the matter as it was a matter
for the Crown. As the post
was on a joint basis between Gwynedd and
Anglesey, it was added that
Gwynedd Council's contribution
was slightly higher as a result of population numbers. Awdur: Iwan Evans |
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A separate
Appendix is available for Committee Members. The
appendix is exempt under Paragraphs 12 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government
Act 1972 – Information relating to a particular individual. The
appendix to the report discusses matters relating to the employment of
particular members of staff, their condition of employment and discussion in
relation to those matters which are inherently confidential. Additional documents:
Decision: a)
Subject to (b) to
agree with the Chief Executive's assessment that the managerial strucure shown
in Appendices 1 to 10 are fit for purpose. b)
To agree to reduce the
number of senior posts within the Council from 40 to 37 as noted in clauses 61,
62 and 64 of the report and save a minimum of £211,000 per annum. c)
In noting the
requirements in paragraph 95 of the report, to agree to create a new Housing
and Property Department to enable us to place more focus on achieving our
Housing Strategy and to ask the Chief Executive to reconsider the situation of
Gwynedd Consultancy to see whether there is another way of delivering the
objectives noted in the report in terms of the managerial structure and further
efficiency savings. (ch) Note
the further minor changes intended to be implemented as outlined in clauses
76-88 of the report which includes moving building control to the Environment
department so that it is closer to Planning.
d)
To delegate the power
to the Head of Legal Services to modify the Council's Delegation Scheme to
reflect the changes as they become operational. Minutes: Submitted by Dilwyn Williams. DECISION a)
Subject to (b), to agree with the Chief Executive's assessment that the managerial structure shown in Appendices
1 to 10 are fit for purpose. b)
To agree to reduce the number of senior posts within the Council from 40 to 37 as noted in clauses
61, 62 and 64 of the report and save
a minimum of £211,000 per annum. c)
In noting
the requirements in paragraph 95 of the report, to agree to create a new Housing and Property Department to enable us to place
more focus on achieving our Housing
Strategy and to ask the Chief Executive to reconsider the situation of
Gwynedd Consultancy to see whether there is another way of delivering the objectives noted in the report
in terms of the managerial structure and further efficiency savings. ch) Note the further
minor changes intended to
be implemented as outlined in clauses 76-88 of the report which includes
moving building control to the Environment department so that
it is closer to Planning. d)
To delegate the power to the Head of Legal Services to modify the Council's Delegation Scheme to reflect the changes as they become operational. DISCUSSION The report was submitted
noting that the matter had been raised following a discussion that was held last year
when considering service cutbacks. It was stated that the discussion had raised a question as to whether the managerial structure was correct. It was reiterated that the public often enquired how many managers
and senior managers the Council had and whether or not
the numbers were correct. It was stated that the Cabinet had commissioned
the Chief Executive to review the managerial structure. Attention was drawn to the process that was followed to review the current structure with Heads of Departments,
where Cabinet Members and Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-chairs had an opportunity to attend the challenge sessions. It was added that the Ffordd Gwynedd Programme had highlighted the need to be clearer regarding the roles of specific posts within the establishment, and highlighted a role for managers with
a different and more mature
emphasis. It was added that after the Chief Executive had seen the initial diagrams of departmental structures, he had concluded that a number of jobs had evolved over time to contain
the title of “manager”, and
that they did not fulfil a manager's post as it had
been described in the amended job description for managers. He elaborated by noting that challenge
work had been undertaken and that the titles of many of these posts had now been changed,
in accordance with the definition, to make it clear that
these posts were not managers' posts. Consequently, it was added that the number of managers had now been reduced
from 235 to 111. The managerial structure of Senior Officers was examined further and it was enquired whether there were ... view the full minutes text for item 9. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams |