Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Annes Siôn 01286 679490
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APOLOGIES Additional documents: |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST Additional documents: Minutes: There were
no declarations of personal interest |
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URGENT MATTERS Additional documents: |
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MATTERS ARISING FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY Additional documents: |
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LEADER AND DEPUTY LEADER'S PERFORMANCE REPORT ON THE PROGRAMME BOARDS PDF 90 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Dyfrig Siencyn and Cyng / Cllr Dafydd Meurig Additional documents: Decision: To accept and note the information in the
report. Minutes: Presented by Cllr
Dyfrig Siencyn and Cllr
Dafydd Meurig. DECISION To
accept and note the information in the report. DISCUSSION The report was presented
and it was noted that the Cabinet had determined
to establish two cross-departmental boards to look at two specific
fields - Regeneration and Supporting People. It was expressed that in terms
of the Regeneration field, they had gathered information about the county and had divided the county into 13 areas. It was added that consideration
needed to be given into what work
was to be done in each community in order to aim
towards the 'perfect community'. It was reiterated that engagement was required with residents
in order to be aware of their priorities and that the engagement work would commence
soon. It was noted that
in terms of the Supporting People field, it had been interesting to see the work stream mapping.
It was added that at times, there were
insufficient links between the streams but that much
of the work drew people together more efficiently in order to look at the support we provided through the citizen's perspective. Observations arising
from the discussion: ¾
The importance of focusing on the residents in the programme boards was emphasised, and a question was raised with regards to the Supporting People Board as to whether other agencies or authorities would be part of the discussion. It was expressed that the Council attended North Wales Boards in various
fields, but that this board
focused on the work of the Council initially before extending it further, although this would
be necessary in due course. ¾ It was noted that these boards would get to the core of Ffordd Gwynedd, noting that it would transform the way of working and how departments looked at services and work streams. ¾ It was noted that a recommendation would be submitted to the Cabinet to change the current Climate Sub-group into a new board that would focus on Climate Emergency on a cross-departmental level. It was expressed that there would be a further discussion on the matter at that time. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams and Morwena Edwards |
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PERFORMANCE REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR CORPORATE SUPPORT AND LEGAL SERVICES PDF 146 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Nia Jeffreys Additional documents:
Decision: To accept
and note the information in the report. Minutes: The item was submitted
by Cllr Nia Jeffreys. DECISION To accept and note
the information in the report. DISCUSSION The report was presented,
and it was noted that it would focus
on some headings
in the report. It was noted that the Cabinet received the Draft Equality Plan in November, and that
the consultation work on the document was ongoing. Attention was drawn to
the fact that there was an increase
in the number of events where information
about individuals had been stolen or lost. It was emphasised that work was afoot
to look at the implementation
policies in order to respond to the cases. It was noted that
a review had been undertaken of Blue Badge application arrangements. It was added that the Council had been assisting the Government in order to improve
the service. The staff of the legal
department were thanked for their
hard work over the election period. Observations arising
from the discussion: ¾
A question was asked with regards
to why the Council had been assisting Welsh Government to ensure that the service was available bilingually. It was expressed that the Blue Badge forms had been available bilingually but that the Council had been assisting them to ensure that they used
Clear Welsh so that the residents understood them. ¾
The Procurement field was discussed, noting the purpose of the unit, namely to obtain the best prices for the Council as well as keeping the benefits local. It was expressed that if a contract was not awarded to local businesses, then we would have
failed on the second purpose, and that reviews
therefore needed to be carried out to ask why. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams |
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Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Catrin Wager Additional documents: Decision: To accept
and note the information in the report. Minutes: The report was submitted
by Cllr Catrin
Wager. DECISION To accept and note
the information in the report. DISCUSSION The report was presented
and it was noted that the target of waste collected and reused, recycled
or composted by the Council
had been reached, and that the target
would increase from 64% to 70% by 2025. It was emphasised
that the percentage of waste being sent to landfill had also reduced to 18%, and it was expressed that this figure would
reduce once again as it would be sent to the
Parc Adfer once it would open. It was explained that the waste would be incinerated to create energy in
this park and, consequently, it would not be sent to landfill at
all. Attention was drawn to the waste collection field, noting an
apology that problems had arisen following a change in Arfon waste collection arrangements. It was added that the Christmas period, severe weather and vehicle breakdown
problems had led to many collections being missed. It was emphasised that this period
was a transitional period, and that they
were hoping that it would improve.
It was expressed that in terms
of Climate Change, changing street lighting to LED technology was continuing and 1,700 lamps had been changed in 2019/20. It was emphasised that this reduced carbon emissions down from 3,435 in 2014/15 to 685 by this year. It was noted that the scheme to modernise CCTV had ended, and staff were thanked for their
hard work. It was added that it had also come in
under budget. Attention was drawn to the Consultancy field, noting that there
was a financial deficit in terms of income
this year, and that this
was due to uncertainty in the field as a result of Brexit. Nevertheless, it was emphasised that the Water and Environment Department had managed to obtain grants for
flood areas. Observations
arising from the discussion: ¾
Attention was
drawn to the failures in
the Waste collection field, emphasising that the numbers were so low
in the millions of successful collections. It was emphasised that the number missed was approximately 0.01% of all collections.
¾
It was expressed that increasing the waste being recycled
to 70% was a realistic target,
however perhaps there was a need to emphasise to companies that the use of plastic needed to be reduced, and encourage
people to reuse rather than
buy new. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams |
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PERFORMANCE REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER CHILDREN AND SUPPORTING FAMILIES PDF 167 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Dilwyn Morgan Additional documents:
Decision: To accept
and note the information in the report, and request that the Chief Executive
considers the situation with regard to posts funded through annual grants along
with the difficulties this situation creates for services and the staff members
themselves. Minutes: Presented by
Cllr Dilwyn Morgan. DECISION To accept and
note the information in the report, and request that the Chief Executive considers
the situation with regard to posts funded through annual grants along with the
difficulties this situation creates for services and the staff members
themselves. DISCUSSION The report was presented which reported on the work of the
Council, and that the Cabinet Member was satisfied with the progress of
projects on the whole. It was added that it was a challenge for the department
to realise the savings schemes. Attention was drawn to the Supporting People Strategy, expressing
that the work of identifying the need and mapping what support was available
had been completed. It was reiterated that the department had achieved their
short-term work programme by setting up the Gwynedd Family Hub which provided
information about the available support. The department's priority for the rest
of the year was highlighted, namely to agree on a clear vision with the key
partners in order to ensure joint planning in the services for families. In terms of the Department's performance, it was expressed
that the safeguarding arrangements were robust. It was noted that extending the
screening work of the Welcomm tool in the Early Years field was being carried
out, which would attempt to improve the developments of a child's language. The
success of the Bridging the Generations scheme was highlighted, where sessions
had been held between the residents of the Bryn Seiont care home and the
children of the Plas Pawb nursery. It was emphasised that there was concern
about schemes funded through grants. It was added that funding was often
received for a short period of time, and that it was becoming increasingly
difficult to retain experienced staff, noting whether it would be possible to
obtain long-term or permanent agreements. It was asked for a piece of work to
be created in order to consider the situation. Observations arising from the
discussion: ¾
It was expressed that the number of jobs funded
from annual grants made it difficult to retain staff and created uneasiness for
them every year. A message needed to be sent to Welsh Government noting our
concerns about the jobs being funded through annual grants. The Chief Executive
was asked to consider the situation and the difficulties it created for
services and the staff members themselves in order to be able to present firmer
evidence to the Government. ¾
An update was requested on the work of the Youth
Service in terms of working with other youth organisations. It was expressed
that work was being carried out with the organisations, and that the youth
provision now reached more places than ever before. ¾ The department's financial situation was discussed, expressing that there was financial pressure across the country. It was added that the number of out-of-county placements were higher in comparison to previous years, and that the cost was high. It was expressed that discussions were being held in order to see whether it would ... view the full minutes text for item 8. Awdur: Morwena Edwards |
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PERFORMANCE REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR EDUCATION PDF 113 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Cemlyn Williams Additional documents: Decision: To accept
and note the information in the report, and approve the alternative savings
schemes contained within part 5 of the report, namely to use the underspend
from the 'Pupils with Additional Learning Needs who attend Out-of-County
Schools' budget. Minutes: Presented by Cllr
Gareth Griffith. DECISION To accept and note
the information in the report, and approve
the alternative savings schemes contained within part 5 of the report, namely to use the underspend from the 'Pupils with Additional Learning Needs who attend Out-of-County Schools' budget. DISCUSSION The report was presented,
noting the decision of the
Cabinet Member for the Environment in the absence of the Cabinet member for Education. It was added that the Cabinet Member for the Environment had been sitting in the performance challenge meetings with the Cabinet Member for Education
and had had an interesting morning looking at the department's work. Attention was drawn to the TRAC
project, noting that the
plan had been implemented since approximately three years and
that the grant would be coming to an end.
It was expressed that a further report was required in order
to look at the matter in more detail. If effective, the Council would have
to consider to continue or
not - with or without a
grant - however evidence would be required to support this. Observations arising
from the discussion: ¾
Concerns were raised about
the fact that the Welsh Language Charter continued to create a work load for
Headteachers. It was expressed
that the level of paperwork had now increased following the national adoption of the scheme by Welsh Government. Hope was expressed that there would
be an opportunity to revisit this in
light of the Language Charter coming into force in
September 2020. ¾ Concern was expressed for the TRAC scheme that would be ending in two years. It was elaborated that the children who were part of this scheme were young vulnerable people, as well as the need to highlight this. ¾ It was noted that the numbers who received school meals tended to be lower, and a question was asked whether there were implications to this. It was reiterated that evidence showed that increasing the cost in the past had partly been the reason for the reduction. It was added that the department was eager to look in more detail at flexibility in the field. It was emphasised that there was also a reduction in primary demography, which was clearly a reduction in numbers. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams |
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PERFORMANCE REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR HOUSING AND PROPERTY PDF 125 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Craig ab Iago Additional documents: Decision: To accept
and note the information in the report. Minutes: Presented by Cllr
Craig ab Iago. DECISION To accept and note the information
in the report. DISCUSSION The report was presented,
noting that the department was hoping that a Housing Strategy could be submitted to the Scrutiny Committee in the coming weeks, and
to the Cabinet before Easter.
It was noted that the number of people who presented themselves
as homelessness was still on the rise. It was emphasised that the service was dependent on grants and,
consequently, it was difficult
to plan. It was added that funding was required to ensure a long-term solution that would get
to the core of the problems. It was noted that
a new project in conjunction with the third sector agency Cais and Grŵp Cynefin had been successful in the Cymorth Cymru Awards, in the homelessness prevention category. It was emphasised that this project was to offer support to prison leavers with profound
needs who had been sleeping rough.
It was noted that receiving this award highlighted the work that could
be achieved. It was emphasised
that Ffordd Gwynedd work needed to be done in the Housing Supply and Enforcement
Service, that is responsible
for providing grants to adapt houses for people
with disabilities. It was hoped that by holding
a Ffordd Gwynedd review, the work
flow could be investigated in order to identify barriers. Observations arising
from the discussion: ¾
The importance of creating Ffordd Gwynedd reviews on the services within this field
was expressed, noting that it was crucial to consider the aspirations and needs of the individuals. It was emphasised that with an
increase in homelessness, and specifically hidden homelessness, there was a need to ensure that the packages available were specific to the individual. ¾
It was emphasised that the field of housing was a difficult field as 10% of the area's housing stock were
holiday homes. It was expressed that a housing supply was required in order
to live in them. It was added that the Welsh Local Government Association had drawn attention to this, and it was hoped that it would be discussed at the next meeting of the North Wales Cabinet. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams |
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SAVINGS OVERVIEW: PROGRESS REPORT ON REALISING SAVINGS SCHEMES PDF 348 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Ioan Thomas Additional documents:
Decision: To accept
the information in the report and to note the encouraging progress towards
realising the savings schemes for 2019/20 and previous years. Minutes: The report was submitted
by Cllr Ioan Thomas. DECISION To accept the information in the report and to note
the encouraging progress towards realising the savings schemes for 2019/20 and previous years. DISCUSSION The report was presented,
noting that £32m worth of savings had been approved to be realised in the period from 2015/16 to 2019/20.
It was added that the appendix noted each department's attainment against the savings target that had been set, which was a total of nearly £27m. It was emphasised that there were
substantial risks to realising 2019/20 savings by the Children and Supporting
Families Department, namely a Start to Finish Review. It was noted that a Children
Budget Taskforce had been commissioned in order to address
financial matters within the Department, which included this field. Attention
was drawn to the risks of realising
savings in the Housing Department as well as in the existing Structures and Placements Revision scheme, noting that the department was looking to discover alternative schemes. It was noted that
appendix two summarised the situation in terms of realising
the savings schemes for 2019/20. It was emphasised that 48% had been realised and 23% were on track.
It was highlighted that 22 schemes were slipping
or had risks to be realised.
It was expressed that it
was a challenging period, but that the schemes
were satisfactory overall Awdur: Dafydd Edwards |