Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Cabinet Members and Officers were welcomed to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Cllr Dyfrig Siencyn, Cllr Nia Jeffreys, Cllr Gareth Thomas, Cllr Cemlyn Williams and Morwena Edwards (Corporate Director). 

No declarations of personal interest were received.

There were no urgent items.

There were no matters arising from overview and scrutiny.

The Chair accepted the minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2020 as a true record.

a)    To approve the strategy in principle

b)    That we ask the Governors of each school individually to note whether they would be willing to underwrite the cost of renewing the devices from their budgets / school funds and if not, why not;

c)    That the service opens discussions urgently with relevant stakeholders in order to elaborate more on how it is intended to sustain the system and how it is intended to be paid for, with a view of including this in the strategy;

d)    Assuming that we will not receive all monies for delivering the strategy in September, that the service considers and sets out the scheme for the gradual introduction of the strategy;

e)    That a further report is submitted to the Cabinet at its meeting on 8 September, noting where we have reached with all of this, with a view to either approve the Strategy in its final form or to approve the first order being placed.

Submitted by Garem Jackson.  

DECISION

a)    To approve the strategy in principle

b)    That we ask the Governors of each school individually to note whether they would be willing to underwrite the cost of renewing the devices from their budgets / school funds and if not, why not;

c)    That the service opens discussion urgently with relevant stakeholders in order to elaborate more on how it is intended to sustain the system and how it is intended to be paid for, with a view of including this in the strategy;

d)    Assuming that we will not receive all monies for delivering the strategy in September, that the service considers and sets out the scheme for the gradual introduction of the strategy;

e)    That a further report is submitted to the Cabinet at its meeting on 8 September, noting where we have reached with all of this, with a view to either approve the Strategy in its final form or to approve the first order being placed;

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted noting that the report sought approval in principle to the strategy. It was expressed that money was available from Welsh Government to spend on equipment that had been procured nationally. It was noted that the investment strengthened the information technology infrastructure in schools in order to enrich the experiences of young people. It was added that Covid-19 had highlighted the value of information technology in enriching education in terms of the blended learning and that distance learning had been key in order to keep in contact throughout the period.

It was expressed that the strategy that had been drawn up was exciting and highlighted a clear pathway. It was explained that a bid had to be made for initial funding and in order to do so, the Cabinet needed to adopt in principle to proceed with the work. It was added that a further report would be submitted to the Cabinet following discussions with the stakeholders.

Observations arising from the discussion

¾        It was noted that the Government would be funding the initial part of the strategy when the information technology equipment would be purchased, but that the money to update and support the devices would need to be identified.

¾        It was expressed that the strategy and the intention was excellent, but that it was a substantial commitment. Enquiries were made about the standard that Welsh Government hoped to reach and about what other authorities were doing. Enquiries were made about the availability of other options and the importance of consulting with schools was emphasised. It was noted that the equipment currently available was not good enough and that this was to be seen across Wales. The expected standards, including security and device management standards, were highlighted.  It was emphasised that Gwynedd was eager to provide a device for every child at secondary school so that they could use it in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

¾    To commit to the Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) with other North Wales local authorities to manage the work of recruiting and managing additional staff to implement the Track, Trace, Protect project;

¾     To give delegated authority to the Head of Environment Department in consultation with the Head of Finance and Head of Legal to reach agreement on a final document and complete the agreement.

The report was presented by Cllr Gareth Griffith 

DECISION

¾  To commit to the Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) with other north Wales local authorities to manage the work of recruiting and managing additional staff to implement the Track, Trace, Protect project;

¾  To give delegated authority to the Head of Environment Department in consultation with the Head of Finance and Head of Legal to reach agreement on a final document and complete the agreement.

DISCUSSION

The report was presented, noting that a number of discussions had been held on this item. The decision was highlighted, noting that it would commit the Council to an agreement that would manage the work and recruit the work for Test, Trace, Protect. Attention was drawn to the observations of the statutory officers that could be seen in the report.

Observations arising from the discussion                                                   

Support to the scheme was expressed, noting that it highlighted the collaboration across the north and ensured that the authorities did not compete for the same staff.

It was noted that she was glad that robust arrangements were in place, however, as the recruitment and human resources elements would be undertaken by Flintshire, it was asked whether it would be possible to ensure that the language standards were maintained, along with the hours within the contract. It was emphasised that the Welsh language would be prioritised when creating a short-list in Gwynedd, and it was noted that the hours within the contract corresponded to the work - there could be busy periods and quiet periods.  It was also noted that it was not obvious how many staff would be required for the work, but that people would be available should the need arise across the county.