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 Councillor Gareth Griffith and Councillor Craig ab Iago |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST Additional documents: Minutes: There were
no declarations of personal interest. |
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URGENT ITEMS Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader
declared that he had agreed to discuss two urgent items for urgent
information. 1. Geraint Thomas was congratulated on
winning the Tour de France, along with the Head of the team, Sir David
Brailsford, who was born in Gwynedd. Both were thanked for their commitment to
the country and pride was taken in their success. 2. The Finance Cabinet Member reported
that the Council had experienced difficulties with its computer systems over
the past week, but the department had managed to recover the systems in
priority order. It was expressed that
the emergency recovery plan had been key when restoring the main systems. It was added that the Council's IT Service
was continuing with the work of recovering some systems and it would continue
to improve the systems' resilience in the future. The Head of the Finance Department will
commission an independent expert opinion on the architecture of the technology
in order to see whether there were ways of avoiding a similar situation in the
future. . |
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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 3 JULY PDF 100 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair
signed the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 3 July 2018, as a true
record. |
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REVIEW OF PUBLIC PROTECTION'S LEVEL OF RESOURCES PDF 246 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Dafydd Meurig Additional documents:
Decision: 1. To
accept the report. 2. To approve the diversion of £70,000 of the
department’s existing income to increase staff resources in order to meet the
food law enforcement requirements in accordance with this report. Allowing the Environment
Department to: ¾ Realise one of the proposed savings
plans (involving income as a result of road closure arrangements) early, i.e.
implement during 2018/19 rather than by 2019/20. ¾ Harvest £70,000 of additional income
from this saving plan departmentally, to implement a permanent budget transfer
to fund two posts in the Food Law Enforcement service. Minutes: The item
was submitted by Cllr Dafydd Meurig RESOLVED 1. To accept the report 2. To approve the diversion of £70,000 of the
department’s existing income to increase staff resources in order to meet the
food law enforcement requirements in accordance with the report. Allowing the
Environment Department to: -
Realise
one of the proposed savings plan (involving income as a result of road closure
arrangements) early, i.e. implement during 2018/19 rather than by 2019/20. -
Harvest
£70,000 of additional income from this saving plan departmentally, to implement
a permanent budget transfer to fund two posts in the Food Law Enforcement
service. DISCUSSION The report
was submitted by noting that the department was requesting for £70,000 to be
diverted from the current income in order to address food law enforcement
requirements following an audit from the Food Standards Agency. It was noted that the Welfare, Health and
Safety Unit within the Public Protection service provided the food law
enforcement service. It was expressed that the unit was responsible for the
enforcement of food safety requirements at over 2000 food businesses in
Gwynedd. Following
the Gwynedd Challenge exercise, it was noted that the Environment Department
had received a financial cut, and it was added that the Public Protection Unit
had attempted to work in alternative ways but now the department was under
pressure to meet all the requirements, including new food inspection duties
that were now in force. It was added
that the Food Standards Agency was of the view that the Council needed to
allocate more resources towards food hygiene and food standards
inspections. It was emphasised that the
department was not requesting money, but rather, it was asking to divert money
from within the Department in order to achieve the need. Attention was
drawn to the views of the Finance Officer which noted that the £70,000 was
being harvested as a result of additional income that was already being
received by changing how we raised 'income for road closure arrangements'. Observations arising from the discussion -
It
was noted that the department had been under pressure as a result of the
financial savings. It was noted that the resource was needed in order to meet
the requirements. -
A
discussion was held about the two types of work streams within the unit. Awdur: Gareth Jones |
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EMPLOYMENT ANNUAL REPORT PDF 504 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Nia Jeffreys Additional documents: Decision: To approve
the annual report. Minutes: The item was submitted by Cllr Nia
Jeffreys RESOLVED To approve the annual report. DISCUSSION The report was submitted noting that the report
was a collection of useful statistics about the Council. Gratitude was
expressed to the staff and she added that it had been a difficult year but that
the staff had done everything to ensure a service of the highest quality to the
residents of Gwynedd. Attention was
drawn to the age profile of the staff, noting that 64% of the staff were over
40 years old, and it was reiterated that the majority of the Corporate
Management Group were over 50 years old. It was noted that the number of sickness days
amongst Council staff had reduced to 8.72 days a year. It was added that the Council was one of
the local authorities with the fewest number of sickness days across
Wales. It was explained that the Council
was now a step closer to paying a Living Wage for those who were on Point 8,
namely the Council's minimum wage. It
was noted that the minimum wage within the Council would be higher than the
Living Wage by April 2019. It was expressed, as commonly seen in society,
that the wage gap between women and men existed within the Council as
well. It was added that the Council's
Business Plan for the next five years looked at how the gap could be reduced
and promote the number of women who reached high jobs within the
organisation. Observations arising from the discussion -
It
was added that Education Experts, who worked collaboratively between Gwynedd
and Anglesey, were now Gwynedd Council staff and that Anglesey Council
purchased their service from the Council. -
It
was noted that there were many useful facts within the report which would
provide a foundation to the Council's improvements. -
In
respect of the Council's age profile, it was asked whether an age profile could
be carried out for the county also, so that the statistics could be
compared. -
It
was expressed that the number of jobs had increased and that a high number of
people applied for jobs, but it was asked why a number of jobs were being
re-advertised. It was noted that a high
number of the jobs that were re-advertised were ones in the care field or were
temporary posts. It was added that work
was being done specifically on workforce development. A
discussion was held on Leadership Management, and a question was asked about
how the Managers' College would develop the leadership. It was noted that the Council focused on
leading people rather than managing people and that the Managers' College
supported managers to gain leadership skills Awdur: Geraint Owen |
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DISCRETIONARY RELIEF FROM COUNCIL TAX FOR YOUNG PEOPLE LEAVING CARE PDF 81 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Dilwyn Morgan and Cyng / Cllr Peredur Jenkins Additional documents:
Decision: In
accordance with the Council’s powers under Section 13A(1)(c) of the Local
Government Minutes: The item was submitted by Cllr Dilwyn Morgan
and Cllr Peredur Jenkins RESOLVED In accordance with the Council’s powers under
Section 12A(1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, to allow full
exception from paying Council Tax to young persons leaving care until they are
25 years old after considering other discounts, exceptions and/or Council Tax
Reduction to which they are already entitled. DISCUSSION The report was submitted and the member noted
that it was a pleasure to submit this report, not only as a Cabinet Member but
also as the Chair of the Corporate Parent Panel. It was noted that the report highlighted
collaboration between departments. It
was added that this report was submitted at the request of the Corporate Parent
Panel and by offering this relief to young people who left care, it was an
opportunity to assist them and educate them about broader financial matters. It was added that the Finance Department was
very supportive of the report, and added that it was estimated that allowing
this relief would not cost more than £20,000 a year to the Council. It was explained that there
was flexibility for financing the cost of the plan in the corporate budget. Observations arising from the discussion -
It
was added that the Government made no reference to funding this scheme at
present; however, the 22 counties in Wales were eager to reconcile this and
place pressure on the Government to shoulder this burden. -
It
was expressed that young people who were leaving care needed to be supported
and that this scheme was fully supported. Awdur: Dafydd L Edwards |
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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC The
Chairman shall propose that the press and public be excluded from the meeting
during the discussion on the following item due to the likely disclosure of
exempt information as defined in paragraph Paragraph 12 of Scehdule 12A of the Local Government act 1972 14.10.2 Exempt
Information – Discretion to Exclude Public (a) The public may be
excluded from meetings whenever it is likely in view of the nature of the
business to be transacted, or the nature of the proceedings, that exempt
information would be disclosed. The report gives members an opportunity to
take an overview of an application for early retirement by a member of the
Councils senior management. Although there is public interest in understanding
such arrangements in order to give them due consideration it is necessary to
receive information about individual employees. Publishing such information
could undermine the confidence of staff members to make such applications and
affect their rights contrary to the public interest. Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED to exclude the press and public from
the meeting during the discussion on the following items due to the likely
disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 12, Schedule 12A,
Local Government Act 1972. This paragraph is relevant as the report includes
information about a specific individual. The report refers to matters relating
to the employment of a member of staff, particularly the early retirement
request that would not be resolved until the observations of the Cabinet
members were received. Consequently, it
was considered that the public interest of not disclosing the information
outweighed the public interest of disclosing it. |
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COUNCIL SENIOR MANAGEMENT Additional documents: Decision: To accept the Chief
Executive's proposal and the implications noted in the report. Minutes: The item was submitted by Dilwyn Williams. RESOLVED To accept the Chief Executive's proposal and
the side-effects noted in the report. DISCUSSION A report was submitted, noting that in accordance
with the Council's arrangements, the Chief Executive was entitled, subject to
the requirements to consult with officers on a business case, to make decisions
on applications for early retirement. It
was added, as the matter related to a Senior Officer, that the Cabinet were
also consulted regarding the application, before a decision was made. It was noted that in May this year, the Cabinet
had resolved that a review of the Council's managerial arrangements should be
undertaken, and the arrangements for achieving this were in progress. In the meantime, the Chief Executive had
received an application from one of the Heads of Department, asking for
permission to retire early (without a reduction in his pension), to facilitate
the Council's ability to achieve savings.
Although there was a cost associated with approving the application, the
cost would be reclaimed within 12 - 16 months at most, and the savings would be
available to contribute towards the Council's financial deficit from the middle
of the next financial year onwards. The Head of Department was thanked for his
service to the Council and it was noted that the Council would miss all of his
experience in the field. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams |