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Contact: Bethan Adams 01286 679020
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Councillor
Jason Humphreys. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No
declarations of personal interest were received from any of the members
present. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Minutes: None |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the last meeting of this committee held on 24 November 2015, be signed as a true record. Minutes: The
Chairman signed the minutes of the last meeting of this committee, held on 24
November 2015, as a true record |
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HEAD OF DEMOCRATIC SERVICES DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 PDF 579 KB To consider the report of the Head of Democratic Services. Minutes: Submitted
– a draft of the annual report to be submitted to the Full Council on 12 May
2016, providing an update regarding the support that was available to members,
the developments that had been realised and those that were in progress. Observations
arising from the discussion:- ·
That
the area forums as a whole were of value as a medium for members to receive
information and express opinion on various matters but officers needed to limit
the length of their presentations. ·
Needed more training for members
on Modern.gov. In response, the Senior Manager – Democracy and Delivery noted
that consideration was being given to holding support sessions, before or after
the area forums, to go through the difficulties. ·
Needed
to draw the Information Technology Service’s attention to the problem with band
width in the Council’s meeting rooms, especially during lunchtime. ·
That the chairs of meetings
that were held via video-conference tended to focus on what was happening in
Caernarfon, disregarding the people at the other locations. It was suggested
that it should be the vice-chair’s role to keep an eye on the discussion. ·
Remote
Access could be of use to local members, applicants / objectors who wished to
address the Planning Committee. The Senior Manager – Democracy and Delivery
noted that there were constitutional considerations involved in that, but he
could look into the matter. RESOLVED to note the
contents of the report. The
Chairman asked everyone to stay after the end of the meeting to have a
conversation with the officers regarding:- ·
Rheadr, and how to improve it; ·
The
training programme for the coming year and an opportunity to see how e-learning
was developing |
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2017 LOCAL AUTHORITY ELECTIONS PDF 223 KB To consider the report of the Senior Manager (Democracy and Delivery). Minutes: Submitted – an update of
the work of the Diversity Sub-group along with an outline of the preparatory
work for the Local Authority Election in 2017:- ·
Awareness
raising sessions for potential candidates; ·
Induction
Programme for Elected Members following May 2017 elections; ·
Electronic
equipment Observations arising from
the discussion:- ·
The
importance of developing awareness raising sessions for those who put their
names forward to stand for election in 2017. ·
The
political parties should be encouraged to consider using mentoring systems by
pairing a new councillor with a more experienced councillor. The committee was asked to
identify 4-5 members who would be willing for the service to consult with them
as work progressed with preparing for the awareness raising sessions,
identifying the induction programme and the training programme along with
electronic considerations. RESOLVED to establish a focus group, made up of Councillors Annwen
Daniels, Selwyn Griffiths, Jason Humphreys, Michael Sol Owen, along with a
cabinet member, to check the above matters as the developments progress. |
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR ELECTED MEMBERS PDF 241 KB To consider the report of the Senior Manager (Democracy and Delivery) and the Information Technology Senior Manager. Minutes: Submitted – an update on
the following information technology matters:- ·
Tablet
training; ·
Receiving
councillorxx@gwynedd.gov.uk e-mail on mobile devices; ·
Preparing
for the 2017 elections. The Senior Manager -
Democracy and Delivery explained:- ·
Confirmation
had now been received that it was possible to offer a service where officers
and elected members could receive / send official Council e-mail on their
mobile phones, on condition that this was done safely, adhering to the
conditions agreed upon with the auditors. ·
The
cost of the software per device would be £40 in the first year and £10 per year
thereafter. RESOLVED that any councillor who so wishes, should be offered a service enabling
them to send/receive councillorxx@gwynedd.gov.uk e-mail
on a mobile phone and that the Council will cover the cost and make it clear to
the members what the conditions attached to the provision are. |
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FINANCIAL REMUNERATION FOR ELECTED MEMBERS PDF 246 KB To consider the report of the Senior Manager (Democracy and Delivery). Minutes: Submitted
– the report of the Senior Manager - Democracy and Delivery seeking the
committee’s opinion on options regarding financial remuneration for elected
members. The
Senior Manager - Democracy and Delivery explained that the Independent
Remuneration Panel’s final proposals for the next year noted that every
individual council would decide:- ·
To
set Cabinet Members on one of two levels, Level 1, £29,000 (as at present) or
Level 2 (£26,000); ·
To
set Committee Chairs on of two levels, Level 1, £22,000 (as at present) or
Level 2 (£20,000). The
committee was also asked to consider if there was a difference in the
responsibilities shouldered by the committee chairs who received special
remuneration at present, namely the Scrutiny Committees (x3), Audit Committee,
Planning Committee, Licensing Committee and the Employment Appeals Committee,
and the chairs of some of the other committees, which did not receive special
remuneration, such as the Pensions Committee, the Language Committee and this
committee. The
Senior Manager – Democracy and Delivery noted that the Head of Finance
Department had drawn attention to the fact that there had been a substantial
increase in the Pensions Committee Chair’s work as a result of the establishment
of the Pensions Board (which held the Pensions Committee to account). Also,
over time, there would be some more work happening in the pensions field on a
regional level. The
Head of Democratic Services noted that the Employment Appeals Committee’s workload
had decreased during the last few months and the number of appeals would be
likely to decrease further in the future as more of the work would be done by
officers and the trade unions. The
Senior Manager – Democracy and Delivery further explained that a cap was set on
the number of chairs who could receive special remuneration, and by adding one
chair to the list, another would need to be removed. Observations
arising from the discussion:- ·
The
Cabinet members’ duties had been allocated to ensure consistency and a balanced
workload and putting Cabinet members on different pay levels could lead to some
complexity, meaning that shifting duties from one Cabinet member to another
would become more difficult. ·
The
geographical nature of the county and the challenge of providing services
across the second largest county in Wales was a factor that should be
considered for the Cabinet members and the committee chairs. ·
Members
were required to travel across Gwynedd, bearing in mind that it could take
approximately two hours to travel from the North of the county to the South. ·
As
it appeared that the workload of some chairs was larger than others, a small
group should be established to look into this further. ·
Needed
to see if using some elements of the job evaluation procedure would be helpful
for this further work. ·
The
importance of considering elements other than the number of meetings, e.g. the
length of meetings and demands outside the meetings. RESOLVED (a) To recommend to the Council that the salary levels of Cabinet Members should remain at Level 1 (based ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |