Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Kim Jones, Robert Glyn Daniels, Stephen Churchman, Beca Roberts and Rob Triggs.

To receive any declaration of personal interest

No declarations of personal interest were received.

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration.

None to note.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee, held on 27.10.2022 be signed as a true record. 

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 27 October 2022 as a true record.

To provide an overview to Members of the activities of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Community Safety Partnership (CSP), January 2023 for the the period of 2021-22, and developments for 2022-23.

To accept the report, noting the observations and supporting the priorities and direction of the work to the future.

The report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being, Senior Safeguarding, Quality Assurance and Mental Health Manager and the Senior Operational Officer, Gwynedd and Anglesey Community Safety Partnership. Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

-      It was noted that this report detailed the 2021-22 period.

-      It was explained that the partnership had been established in line with Local Authorities' statutory duty to work in partnership with the police, Health Service, Probation Service and the Fire and Rescue Service in line with the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Police and Criminal Justice Acts 2002 and 2006.

-      It was explained that the partnership was looking at crime and disorder, substance misuse and reducing reoffending.

-      It was explained that the partnership's priorities for the 2023-24 year was to prevent crimes and anti-social behaviour, tackling violent crime and serious organised crime, and safeguarding and building resilient communities and maintaining public safety.

-      It was stated that the partnership had faced challenges over the past year. Specifically, the partnership had lost all of its grants as they had come to an end or had moved to a regional level (whole of North Wales). In addition, technological developments meant that new types of crimes had now reached the Gwynedd and Anglesey area. Although these counties were some of the safest places to live, incidents of Organized Crime Groups and county lines in the area with the partnership being aware of them.

-      It was elaborated that shoplifting had increased 53.8% in Gwynedd, compared with 2021/22. It was believed that this derived from the general increase in living costs and it was expected for these types of crimes to increase in the coming months.

-      A summary was provided of the partnership's work over the past year:

o   Training sessions were held by the Police's Economic Crimes Unit for Local Authority staff who worked with vulnerable people to draw attention to scams used by fraudsters.

o   The Safer Streets 2 project was completed in Bangor, with the installation of 42 additional CCTV cameras and more lights in the Hirael/Deiniol area of the city.

o   A SOC Group had been introduced for Gwynedd and Anglesey.

o   The regional group had been attended regularly to develop the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy in both Councils.

o   The Violence Against Women and Girls group was established in March. The partnership attended meetings regularly to provide input into the work of fostering confidence between women and the police.

o   A Regional Prevent Delivery Group was developed.

o   Cyngor Gwynedd received a White Ribbon Accreditation following the work of the Corporate Support Department.

o   The police were consulted to investigate the possibility of extending the current Safe Spaces Scheme provision.

-      It was confirmed that all of these projects would continue to run over the next year and the partnership was going to continue to support all regional meetings and projects. The partnership was aware of the cost-of-living crisis which was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To provide an opportunity for members of the Committee to scrutinise the content of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Draft Well-being Plan and submit any observations.

(i)         To accept the report.

(ii)        To ask the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board to ensure protection for the Welsh language in the Well-being Plan.

(iii)       That the Committee supports the well-being objective 'We will work together to alleviate the effect of poverty on our communities' well-being' as it is essential.

(iv)      That we need to ensure that our children and young people are given every fairness.

The report was submitted by the Council Leader and the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager. Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

-      It was explained that the Well-being Plan would be published in May, with the consultation being held until 6 March 2023.

-      It was elaborated that the work to carry out the draft Well-being Plan had been developed over the past 18 months. Workshops had been held over the summer with board members in order to learn lessons from the previous well-being plan and set criteria in order to agree on new objectives. It was noted that the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board was eager to ensure that they added value by working together without duplicating work that would be carried out in any case.

-      It was confirmed that the Public Services Board had drawn up three Well-being Objectives for the 2023-2028 period. These were fields where the Board believed that it was possible for the members to collaborate better to ensure the best possible outcomes for the people of Gwynedd and Anglesey. The draft objectives were:

o   We want to work together to mitigate the impact of poverty on the well-being of our communities.

o   We want to work together to prioritise the well-being and success of our children and young people.

o   We want to work together to support our communities to shift towards Zero Net Carbon.

-      It was emphasised that the Welsh language was a golden thread that would be promoted in every field in the Board's plan.

-      It was explained that the Board was continuing to consult by sharing the Draft Well-being Plan with town and community councils, the third sector, older people forums, looked after children and students at colleges and sixth forms.

-      It was confirmed that the Board would adapt the draft well-being plan after a consultation period if needed before it would be submitted to the Full Council and published in May.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. Members were reminded that the Committee was a statutory consultee. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

Concern was shared about protecting the Welsh language in the Plan, particularly following the results of the recent Census. It was noted that although the report noted that the language was a golden thread, it had not been included as a specific objective in the new Plan. It was asked whether the Board was considering changing one of the objectives to include the Welsh language or adding an additional objective.

In response to the above comments: 

-      the Programme Manager - Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board ensured that the language was embedded in all of the Board's work. The language had not been noted as an objective since all members of the Board were operating through the medium of Welsh already and therefore it was not a new target. It was noted that the Board would consider amending  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To review the County roadside maintenance arrangements.

(i)         To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

(ii)        To ask the Department to present the results of the trials and the new grass-cutting policy to the Committee when timely.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy and the Head of Highways and Municipal Services.  Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

-      It was explained that the report was an update to the proposed grass cutting arrangements submitted to the Committee in January 2022.

-      It was reported that grass cutting and collecting trials were in the process of being held in order to promote the needs of wildlife and biodiversity. It was elaborated that the work of seeding the areas in the trials had been completed in October and that it would be possible to see whether they had been successful or not from April 2023 onwards.

-      It was stated that the trials had been funded through grant receipts. The Council had managed to purchase grass cutting and collecting machines with this money and they could be used in the future.

-      It was confirmed that the trials would be promoted at the Council's stall at the Llŷn ac Eifionydd National Eisteddfod 2023 in Boduan. It was shared that visitors to the eisteddfod were likely to pass by the trial areas and it was hoped that the wild-flowers would have grown by then so that they could notice the difference. It was hoped to share a positive message about the trials to the public and that the new system would save money.

-      It was emphasised that health and safety was a very important consideration within the trial and it would not consider adding any area to the trials if it would have a negative impact on health and safety.

-      The Environment Department was thanked for working so closely with the Highways and Municipal Department on these trials.

-      It was expressed that a new contract with the grass cutting service was currently being developed for the next growing season. It was confirmed that it could be amended after the outcome of the trials was known, when the new policy would have been developed.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

It was asked whether problems were likely to derive from the fact that the policy would not be ready before the contract was in place.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Head of Highways and Municipal Department noted that this would not be a problem since the provision was included within the contracts in order to allow for such changes.

It was noted that the Committee had considered a report on this matter at the meeting on 13 January 2022. There was a query regarding the timetable in terms of adopting a new policy.  In response to the query, the Head of Highways and Municipal Department noted that the policy had not been developed to date since full seasons were required for the trials. He explained that preparations for the trials had been carried out at the end of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

1.     To outline the matters requiring attention in the areas of Waste and Recycling.

2.     To present a work programme for reviewing the matters requiring attention in the areas of Waste and Recycling.

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department and the Assistant Head of Environment Department. Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

-      It was confirmed that the waste and recycling collection service had been transferred to the Environment Department since October 2022. The Head of Department had been learning more about the service and becoming familiar with the work by going on routes with some of the workforce.

-      It was explained that the service's workforce was very committed since they were providing a weekly service to around 63,400 dwellings across the county.

-      It was stated that the recycling percentages of Wales were very good in comparison with other countries. It was explained that a target had been set by Welsh Government to recycle 70% of all domestic waste by 2025. It was a challenge for every local authority.

-      Gratitude was expressed to the Highways and Municipal Department for the development of systems to ensure that the Gwynedd domestic recycling percentage was static at around 64%. Nevertheless, it was acknowledged that there was a need to do something major in order to meet the target of 70% by 2025. He noted that it was not possible to reach this by making minor changes to current procedures.

-      It was explained that the service's working arrangements had changed from 12-hour shifts (three days on, three days off), to be working the same hours over 5 days a week. This was challenging over the Covid-19 period but now the workforce had adapted to this and was working on the Task and Finish baseline. It was hoped that this would lead to savings within the service, but unfortunately the costs were more than anticipated. The department would revisit this arrangement to assess whether this optimised the service to its full potential.

-      It was reported that waste collection costed £232 per dwelling. It was explained that this was the second highest amount in Wales.
 It was considered that this was because Gwynedd was a very vast county. Nevertheless, the service's performance was very good in terms of the recycling percentage.

-      It was confirmed that there was a substantial overspend in the field of waste collection and treatment. Due to the physical nature of the work, staff sickness levels were high. It was acknowledged that this level was higher than some of the other authorities in Wales. This meant that some members of the workforce had to work additional hours. It was assumed that the overspend figures would be around £1.4 million this year on a budget of around £5 million.

-      It was emphasised that workforce health and safety was central to the service. The Council did not have an obvious waste and recycling strategy. The department was hoping to develop this in the future to ensure that staff health and safety was protected.

-      It was noted that the department received regular complaints that recycling boxes and bins  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To adopt a revised work programme.

To adopt the amended work programme for 2022/23.

The report was presented by the Scrutiny Advisor and she briefly drew attention to the following main points:

-      It was reported that the Chair and Vice-chair attended regular meetings with the relevant Cabinet Members and Heads of Department. At a recent meeting with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy, reference was made to the 'Local Flooding Strategy' item that had been scrutinised at the Committee meeting on 27 October 2022. The Head of Department and Cabinet Member were very eager for the committee to scrutinise the 'Flooding Risk Assessment' at the scrutiny committee in March since it was timely in the development of the Local Flooding Strategy.

-      The members were asked to approve this amendment to the work programme.

RESOLVED

To adopt the amended work programme for 2022/23.

To nominate representatives to attend performance challenge meetings.

To elect Councillors Rhys Tudur and Llio Elenid Owen to attend performance challenge meetings for the Environment area of work.

To elect Councillors Stephen Churchman and Rob Triggs to attend performance challenge meetings for the Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy area of work, with Councillor Arwyn Herald Roberts as reserve.

The report was presented by the Scrutiny Advisor and she briefly drew attention to the following main points:

-      It was reported that one performance challenge meeting was held for the Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy (YGC) work fields following the transfer of YGC to the Highways and Municipal Department.

-      Members were reminded that there was an empty seat to represent the Communities Scrutiny Committee at the Environment performance challenge meeting.

-      It was confirmed during the informal meeting of the Committee held on 27 October 2022 that the four existing representatives were given the opportunity to declare an interest. After responses were received, it was recommended:

o   That Councillor Llio Elenid Owen filled the empty seat on the Environment Performance Challenge meeting.

o   Councillors Stephen Churchman and Rob Triggs would represent the committee at the Highways and Gwynedd Consultancy performance challenge meetings, with Councillor Arwyn Herald Roberts acting as a reserve member.

RESOLVED

To elect Councillors Rhys Tudur and Llio Elenid Owen to attend performance challenge meetings for the Environment area of work.

To elect Councillors Stephen Churchman and Rob Triggs to attend performance challenge meetings for the Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy area of work, with Councillor Arwyn Herald Roberts as reserve.

To elect Councillors Stephen Churchman and Rob Triggs to attend performance challenge meetings for the Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy area of work, with Councillor Arwyn Herald Roberts as reserve.