Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Councillor Elin Hywel, Former Chair of this Committee was thanked for her valuable contribution to the Committee's work over the past two years.

Councillors Dafydd Davies and Wendy Cleaver were welcomed to their first meeting.

An apology was received from Councillor Robert Glyn Daniels

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 18 September 2025 be signed as a true record. 

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 18 September 2025, as a true record.

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department.

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

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Engineering and YGC, along with the Head and Assistant Head of the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department.

All were reminded that the Department is responsible for three of the Council's 2023-28 Plan schemes and that this report was an update on their development up to the end of September 2025.

It was confirmed that the Department has received support from the Welsh Government Play Opportunities grant to improve the quality and accessibility of playgrounds. It was explained that this development was a major development in the project 'Extending play and socialising opportunities for the County's children and young people' within the Council's Plan. It was elaborated that effective collaboration had been underway with Bangor City Council as the process of handing over the Maes Tryfan playground to them continued.

An update on the 'Action on flood risks' project was provided noting that the Local Flood Strategy had been adopted and was operational.

It was reported that a cleaning circuit optimisation system had been introduced in the Arfon area as part of the 'Clean and Tidy Communities' project. It was explained that this system was part of a pilot scheme in the Arfon area and noted that it was hoped that the arrangements will be extended to Pwllheli and Porthmadog in spring 2026. It was elaborated that the purpose of the system was to reduce the service current overspend by ensuring that an effective working order is implemented.

Attention was drawn to 29 performance measures that are operational within the Department, such as 'Corporate/departmental measures', 'Highway maintenance', 'Street lighting', 'Street Scene', 'Public Toilets' and 'Gwynedd Consultancy' and there was pride that 62.1% of these measures were in green. It was explained that this was confirmation of the service's positive work and the effective performance of services. However, it was noted that 37.9% of the measures were recorded in amber, ensuring that these measures received further attention as part of the performance challenge process. Pride was expressed that no measure had been recorded in red.

Reference was made to the Department's 2025-26 Savings schemes, which amounted to £533,500. It was confirmed that the department was on track to deliver £212,500 of these Savings schemes, recognising that there was a possibility that £321,000 will not be realised. It was also highlighted that some budgets were affected by the weather as an additional budget needs to be secured to address any unpredictable severe weather.

It was updated that the numbers of the workforce that had undertaken mandatory training had increased, and that 77.4% of staff had completed the core 'Abuse' training, 72.4% had completed the 'Safeguarding' title, and pride was expressed that over 67% of the department's staff had completed all mandatory training titles. It was acknowledged that there was room for improvement to increase these numbers in the future, but challenges had emerged as there are not many frontline staff members with access to the modules as they do not have electronic equipment.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Environment Department.

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 the Environment Department and the Assistant Heads of the Environment Department. ⁠

During the debate, the following observations were made by the Members: -

Waste and Recycling

Concern was expressed that there was a financial risk to the Council if the Department fails to meet the Welsh Government's target of 70% to recycle all waste in the County. In response to the comments, the Assistant Head of Waste and Recycling confirmed that work is being done to commit to meeting this target, with the Council achieving a recycling rate of 66.6% during 2025-26 to date. It was elaborated that the Council was working with ADRA housing association to promote the benefits of recycling, as they were responsible for 7500 dwellings in the County which would have a major impact on the recycling rate. Similarly, it was pointed out that work is being done to ensure that pupils in schools in Gwynedd receive lessons on the importance of recycling and that leaflets were being prepared for distribution to every house in the County as a reminder of how to recycle correctly. It was recognised that there are only 4 members of staff in the team who teach? in relation to recycling, it was ensured that every effort was made to strive to meet the recycling target and to ensure that any financial penalty for failing to meet the target was as small as possible.

In response to a further query as to whether the Department was confident that Gwynedd could recycle 70% of its waste, the Department's Assistant Head of Waste and Recycling confirmed that they were confident the target would be met. It was detailed that a public engagement exercise on the Waste and Recycling Strategy was currently underway and that the responses received to date had been very encouraging. It was elaborated that there had been over 700 responses to the consultation to date and that 80% of those respondents consider recycling to be an important action and agree with the need to reduce waste. They were reminded that the duty to recycle is a matter for everyone in Gwynedd and huge pressure was being placed within the department to train officers and to ensure that the act of recycling correctly is promoted with the public to ensure that everyone recycles as much as possible. It was explained that many things that can be recycled continue to be included in the residual waste bins and that work is being done to educate the public that these items can be recycled. It was ensured that delivering these actions would ensure that the Council would recycle 70% of its waste in line with the Welsh Government's target.

In response to an enquiry as to whether the Department had been too late in developing the Waste and Recycling Strategy, the Head of Department disagreed stating that the service had only been under the Department's management for 3 years and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To adopt an amended work programme for 2025/26.

To adopt the Communities Scrutiny Committee’s amended work programme for 2025/26.

The report was presented by the Scrutiny Advisor. ⁠

Members were reminded that the Community Scrutiny Committee's Forward Programme for 2025/26 had been adopted by the Committee at the meeting held on 18 September 2025.

It was explained that an item 'Review of the Climate and Nature Emergency Plan' had originally been scheduled for this meeting (06 November 2025). It was noted that a request to reschedule it to the meeting of 22 January 2026 was received to ensure that further work is completed before it is submitted to this Committee.

It was pointed out that a request had been received from a member of the public for this Committee to scrutinise issues relating to funding issues associated with the Climate and Nature Emergency Plan. It was confirmed that the Chair and Vice-chair had considered this request, and it was considered timely for consideration at the meeting of 22 January 2026 when the Committee would consider a Review of the Plan. It was highlighted that there would be four items to be discussed at that meeting if the Committee adopted the amended Work Programme.

During the discussion, the following observations were made by the Members: -

It was agreed to extend an invitation to the member of the public to attend the Committee meeting on 22 January 2026. It was confirmed that the member of the public will have up to 3 minutes to elaborate on their request if they wish to do so.

RESOLVED

To adopt the Communities Scrutiny Committee’s amended work programme for 2025/26.