Venue: Virtual Meeting - Zoom
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive any
apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillor
Freya Bentham, Ruth Roe (Meirionnydd Parent/Governor Representative), Karen
Vaughan Jones (Dwyfor Parent/Governor Representative), Dilwyn Ellis Hughes
(UCAC) and Dylan Huw Jones (NASUWT). |
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DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any
declarations of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Selwyn Griffiths declared a
personal interest in item 5 on the agenda - Delivering the Youth Engagement and
Development Framework in Gwynedd - as his daughter-in-law was responsible for
submitting the report and as he had a family connection with the Wavehill
company who had drawn-up the TRAC and ADTRAC evaluation report. The member was not of the opinion that they were prejudicial interests,
and he did not withdraw from the meeting during the discussion on the item. |
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URGENT BUSINESS To note any items
that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chair for consideration. Additional documents: Minutes: None to note. |
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The Chair shall
propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee held on 4th
February, 2021 be signed as a true record. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous
committee meeting held on 4 February 2021 as a true record. |
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DELIVERING THE YOUTH ENGAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK IN GWYNEDD PDF 283 KB Cabinet Member – Councillor Cemlyn Williams To consider a
report on the above. *10-30am – 11.30am Additional documents:
Decision: To accept the report, noting
the observations made - particularly in respect of the suitability of the
arrangements of the Framework, the need to offer full support for young people
who are at risk / disengaged from the field of education, training or
employment, ensuring that these elements are addressed
when reviewing our provisions in the future.
Consideration should be given to scrutinising
this field further, discussing the timetable for that at this committee's
Annual Workshop in May. Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Education and Cabinet
Member for Children and Young People, along with officials from the Education
Department and the Children and Supporting Families Department were welcomed to
the meeting. Presented - the report of the Cabinet Member
for Education inviting the scrutiny committee to consider whether the Council's
arrangements and provisions are sufficient to support young people who are at
risk of disengaging from education or who have disengaged from education,
training or employment. The two Cabinet Members set out the context
noting that: ·
The Youth Engagement and Development Framework,
introduced by the Welsh Government in 2013, was a cross-departmental
responsibility. ·
The views of the scrutinisers be sought on the
arrangements for meeting the requirements of the Framework following the
cessation of European Social Fund (ESF) funding for TRAC and ADTRAC projects. ·
Everyone needed to constantly remind themselves during
the discussion that this was a framework report, i.e. the framework for how the
Council supports children and young people not in employment, education or
training (NEET). Members were given an opportunity to ask
questions and make observations. During
the discussion, the following observations were noted: ·
Going forward, it was important to understand the
successes and failures of the current provision. ·
It was felt that the committee was scrutinising this issue
too soon, or too late. The Framework
itself was eight years old. Although the
framework arrangements had been in place since then, some of the provisions
attached to it had changed. Some of the
provisions were under review. To date,
the Wavehill review of TRAC and ADTRAC had identified the need for this type of
support for young people, and their success was evident in the review up to a
certain point, but things had changed since then, especially as a result of the
pandemic context. There was also a
desire to continue with these provisions, but their funding was ceasing. ADTRAC funding ended next month, and TRAC
funding ended in a year. Discussions on
sources of funding beyond the current European Funds were being led by the
Westminster Government, but how could it proceed, unless there was a very
significant change of mind on the part of the powers who fund these things? ·
Collaboration was particularly important in the
current difficult situation as a result of the loss of ESF funding, and multi-agency
collaboration in Dyffryn Nantlle was cited as a good example of thinking
outside the box. ·
One of the biggest influences on young people is their
peers, and it was assumed that there were young people, who were once difficult
and vulnerable, but who had now turned a corner and moved on to further
education, training or employment, and who were willing to talk openly to
disaffected young people. ·
It should be asked whether there is evidence that the
decision to charge for transport to Coleg Meirion Dwyfor had been a barrier to
young people attending further education. In response to the observations and
questions from members: · Details were provided of the collaboration between ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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REVIEW OF THE MOBILE LIBRARIES SERVICE PDF 316 KB Cabinet Member – Councillor Gareth Thomas To consider a report on the above. *11.30am –
12.30pm *estimated times Additional documents: Decision: To accept the report, noting
the observations made during the meeting, and to recommend to
the Cabinet to adopt Option 1 in the report as the provision model and best
implementation of the Mobile Libraries Service in the future, namely: Stage 1 A (monthly) Home and Delivery
Service provided by 3 smaller vehicles
(electric/hybrid vans), each with a driver for:- 1. Arfon 2. Dwyfor 3. Meirionnydd Stage 2 Following the retirement of a
driver in the next 1-2 years, a (monthly) Home and Delivery Service provided by
2 smaller vehicles (electric/hybrid vans), each with a driver for:- 1. Arfon/Dwyfor 2. Meirionnydd Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Economy and Community
and officers from the Economy and Community Department were welcomed to the
meeting. Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member
for Economy and Community seeking the guidance of the scrutiny committee on the
Mobile Service for Homes following a review of the current and historical provision
within the Library Service. Members were invited to consider several options, based on the
Service's findings of current demand and usage of the service, and savings that
could be made from reviewing the pattern of provision. The Cabinet Member set the context, noting
that a number of benefits were seen to arise from the
new system of Service delivery, which had started during the Covid crisis, and that the arrangement was increasingly
appreciated as time went by. Members were given
an opportunity to ask questions and make observations. During the discussion, the following
observations were noted: ·
Although it was accepted that
people welcomed the home service, there may be a need to urge and encourage
people to venture out and socialise following the pandemic. ·
Carers, etc., who called at people's homes, could pick
up books and take them to the individual during their work time. ·
The mobile vehicle could visit village halls, for
example, when groups or 'paned' clubs met there. ·
The use of electric/hybrid vans to provide the
service, instead of the large lorries, was welcomed. ·
It was understood that the
new way of delivering the Service was not an opportunity to save money, and if
the service saw the need to maintain the status quo, there was money available
for that. ·
The decision to introduce the change during the
pandemic was questioned and it was asked whether it
would be better to wait for things to settle first. ·
Not visiting mobile stops would mean a 17% reduction
in the number of households in Gwynedd who were within reach of a fixed or
mobile library, and since the majority of the county's population lived in the
towns anyway, that meant 17% of rural residents. ·
People who were housebound, for whatever reason, very
much welcomed the service to the home, and the scheme needed to be further
developed, as well as given more publicity, e.g. by including an item in Newyddion Gwynedd.
It was also suggested that it would be an idea
to e-mail all councillors to inform them of the Service, asking them to
disseminate the information via the main social media platforms to the
residents of their wards. The Library
Service Manager agreed to follow this up. ·
The choice of books on a van is quite limited, and the
service to the home expanded the choice of books, and reached everyone in the
county. ·
It was questioned whether people would want to
congregate in a confined space like a van in the wake of Covid
anyway. In response to the observations and
questions from members: · It was noted that concerns had been raised prior to the pandemic regarding the year-on-year reduction in ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |