Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Gwynfor Owen. ⁠

To receive any declarations of personal interest.

Councillor Gareth Tudor Jones and Sharon Roberts (Arfon Parent / Governor Representative) declared a personal interest in item 7 on the agenda. The members were of the opinion that they were prejudicial interests, and they withdrew from the meeting during the discussion on the item.

Councillor Beth Lawton declared a personal interest in item 7 on the agenda. The member did not consider it to be a prejudicial interest and did not leave the meeting during the discussion.

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

None to note.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 16th of October, 2025 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 16 October 2025 as a true record, subject to adding the name of Councillor Dawn Lynne Jones to the list of apologies.

To scrutinise the draft Schools Strategy 2026-2036.

DECISION

1.     To welcome the strategy and accept the report noting the comments.

2.     That the Scrutiny Committee recommends to the Cabinet Member for Education that further information on safeguarding, poverty, social equity, faith schools, access to parents' voice, inclusion, the Welsh language, staff well-being and governance needs to be included in the Schools’ Strategy.

3.     That information about the Schools Support Service be distributed to members.

4.     Ask the Education Department to ensure that safeguarding is integrated into the department's planning.

5.     That the Cabinet is aware of the importance of staff well-being to attract and retain staff and does all that is possible to promote well-being and favourable conditions.

6.     Ask the Education Department to give full consideration to the Welsh Government's new recommendations regarding governance when these are received.

The Cabinet Member for Education presented the report, stating that the draft document before them covered the education department's vision on behalf of schools over the next few years. It was noted that the previous strategy was now dated and ended in 2025, and there was a need for it to be updated due to significant changes over the period. It was explained that the document tried to reflect the fact that the challenges facing the county had changed and had intensified, noting that the strategy referred to the impact of cuts, recruitment challenges and the far-reaching threat of demographic changes across the county.

During the discussion, the following observations were made: -

The member was thanked for the presentation. More details were requested regarding how the challenges of children who are vulnerable to poverty would be considered within the strategy, emphasising the importance that this cohort had a voice within the strategy. In response, it was noted: -

-        That an audit had been carried out to try and get cost-friendly schools.

-        That data has been collected on this issue and would be shared with schools within the month to enable them to respond and meet the challenges, and to escalate the issue to the top of the priority list.

-        That the department recognised that the experiences of children from disadvantaged backgrounds were far worse if they were not supported through the schools.

-        That there was room to put a specific heading in relation to children who are vulnerable to poverty, and to give attention to how the needs of children from disadvantaged backgrounds should be addressed, to what extent the current arrangements addressed this and how changing the arrangements would improve the situation.

-        Many grants were given to schools to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds, but under the current arrangements headteachers and governing bodies were required to use additional grant monies to support everyone, not necessarily targeting individuals, as the situation was generally difficult.

Pride was expressed that the issue of safeguarding was addressed within the strategy. A view was expressed that safeguarding should be higher within the strategy than heading four, given the importance of safeguarding. It was asked how the 'Our Bravery Brought Justice’  report had shaped the strategy. In response, it was agreed that safeguarding was an extremely important issue. It was noted that the list did not reflect any order of priority. It was acknowledged that there was room to change the order of the strategy to place safeguarding at the top of the list.

It was confirmed that this draft of the Schools Strategy had been produced prior to the publication of the 'Our Bravery Brought Justice' report. In relation to learning from the Children's Practice Review, emphasis was placed on the need for the authority and the safeguarding and well-being team to provide more support to schools. The challenge that existed for the department to support 94 schools of all sizes was further emphasised. It was noted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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

DECISION

1.     To accept the report noting the questions on home education, de-registration, use of units, school meals, monitoring arrangements, youth clubs and safeguarding.

2.     To note the importance of giving a high-profile for safeguarding in documentation for the purpose of providing comfort to the public, and that the matter is prioritised by the authority.

3.     To ask the Cabinet Member for Education to:

• consider carrying out an exercise to find out why so many children are not taking advantage of free school meals.

• consider whether there are ways of effectively informing governors about how to question at meetings of school governing bodies.

• ensure that all steps are taken to avoid de-registration in our schools.

The Cabinet Member for Education presented the report. During the discussion, the following observations were made: -

Questions were asked about the Immersion System's data, specifically how many start the 10-week course but don't complete it. Data on how many withdraw from the process and how many applications are rejected was requested, stating that this would give a more complete picture than the current skill level focused information at the end of the course. In response, it was noted that the data would be provided and there was currently no evidence that withdrawal was a major problem, but it was acknowledged that individual circumstances could vary.

It was asked whether there were plans to develop smaller settings or more bespoke provision for learners who find it difficult to cope in mainstream arrangements due to neurodiversity, mental health or anxiety. It was asked whether it was possible to combine any such units with smaller school sites that face challenges in terms of numbers. In response, it was noted: -

-        That inclusion was a core principle, and the vision did not involve moving learners into separate units as an automatic solution.

-        The starting point was to strengthen the capacity of mainstream schools and adapt provision, with appropriate staffing levels and training to be able to provide effective support.

-        That more resources were needed to adapt mainstream schools to make them suitable for children of all abilities.

-        That it was becoming harder to support children of all needs within mainstream schools for a variety of reasons, such as increasingly intense needs.

-        Transportation costs and the child's experience of mixing with others are important factors when considering separate provision.

It was asked why there was no obvious reference to the 'Our Bravery Brought Justice' report within the document before them, noting that this was the first education and economy scrutiny meeting since the report was published and the lack of direction could cause public concern. In response, it was noted:-

-        That the response to the report currently took up over 80 percent of the department's time, with a focus over several teams responding to the report.

-        That other things the department was doing at the same time with the same level of resources, made it increasingly challenging to accomplish these.

-        That additional resources had been secured in response to the report and that reporting arrangements to the Programme Board were in place, with further scrutiny of the Programme Board's work due to take place shortly.

-        There was a need to ensure that the response work was more visible within formal reports.

-        The Committee had an opportunity to discuss the response to the report in full in early January 2026.

The increase in home education since the pandemic was questioned, with concern expressed about safeguarding and how it could be ensured that children receive suitable education. The possibility was raised that the trend could continue to increase. In response, it was noted: -

-        That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

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

DECISION

1.     To accept the report and note the observations.

2.     Ask the Economy and Community Department to convene a group early in the new year to consider the challenges facing the agricultural industry.

The Cabinet Member for Economy and Community presented the report noting that since June, services continued to make good progress towards the Council's priority targets and projects within its portfolio. It was noted that several of the projects were on track to deliver results before the end of the financial year.

It was noted that joint work had been taking place with the Welsh Government and neighbouring local authorities to prepare a report for consultation to introduce and establish a tourism levy from March 2026. It was noted that it was intended to hold a more detailed discussion with the Scrutiny Committee in February after assessing the impact of any proposal on the economy and communities of Gwynedd. It was noted that customer satisfaction levels with library and archive services remained high, and it was noted that grants of up to £300,000 had been offered to 69 organisations across Gwynedd to promote culture and events. It was noted that regeneration and community support services had secured an investment of £9.8m for various projects across the county, and it was noted that £370,000 had been allocated through a pilot town and community councils funds under a tight Government timetable. It was noted that 55 councils had responded to the scheme, and it was noted that it was hoped that the fund would be available again in 2026-27 with more notice for councils to be able to respond.

It was noted that Gwynedd Business Week in October provided an opportunity to listen to issues that were important to businesses during a challenging economic period and to celebrate the successes of businesses both large and small. It was noted that £900,000 had been allocated in grants to businesses, and it was noted that the next round would be announced the following week. It was noted that employment support work had helped 48 people in Gwynedd to overcome barriers to work. It was noted that the United Kingdom (UK) Government had announced that the North Wales Artificial Intelligence Zone application had been successful and that the Trawsfynydd site had been named as part of the application. Subject to obtaining planning permission, the Welsh Government would offer the same benefits to the site as the free port sites on Anglesey. It was noted that this development boosted the development of the science park at Trawsfynydd. It was noted that the details of the business case would be presented to the Committee in the new year.

It was noted that good progress had been made with the Parc Padarn developments and that a tourist information centre had been completed, but that a decrease in the number of Byw'n Iach users was a cause for concern. It was noted that the Byw'n Iach Board was responding proactively by adapting the facilities and the proposal. It was noted that a decrease in the number of children receiving swimming lessons through school continued to contribute to an overall reduction, and it was noted that joint work with Byw'n Iach  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

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

DECISION To accept the report and note the observations.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Finance, highlighting the red and amber indicators. It was noted that one measure within the Income Service remained in the red category, namely the balance of the value of variable debts over six months old at the end of October 2025, and the figure was identified as just under £3.2m. It was elaborated that this was an increase of £1.377m since the end of the previous month and that £1.2m of that increase derived from debts from the Health Board and another local authority. It was noted that the other local authority's debt resulted from an administrative error within the Council when an incorrect order number was given on an invoice. It was confirmed that this issue had been resolved and the debt had been paid.

It was noted that the Health Board's debt continued to be a challenge and the adult service was in discussions with the Health Board in the hope that the debt would be reduced. Attention was drawn to the tax collection service's performance meter 'Current Year Council Tax Collection Rate' which reported in amber and noted that the service had faced significant problems due to the number of staff on long-term sickness. It was elaborated that the situation was improving and the service appeared to have turned a corner and was getting back on track. Concern was expressed that the council and non-domestic tax collection rates were lower in Gwynedd than historically and compared to other authorities in Wales, but doubts were expressed as to whether the way the statistics were reported reflected the full picture. It was noted that, from the internal information, the basic rate of collection of council tax was fairly normal, but it was noted that the shortcomings mainly related to the collection of the council tax premium on long-term empty properties and second homes. It was emphasised that this could change the overall figures. The intention to look at the issue over the coming weeks and months was noted to give a more balanced picture of the situation.

It was noted that, in terms of the Digital Plan, work was progressing well, but particular concern was noted about the risks related to software licensing costs, particularly given the expected increased use of artificial intelligence. A wider expectation within the information technology sector was noted that prices could rise after consumption stabilised, and it was noted that this was an issue that the service would keep a close eye on in the future.

The Head of Finance stated that he was satisfied with the overall performance of the department, although there were a few challenges in some services. It was stressed that plans were in place to address those challenges with the hope that better outcomes would soon follow.

During the discussion, the following observations were made:

A question was asked about the Health Board's debt. It was questioned whether the problem stemmed from conflicts over invoicing or debt agreements, or whether  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.