Venue: Hybrid - Siambr Dafydd Orwig, Swyddfeydd y Cyngor, Caernarfon LL55 1SH. View directions
Contact: Ffion Elain Evans
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To accept
any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were
received from Councillors Menna Baines, Anwen J. Davies and Linda Ann Jones. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declarations of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: The
following members declared that they had an interest in relation to the item
noted: ·
Councillor Elwyn Jones
in item 5 as members of his family were homeless. The Member was of the opinion
that it was not a prejudicial interest and he did not
withdraw from the meeting. ·
Councillor Gwynfor Owen
in item 8 on the agenda as his son was autistic. The Member was of the opinion
that it was not a prejudicial interest and he did not
withdraw from the meeting. |
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URGENT MATTERS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Additional documents: Minutes: None to
note. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meetings of this committee held
on the 22nd of June 2023 be signed as a true record. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed
the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee, held on 22nd June
2023, as a true record. |
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HOUSING ALLOCATION POLICY AND HOUSING WAITING LIST PDF 371 KB To consider
the report. Additional documents: Decision: DECISION a) To accept and note the report. b) To ask the officers to report back to the Committee in due course on any
potential implications for the policy after assessing the contents of the Welsh
Government's White Paper. c) To ask the officers to consider whether the Committee should contribute
to Cyngor Gwynedd's response to the consultation following the publication of
the White Paper. Minutes: The report was submitted explaining that a further update on the Housing
Allocation Policy was in question and that the policy had already been
submitted before the Care Scrutiny Committee in the past. It was explained that
changes had been made to the Council's policy in the context of which bands
housing applications were determined to and that the current policy had now been
in operation for nearly three years. It was noted that the policy had managed
to maximise the number of houses let to Gwynedd residents from 90% to 96.7% and
that this was a very high percentage, especially considering that local
connection could not be considered as an essential priority criterion in every
application. It was explained that the Welsh Government intended to publish a White
Paper in October 2023 that would review the legislation and undertake
fundamental changes on the way homelessness was dealt with in Wales. Due to the
link between homelessness and social housing, the side effect of examining the
legislation review on homelessness was the need to re-examine how social
housing was let and any side effects that derived from that process. It was noted that the Housing Department was waiting eagerly to see the
White Paper to gain an understanding of the Government's direction. It was
explained that they had a fairly good idea as they had attended regular
meetings and discussions with the Government over the past few months and had
been given an opportunity to note their opinions and feelings about the
potential changes. Therefore, it was noted that they hoped that nothing too
shocking would be included in the White Paper, but the department would need a
bit of time to evaluate its contents and any impact it could have on Council
policies. It was explained that considerable work was likely to face the
department once the White Paper would be published. During the
discussion, the following observations were noted: -
The members expressed
their thanks for the report noting pride in the success of the policy so far. -
Questions were raised
about the definition of local connection and concern was expressed that the
Council could say it had been successful when providing a house to someone from
Aberdyfi in Bethesda. An explanation was requested of how it could be ensured
that vulnerable people could remain in their communities. o In response, it was explained that although every authority had an element
of flexibility when it came to a Housing Allocation Policy, that statutory
priority had to be given to 5 categories of people and, therefore, the local
connection element had to be secondary to those statutory categories. o It was noted that Cyngor Gwynedd had added a community connection tier
which went further than local connection. In a situation where applicants were
equal in the same priority band, it was explained that people with a community
connection would be given priority over those who did not have a community
connection. o It was explained that 54% of ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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ESTABLISHING A ONE STOP SHOP FOR HOUSING ENQUIRIES PDF 239 KB To consider
the report. Additional documents: Decision: DECISION a) To accept and note the report. b) To receive a progress report within a year's time. c) To ask the Cabinet Member and the Housing Department officers to contact the
housing associations to see if they could attend a meeting of the scrutiny
committee and organise ways of facilitating communication between the
councillors and the housing associations. Minutes: The report was submitted, explaining that the intention of the One Stop
Shop was to operate as a front door for all housing service enquiries and to
facilitate the process for the customer. It was explained that a report on this
had been submitted to the Committee in the past but
work had substantially developed since that report had been submitted. To begin, it was explained that consultation sessions had been held with
key partners, including the housing associations and third sector
organisations, over the past 18 months to identify opportunities to strengthen
current arrangements and any potential impact on the nature of the contact that
individuals would have with the organisations. Discussions had also been held
with all department services to gain a better understanding of the contact with
residents in the context of the enquiries the One-Stop-Shop would support. It was noted that an initial consultation with the public had been held
in January 2023 to receive feedback on the general experiences of Gwynedd
residents who had contacted the housing service. It was noted that 154
responses had been received and that the majority of these had been positive.
The fact that the consultation had highlighted a clear desire by the public to
be able to complete an on-line application form for social housing applications
was recognised, with over 70% of responses noting that this would be a positive
development. It was noted that this had already been identified as a priority
for the department but there was no capacity within the current system to
enable people to complete applications on-line. The consultation had also
highlighted that some members of the public believed there was a need to
improve communication between the Council and the customer and, therefore,
better on-line presence to receive information without having to pick up the
phone or e-mail would be beneficial. Another key development noted was appointing a leader for the
One-Stop-Shop in February 2022 which had enabled the department to research how
an appropriate structure could be put in place for the shop's operation. In light of this, it was resolved to incorporate the Housing
Options Team Unit in the One-Stop-Shop as this was the work area that received
the majority of enquiries by the public. It was explained that the team's
structure was now nearing completion as a deputy leader had been appointed in
May 2023. It was noted that the department had researched a new system that would
enable them to store comprehensive and up-to-date information in one place. It
was explained that the system chosen would modernise the service offered to the
public and that the ongoing programmed work included arrangements to establish
the system, a trialling period and dates for relevant
training. It was also explained that the department had decided to use the FFOS
internal system for the work of receiving calls and the shop's day-to-day
administrative work as it was already linked to the Council website and website
accounts. In addition, it was noted that the ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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To consider
the report. Additional documents: Decision: DECISION a)
To accept and note the report on the situation
regarding supported accommodation for individuals with learning disabilities in
Gwynedd, as there is no reference to mental health and support for women in the
report. b)
To ask the officers to share information with the
committee members about supported accommodation that is provided by the mental
health service and for providing support to women. Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being submitted the report
to provide context and an update on the situation regarding supported
accommodation for individuals with learning disabilities. He thanked the Senior
Learning Disabilities Manager and the whole team for their work stating that it
was difficult to convey in words how important was this work. It was explained that the Welsh Government's Learning Disability
Strategic Action Plan 2022 to 2026 outlined the agenda for services for
individuals with learning disabilities and that the department collaborated
with partners to plan and develop supported accommodation models that were
suitable to meet those needs. It was noted that 70 people were currently
waiting for accommodation and that these were divided into three categories:
the individuals who needed priority namely accommodation within the next year;
the individuals who needed accommodation within the next two years and the
individuals who needed to be planned for over the next years. It was noted that
the department collaborated with the Housing Department and the housing
associations and that this link was essential. It was explained that work had
just been completed on a new house in Groeslon which would be able to provide
support for three individuals and it was hoped to be able to accommodate people
by November. It was explained that the Council had a fairly full picture of the
situation in the county and that it completed continuous assessments of
families/individuals who came through the system and that preparing for the
future was part of everyone's package. It was also confirmed that the Learning
Disability Team and the Derwen Team regularly met to discuss the situations of
individuals of transition age, i.e., approximately 6 months either side of 18
years old, in order to prepare and collaborate for those children who become
adults. During the discussion, the following
observations were noted: -
The members expressed their thanks for the report and the developments
were welcomed. -
It was noted that the contents of the report did not match the item title
on the agenda and that the item on the agenda was much broader than what had
been included in the report. o
In response, it was noted that this was a fair enough observation
confirming that the other elements were part of the picture although there was
no reference to them in the report. o
It was explained that the element in terms of support for women tended to
overlap with matters that are under the responsibility of the Housing
Department and this may be an example of an area where cooperation between
departments could be strengthened. -
Concern was expressed that the definition of learning disability was too
narrow and there was a tendency to focus on the definition alone, without
considering how the needs are very similar to mental health needs. It was noted
that better cooperation between the learning disability service and the mental
health service would be very beneficial rather than placing the matters in
separate blocks. |
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AUTISM PLAN TASK AND FINISH GROUP BRIEF PDF 9 KB
To consider
adopting the brief and to elect members to undertake the work of the Task and
Finish group. Additional documents: Decision: a)
To adopt the brief and add that the group will look
at the Autism Plan in its entirety. b)
To elect Councillor Jina Gwyrfai to be part of the
Autism Plan Task and Finish Group. c)
To engage with all members of the Care Scrutiny
Committee via e-mail in order to receive two other
names to be part of the Task and Finish Group. Minutes: The draft brief was submitted as members of the Care Scrutiny Committee
had decided at their meeting in April that they had not received sufficient
information about Gwynedd's Autism Plan. In light of
this, they were eager to receive more detail about the service on offer and,
therefore, it was resolved to establish a Task and Finish Group. It was decided that the
Task and Finish Group would include members of the Care Scrutiny Committee and
the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee, as well as representation from
the Children's Department, Adults Department, Education Department
and the Health Board. A request was made for three representatives from the
Care Scrutiny Committee to undertake the work of the task and finish group. During the discussion, the following observations were
noted: -
It was noted that the
brief was very general and although the committee's decision in April had
referred to a discussion on the implementation of the plan in its entirety with
the new team, there was no reference to this in the brief. o In response, it was explained that this was an error, and the wording
should correspond with the wording of what had been resolved at the committee
meeting. -
It was proposed that
the Task and Finish Group examined the Autism Plan in its entirety initially
and maybe it would be possible to implement or examine specific matters in more
detail following the group's recommendations. It was resolved that this would
be a fair way of giving the new team an opportunity to make a difference and to
implement its work programme. -
It was noted that more
representation from the adults department would be
beneficial as more than one team dealt with the matter and it was argued that
it was essential for the Coordinator of the Autism Services Project to be part
of the discussion. It was explained that the
Task and Finish Group would not be long, approximately 2-3 meetings at most.
Councillor Jina Gwyrfai put her name forward to be a member of the Task and
Finish Group. As all Committee members were not in attendance at the meeting,
it was resolved that an e-mail would be sent to members of the Care Scrutiny
Committee to enquire who else was interested in being part of the group. Should
no names be put forward, then an invitation would be extended to the rest of
the Council members. It was noted that representation from the Education and
Economy Scrutiny Committee would be confirmed at the committee meeting on 9
November. RESOLVED a)
To adopt the brief and add
that the group will look at the Autism Plan in its entirety. b)
To elect Councillor
Jina Gwyrfai to be part of the Autism Plan Task and Finish Group. c)
To engage with all members of the Care Scrutiny Committee via e-mail in order to receive two other names to be part of the task
and finish group. |