Agenda, decisions and minutes

It was resolved to elect Cllr David Bithell (Wrexham County Borough Council) as Chair of the Transport Delivery Sub-group

It was resolved to elect Cllr Carolyn Thomas (Flintshire County Council) as vice-chair of the Transport Delivery Sub-group

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Huw Percy and Dafydd L. Edwards.

To receive any declarations of personal interest.

There were no declarations of personal interest.

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

No urgent items were received for discussion.

To submit the minutes of the informal Transport Cabinet Members Advisory Group held on 20th May, 2019  (attached).

Minutes of the informal meeting of the Transport Cabinet Members Advisory Group, held on 20 May 2019, were submitted.

Report by Iwan Evans – Host Authority Monitoring Officer  (attached).

Resolved to accept the report and the Protocol was approved.

It was decided that the Officers, in the next fortnight, would nominate a Lead Officer who will attend the North Wales Economic Ambition Board committees when the need arises. 

The report was presented by Iwan Evans

DECISION

Resolved to accept the report and the Protocol was approved.

It was decided that the Officers, in the next fortnight, would nominate a Lead Officer who will attend the North Wales Economic Ambition Board committees when the need arises. 

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted, noting that the report's objective was to set out the arrangements of the Sub-group. It was expressed that the report outlined the main objectives, and the Sub-group's membership was noted. It was noted that the main change would be to the committee procedure in terms of agenda and publishing the agenda. It was emphasised that the agenda would need to be published five working days prior to the Sub-group, and the draft report would need to be submitted to the Statutory Officers for observations before publishing the agenda. It was emphasised that due to the nature of the Sub-group, there would not be many observations by the Statutory Officers; nevertheless, due to the nature of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, this could develop.

It was expressed that votes would be on a majority basis and in order to seek consensus across the authorities; consequently, there would be no casting vote. It was added that Decision Notices would be published, noting the decisions of the Business Delivery Sub-Group.

Observations arising from the discussion

¾     It was asked how the dates, agenda and minutes would be shared across the authorities. It was noted that they would be published on Gwynedd Council's website as the lead authority, and would be shared on the social websites of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board. It was expressed that the members could share the agenda e-mail with their fellow Councillors in their authorities.

¾     A discussion was held around nominating a Lead Officer, and it was noted that the Officers would nominate a lead officer to attend the Ambition Board when the need arose in the coming fortnight.

Report by Dafydd Wyn Williams – Host Authority Head of Environment Department (attached).

The following names were approved to lead on the various work flows and agreement was reached on the outline agenda for the Sub-group's next three meetings.

The report was submitted by Dafydd Wyn Williams.

DECISION

The following names were approved to lead on the various work streams and agreement was reached on the outline agenda for the Sub-group's next three meetings.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted, noting that following the previous meeting, the Lead Officer and the Ambition Board Officer had been working on the background work in order to work jointly in the region and share the workload. Attention was drawn to the table created, which noted the Officers who would be leading on the main work streams. It was explained that the officer's role would be to provide the reports and further information in these fields.

It was noted that during the coming three meetings, the Sub-Group would consider all work streams and it would be an opportunity to provide a direction to the work in future, and this would be discussed and agreed.

Observations arising from the discussion

¾     A discussion was held around whether the items needed to be discussed on a local and regional level, as some work streams had a marginal impact on business; despite this, the streams contributed to other matters.

¾     It was expressed that these were in-keeping with Welsh Government priorities. It was noted that it was an idea to start on work streams and then add or subtract work streams as needed.

¾     It was emphasised that the Ambition Board was happy with the work stream.

¾     It was noted that the work streams would be shared between Officers and that, moving forward, the Officers would meet separately to discuss the reports. It was expressed that work streams would develop, and the importance of not letting anyone be under extreme pressure was emphasised, as well as not overburdening them. It was expressed that the work needed to be shared equally across the region and to share the workload and support each other.

¾     It was emphasised that in terms of the Officers who had been allocated to the work stream, this would be a lead role and they would not be required to do all of the work.

·         Bus Update

·         Concessionary Travel

·         Education Transport

·         Public Transport Review

(attached)

The report was noted and accepted.

The report was presented by Iwan Prys Jones and Peter Daniels

RESOLVED

The report was noted and accepted.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted, noting the problems that had arisen in terms of the system for re-allocating free concessionary travel cards which expired on 31 December 2019. It was expressed that the website to re-register had crashed, and the need to do something in North Wales was emphasised. Nevertheless, it was noted that Transport for Wales had noted that there would be more resources to assist the Councils and that the website would be back on-line before the end of the week. It was emphasised that there had been a great impact on the Councils.

It was emphasised that Welsh Government had noted that the age that people could apply for a free Concessionary Travel Card had changed and, consequently, a higher number of people had applied before the age change. It was expressed that problems had arisen on-line and that not everyone was aware of the change. It was noted that the situation was difficult as Transport for Wales was on-line and applicants were being referred to their local councils for support to go on-line. As the website had crashed, paper forms were available temporarily. It was expressed that the Councils had capacity to assist to an extent, with lost cards or with disabilities, but that re-applying for the cards had much higher numbers. It was noted how different authorities had dealt with the matter.

It was emphasised that this was a developing matter, and that Transport for Wales had noted that additional resources were being offered temporarily. It was noted that the Sub-group would send a letter to Welsh Government, noting concern about this matter in the long-term in terms of travel cards. It was determined that Welsh Government needed to be asked about a long-term plan and the impact of this on Local Government, and whether everything would be in place by the end of December, as well as whether the equality act had been considered.

Amendments to the Public Service Vehicle Regulations

It was noted in January that the Public Service Vehicle Regulations requirement would be extended to every coach, which raised concerns as not many coaches had wheelchair access. It was asked whether it would impact school transport, and it was noted that it would not unless authorities charged a fee for transport. It was expressed that every authority would be struck, possibly not financially, but politically.

It was expressed that the main matter was that there were not enough vehicles available with the required access. The things some authorities were doing was noted, but it was emphasised that it would raise problems. It was explained that to a degree, there were two options - to pay for new vehicles or not to charge a fee. However, it was expressed that the second option would have an impact. It was discussed that it was possibly a good idea to send a letter to the Minister to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

·         EV Charging Survey [SP Energy]

·         Green Bus Pilot Project - update

Submitted by Iwan Prys Jones

DISCUSSION

The Charging Survey by SP Energy was discussed, noting that they hoped to be able to come to the next meeting in order to provide an update.

With regard to decarbonisation, it was expressed that it would be a good idea for the six regions to come together to organise a Summit on this next year, and that it would support the work of the Ambition Board. If everyone joined together regionally to organise it, it was expressed that support would be available by Welsh Government.

It was added that there would be many opportunities and that it was an opportunity to work together. It was expressed that the main problem was transport. It was reiterated that a revolution was required, and it was expressed that holding a Summit would provide a clear statement to the public. It was noted that the proposal needed to be submitted to the Ambition Board to have the Summit that would discuss Energy, a Regional Energy Company/Hub, as well as Transport.

With regard to the Green Buses Pilot project, the pilot plans were addressed, noting that they were hoping to share the report at the next meeting to hold a further discussion.

An update was received on work streams which included 20mph zones and parking on pavements, and it was noted that a further report would be submitted.

With regard to the Growth Track 360 Campaign - In an update, it was expressed that Arriva had revisited the costs of the various zones, and it was noted that more explanations were required for the zones as well as a response as regards integrated ticketing. It was noted that an Arriva staff member was required to come to the Sub-group to discuss the matter.